Click here or on image to watch video. For PDF click here.

Congratulations on earning your degree. But the truth is that the degree alone isn’t going to be enough to assure your success in the real world.

In the real world employers don’t care much about your degree, your happiness, your income or really much of anything that has to do with you. They care about what you can do for them. And from this point on, that’s how you have to think. Businesses exist to be profitable. It is your job to help make them profitable. If you know how to do that, how to be worth more than you cost, then you have value in the workplace. If you don’t know how to be worth more than you cost, then employers will pass you over and find someone else.

Look at what it really takes to be successful in the real world.

You have to take RESPONSIBILITY. Your life, your results, your success, happiness, health and prosperity are up to you. When it turns out well, you get the credit and when it doesn’t work out the way you wanted it to, you get the blame. It isn’t up to anyone else to make sure you are successful, it’s always up to you, so be responsible.

RESPECT OTHERS. Respect your employer enough to be on time and give them your personal best every day because that is what they are paying for. Respect your boss, even when you think he is an idiot because he is still your boss and deserves your respect. Respect your coworkers so they will respect you and your customers because they pay you.

CLEAR PRIORITIES. Your time, your energy and your money will always go to what is important to you. If looking cute is important to you then you will spend all of your money at the mall. If being financially secure is important to you then you will make sure that you save, invest and live on less than you earn.

It’s about WORK AND EXCELLENCE. Regardless of what others may tell you, it’s not about your passion — as I know people who are passionately incompetent. It’s not loving what you do or being happy every day. You aren’t paid to be happy on the job, you are paid to do your job. Success always comes down to hard work and excellence. And it takes both. Hard work alone won’t cut it. I know people who work really hard yet aren’t any good at what they do so it doesn’t matter. And I know people who are excellent at what they do but they don’t work hard enough at it to make any difference.

So work hard and be excellent at what you do. And remember, if any one can do it then anyone can do it.

===

Larry Winget

The New York Times/Wall Street Journal best selling author and internationally known speaker. Larry is considered a self-help/business/financial guru to hundreds of thousands of people!

A Year of Success

People aren’t as successful as they want to be, rich as they could be or happy as they think they should be. That’s the truth. That’s why Larry Winget teamed up with 3 of the world’s leading success experts to create this new program, A Year Of Success.

People get hooked into systems that are too complicated, don’t work, over-promise and under-deliver and that flat out cost too much darn money. That’s why he is so proud of A Year Of Success. If you aren’t a part of this yet, you should be. If I wasn’t in it, I would not be recommendng it to you. And that is the truth.

The response to this program has already been terrific. People are loving the mix of success experts and the value and very reasonable investment.

PLEASE – just do this: go to A Year of Success.

Watch Larry talk about the program – it will only take a minute. If you are intrigued, then look through the rest of the site, watch some of the other videos and make your decision. At $2.82 per week, you won’t be taken advantage of financially. But you will get 52 video lessons along with an action plan for each one that will allow you create a better year this year than you had last year. Along the way, you will get 4 bonuses that I know you will really enjoy. No upsells, no tricks; just simple, actionable ideas that you can implement to make a real difference in your life.

Amazon Associates Central has finally made it a bit easier for the layman to create links and I am quite glad to see it.

Here is how to create links in just a few easy steps.

1. Login to your Amazon Associates Central account.
2. Type the product, book title or author that you are searching for in the search box.

Choose your product and then click on the orange “Get Link” button. When the HTML code appears click on the “Shorten URL with amzn.to hyperlink.

That will give you a tiny hyperlink that you can use on your website, in mailings, on FB, Twitter, etc.

To block and reduce spam on your self-hosted WordPress blog, I use and recommend Akismet.

Akismet comes pre-installed on new WordPress installations so all you need to do is activate the plugin.  Do this by navigating to WP Dashboard > Plugins. You will find Akismet Plugin in Installed Plugins. Click the “Activate” button.

Now you will see a yellow highlighted message at the top of your WP dashboard asking you to enter your Akismet API key.

Go to Akismet and register for your key.

The default setting will look like they want you to pay $36 for the key. Grab the slide and shift it left until it registers $0 and then proceed with your registration. Be sure to use an email address that you have access to as they will email the key to you.

Return to your WP dashboard, click on the “Enter yoru Akismet API key” highlighted message and copy and paste your emailed key there. Click the update options button and your key will be verified. If the key is valid you will see this screenshot:

Recently companies like Google, Twitter and the New York Times found themselves being exploited by hackers as part of a massive attack on consumers. The Better Business Bureau is offering advice on how to protect computers and personal information from scareware which can appear on even the most trusted websites.

