Random musings: September 2018

Saturday, September 29, 2018

Your weekend guide to interesting days - September 29, 2018

Friday, September 28, 2018

The week in review - September 28. 2018

Monday - "Could you use an additional $1,000 a month?" Various ways to make some extra money every month. "To get to $1,000 per month of income will take some time and some work, but the work is pretty simple and the time is fairly minimal (especially when compared to 21 hours a week for a part time job)."

Tuesday - "#LoveNoteDay" A day to celebrate. "You can go to Hallmark and try to find a card or you can go to SendOutCards, click on the "Send Card" button and scroll down to the new card category called "Love"

Wednesday - "Jordan Adler and Melissa Barlock talk "Network Marketing" A conversation about network marketing by one of the indusrty's leaders. "If you've read "Beach Money", then you know that Jordan struggled when he first got started...in fact, he joined 11 companies in 10 years and made no money until he joined his 12th company. Now, he's a network marketing speaker and trainer, as well as an author. Melissa is just the opposite. She joined SendOutCards 5 years ago and rose to the top of the pay plan...this is her first company."

Thursday - "The Funday Sunnies #TBT" My choices were limited. "One of the bad things about missing a blog post is when I'm going back a year or two later and I don't have as many choices to choose from."

Interesting days

Today - Hug a Vegetarian Day, Ask A Stupid Question Day, Drink Beer Day, World Rabies Day, Good Neighbor Day and Strawberry Cream Pie Day

Tomorrow - World Heart Day, Save Your Photos Day and Biscotti Day

Next Friday - Kids Music Day, Chic Spy™ Day, World Teachers Day, World Smile Day, Country Inn Bed & Breakfast Day and Balloons Around the World Day

October 28 - Plush Animal Lover’s Day, Mother-In-Law Day and Animation Day

Thursday, September 27, 2018

The Funday Sunnies #TBT

One of the bad things about missing a blog post is when I'm going back a year or two later and I don't have as many choices to choose from. Last year I didn't have a post and the year before was about the SendOutCards 2016 convention, so this post was originally published 3 years ago:

Interesting days

Today - Ancestor Appreciation Day, Tourism Day and Crush a Can Day Where are your ancestors from? And have you ever visited there?

Tomorrow - Good Neighbor Day, Drink Beer Day and Family Day Like a good neighbor...you're there with a beer for your neighbors. How about a Monday night football neighborhood tailgate party with your friends and family?

Next Sunday - Improve Your Office Day I think the rest of these ideas can be used to improve your office. You probably can't have a live animal in your office, but how about some pictures of animals since it's also World Animal Day. Or how about Vodka Day? There aren't many things around the office that a stiff belt of vodka won't fix. It's also Ship in A Bottle Day and Change A Light Day One could literally brighten your office, while the other could figuratively do it. And lastly, it's Taco Day There's not much that will improve an office more than a taco bar

October 27 - Navy Day I may have to break out my navy blazer to celebrate. And it's Black Cat Day It's not easy being a black cat most of the time, but this is a day they can celebrate

Today there are two additional days to celebrate that weren't on the calendar 3 years ago: Morning Show Hosts Day and Corned Beef Hash Day

Tomorrow we won't be celebrating Family Day since it always falls on the fourth Monday in September but we'll also be celebrating these days this year: Hug a Vegetarian Day, Ask A Stupid Question Day, World Rabies Day and Strawberry Cream Pie Day to make up for it

Instead of Next Sunday, we'll be looking at Next Thursday, which is the same as 3 years ago except we won't be celebrating Change A Light Day since it occurs on the first Sunday in October.

And this year, there are 3 more things to celebrate on October 27th: Make A Difference Day, Cranky Co-Workers Day and Hug A Sheep Day

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Jordan Adler and Melissa Barlock talk "Network Marketing"

Jordan Adler talks with Melissa Barlock about "Network Marketing" - What it is . . . What we love about it . . . how to do it!

This Zoom meeting is from Jordan's SendOutCards weekly call. And even though this is a SOC call, and it's mentioned a few times, it's about network marketing in general.

