Your weekend guide to interesting days - March 31, 2018

This week

Sunday - Neighbor Day, Tolkien Reading Day, Waffle Day and Pecan Day

Monday - Falafel Appreciation Day, Make Up Your Own Holiday Day, Nougat Day, Spinach Day and Purple Day

Tuesday - World Theater Day, Quirky Country Music Song Titles Day, Spanish Paella Day and International Whisk(e)y Day

Wednesday - Weed Appreciation Day, Black Forest Cake Day, Something On A Stick Day and Manatee Appreciation Day

Thursday - Smoke and Mirrors Day, Niagara Falls Runs Dry Day and Lemon Chiffon Cake Day

Yesterday - World TB-303 Appreciation Day, Take A Walk In The Park Day, Pencil Day and Doctors’ Day

Today - Bunsen Burner Day, Crayola Crayon Day, Eiffel Tower Day and World Backup Day

Next week

April - Garden Month, Decorating Month, Couple Appreciation Month, Jazz Appreciation Month, Straw Hat Month and Poetry Month

Tomorrow - Reading Is Funny Day, One Cent Day, Atheist Day, Fun Day, Sourdough Bread Day, and of course, April Fools' Day

Monday - Children’s Book Day, Peanut Butter and Jelly Day, Love Your Produce Manager Day, World Autism Day and Ferret Day

Tuesday - Tweed Day, Fish Fingers and Custard Day, World Party Day, Find A Rainbow Day and Chocolate Mousse Day

Wednesday - Vitamin C Day, World Rat Day, Carrot Day, Cordon Bleu Day, D.A.R.E. Day, Walk Around Things Day and Day Of Hope

Thursday - Deep Dish Pizza Day, Caramel Day, Star Trek First Contact Day, Go For Broke Day, Hospital Admitting Clerks Day, Read A Road Map Day and Tell A Lie Day

Friday - Tartan Day, Army Day, Caramel Popcorn Day, Plan Your Epitaph Day, New Beer’s Eve and Walk to Work Day

Saturday - No Housework Day, Pillow Fight Day, Beaver Day, Tangible Karma Day, Beer Day, World Health Day and Diy Day

Next month

April 25 - Golf Day, DNA Day, Hug A Plumber Day, Administrative Professionals Day, Malaria Day, International Guide Dogs Day and World Stationery Day

April 26 - Hug an Australian Day, Alien Day, Pretzel Day, Poem in Your Pocket Day, Help A Horse Day, Richter Scale Day, Thank you Thursday and Get Organized Day

April 27 - Marine Mammal Rescue Day, Morse Code Day, Hairball Awareness Day, Day Of Silence, Prime Rib Day, Tell a Story Day and World Tapir Day

April 28 - Workers’ Memorial Day, Sense Of Smell Day, Save The Frogs Day, Go Birding Day, World Veterinary Day, International Marconi Day, Blueberry Pie Day, Cubicle Day, Biological Clock Day and Shrimp Scampi Day

April 29 - World Wish Day, Zipper Day, International Dance Day and Pinhole Photography Day

April 30 - Honesty Day, Independent Bookstore Day, International Jazz Day and Oatmeal Cookie Day

April 31 - Nothing interesting today

The week in review - March 30, 2018

Monday - "Personal brand - what it is and why you should have one" I think the title pretty much says it all. "The question is no longer IF you have a personal brand, but if you choose to guide and cultivate the brand or to let it be defined on your behalf."

Tuesday - "Price vs value" Is there even a difference? "So, figure out who your ideal customer is and emphasize those attributes that are most important to them and throw in something else of value to increase the perceived value of your product or service."

Wednesday - "How to Fall Asleep in 2 Minutes or Less" I think this is something we can all use! "To accomplish the first goal, Winter taught the men how to physically relax. To accomplish the second, he taught them how to mentally relax. In fact, he essentially defined sleep as the state of being both physically and mentally relaxed."

Thursday - "The Revenge of Analog #TBT" Isn't digital always better? "Why is it that when everything is being digitized and we can carry thousands of pictures on our phones, as well as complete music libraries and even libraries of books with us at all times that vinyl records and paper books are making a comeback?"

Interesting days

Today - World TB-303 Appreciation Day, Take A Walk In The Park Day, Pencil Day and Doctors’ Day

Tomorrow - Bunsen Burner Day, Crayola Crayon Day, Eiffel Tower Day and World Backup Day

Next Friday - Tartan Day, Army Day, Caramel Popcorn Day, Plan Your Epitaph Day, New Beer’s Eve and Walk to Work Day

April 30 - Honesty Day, Independent Bookstore Day, International Jazz Day and Oatmeal Cookie Day

The Revenge of Analog #TBT

What were you doing this time last year? Hopefully reading this blog post:

This post is from a podcast at "The Art of Manliness".