Scareware Popup

There are steps you can take to protect your personal information and your computer.  By staying wary and never letting your guard down, you can avoid a lot of heartache and angst.

Protect your computer.  Install updates to your operating system and purchase antivirus software from a name you recognize and trust and be sure to keep that software up to date.  Some of the leading anti-virus software providers are Norton (Symantec), McAfee, and AVG.

Make sure that all security patches and updates are installed for your web browser and programs such as Adobe Flash Player.

Take immediate action if you believe that you are the victim of a scareware attack.  If you receive a scareware popup window (see images below), force the window to close through your task manager. To do this on a PC, hold down the ctrl, alt and delete keys simultaneously, open your task manager, find the browser in the list of running programs and click “end task.” Once you have closed the window, run your anti-virus scan to make sure that nothing awful happened.

Stay alert and err on the side of caution when you are unsure of anything.

The WishList team is doing just that for all their WishList Member customers.

Anyone who buys WishList Member before Dec. 31st, 2011 will get a whole bunch of extra gifts (valued at $400+) at no extra charge.

This gift package includes:

1) 1000+ Custom Drawn Icons
2) Custom Membership Site Graphics
3) Our Top 3 Kick-Butt Plugins
4) 3-Module Membership Site Basics Course

It’s an awesome package and people are loving it. And who doesn’t love getting what we call in the Deep South, “lagniappe”. (A lagniappe is a small gift given to a customer by a merchant at the time of a purchase (such as a 13th doughnut when buying a dozen). This is some serious lagniappe!

…BUT…

This gift package is only available for those who purchase BEFORE December 31st, 2011 @ 11pm PST.
I run multiple membership sites for my clients and for myself and ALL of them are build using Wishlist Member.

We wish you a safe, happy, healthy and PROSPEROUS New Year!

Your Partner In Success,

Denise Griffitts

Affiliate Program: This is a system that is built to track sales by third parties. The third party’s incentive to sell is defined by the affiliate program owner and is usually a percentage of the sale or a pre-determined one time payout. A high quality affiliate program will include a control panel to view traffic and sales, obtain sales materials for the product or service that you (the affiliate) is marketing, and the ability to keep in touch with the affiliate with news and updates.

Affiliate: An affiliate (you) is simply a person who signs up to sell another merchants product or service. The affiliate (you) is paid a commission for each sale they create for the merchant.

For example, one of the greatest affiliate marketers I know is Rosalind Gardner, author of the Super Affiliate Handbook. This book is one of the very first books that I purchased online as a download and is an important part of my entrepreneurial library. I also recommend and promote it as an affiliate, which is exactly what I am doing now as an illustration. I know Rosalind. I have followed her career and business advice for many years. I have interviewed her several times on my Internet radio show, Your Partner In Success Radio. So am I confident that I am promoting one heck of a product? Yes. In fact, let’s make that a “Hell Yes!” I greatly admire Rosalind’s work and am hoping that if you are interested at all in affiliate marketing that you will purchase and study her book and follow her on her blog. She is in my opinion, quite simply the best person to learn affiliate marketing from. If nothing else, connect with her on her blog and on Facebook!

Some of my favorite affiliate programs:

• ClickBank
• Commission Junction (CJ.com)
• Shareasale

What you need to know:

When I mention a product or service in my blogs, I give you my word that I am using it myself and think enough of it to endorse it. I NEVER promote a product or service that I am not fully familiar with and that I don’t use for myself in my own life or business. More often than not the link is my affiliate link, and if you click through using my link and purchase something, I will get paid. Not all links are affiliate links however, as I am always willing to share great advice, tips, products or services from people who do not have affiliate programs set up.

If you are simply posting a lot of text in your blogs but are not concerned with adding images let’s try this quick exercise. Are you one of the increasingly rare people who still cling to the good old fashioned telephone book? If so, grab a copy of the White Pages off your shelf  and flip open to any page and then answer these questions:

• Where does your eye go first?
• Are you pulled into the content?
• Do you want to read more, or are you tempted to simply slam the book shut and stick it back on the bookshelf?

When visitors come to your website, you have a choice. You can make it inviting and pleasant, or you can make it just about as appealing as the innards of the phone book. The only difference? Images. Color. Action.

Images – photos, illustrations, or other graphics — are often the first thing visitors look at. If the image is compelling, visitors stay to check out the text. If the image is poor quality or unappealing – or non-existent! – visitors leave. It’s really that simple.