If you've read "Beach Money", then you know that Jordan struggled when he first got started...in fact, he joined 11 companies in 10 years and made no money until he joined his 12th company. Now, he's a network marketing speaker and trainer, as well as an author. Melissa is just the opposite. She joined SendOutCards 5 years ago and rose to the top of the pay plan...this is her first company.

One of the things they talked about is the freedom that NM offers...time freedom as well as financial freedom. They also talk about how network marketing is efficient for the companies who offer network marketing products and services...they don't have to pay marketing costs up front and hope to get customers. Instead, they get the customers first and then pay the marketing costs to the distributors who share their products or services. Then, Jordan asked Melissa about how she launched her business...she said she started slow until a contest offering a trip to Hawaii was announced. Then she started building. Are you looking at launching or re-launching your business? Then you may be interested in secret Facebook groups. Melissa says that personal development is KING! One of my favorite quotes about network marketing says that "Network marketing is personal development with a compensation plan attached".

So, take half an hour and watch this conversation with two top network marketing leaders.

Interesting days

Today - Human Resource Professional Day, Johnny Appleseed Day, Lumberjack Day, Love Note Day and Fitness Day

Tomorrow - Morning Show Hosts Day, Tourism Day, Crush a Can Day, Ancestor Appreciation Day and Corned Beef Hash Day

Next Wednesday - Boyfriend’s Day, Virus Appreciation Day, Techies Day and Random Acts of Poetry Day

October 26 - Howl At The Moon Day, Pumpkin Day, Mincemeat Day and International Bandana Day

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

#LoveNoteDay

Tomorrow, September 26, is Love Note Day. This is the perfect time to send a card to the one you love.

You can go to Hallmark and try to find a card or you can go to SendOutCards, click on the "Send Card" button and scroll down to the new card category called "Love".

If you're not already a SendOutCards customer, you can send a card to your loved one for free. And if you are a customer, you can go to your account and send a card. Depending on your subscription level, the card will cost between $2.25 (Enhanced) and $2.75 (Basic) plus postage, or it can be free (Premium or Enterprise) including postage.

If you're in Modesto. I'll be at Dunkin Donuts on Wednesday from 3:00 - 5:00 PM. Stop by and I can get you setup.

So, let the one you care about know how you feel!

Interesting days

Today - World Dream Day, Comic Book Day, One-Hit Wonder Day, World Pharmacists Day, Psychotherapy Day, Cooking Day, Binge Day, Better Breakfast Day and German Butterbrot Day

Tomorrow - Human Resource Professional Day, Johnny Appleseed Day, Lumberjack Day, Love Note Day and Fitness Day

Next Tuesday - World Farm Animals Day, Custodial Worker Day, Name Your Car Day and International Day of Non-Violence

October 25 - International Artists Day, Sourest Day, World Pasta Day, Punk for a Day Day and Greasy Food Day

Monday, September 24, 2018

Could you use an additional $1,000 a month?

Silly question! I'm sure most of us could use an additional $1,000 every month.

But how?

There are quite a few ways:

If you work full time, you could ask your boss for a $5.77 an hour raise
You could find a different full time job that pays $5.77 an hour more
You could take on a part-time job. In California, the minimum wage is $11 an hour, so if you work 21 hours a week at a minimum wage job you could make $1,000 a month.
If you have a quarter of a million dollars lying around, you could put $240,000 of it in a savings account that pays 5%

5. Or you could take this friendly advice;

I've seen this attributed to John D. Rockefeller also

Number 5 is based on starting your own home-based network marketing business, where you can often earn more than 1% on each person's efforts. Plus, it's the only one that allows you to write off certain expenses on your taxes, so you'll also save money!

Since I'm familiar with SendOutCards, I'll use them as an example. Although other companies are similar.

SOC is based on a Paid4 plan. We'll use the $97 a month subscription as an example since it's the middle plan plus it's the recommended plan if you're seriously interested in having a business.

With the Paid4 plan, the idea is to sign up 4 other people on the same subscription as you. In our example, you plus four others at $97 (5 * $97) equals $485. You earn 20% of everything that you and your customers spend, which is $97...so, your subscription is paid for.