Here is some info on the podcast:

My guest tracks that rebellion in his book, The Revenge of Analog. Today on the show, David Sax and I talk about why we’re seeing a return to analog products like vinyl records, hardcopy books, and pen and paper — and it’s not because of nostalgia. David goes into detail about the sudden revival of vinyl and turntables and why it’s more than just some hipster fad, why hardcopy book sales are going up while ebook sales are declining, and why writing with pen and paper unleashes creativity compared to typing or writing on a screen. He then gets into how the internet is counterintuitively driving this upsurge of interest in tangible products and the benefits we get psychologically, culturally, and economically by living in an analog world.

Why is it that when everything is being digitized and we can carry thousands of pictures on our phones, as well as complete music libraries and even libraries of books with us at all times that vinyl records and paper books are making a comeback?

Some of the reasons are that humans are tactile creatures...we like touching stuff. And we like displaying our stuff. It's much more impressive to point to our vinyl collection or our shelves of books than it is to say "I have 5,000 songs on my iPad". And having books or records on display makes it easier for a guest to start a conversation about a book or record that catches their eye. Or even with a stranger at the airport or train station who has a book sitting next to them. It's not quite the same if you stare at someone's screen on their phone or tablet and tell them "I really like that book, too"!

And it's easier to loan out or giveaway stuff when you can just pick it up and hand it to someone!

Show Highlights

• When it was that David noticed “real” stuff was making a comeback
• Why “the old thing is rendered obsolete by the new thing” isn’t quite accurate
• What is it that’s fueling the “revenge of the analog”?
• How people are “maturing” with their technology use and finding ways to balance their tech use with tangible items
• The irony of the internet helping drive the revenge of the analog
• The vinyl comeback and its example of the larger analog phenomenon
• Why people enjoy tangible things in spite of its seeming inconvenience
• The emotional connection people have to objects you can heft in your hands
• How tangible items make socializing easier and more pleasant
• Why paper books didn’t die, in spite of that prediction many years ago
• The surprising percentage of books sold that are ebooks
• Why humans like sensory feedback
• Brett’s tin foil hat reason for enjoying tangible goods
• Are we really moving beyond an “ownership” society?
• Why folks are still drawn to pen and paper
• The value of writing (and drawing!) things down
• How architecture has suffered in the digital age
• The importance of embracing imperfection
• Why men enjoy “stuff” and collecting things

This is also why paper greeting cards are so much better than e-cards. People will rarely print out an e-card and hang it on their refrigerator or put it on their mantle or desk. A real greeting card is something that can be touched, displayed and shared easily...there is no cumbersome phone or tablet to get in the way.

And if you haven't downloaded the SendOutCards app, go ahead and do so. It's free and if you're not already a SendOutCards customer or distributor the first card that you send is on me!

Interesting days

Today - Lemon Chiffon Cake Day, Niagara Falls Runs Dry Day and Smoke and Mirrors Day

Tomorrow - World TB-303 Appreciation Day, Take A Walk In The Park Day, Pencil Day and Doctors’ Day

Next Thursday - Deep Dish Pizza Day, Caramel Day, Star Trek First Contact Day, Go For Broke Day, Hospital Admitting Clerks Day, Read A Road Map Day and Tell A Lie Day

April 29 - World Wish Day, Zipper Day, International Dance Day and Pinhole Photography Day

How to Fall Asleep in 2 Minutes or Less

That sounded like an interesting article on The Art of Manliness!

It's based on some training done with WWII fighter pilots:

A couple years into WWII, the U.S. military realized it had a problem on its hands. Due to the enormous pressures of aerial combat, many of its pilots were accumulating levels of stress so debilitating that they were cracking under it. The tension caused them to lock up in flight and make fatal mistakes — accidentally shooting down friendly planes, or becoming an avoidable casualty themselves.

In an effort to stem the loss of pilots and planes, the military brought in Naval Ensign Bud Winter to research, develop, and test a scientific method for teaching relaxation. Before the war, Winter had been a successful college football and track coach, who had also worked with a professor of psychology on techniques to help athletes relax and perform better under the stress of competition. Stationed at the Del Monte Naval Pre-Flight School in California, his mission now was to coordinate with other coaches and professors to create a course that would similarly instruct cadets on how to stay calm and loose under the pressures of combat.

There were two goals for the program...to teach the Naval aviators how to relax and how to fall asleep at the drop of a hat.