Here are some compelling reasons to incorporate images into your blog:

1. They break up text. Facing a page of black-and-white text is daunting. Images can give the eye a place to rest, breaking up the flow of an otherwise monotonous page.
2. They lead into the text. Since people look at them first, the images provide a starting point for the rest of the blog post. Good images are like flashing arrows that say, “START HERE.”
3. They introduce the topic. Picking an appropriate, related image gives the reader an idea of what to expect from the post. For instance, a photo of a street sign that says “Bumpy Road Ahead” lets the reader know that the post is about challenges or change.
4. They support the post content. A diagram, graphic, or other image can further illustrate the post’s content. A flow chart of a sales funnel, for instance, gives you another way to explain the concepts you’re presenting.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. If that’s true, you can’t afford NOT to use images in your blog posts. They may be the most powerful tool you have.

So the choice is clear. You can either make your blog posts interesting and vibrant with the use of images and video, or you can make them about as bland and boring as watching somebody point at a flow chart.

By the way, one of my favorite places to find great graphics is Presenter Media.  A one year subscription is $59.95 and you have access to royalty-free clipart, presentation animations and PowerPoint templates and animations. There are no additional fees, charges or royalties to pay to download and use their images in your projects.

You are not alone!

It seems Facebook makes changes every single week. And, lately, the massive changes to Business Pages created a TON of confusion.

Thing is, Facebook is the #1 online social network on the planet with a whopping 600+ Million active users. To really get ahead in today’s economy, you absolutely have to learn how to master marketing on Facebook? or you?ll be missing out on so much business.

Guess what? Help is at hand!

I have exciting news to share with you:

World-renowned Facebook marketing specialist, Mari Smith, is leading a totally free webinar TODAY, February 22nd. She’ll walk you through all the recent changes on Facebook and how to best take advantage of these features.

Be sure to put the date and time on your calendar right now:

Today!!!  TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22ND, 2011
10:00am PST / 1:00pm EST / 6:00pm GMT

Then go save your seat right away: Click here.

Along with demystifying all the recent upgrades, Mari will also share her proven 7-Step Formula for generating measurable results on Facebook. In this packed session, you’ll walk away with:

• A clear understanding of Facebook’s changes and how to take full advantage of the best features. (Hint: it doesn’t have to be time-consuming!)
• A content, engagement and conversion plan that yields profits. (Hint: you’ll find out the #1 reason businesses fail on Facebook!)
• A handy guide for best practices, unspoken protocol and general etiquette on Facebook. (Hint: everything you do and don’t do speaks volumes about who you are and how you conduct your business.)

If you’re not able to participate live today, Mari will be recording the full presentation and will send you the link for the replay in a variety of formats: Video + Audio (MP3 download) + Transcript (PDF download). And if you register, you?ll also receive handouts too!

Register right away here: Click here.

PLUS, stay tuned for special prizes during the webinar too! It’s going to be a packed house – be sure to register right now even if you can’t make the live session, because I want to be sure you receive the replay materials.

P.S. Mari is one of the most dynamic and entertaining presenters out there. She has a fun Scottish-Canadian accent and is a delight to listen to. Not only that, her extensive knowledge of Facebook – specifically for small business marketing – is incomporable. You won’t want to miss this dynamic webinar: Click here now!

2011–Your Best Year Yet

I am a true believer. Each Christmas I notice everything printed with Believe or I Believe. Cards, calendars, ornaments, pillows – you’ve probably seen as much as I have or more. Well, I do believe. I believe in positive energy. I believe in persistence and mental toughness. I believe in myself and in others. I believe in YOU.

Each January brings the opportunity for a fresh start. We’ve passed through the gate of the New Year and have the chance to make 2011 YOUR BEST YEAR YET. Grab hold of this chance and run with it. So what if the first day of the year has passed. It’s never too late to start getting better. Whether you’re looking for dramatic change in your life or the chance to get 1% better each day, now is the time to be renewed in the spirit of new beginnings.

Keep reading for my personal list of actions and reminders that pack a potent punch and are sure to make a positive difference for you. Read each one. Implement a few or many. Find your favorites and go deep to discover the secret buried within. Then get ready for your best year yet!