Of the $485, $97 goes to you and $310 (called volume), goes to pay the people above you in the pay plan. The rest goes to the company ($78).

During your search you may come across someone who wants their subscription Paid4. They will then earn 20% on their, plus their customers', subscription and you will earn 2% on their volume (2% of $310), or $6.20. Not enough to get excited about yet. But you now have a total of $620 in volume in your organization (you plus one other Paid4 subscriber), which means you get a 5% raise! You now earn 7% on any new referral partners (Paid4 subscribers) and their volume. When you get a total of $3100, you'll get another 5% raise to 12% and you will have earned 7% on $2,480 (the difference between the original $620 and the $3,100 for your next raise) or $179.80. Still not much to get excited about. But once you get to $10,000 in volume (a total of about 33 Paid4 subscribers in your organization including you), you'll be earning over $1,000 a month ($6.20 + $179.80 + $828.00 = $1,007.80).

At $10,000 in volume, you'll earn 17%, at $50,000 you'll earn 22% and at $100,000 you'll earn 27%. This is based on the total volume in your organization...your volume plus your customers' volume, plus every referral partner that you bring in, plus every RP that they bring in...down to seven levels!

Also, when you're trying to find additional RPs at each step in the progression (you need to bring in at least one new RP at every step), you'll probably also bring in additional customers at $19.40 each ($97 for every five customers), which also is included in your total volume. Not every customer will come in at the $97 level...some will come in at $17/month and some will come in at $147/month. You'll receive 20% on all of these as well as 20% on any cards purchased in free accounts. Plus, you'll get commissions on any gifts that are purchased!

To get to $1,000 per month of income will take some time and some work, but the work is pretty simple and the time is fairly minimal (especially when compared to 21 hours a week for a part time job).

To get started it costs $59 a year to become a Referral Partner. You don't need a $97 subscription right away...you could start with a free account (not recommended) or a $17 a month account. You can upgrade to $97 a month when the time is right, and I can help you determine that time. Just email me, and I'll help you get setup.

To find out more, go to www.sendoutcards.com/144087 and click on Pricing.

Interesting days

Today - Punctuation Day, Family Day and Cherries Jubilee Day

Tomorrow - World Dream Day, Comic Book Day, One-Hit Wonder Day, World Pharmacists Day, Psychotherapy Day, Cooking Day, Binge Day, Better Breakfast Day and German Butterbrot Day

October will be Cyber Security Awareness Month, Mental Health Month, International Black Cat Awareness Month, Family History Month, Dyslexia Awareness Month, Computer Learning Month, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Pizza Month, Fair Trade Month, Emotional Intelligence Awareness Month and Walk Your Dog Week

Next Monday - World Day of Bullying Prevention, International Coffee Day, World Habitat Day, Older Peoples Day, World Vegetarian Day, CD Player Day and World Architecture Day

October 24 - World Tripe Day, Bologna Day and United Nations Day

Saturday, September 22, 2018

Your weekend guide to interesting days - September 22, 2018

This week

Sunday - Wife Appreciation Day, World Ozone Day, Stepfamily Day, Collect Rocks Day, Play Doh Day, Working Parents Day and Guacamole Day

Monday - International Country Music Day, Constitution Day, Apple Dumpling Day, Monte Cristo Sandwich Day and Locate An Old Friend Day

Tuesday - Get Ready Day, Cheeseburger Day, Water Monitoring Day, Respect Day, Hug A Greeting Card Writer Day, First Love Day and International Read An Ebook Day

Wednesday - Talk Like A Pirate Day and Butterscotch Pudding Day

Thursday- Punch Day and Pepperoni Pizza Day

Yesterday - World Gratitude Day, Pecan Cookie Day, Miniature Golf Day, International Day of Peace, International Grenache Day, Concussion Awareness Day, Tradesmen Day and World Alzheimer’s Day

Today - White Chocolate Day, Doodle Day, Elephant Appreciation Day, Dear Diary Day, World Car Free Day, Business Women’s Day, Ice Cream Cone Day, International Rabbit Day and Hobbit Day