To accomplish the first goal, Winter taught the men how to physically relax. To accomplish the second, he taught them how to mentally relax. In fact, he essentially defined sleep as the state of being both physically and mentally relaxed.

To fall asleep at the drop of a hat, first you work on the former, and then the latter.

The article then goes on to tell how to accomplish both.

Keep in mind that being able to relax physically and mentally, and thus being able to fall asleep at the drop of a hat, is a skill, and like all skills, you shouldn’t expect to get the hang of it and have it work the first few times you try. You have to practice over and over again, until you get better and better at loosening up and calming down. That doesn’t mean you should work hard at trying to relax; that will just backfire and create tension. But you do have to practice this routine consistently.

This skill can come in handy when you need to take a nap-a-latte. I'll let Dr. Michael Breus explain this to you:

Interesting days

Today - Weed Appreciation Day, Black Forest Cake Day, Something On A Stick Day and Manatee Appreciation Day

Tomorrow - Smoke and Mirrors Day, Niagara Falls Runs Dry Day and Lemon Chiffon Cake Day

Next Wednesday - Vitamin C Day, World Rat Day, Carrot Day, Cordon Bleu Day, D.A.R.E. Day, Walk Around Things Day and Day Of Hope

April 28 - Workers’ Memorial Day, Sense Of Smell Day, Save The Frogs Day, Go Birding Day, World Veterinary Day, International Marconi Day, Blueberry Pie Day, Cubicle Day, Biological Clock Day and Shrimp Scampi Day

Price vs value

Today's post is inspired by this quote from Warren Buffett:

So, what are some of the differences between price and value, and what do they mean?

Here's one equation relating price and value:


The key here is perceived benefits...that is what the customer thinks are the benefits.

There are two ways of increasing value...you can increase the perceived benefits or reduce the price. I think it's much better to increase the perceived benefits than to decrease the price. It's hard to win a price war!

Here's another equation on perceived value:

I haven't been able to find a whole lot more about this, but I can tell you basically what it means...the capital E looking thingy is the Greek letter sigma, which means to add and in this case for each attribute, i, it's adding the value of the individual attributes, b, times the importance of that attribute, a. But the importance depends on the customer...one attribute may be crucial to one customer's buying decision but may mean nothing to another; and then dividing that sum by the price.

But how can we use this to increase the perceived value of our product or service? By emphasizing the attribute or attributes that are most important to our ideal customers...this is where the importance of customer avatars comes in. If you sell widgets, and your widgets are exactly the same as everyone else's widgets, you can still come out ahead by emphasizing those important features and benefits. I talked about the difference between features and benefits here but both are attributes of the widget.

Let's look at some examples. If your ideal customer is a woman, you may emphasize its light weight or compact size. It's the same size and weight as your competitors' but you're emphasizing certain attributes of interest to your ideal customer. If your customer is a man, you might emphasize its ruggedness. If your ideal customer is concerned about ecology, you could point out that your widget uses recycled materials and if your ideal customer likes bright, bold colors you can emphasize the number of colors available. It's all the same widget, but you're emphasizing the important attributes...the "a" in the equation.

We can also increase the value by using add-ons...by including something else like free shipping or gift wrapping.

So, figure out who your ideal customer is and emphasize those attributes that are most important to them and throw in something else of value to increase the perceived value of your product or service.

We're doing that in SendOutCards now. About 80% of our cards are sent by businesses, so we're doing some re-branding and emphasizing the attributes that business owners find important. We're still happy to have individual users of the system, but we would emphasize different attributes to attract them.

The higher the perceived value by the customer, the more you can charge for your product or service. I'll leave you with one more quote:

Interesting days

Today - World Theater Day, Quirky Country Music Song Titles Day, Spanish Paella Day and International Whisk(e)y Day

Tomorrow - Weed Appreciation Day, Black Forest Cake Day, Something On A Stick Day and Manatee Appreciation Day

Next Tuesday - Tweed Day, Fish Fingers and Custard Day, World Party Day, Find A Rainbow Day and Chocolate Mousse Day

April 27 - Marine Mammal Rescue Day, Morse Code Day, Hairball Awareness Day, Day Of Silence, Prime Rib Day, Tell a Story Day and World Tapir Day

 

Personal brand - what it is and why you should have one

What is a personal brand? We're all familiar with product branding...just look at all of the TV commercials out there, especially things like cereal...who doesn't know Tony? Snap, Crackle or Pop? Toucan Sam? Or Sonny? But how does that relate to an individual?

According to Wikipedia:

Personal branding is the practice of people marketing themselves and their careers as brands. While previous self-help management techniques were about self-improvement, the personal-branding concept suggests instead that success comes from self-packaging. The term is thought to have been first used and discussed in a 1997 article by Tom Peters.