83 Ways to Make 2011 Your Best Year Yet

1. Be the most positive person you know.
2. Get 1% better everyday.
3. Define your “game-changing” move in 2011.  Then get it done!
4. Take more risks.
5. Do something that scares you everyday.
6. Be a team builder, regardless of your title at work.
7. Remember that business is about relationships and connections.
8. People need motivation, accountability, and know how. Deliver it.
9. Write your eulogy and then live your life backwards.
10. Know your Big 5: the 5 most important things that need to happen by the end of the year to make 2011 feel like it truly has been the best year of your life.
11. Read your Big 5 every morning.
12. Post affirmations on your bathroom mirror.
13. Don’t focus on making money – focus on creating value.
14. Lead by executing and getting results. No excuses.
15. Strive to be ‘World Class’ in all you do.
16. Read The 4 Agreements by Dom Miguel Ruiz.
17. Train like a pro athlete – exercise more.
18. Eat higher quality foods.
19. Get a massage once a week.
20. Attend a destination spa vacation each year.
21. Have at least one other “dream” vacation each year.
22. Remember – no one has ever regretted a great workout.
23. Be obsessed with learning.
24. Join a Mastermind Group. It will accelerate your results, improve your mindset, and provide you with fertile soil in which to grow.
25. Be impeccable with your words – don’t complain, gossip, or be negative.
26. Be careful with whom you surround yourself. Just as much as the right people can pull you up, the wrong crowd can bring you down.
27. Plan as if you will live forever but live as if you’ll die tomorrow.
28. Say please, thank you, and I love you more.
29. Give someone a massage.
30. Write love letters like you used to.
31. Call someone you always wanted to talk to but never thought you could.
32. Call an old coach or teacher and thank them for positively impacting your life.
33. If you want to resolve a conflict, use the phone instead of email.
34. Write a hand-written note to a client or customer.
35. When you travel, send letters to your kids on hotel stationary.
36. If you want more, GIVE more.
37. Do or do not – there is no try.
38. The way you do one thing is the way you do everything.
39. Journal. What are you thankful for? What are your intentions for the day? Who is in need of prayer today?
40. Where were you outstanding today?
41. Clarity precedes genius. Find clarity in writing and solitude.
42. Track your success.
43. Slow down in order to speed up.
44. Be willing to fail. It’s the price of greatness.
45. Spend at least 10 minutes every morning in quiet time, prayer time, or meditation time.
46. Listen to inspirational music. Create your favorite play list for chilling out as well as working out.
47. Listen to books on tape and podcasts.
48. Read The IMPACT! Body Plan.
49. Read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey.
50. Read The Leader Who Had No Title, The Greatness Guide, and The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma.
51. Watch a Rocky “marathon” with your kids on a rainy day.
52. Do what you do best and hire the rest.
53. Sometimes good is good enough.  Don’t let “perfectionism” rob you of getting things done.
54. “Color code your life,” says my mentor, Wayne Cotton.  Green machine, blue sky, red tape, and mellow yellow. Visit http://www.nobrowndays.com/ for more information.
55. Complete a 90-Day Wonder. What have I accomplished in the last 90 days? What are my current challenges? What will I accomplish in the next 90 days?
56. Remember the 10,000-hour Rule. It often takes about 10,000 hours or 10 years to be recognized as an expert.
57. Success takes time. Be patient, but continually invest in yourself.
58. Work on your business, not in your business.
59. Your big ideas typically come when you are sitting on a beach or skiing in the mountains.
60. Hire only “A” players to build a winning business.
61. Replace the bottom 10% of your players each year.
62. Everyone in an organization should be considered a “leader.”
63. Always believe in your dreams, even when they seem impossible or others doubt you.
64. Focus, focus, focus!
65. Water people everyday – lift people up instead of tearing people down.
66. One quick “No” is better than 10 “maybes” or “I don’t knows.”
67. Win the day!
68. Remember what Walt Disney said, “Everything speaks!”
69. Be more spontaneous.
70. Block out the noise and focus on the signal.
71. Develop a hobby.
72. The bigger the dream, the more important the team.
73. Run your own race – be authentic and original.
74. Speak more. Write more. Read more.
75. Turn OFF your TV!
76. Eliminate excuses.
77. Organize your time more effectively.
78. “Eat that Frog,” says Brian Tracy.  Do the things that you don’t like to do or want to do but have to do early in your day.
79. Get your mind right!
80. Do more of what you love to do.
81. Action is like gas in the car. Without it, you will not go.
82. Be humble…be hungry.
83. Create IMPACT everyday. Live by the mantra, “… And then some.”

