Every once in awhile we may get a little tired of our current affairs. If you are constantly working with the same subject your brain is going to get bored. It will get stale and trying to continue your work is going to make it that much harder to do.

I find it’s important to do something a little different every once in awhile to keep your brain from going stale. I know that a quick walk outside or a brisk wrestle with the youngins gets my brain going again. The point is to do something different to jolt your brain awake, then come back to your work refreshed.

Any kind of stimulation will work. All you need is a change of pace to wake up a bit. These are 7 blogs, that I follow and that I found, that are just a little different. And if you’re like me and mostly follow blogs pertaining to business, then this just might do the trick.

They are all blogs that are interesting in some form or another. Some are bizarre and fascinating. Others are just plain entertinaing. So if you find yourself having trouble working on that project that’s due soon, take some time and have a gander at these. Just make sure to set a timer, it’s easy to get lost.

Dark Roasted Blend

Just as the subtitle suggests, “Weird & Wonderful Things” it’s full of interesting things from around the world. It has been around for a long time but I’ve only just recently started following it. In that short time I’ve learned of place in the world that I had no idea that existed. Very fascinating and entertaining. And apparently this is the site that John Malkovich wakes up to first thing in the morning.

Neatorama

Similar to the blog above, the posts on this blog have a lot of interesting and weird things from around the world. The cool thing about this blog they have a store that sells all kinds of neat knickknacks that are entertaining and funny.

Pink Tentacle

This blog gives you good look at the art and other interesting things from Japan. This is great for those interested in the Japanese culture as well as the weird and different. Some of it may pretty odd to the normal fellow or gal but it’s entertaining nonetheless.

Nerd Approved

Just as the title suggests, this one posts a lot of content that relates to the nerdy bunch. Anything to do with toys and gadgets should be here and the entertaining. Nerd approved indeed.

Urlesque

The web is a big place and gets pretty difficult to keep up with. Especially when it comes the trends and viral subjects that pop up around the web. If something goes viral in the online community, this is probably a good place to find it.

The Creative Junkie

This is one of the blogs that I follow simply for the writing itself. It’s full of witty and great writing that is fun to read. The blog is more or less like a diary of sorts and has a lot that I’ve been able to relate to. Very entertaining.

I’m sure there are more sites out there that are probably even more bizarre and weird but the point is to stimulate your brain to wake it up again. The brain is a fickle thing, entertain it for a bit and you’ll be good to go. And besides, who doesn’t like a good chuckle or learn something new?

~Chris

Are there other sites you can think of to add to this list? What else do you do when you get a little bland or stale?

I have the perfect solution to all your problems. And it’s so simple too. All you have to do is quit.

Yup that’s all. Just drop everything and forget it. So simple. You don’t have to worry about anything now. There is nothing there to worry about. No rushing, no deadlines, no struggling to make things work. All you have to do is quit and all your worries and struggles will be gone.

They say to keep going just a little bit longer and you’ll reach success. Keep learning a little more, keep trying a bit harder. But why bother? All you have to do is quit and the solution is solved. End of story.

Yeah, you won’t ever know if you could do it, you won’t ever actually reach success but why go through the trouble huh? Why would you want to go through the trouble of taking the time to market and build your business so that it can make you lots of money and give you all the freedom you could want?

Why go through all the trouble of creating something that is a legacy in your life? Why make something great in your life, something people will remember you for?

Why go through all that trouble when it’s so much easier to just quit?

Wait, you don’t want to quit? You want all that time and freedom? All that money? You want to do all that work? Psshhh. It would be easier to quit but go right ahead if you want. Keep working and eventually reach your dream, then come back and tell me if it was worth it.

~Chris

Procrastination used to be something we laughed at and blew off. It was never taken very seriously. I used to be pretty bad with it, but in the last few years I have worked on getting myself not to procrastinate so much. Sometimes you can procrastinate without even realizing it.

Let’s take a look at a little scenario. “Bob” has an article that is due today. He is also a procrastinator. Let’s see how it goes for him.

Bob crawls out of bed, grabs a cup of coffee and sits down at the computer. Today he needs to finish an article for a client. Since he’s just waking up he decides to check his email while the coffee kicks in.