Personal branding is essentially the ongoing process of establishing a prescribed image or impression in the mind of others about an individual, group, or organization. Personal branding often involves the application of one's name to various products. For example, the celebrity real-estate mogul turned President of the United States, Donald Trump uses his last name extensively on his buildings and on the products he endorses (e.g. Trump Tower). Marketers McNally and Speak define the personal brand in this way: "Your brand is a perception or emotion, maintained by somebody other than you, that describes the total experience of having a relationship with you."

Whether or not we agree with his politics, we can all admit that Trump is really good about branding himself.

From an article in The Balance:

Personal branding used to include nothing more than a simple business card with your name on it, but with the development of social media and an increasingly individualized society, the brand you build around yourself is perhaps the single most important way to stand out in your spheres of influence. If you're beginning to think about your personal brand, here are some key things to remember.

Personal Branding is the means by which people remember you.

It's more than a trademark; it is how you present yourself online and offline to potential clients and customers. Your personal brand builds your business, but it still centers around you as an individual.

 Also from The Balance:

According to a Nielson Consumer Survey, only 33 percent of buyers trust messages from a brand, while 90 percent trust messages from an individual they know. That means that if you're a business owner, you have a much better chance of winning people's trust if you bond with them first as a human being and encourage your employees to do the same.

 A little further in the same article:

Also, remember that personal branding is not about selling. It's about making yourself available to others, both clients, and peers. Make sure you have active accounts on like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Keep a balance between business-related updates and personal updates, so that others will see you as being both professional and personable. No one needs to know what you ate for breakfast, but a picture of your cat posing next to a promotional poster will probably get some buzz.

According to the experts, including Mastering Relationship Marketing, 80 - 90% of your content should be personal, with no more than 20% being about your business on your personal page and reverse those percentages on your business page.

Here are 4 tips from another  article in The Balance:

1. What career or business attributes would you say people recognize you for?
2. What value would you say you provide?  
3. What makes you unique?
4. Who is your target?

And whether you know it or not, you've got a brand on social media. You may be known as a free thinker, a political commentator, a wine drinker, or a person who celebrates interesting days.

From Forbes:

The question is no longer IF you have a personal brand, but if you choose to guide and cultivate the brand or to let it be defined on your behalf. Here are seven ways to start building an awesome personal brand.

1. Start thinking of yourself as a brand
2. Audit your online presence
3. Secure a personal website
4. Find ways to produce value
5. Be purposeful in what you share
6. Associate with other strong brands
7. Reinvent

You may want to consult a professional to help you build your personal brand...I highly recommend my friend Kimmer Sue, Chief Visionary at Vision Graphix. She can help you create an amazing personal brand. Check out some examples of her work on Facebook!

Personal branding is also part of what we teach at the Business Acceleration Workshop, along with many other topics to help you build your business.

Interesting days

Today - Falafel Appreciation Day, Make Up Your Own Holiday Day, Nougat Day, Spinach Day and Purple Day

Tomorrow - World Theater Day, Quirky Country Music Song Titles Day, Spanish Paella Day and International Whisk(e)y Day

Next Monday - Children’s Book Day, Peanut Butter and Jelly Day, Love Your Produce Manager Day, World Autism Day and Ferret Day

April 26 - Hug an Australian Day, Alien Day, Pretzel Day, Poem in Your Pocket Day, Help A Horse Day, Richter Scale Day, Thank you Thursday and Get Organized Day

Your weekend guide to interesting days - March 24, 2018

This week

Sunday - Biodiesel Day, Awkward Moments Day, Forgive Mom & Dad Day and Companies That Care Day

Monday - Chocolate Caramel Day, Poultry Day, International Read To Me Day, Deskfast Day and Client’s Day

Tuesday - Snowman Burning Day, Kiss Your Fiance Day, Ravioli Day, World Storytelling Day, Proposal Day, Won’t You Be My Neighbor Day and International Day of Happiness

Wednesday - World Poetry Day, Common Courtesy Day, French Bread Day, Single Parent’s Day, Memory Day, World Down Syndrome Day, International Fragrance Day and International Day of Forests

Thursday - Goof Off Day, World Water Day and As Young As You Feel Day

Yesterday - Chip and Dip Day, Near Miss Day, Puppy Day and Melba Toast Day

Today - Earth Hour, Chocolate Covered Raisins Day, Tuberculosis Day and Flatmate’s Day