Next week

Tomorrow - Celebrate Bisexuality Day, Checkers Day, Restless Legs Awareness Day and Supernatural Day

Monday - Punctuation Day, Family Day and Cherries Jubilee Day

Tuesday - World Dream Day, Comic Book Day, One-Hit Wonder Day, World Pharmacists Day, Psychotherapy Day, Cooking Day, Binge Day, Better Breakfast Day and German Butterbrot Day

Wednesday - Human Resource Professional Day, Johnny Appleseed Day, Batman Day, Lumberjack Day, Love Note Day and Fitness Day

Thursday - Morning Show Hosts Day, Tourism Day, Crush a Can Day, Ancestor Appreciation Day and Corned Beef Hash Day

Friday - Hug a Vegetarian Day, Ask A Stupid Question Day, Drink Beer Day, World Rabies Day, Good Neighbor Day and Strawberry Cream Pie Day

Saturday - World Heart Day, Save Your Photos Day and Biscotti Day

Next month

October 16 - World Food Day, Dictionary Day, Boss’ Day, Steve Jobs Day, Feral Cat Day and Department Store Day

October 17 - Spreadsheet Day, Hagfish Day, Global Dignity Day, International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, Take Your Parents To Lunch Day, Wear Something Gaudy Day, Mulligan Day and Playing Card Collection Day

October 18 - Get Smart About Credit Day, Chocolate Cupcake Day, No Beard Day and Conflict Resolution Day

October 19 - Evaluate Your Life Day

October 20 - Community Media Day, Office Chocolate Day, International Chef Day, I Love Yarn Day, Bridge Day, Sweetest Day, Information Overload Day, International Sloth Day, Waiters Day, Brandied Fruit Day and Suspender's Day

October 21 - Apple Day, Reptile Awareness Day, World Toy Camera Day and Count Your Buttons Day

October 22 - Caps Lock Day, Smart is Cool Day, Nut Day and International Stuttering Awareness Day

Friday, September 21, 2018

The week in review - September 21, 2018

Monday - "Why people who claim Social Security early often live to regret it" Have you taken early Social Security or do you plan to? "Your retirement standard of living could very well be worse if you claim your Social Security benefits at age 62."

Tuesday - "Can you do a little more?" Kaizen...or continuous improvement. "It doesn't matter what it is in life that you want to improve, whether working out, losing weight, reading a book...it's usually much better to go for small, continuous improvements rather than one big improvement."

Wednesday - "Why You Need a Reading Plan" From The Art of Manliness. "So, pick a list to start with and then start reading. If you're not a reader, then check out yesterday's post on how to do a little more each day."

Thursday - "Make Every Day a Good Day With This Morning Routine #TBT" A good start to the day can make all the difference. "In this particular context, a good day is one in which you felt productive and energetic, and like you moved in a direction toward your larger goals."

Interesting days

Today - World Gratitude Day, Pecan Cookie Day, Miniature Golf Day, International Day of Peace, International Grenache Day, Concussion Awareness Day, Tradesmen Day and World Alzheimer’s Day

Tomorrow - Chainmail Day, World Rhino Day, White Chocolate Day, Doodle Day, Elephant Appreciation Day, Dear Diary Day, World Car Free Day, Business Women’s Day, Ice Cream Cone Day, International Rabbit Day and Hobbit Day

Next Friday - Hug a Vegetarian Day, Ask A Stupid Question Day, Drink Beer Day, World Rabies Day, Good Neighbor Day and Strawberry Cream Pie Day

October 21 - Apple Day, Reptile Awareness Day, World Toy Camera Day and Count Your Buttons Day

Thursday, September 20, 2018

Make Every Day a Good Day With This Morning Routine #TBT

Today's post was originally published last year:

This post is from The Art of Manliness. I did a similar post a couple of weeks ago, also based on AoM.

From the article:

The tactics we’ll be describing aren’t for generating just any kind of good days, but good work days (even if your work is being a stay-at-home dad or other non-traditional job). In this particular context, a good day is one in which you felt productive and energetic, and like you moved in a direction toward your larger goals.