Before long his breakfast is gone and he’s finishing up his last video. It’s been a good 30 minutes or so and he pulls up his article again. He stares at the screen thinking of how he wants to start the article. He has a new email notification but he shouldn’t do that right now. Tweetdeck is popping up with possibly interesting tweets, but he really needs to do this article. His dog comes up to him and gives him the ol “pet me” look. “Can’t resist that.”

You see where this is going? This is what procrastination is, they are excuses to avoid the thing that needs done. You can probably argue that some of it is a distraction, which you would be right. But Bob used that distraction and turned it into another reason not to get to work.

He was hungry, but he could have made a smaller breakfast and he could have read some more information instead of flicking through Youtube videos. Distractions are going to happen, some more than others. But in the case of the procrastinator, they turn into an excuse. Instead of ignoring the distractions or using them in a lesser way, they become a reason to delay the task on hand.

I developed procrastination pretty bad in my later years of High School. I was really good at school but putting off my homework sure made my grades suffer. And then I felt like crap about it and started to get depressed. Then I didn’t feel like doing homework and it turned into a vicious cycle. I managed to graduate but carried that procrastinating behavior on with me for some time afterwards.

As I said, we never took the idea that seriously but it can have a big effect on your life let alone your business. It’s not hard to do either.

One of the best ways I have found to deal with it is to set a certain time for tasks and stick to that time. Set aside the time and take action. I’m not near as bad as I used to be, but it was actually a big problem for awhile.

So next time your working on your tasks for the day ask yourself if what your doing is working to move your business forward. Procrastination can be a problem but can also be overcome. It may not be easy but it can be done. And you become more efficient because of it.

~Chris

How do you deal with your procrastination? Share your thoughts with others in the comments.

It seems like there is something about successful people that a lot don’t have, or don’t realize they have. These are 4 reasons these successful people are successful. 4 ways that make successful people that you can apply to your everyday life and your journey towards success.

You Can’t Grow if You Don’t Improve Yourself
People that are successful are constantly pushing their own boundaries. It’s easy to stick with what is comfortable. It’s real easy to just go with what works instead of trying new things. But you will never grow in this state of mind. And you will be left behind.

Whether these boundaries of yours are big or small, simply overcoming them will create growth. You can even find a workaround to most obstacles. The point is this: move on and find a way to become more valuable from improving yourself. Always push your own envelope. You will become a much higher quality person that way.

Closing Your Mind Will Close Off Other People as Well as Opportunity
Having an open mind is important on your journey to success. Without and open mind you wouldn’t be able to meet fascinating people and you would probably miss some great opportunities. Don’t be afraid to try something new, even if it is odd to you. It probably isn’t odd to someone else. And it probably works well for them too.

People that are closed minded are set in their ways and only see things their ways. It makes you blind and you will miss a lot. Just like improving yourself, an open mind will help you grow and accept the world around you. There are tons of ways to succeed, but you don’t see them you can’t grab them.

The Number One Success Killer: Giving Up
It happens all the time, people try to do something and then end up giving up. Maybe it was too hard, or it just wasn’t working right. I don’t know the reasons, but at some point or another they just give it up entirely. Mind you, this isn’t the same as giving up on something that isn’t working. Youjust have to try something else. But when you try something big, such as becoming and online marketer and just give up all together instead of finding a different strategy, then that’s the end of the story.

It’s not always easy to reach success. In fact it’s downright hard at times. But if you become bullheaded in that you always try and always look for a way to make things work (in other words, never give up), then you are just about guaranteed to succeed.

How Can You Improve Yourself If You Never Learn?
It’s seems that a lot of successful people have a passion for learning. Both for their business and life in general. It’s a huge passion of mine (part of the reason for this blog actually) and something I will always do. People that always learn become great people in their own respect.

They always try to learn, see, experience new things. They learn how people work and what makes them tick. They travel and see the world. Visit exotic locations and learn about customs of the native people. Taste new foods. Read a new book. Learn a new way to socialize. Find a new site. Develop a new site.

This list could go on all day. Take in what the world has to offer. There is so much to experience. So much to learn and in turn, so much to offer.

These are just a few ways to help you reach success. Success comes in many forms and purely personal. How you get there is the journey. And in the end that’s all the matters. It’s what you did to reach success and the wake you left behind that makes you successful.

Take these ideas and apply them to your idea of success. Enjoy the journey. We all can succeed if we want to.