Next week

Tomorrow - Neighbor Day, Tolkien Reading Day, Waffle Day and Pecan Day

Monday - Falafel Appreciation Day, Make Up Your Own Holiday Day, Nougat Day, Spinach Day and Purple Day

Tuesday - World Theater Day, Quirky Country Music Song Titles Day, Spanish Paella Day and International Whisk(e)y Day

Wednesday - Weed Appreciation Day, Black Forest Cake Day, Something On A Stick Day and Manatee Appreciation Day

Thursday - Smoke and Mirrors Day, Niagara Falls Runs Dry Day and Lemon Chiffon Cake Day

Friday - World TB-303 Appreciation Day, Take A Walk In The Park Day, Pencil Day and Doctors’ Day

Saturday - Bunsen Burner Day, Crayola Crayon Day, Eiffel Tower Day and World Backup Day

Next month

April 18 - Amateur Radio Day, Pet Owners Independence Day, Banana Day, Columnists Day, Lineman Appreciation Day and World Heritage Day

April 19 - College Student Grief Awareness Day, High Five Day, Hanging Out Day, Bicycle Day, Garlic Day, Poetry And The Creative Mind Day and Rice Ball Day

April 20 - Chinese Language Day, Teach Your Children to Save Day and Volunteer Recognition Day

April 21 - Kindergarten Day,  International Astronomy Day, Record Store Day, Auctioneers Day, Bulldogs Are Beautiful Day, Tea Day, World Fish Migration Day, World Creativity and Innovation Day, American Red Cross Giving Day, Chocolate Covered Cashews Day and Husband Appreciation Day

April 22 -  Earth Day and Jelly Bean Day

April 23 - Talk Like Shakespeare Day, English Language Day, World Book Night, Lost Dog Awareness Day and German Beer Day

April 24 - Pig In A Blanket Day, Firefly Day and Go Diaper Free Week

The week in review - March 23, 2018

Monday - "Business Acceleration Workshops" Learn how to accelerate your business growth. "From 10:00 until 11:00 we'll be concentrating on helping business owners grow their businesses by sharing lessons from the Mastering Relationship Marketing course as well as the most recent video from Relationship Marketing Weekly."

Tuesday - "How to have effective 1 to 1 networking meetings" Also known as coffee meetings. "Hopefully, you've found this information helpful and if you have any 1 to 1 meeting tips that you'd like to share, we'd love to see them."

Wednesday - "How economically productive is your household?"  Huh? "The Economic Productivity Index (EPI) measures how well you're doing financially and is based on a formula in "Millionaire Women Next Door" by Thomas J. Stanley."

Thursday - "The 1% - If you can't beat 'em, join 'em #TBT" How much does it take to be in the top 1% income earners? "Instead of trying to fight the 1%, like they did with Occupy Wall Street, why don't we join them and maybe expand it to 2%...or maybe 5 or 10%...or maybe even more. It's really not all that difficult to break into the top 1% as you'll see a little bit later."

Interesting days

Today - Chip and Dip Day, Near Miss Day, Puppy Day and Melba Toast Day

Tomorrow -  Earth Hour, Chocolate Covered Raisins Day, Tuberculosis Day and Flatmate’s Day

Next Friday - World TB-303 Appreciation Day, Take A Walk In The Park Day, Pencil Day and Doctors’ Day

April 23 - Talk Like Shakespeare Day, English Language Day, World Book Night, Lost Dog Awareness Day and German Beer Day

The 1% - If you can't beat 'em, join 'em #TBT

This post is from 2 years ago:

Instead of trying to fight the 1%, like they did with Occupy Wall Street, why don't we join them and maybe expand it to 2%...or maybe 5 or 10%...or maybe even more. It's really not all that difficult to break into the top 1% as you'll see a little bit later.

I came across this picture on Facebook yesterday and it helps to show why most people are stuck where they are.

As you can see, they use 5% vs 1% but the idea is the same. Most people are in the upper left quadrant - they work...they get paid, they don't work...they don't get paid. Your income is determined by how much your boss decides your time is worth. And it's the only quadrant where you pay taxes first and then spend what's left. The other 3 quadrants spend their money and are taxed on what's left.

The lower left quadrant is the self employed person. Again, your income is limited but this time it's limited by how much your customers want to pay you for your time and by how many hours you can work.

The two quadrants on the right introduce leverage. The upper right quadrant leverages time, that is other people's time, and the lower right leverages money...putting your money and maybe other people's money (OPM) to work for you.

Network marketing allows you to move into the upper right quadrant because as your team grows, your income grows since you make a percentage of the sales that your team makes.

J. Paul Getty didn't get to be the richest man of his time by working a massive number of hours a week, he did it by creating businesses that utilized the efforts of thousands of people working 40 hours a week.