Why Changing Your Morning Changes the Course of Your Whole Day

Because of confirmation bias, your brain will take your morning experience and look for ways to confirm that experience — either good or bad — for the rest of the day. It can seem a bit dispiriting. Starting your day with a bad commute? Your brain wants to spoil the rest of the day. That spilled coffee on your shirt first thing? Your brain wants to tell you that your clients won’t take you seriously and the whole meeting will be shot.

The other side of confirmation bias is incredibly positive though. Have a good morning, and your brain will not only look past those seemingly negative experiences, but search for ways to confirm this positive a.m. vibe throughout the rest of the day.

How can we set ourselves up for a positive confirmation bias?

The How to Have Good Day Morning Routine

When I first delved into this topic, I was worried that the number of practices tied in to setting yourself up for a good day would be burdensome. Would I need to spend an hour just prepping myself for success? But after practicing and timing this process for a few weeks, I can happily report that the whole routine takes under 10 minutes. You can work through it either before you leave the house each day, or as the first thing you do when you sit down at your desk at work. (If you have a gnarly commute and find your mind starts going downhill before you even arrive at the office, I’d strongly consider making it the former!)

Set Your “Rule of 3”
Set Your Intentions
Plan for fires. Make contingency plans. Ask, “What could get in my way today?”
Do something physical, if you have time.
Set a reward for the end of the day

Interesting days

Today - Punch Day and Pepperoni Pizza Day

Tomorrow - World Gratitude Day, Pecan Cookie Day, Miniature Golf Day, International Day of Peace, International Grenache Day, Concussion Awareness Day, Tradesmen Day and World Alzheimer’s Day

Next Thursday - Morning Show Hosts Day, Tourism Day, Crush a Can Day, Ancestor Appreciation Day and Corned Beef Hash Day

October 20 - Community Media Day, Office Chocolate Day, International Chef Day, I Love Yarn Day, Bridge Day, Sweetest Day, Information Overload Day, International Sloth Day, Waiters Day, Brandied Fruit Day and Suspender's Day

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Why You Need a Reading Plan

Today's blog post is based on an article from The Art of Manliness:

I don't know if you've ever thought about having a reading plan, but here's some info from AoM on why it's a good idea.

What Is a Reading Plan?

A reading plan is exactly what it sounds like. Rather than flitting about from random book to random book, you have a system — usually a list — for determining what you’ll read next. Whether that’s specific titles (all of Dickens’ works), or simply broader topics/genres (Civil War history), a reading plan guides your reading efforts and keeps you from stagnating or always choosing the path of least resistance (whatever is right in front of you, easiest, or most entertaining).

This doesn’t necessarily mean you’re only reading those books, of course. At any given time, I’m probably reading 2-4 books, one of which is part of a larger plan I’m following (right now it’s biographies of US Presidents, in chronological order; before that, it was a deep dive in the Western genre). If you’re a one-book-at-a-time person, maybe every other book is just for fun, and every other is part of your plan.

Here are some of the benefits of having a reading plan:

Keeps you in a lifelong learner mindset.
Keeps you disciplined in your reading.
Helps push you to get through books you may otherwise not have the gumption to finish.
Greases the reading wheels a bit.
Creates room for mastery of a subject.
Provides a sense of accomplishment.

Also included are some sample reading lists:

Art of Manliness lists.
The Great Books.
Award winners.
The entire canon of a single author.
Read through some historical category.

I may personally start with the AoM list 100 Books Every Man Should Read. I've actually read a few of them over the years (and many of them have been made into movies...could be an interesting list of movies to watch, too).

So, pick a list to start with and then start reading. If you're not a reader, then check out yesterday's post on how to do a little more each day.

Interesting days

Today - Talk Like A Pirate Day and Butterscotch Pudding Day

Tomorrow - Punch Day and Pepperoni Pizza Day

Next Wednesday - Human Resource Professional Day, Johnny Appleseed Day, Batman Day, Lumberjack Day, Love Note Day and Fitness Day

October 19 - Evaluate Your Life Day

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Can you do a little more?

This post is based on a SendOutCards call today (September 17, 2018) by Jordan Adler. Although this was a SendOutCards call, it applies to everyone...not only in your business but in your life.