~Chris

What other ways can you think of that will help you reach success?

With recent events of being overly tired in the mornings I decided to give coffee a try to keep myself awake so that I could get more work done. All in the name of productivity. I’ve decided that coffee is definitely not for me.

Oh it kept me awake, but that was about all I could accomplish. I couldn’t concentrate and was too easily distracted. Now, I’m not used to coffee or even small amounts of caffeine so I think it may of had more of an effect on me. So I gave it a few days to see if I would get used to it or not.

Unfortunately it wasn’t any different and now I’m done. It may of had something to do with me not being used to drinking coffee but either way it just wasn’t going to work for me. I got less done when drinking then when I was dozing at the computer.

While coffee may work for other people it doesn’t work for everyone. It just hyped me up too much to really dig into my work. So here’s a question for you:

Does coffee really help you with your productivity? And do you think that you may be better off without it? (okay that was two questions)

No more caffeine for me thank you!

~Chris

Christmas is coming up and I read and interesting post by Chris Brogan the other day: While the Iron is Hot. In it he talks about how he is going to keep working while the holidays are here. While I’m all for a healthy work ethic, I think there needs to be some down time at some point or another.

This Christmas I’m going to spend the day with the family. We are going to open presents and have a dinner. And of course I’m going to help the kids play with their new toys. But I’m going to make sure that I spend some quality time with them for one day.

That’s not to say I won’t do any work at all on the days around Christmas. I think this is a good time to work on some of the other projects and work on my blogs. Take the time to work on the back end.

This time of year is slow for most marketers. And I think it’s a great time to work on a lot of the stuff most people don’t see. This is a time to slack off on all the time consuming work of social media and the the like and work on other parts of your business that are just as important.

So while I’m not working on Christmas day, I’ll have some time to work on other things. But there is also another reason to take Christmas day off. To refresh.

To clear my head and get away for a bit. When I come back to work I’ll be more then refreshed and eager to go. I love doing this work. And in a way taking a day off is a bit of a tease. When I do finally get back I’ll be all excited again. And my mind will be clear and focused.

So whether it’s a week or one day, do yourself a favor and take some time off. Both for your family and your mind. Enjoy the holidays. Enjoy your life. That’s what the marketing lifestyle is all about.

~Chris

Are you working through the holidays? Or are you taking some time off for yourself?

Unless you live in a cave or something, I’m sure you have heard of or watched Spongebob Squarepants. The lovable (maybe a bit annoying sometimes) little sponge that lives in a pineapple under the sea. He lives a carefree life and has some qualities that I think people can benefit from.

First let’s answer a question. What is so appealing about the entrepreneurial lifestyle? Why are so many people trying to achieve it? It has a lot to do with the money, but it mostly has to do with the freedom. The freedom to live a life that you want. The freedom to basically do what you please. To make you and people you care about happy.

This is a dream of a lot of people and it’s quite a journey to reach that point. It’s not usually something that happens overnight. Not only do you have to build a strong foundation for you and your business but you have to evolve yourself as well. There are traits and habits that successful people have. They learned to how to develop themselves to become better, stronger people. The more they worked on themselves and developed the skills they needed to succeed, the closer they get to success. To achieving that dream and lifestyle.

So what does this have to do with some cartoon character?

Spongebob may not be living the rich, free lifestyle of a entrepreneur but that doesn’t stop him from being the happy go lucky guy that he is. And it’s his personality that I think people can learn from.

He’s almost always happy.
It doesn’t matter what is going on, Spongebob always seems to be smiling and laughing. Even if there is a problem that makes him unhappy, he’s right back to being happy when the problem is resolved. He doesn’t let much get him down.

He lives day by day.
He doesn’t concentrate on the past or look towards the future. Spongebob lives day by day, taking things as they come. Living in the here and now is a lesson that has been around for a long time. Spongebob lives his life this way everyday.

He has a good work ethic.
Spongbob is never late. Being late is an emergency in the mind of Spongebob. He never misses a day, and half the time probably works for free. His money grubbing boss puts him through the hoops, but he doesn’t mind. He’s dedicated to his work.