How difficult is it to get into the top 1%?

Probably not as difficult as you might think. Here is a map that shows how much income you need to earn in each state to be in the top 1% for that state:

According to this article in the Huffington Post, the income needs range from $228,298 in Arkansas to $677,608 in Connecticut. And about $438,000 in California, where I live.

But what about the median income? How do these 3 states compare versus the median income for that state?

According to this table at The Kaiser Family Foundation:

Median Annual Household Income

View Table in New Window

Location	Median Annual Household Income
Arkansas	$44,922
California	$60,487
Connecticut	$70,161

So, in Arkansas the top 1% earns a little more than 5 times the median income. In California, that difference is about 7 1/4 times and in Connecticut it's about 9 2/3 times the median income.

Here's an interesting table that shows the median income by county. For an interactive version, go here.

Network marketing is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to move into the upper right quadrant. Many companies can get you started for less than $1,000 and a small monthly fee. SendOutCards, the company that I'm with, charges $445 to get started plus $39/month. To find out more, click here.

Interesting days

Today - World Water Day, As Young As You Feel Day and Goof Off Day

Tomorrow - Near Miss Day, Puppy Day, Melba Toast Day and Chip and Dip Day

Next Thursday - Smoke and Mirrors Day, Niagara Falls Runs Dry Day and Lemon Chiffon Cake Day

April 22 -  Earth Day and Jelly Bean Day Looks like a good day to go to the Jelly Belly factory




 

How economically productive is your household?

Huh?

The Economic Productivity Index (EPI) measures how well you're doing financially and is based on a formula in "Millionaire Women Next Door" by Thomas J. Stanley. It's equal to your household net worth divided by your household annual realized income, which is simply your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) found on your tax return. The EPI is just the inverse of your Return on Net Worth (RON) which I talked about here. The higher your EPI, the better; while a lower RON is better. (EPI = 1 / RON).

But how do you figure your net worth? The easy answer is that you subtract what you owe from what you own. Earlier today I found a list of assets...I think it was from the Census Bureau, but I can't find it again. But I remember that pensions weren't included, which was the basis of my net worth since I lost the house and cashed out the 401k during the divorce.

What you own...cash, cars, real estate, 401k, furniture, etc. What you owe...mortgage, credit card debt, etc.

To use the EPI to see where you stand you multiply the EPI by 10 and if it's equal to or higher than your age, you're in good shape. Where does the average American stand? According to the book, the average American has an EPI of 1.6, which would be really good for a 16 year old! EPI = $72,000 / $45,000 = 1.6.

How can you raise your EPI? By increasing your net worth and decreasing your taxable income. You can increase your net worth by spending less and saving/investing more. I use an app called Ibotta to help me save on things like groceries, Groupon and lots of others. If you use my link, we can be on the same team and we can earn extra team bonuses. I use two tools to help me save and invest...YNAB (You Need A Budget) and Acorns. YNAB makes it easy to budget and Acorns automatically invests for you by rounding up your purchases to the next dollar and investing the change for you. And if you sign up with those links we both make out...we can each get a free month of YNAB and $5 with Acorns. According to The Motley Fool, here are 10 Ways to Legally Reduce Your 2017 Taxes:

1. Sock away money for retirement.
2. Contribute to an HSA or FSA.
3. Hang on to your investments.
4. Buy a house -- or sell it strategically.
5. Make the most of deductions.
6. Bundle deductions.
7. Make the most of tax credits.
8. Have kids.
9. Make the most of being self-employed.
10. Hire a tax pro.    

 Number 5 applies specifically to reducing your AGI:

There are gobs of deductions available to taxpayers. Of particular interest are above-the-line deductions, which don't require itemizing and shrink your adjusted gross income (AGI), on which your income taxes are based. Above-the-line deductions exist for expenses such as alimony payments, self-employment taxes, IRA contributions, school supplies, student-loan interest paid, and more. Regular below-the-line deductions can be quite valuable, too. They include donations to charity and qualifying medical expenses, among many other things.

My EPI is nowhere near where I want it to be, but with the tools I mentioned above, I'm working at saving and investing money to increase my assets and taking advantage of the 10 ways to reduce taxes (especially 5 & 9) to reduce my AGI.