I thought I'd written about this subject before, but when I searched through my archives I couldn't find anything...so here goes!

Jordan's call talked about doing just a little more each day. In SOC if you're sending one card a day bump it up to two or three. If you're sharing your business once or twice a week, share it once or twice a day.

Kaizen is the idea of continuous improvement, normally defined as getting 1% better a day. So, if you get 1% better a day, at the end of a year:

Easy enough. But wrong!

It's actually 3,778% because of compounding (1.01^365). Instead of getting 3.65 times better in a year, you're getting 37.78 times better or 10X better than you'd think!

A one percent increase per week is 167% per year! One percent per month is 113% per year.

Let's say you want to go from sharing your business with one person a week to 2 per day? You could jump from 1 a week to 10 a week, or you can build up to it. If you want to accomplish this in 90 days, you can increase the number of people you talk to by 2.15 X per month. In the first month you talk to 2 people a week, the 2nd month you talk to 4 or 5 a week (or one a day) and the third month you're up to 2 people a day.

Or you can look at it on a monthly basis. Right now you're talking to four people a month but you'd like to make it 100 per month in a year...if you're working 20 days a month that's 5 people a day. That comes out to 1.47 times more per month. Or about 1 1/2 times more people per month. In fact, you can make it to 100 people in only 8 months if you get 1.5 times better per month...4 people the first month...6 the second month...9 the third...etc.

It doesn't matter what it is in life that you want to improve, whether working out, losing weight, reading a book...it's usually much better to go for small, continuous improvements rather than one big improvement. In fact, we're going to be talking about reading tomorrow.

Interesting days

Today - Get Ready Day, Cheeseburger Day, Water Monitoring Day, Respect Day, Hug A Greeting Card Writer Day, First Love Day and International Read An Ebook Day

Tomorrow - Talk Like A Pirate Day and Butterscotch Pudding Day

Next Tuesday - World Dream Day, Comic Book Day, One-Hit Wonder Day, World Pharmacists Day, Psychotherapy Day, Cooking Day, Binge Day, Better Breakfast Day and German Butterbrot Day

October 18 - Get Smart About Credit Day, Chocolate Cupcake Day, No Beard Day and Conflict Resolution Day

Monday, September 17, 2018

Why people who claim Social Security early often live to regret it

Since so many of my friends are either retired or approaching retirement, I thought this was timely.

My full retirement age is 66 years and 4 months according to Social Security, which is 48 months from now! The age changes by 2 months per year, until age 67 for those born after 1959. You can actually receive more if you delay collecting your benefits. The table below is for those born in 1956, like me and most of us who graduated from high school in 1974:

The chart below explains how delayed retirement affects your benefit. The increase is based on your date of birth and the number of months you delay the start of your retirement benefits. If you start receiving retirement benefits at age:

67, you'll get 105.3 percent of the monthly benefit because you delayed getting benefits for 8 months.

70, you'll get 129.3 percent of the monthly benefit because you delayed getting benefits for 44 months.

When you reach age 70, your monthly benefit stops increasing even if you continue to delay taking benefits.

But what happens if you decide to start collecting your benefits early? You can start collecting at age 62, no matter what year you were born.

Today's blog post is based on an article from Market Watch:

Your retirement standard of living could very well be worse if you claim your Social Security benefits at age 62.

That’s surprising because the Social Security Administration goes to great lengths to ensure that, regardless of when retirees claim their Social Security benefits, they will be no better or worse off. Those claiming at age 62 — “early claimers,” as they’re called — will receive more years of benefits than those who wait, but at a reduced rate. Assuming their life expectancy is equal to what the actuarial tables predict, the total benefits they receive in retirement will essentially be the same as if they had waited and received fewer years of higher monthly benefits.

A new study nevertheless finds that early claiming leads to a significant increase in the number of retirees living in poverty.

The article then points out:

Nevertheless, far more people claim their Social Security benefits at age 62 than at any other age, as you can see from the accompanying chart. More than a third of all retirees do so, in fact.

But why would people regret collecting benefits at age 62?