Implement any single item on this list and you will create change. Combine a few to really rock your world and the world of those around you. Explore, experiment and find your favorites. But remember, there’s more to it than implementing a list of action items. YOUR BEST YEAR YET will require something deep within YOU.

You’ve heard me talk about the power of  “theme-ing” a year. In the days and weeks ahead, spend some time alone with your thoughts to find the theme that’s right for you – the single most meaningful, overarching and powerful pledge you can make to define who you will be and what you will do in 2011. Find it and treat it like an oath. It will deliver.

For weeks now, I’ve been doing this kind of thinking. I searched for and found my theme for 2011. Ironically, when I looked deep enough within and examined my soul, I found it there. 2011 is my year of “S.O.U.L.” I am making a very public pledge to nurture and go deep with my Spiritual development and inner life, to seek Outrageous fun and adventure, to create Unbelievable value and innovation in my work, and to step up and Lead in all areas of my life.

It’s January 11th my friend. We’re through the gate and ready to run. Lace up your shoes and let’s go. After all, 2011 is going to be YOUR BEST YEAR YET!

Peace and love,
Todd

About the author

Todd Durkin, MA, CSCS, is an internationally recognized performance coach, personal trainer and massage therapist who motivates, educates and inspires people worldwide.  He is the owner of Fitness Quest 10 in San Diego, CA, where his wonderful team of 35 focuses on personal training, massage therapy, Pilates, yoga, sports performance training and nutrition to help transform the bodies, minds and spirits of a broad clientele.  Todd trains dozens of NFL and MLB athletes, including 2010 Super Bowl XLIV Champion and MVP Drew Brees.  He is the head of the Under Armour Performance Training Council and is a featured presenter on the Perform Better educational circuit.  He is a two-time Trainer of the Year (IDEA & ACE).  Additionally, Todd provides motivational talks and programs to companies and conferences worldwide.  

Men’s Health recently named his gym, Fitness Quest 10, one of the Top 10 Gyms in the US.  Todd has appeared on 60 Minutes, ESPN, NFL Network and has been featured in Sports Illustrated, USA Today, Business Week, Prevention, ESPN the Magazine, Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Men’s Journal, Stack Magazine, Self, Shape, Fitness, the NY Times and Washington Post.  Todd has authored 35 DVDs on strength and conditioning, functional fitness, massage/bodywork and business/personal growth.

His new Todd Durkin Mastermind Institute for personal trainers and fitness professionals starts January 15th, 2011.  You can get all the information at www.ToddDurkin.com.  His new book, The IMPACT! Body Plan debuted in September 2010 and is a 10 Week program designed to create world-class fitness and life performance.  You can sign up for Todd’s FREE award-winning Ezine newsletter, the TD TIMES, at www.FitnessQuest10.com or www.ToddDurkin.com.

Todd Durkin, MA, CSCS, Owner, Fitness Quest 10
Head, Under Armour Performance Training Council
Author, The IMPACT! Body Plan

With the Webform Widget for WordPress, you can easily drag and drop web forms that you have created in your AWeber account into your WordPress blog, without having to log into your AWeber account or copy and paste anything. All you need is an AWeber account and a completed web form.

Step By Step Instructions

Step 1: You can find the AWeber WordPress Web Form Widget on WordPress.org. You can use WordPress to install the widget for you, but if you’re manually installing it, make sure you upload it to “/wp-content/plugins/”. Once installed, activate it on your Plugins page by clicking the Activate link.

Step 2: To connect the widget to your AWeber account, first click AWeber Web Form under the Settings tab on the left of your WordPress control panel.

On this page, click the link next to “Step 1″.

Step 3: You will be taken to a page asking you to authorize the connection between your AWeber account and the widget. Enter your login name and password here and hit the “Allow” button.

You’ll be taken to a page with an authorization code (it will be a long string of characters) – simply highlight it and copy it to your clipboard.

Step 4: Back in your WordPress control panel, just paste the authorization code into the space provided and click the “Make Connection” button.

Step 5: Once you’ve installed this widget and connected it to your AWeber account, head over to the Widgets page under Appearance on the left side of your WordPress dashboard.

Simply drag the widget (it will show up under Available Widgets as “AWeber Web Form”) into the widget area in which you’d like your form to appear.

Sep 6: Once the widget is in place, you can choose which form you would like to appear. Expand the AWeber Web Form widget’s options by clicking the arrow to its right, then use the drop down menus to choose the list you want to work with:

And the web form you’d like to place on your blog:

Then hit ”save” to save your changes, and your form will be installed on your blog.