Interesting days

Today - World Poetry Day, Common Courtesy Day, French Bread Day, Single Parent’s Day, Memory Day, World Down Syndrome Day, International Fragrance Day and International Day of Forests

Tomorrow - Goof Off Day, World Water Day and As Young As You Feel Day

Next Wednesday - Weed Appreciation Day, Black Forest Cake Day, Something On A Stick Day and Manatee Appreciation Day

April 21 - Kindergarten Day,  International Astronomy Day, Record Store Day, Auctioneers Day, Bulldogs Are Beautiful Day, Tea Day, World Fish Migration Day, World Creativity and Innovation Day, American Red Cross Giving Day, Chocolate Covered Cashews Day and Husband Appreciation Day

How to have effective 1 to 1 networking meetings

At our A Leg Up meeting yesterday we worked some more on polishing up our elevator pitches. Next week we're going to start working on effective 1 to 1 meetings. If you don't know what these are, here's a simple definition: a meeting between 2 people, often over coffee or a lunch, to find out more about each other. In our case it's between a small business owner and someone who they feel can help them in some way, whether it's another business owner or someone else.

According to the website Bossed Up here are some steps to having an effective meeting:

1. Lead with Story - Explain who you are and WHY what you’re doing matters to you. 
2. Find out what makes them tick - Just as it’s important that you share your underlying why behind the what that you do, you must figure out the underlying motivations of the person you’re sharing coffee with.
3. Aim for the Magic X - The magic X is the the intersection between your shared values and diverse resources. Once you’ve both shared the why behind the “what you do,” the next step is to identify what unique resources you both bring to the table that can help further your shared values.
4. Make a clear ask - Once you’ve identified what resources you both bring to the table, ask for the specific help you need and want.
5. Follow up - No matter how flawless your 1-on-1 meeting game is, the real magic is in the follow-up.

And here's an interesting article that tells you, step-by-step, how to leverage LinkedIn to have an Effective 1:1 Coffee Networking Meeting. It contains some really useful information on how to use LinkedIn. Here are a few general tips they also included:

• Be the first to give to your new business relationships
• Always pay it forward
• Network with purpose.

Check out this video that I found on Dr. Ivan Misner's website, not only is it funny but it contains some great information on how to improve your 1 to 1 meetings, If you don't know who Dr. Misner is, he's the founder of BNI, Business Network International and he's a big fan of SendOutCards...in fact, he'll be one of the keynote speakers at this year's SOC Convention.

Hopefully, you've found this information helpful and if you have any 1 to 1 meeting tips that you'd like to share, we'd love to see them.

Interesting days

Today - Snowman Burning Day, Kiss Your Fiance Day, Ravioli Day, World Storytelling Day, Proposal Day, Won’t You Be My Neighbor Day and International Day of Happiness

Tomorrow - World Poetry Day, Common Courtesy Day, French Bread Day, Single Parent’s Day, Memory Day, World Down Syndrome Day, International Fragrance Day and International Day of Forests

Next Tuesday - World Theater Day, Quirky Country Music Song Titles Day, Spanish Paella Day and International Whisk(e)y Day

April 20 - 中国语日, Teach Your Children to Save Day and Volunteer Recognition Day

Business Acceleration Workshops

SendOutCards has decided to hold off on making their big announcements until Convention next month in Salt Lake City, although they have released some smaller announcements over the last few weeks such as opportunity meetings are now called "Business Acceleration Workshops", the "Promptings Academy" is now known as the "Relationship Marketing Summit" and distributors are now known as "Referral Partners". This was done to help reinforce the company's focus on marketing towards businesses, since about 80% of the cards are sent by businesses.

My weekly meetings will now be "Business Acceleration Workshops" and I will be using the following format, at least until I get a clearer idea of what the company wants after their announcements:

From 10:00 until 11:00 we'll be concentrating on helping business owners grow their businesses by sharing lessons from the Mastering Relationship Marketing course as well as the most recent video from Relationship Marketing Weekly. From 11:00 to 12:00 we'll be focusing on those who are looking to earn some additional money by sharing the SendOutCards opportunity, plus some system training for anyone who's interested.

As always, we'll have the Super Saturday on the 2nd Saturday of the month where we'll have prize drawings as well as team recognition and we'll play the MLM Game on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays from 1:00 - 4:00.