These are all traits of mentally healthy, successful people. And these are all things that we can learn too. Sure Spongebob would probably be a pretty annoying person to know, and it seems like ignorance is what gives him his happy go lucky attitude, but sometimes it’s the little things that teach others. Spongebob looks at life in a whole different light than most people.

It may seem odd to draw things from a character that technically doesn’t really exist but you may be surprised what you can learn from the unexpected. Of course you could just be a grumpy neighbor who is always dreaming of success but never reaching it. Hmm.…

~Chris

Have you ever noticed something, or learned something from an unexpected source? Are there other fictitious characters that taught you something?

When you work from home, you have the freedom to run your schedule the way you would like. If you want to work in the mornings go for it. Work better at night? Do it. Switch around sometimes. See what happens. Rearrange your schedule and do something entirely different. Do what you need to do for yourself.

Even starting out you have the choice. When you first start marketing you are very busy, but you still have that choice. Feel like you need a break go for it!

But just remember that you earn by how much you work. You won’t make as much working a half an hour each day compared to working 2 hours or 6 hours. Working from home takes a lot of self discipline and organization.

I’m not saying that you need to work tirelessly for hours on end. On the contrary, it’s not unusual to work part time at first. Say 3 or 4 hours a day.

My point is this: We have the freedom to do things the way we want. We can run our own schedules and decide when we work and when we play. It’s easy to sway one way or the other though. Find a balance. Remember to use your freedom and don’t forget that you have it.

Find yourself working too much? Set aside some time for you to do something else. Not getting enough done? Maybe you should take a piece of that play time and use it for work.

Find a balance and your productivity will be much more efficient.

Have a great weekend
~Chris

So this post is a day late and well, probably a dollar short, but here it is. I’ve had a very busy last couple weeks. That was actually the inspiration for this post. You see, I could talk to you all day long about why I haven’t been able to get as much work done lately. I could tell you that I’ve been very tired, or that the family has been very distracting (I love them, honest!), or I could tell you about how we have been car hunting.

I could tell you all kinds of reasons why my performance has been slacking. But these are just excuses. It doesn’t matter why. I still fell behind and trying to come with reasons to justify that doesn’t make it any better. So I’ve decided to turn around and face it head on. What are the facts? I know I’ve fallen behind and I know there was something I could have done about it too.

So shall I keep coming up with reasons as to why it happened? No. It’s time to move on and get back in the groove more or less. I think everyone gets bogged down with everything once in awhile. It’s human nature and the busy nature of today’s society. And it’s not like those are all excuses that I made up. They are all true.

But instead of concentrating on why I fell behind, it’s time to light a fire under my ass and get back to work. And if I have anything to do with it, even more so then before. I got into marketing and freelancing for a reason (a few actually) and I’m not going to give up on it. EVER!

Marketing, running a business, isn’t always easy. There is a lot to learn. Both for the business and for yourself. No matter how hard it gets, there are ways to make things easier. And no matter how many mistakes you make, learn from them and move on. Don’t get bogged down by these points in your career and life. If you want an outcome bad enough, then just go for it. And never, ever give up.

~Chris

In today’s economy, a lot of people are struggling. That’s all I hear anymore is about how the working class barely makes enough to get by. It’s a constant struggle. And it’s true.

But everyone has a choice if they choose to use it. We don’t have to struggle all the time and live paycheck to paycheck. There are boundless opportunities for those who want to take it. We, as entrepreneurs, have an advantage over most people. We are willing to take the risk and take control of our lives.

I just found it a bit depressing, to hear from other people that work the typical 9–5 jobs. Sometimes I wonder why they don’t do something about it. But then everyone is not the same. A lot of people don’t realize the potential they have. Some do, but don’t want to take the risk. Others just don’t want to bother with it for some reason or another.

As marketers and leaders we have the potential to have an effect on the world. All you have to do is grab it and make things work for yourself. Find what works for you and create your own life. Your own lifestyle. We can’t be held down by limitations if we don’t want to be.

There will always be struggles and hard times for everyone. But we really have the means to shape our own future. Everyone does if they are willing to do it. Some people don’t want to, and that doesn’t make then any less of a person. For those of us that do want to make a difference in our lives ‚and potentially others lives, the opportunity has always been there. Take hold of your future, work hard, never give up, and make something great happen!

Dream big and live life to it’s fullest!

~Chris

I hope everyone has had a productive week, and enjoy your weekend.