Interesting days

Today - Chocolate Caramel Day, Poultry Day, International Read To Me Day, Deskfast Day and Client’s Day

Tomorrow - Snowman Burning Day, Kiss Your Fiance Day, Ravioli Day, World Storytelling Day, Proposal Day, Won’t You Be My Neighbor Day and International Day of Happiness

Next Monday - Falafel Appreciation Day, Make Up Your Own Holiday Day, Nougat Day, Spinach Day and Purple Day

April 19 - College Student Grief Awareness Day, High Five Day, Hanging Out Day, Bicycle Day, Garlic Day, Poetry And The Creative Mind Day and Rice Ball Day

Your weekend guide to interesting days - March 17, 2018

This week

Sunday -  Dry Shampoo Day, World Plumbing Day, Check Your Batteries Day and Oatmeal Nut Waffles Day

Monday - Baked Scallops Day, Fill Our Staplers Day, International Fanny Pack Day, Girl Scout Day, Plant a Flower Day and Napping Day

Tuesday - Ken Day, Earmuffs Day, Organize Your Home Office Day, Open An Umbrella Indoors Day, Coconut Torte Day, Smart & Sexy Day and Jewel Day

Wednesday - No Smoking Day, Dribble to Work Day, Potato Chip Day, Pi Day, International Ask a Question Day, Legal Assistance Day, Moth-er Day, Registered Dietitian Day, Science Education Day, Learn About Butterflies Day and Crowdfunding Day

Thursday - World Speech Day, World Consumer Rights Day, Brutus Day, Buzzards Day and True Confessions Day

Yesterday - World Sleep Day, Lips Appreciation Day. Freedom Of Information Day, Panda Day and No Selfies Day

Today - Saint Patrick’s Day, Corn Dog Day and Quilting Day

Next week

Tomorrow - Biodiesel Day, Awkward Moments Day, Forgive Mom & Dad Day and Companies That Care Day

Monday - Chocolate Caramel Day, Poultry Day, International Read To Me Day, Deskfast Day and Client’s Day

Tuesday - Snowman Burning Day, Kiss Your Fiance Day, Ravioli Day, World Storytelling Day, Proposal Day, Won’t You Be My Neighbor Day and International Day of Happiness 

Wednesday - World Poetry Day, Common Courtesy Day, French Bread Day, Single Parent’s Day, Memory Day, World Down Syndrome Day, International Fragrance Day and International Day of Forests

Thursday - Goof Off Day, World Water Day and As Young As You Feel Day

Friday - Chip and Dip Day, Near Miss Day, Puppy Day and Melba Toast Day

Saturday -  Chocolate Covered Raisins Day, Tuberculosis Day and Flatmate’s Day

Next month

April 11 - Barbershop Quartet Day, Submarine Day, Bookmobile Day, Pet Day, Cheese Fondue Day and World Parkinson’s Disease Day

April 12 - Walk On Your Wild Side Day, Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day and Licorice Day

April 13 - Blame Someone Else Day, Thomas Jefferson Day and Scrabble Day 

April 14 - That Sucks! Day, Look Up at the Sky Day and Dolphin Day

April 15 - ASL Day, Take A Wild Guess Day, Microvolunteering Day and Tax Day

April 16 - Eggs Benedict Day, Save The Elephant Day and Wear Your Pajamas To Work Day

April 17 - Ford Mustang Day, Haiku Poetry Day, Blah Blah Blah Day, Nothing Like A Dame Day, Bat Appreciation Day, Kickball Day, World Hemophilia Day and Cheeseball Day

The week in review - March 16, 2018

Monday - "Happy #SleepAwarenessWeek" The name says it all. "This week kicks off with Napping Day today, in case you didn't follow my suggestions last week for Daylight Savings Time, and ends on Friday with World Sleep Day."

Tuesday - "It's not what you know. But it's not who you know, either" Then what is it? "You have probably heard the saying, "It's not what you know, it's who you know!" Actually it's not just who you know, it's who knows you! You want to make sure that the people in your network know you and what you do."

Wednesday - "iPhone or Android?" I got a new phone on Tuesday. "However you can get free photo storage with a free SendOutCards account plus you also get a free contact manager and the ability to send a card right from your phone (the cards aren't free but they're very reasonably priced plus if you're not already a SendOutCards customer, the first card is free) which are two things that Google can't do. The storage is limited but you can double the storage space for a one time fee of $99 or you can get unlimited storage for a one time fee of $199."

Thursday - "Becoming Well-Spoken: How to Minimize Your Uh’s and Um’s #TBT" From The Art of Manliness. "In the pursuit of becoming a better man, becoming well-spoken is a task that should not be overlooked. How you speak is a huge component of the impression you make on others, and thus your potential influence on them. People will form judgments about your education, intelligence, background, and personality simply based on the sound of your voice and the language you use to express yourself."

Interesting days

Today - World Sleep Day, Lips Appreciation Day. Freedom Of Information Day, Panda Day and No Selfies Day

Tomorrow - Saint Patrick’s Day, Corn Dog Day and Quilting Day

Next Friday - Chip and Dip Day, Near Miss Day, Puppy Day and Melba Toast Day

April 16 - Eggs Benedict Day, Save The Elephant Day and Wear Your Pajamas To Work Day