Instead, he continued, their finding reflects the entirety of a retiree’s financial situation during retirement, of which Social Security benefits are just one part. And upon taking all income sources into account, they found that early claiming is associated with a greater probability of living below the poverty line.

The article points out that this affects those at the lower economic levels the most but it doesn't give any numbers and the original article requires a purchase (which I didn't do) but the gist of the article seems to point to a lack of financial planning for those who collect their Social Security benefits early.

This also applies if you are thinking about collecting spouse or survivor benefits. See the link to the Social Security website above and click on the year you were born for more info.

Interesting days

Today - International Country Music Day, Constitution Day, Apple Dumpling Day, Monte Cristo Sandwich Day and Locate An Old Friend Day

Tomorrow - Get Ready Day, Cheeseburger Day, Water Monitoring Day, Respect Day, Hug A Greeting Card Writer Day, First Love Day and International Read An Ebook Day

Next Monday - Punctuation Day, Family Day and Cherries Jubilee Day

October 17 - Spreadsheet Day, Hagfish Day, Global Dignity Day, International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, Take Your Parents To Lunch Day, Wear Something Gaudy Day, Mulligan Day and Playing Card Collection Day

Saturday, September 15, 2018

Your weekend guide to interesting days - September 15, 2018

This week

Sunday - Hug Your Hound Day, Grandparent’s Day, Worldwide Candle Lighting Day, Wienerschnitzel Day, Wonderful Weirdos Day and Teddy Bear Day

Monday - Swap Ideas Day, Boss/Employee Exchange Day, World Suicide Prevention Day and TV Dinner Day

Tuesday - Make Your Bed Day, Hot Cross Bun Day, Patriot Day and No News is Good News Day

Wednesday - Video Games Day, Chocolate Milkshake Day and Quiet Day

Thursday - Fortune Cookie Day, Peanut Day, Roald Dahl Day, Programmers’ Day, Kids Take Over The Kitchen Day, Defy Superstition Day, Positive Thinking Day and Celiac Awareness Day

Yesterday - Eat a Hoagie Day, Hug Your Boss Day, Gobstopper Day and Cream Filled Doughnut Day

Today - Butterscotch Cinnamon Pie Day, Linguine Day, International Red Panda Day, Felt Hat Day, International Eat An Apple Day, Greenpeace Day, Coastal Cleanup Day, Make A Hat Day, International Dot Day, Gymnastics Day, Double Cheeseburger Day and Cheese Toast Day

Next week

Tomorrow - Wife Appreciation Day, World Ozone Day, Stepfamily Day, Collect Rocks Day, Play Doh Day, Working Parents Day and Guacamole Day

Monday - International Country Music Day, Constitution Day, Apple Dumpling Day, Monte Cristo Sandwich Day and Locate An Old Friend Day

Tuesday - Get Ready Day, Cheeseburger Day, Water Monitoring Day, Respect Day, Hug A Greeting Card Writer Day, First Love Day and International Read An Ebook Day

Wednesday - Talk Like A Pirate Day and Butterscotch Pudding Day

Thursday- Punch Day and Pepperoni Pizza Day

Friday - World Gratitude Day, Pecan Cookie Day, Miniature Golf Day, International Day of Peace, International Grenache Day, Concussion Awareness Day, Tradesmen Day and World Alzheimer’s Day

Saturday - White Chocolate Day, Doodle Day, Elephant Appreciation Day, Dear Diary Day, World Car Free Day, Business Women’s Day, Ice Cream Cone Day, International Rabbit Day and Hobbit Day

Next month

October 9 - Scrubs Day, World Post Day, Face Your Fears Day, Ada Lovelace Day, Moldy Cheese Day, Fire Prevention Day, Curious Events Day, Beer and Pizza Day and Own Business Day

October 10 - Bring Your Teddy Bear To Work & School Day, Cake Decorating Day, World Porridge Day, Hug A Drummer Day, World Homeless Day, Handbag Day, Emergency Nurses Day, Pet Obesity Awareness Day, World Mental Health Day and SHIFT10 Day

October 11 - Coming Out Day, Sausage Pizza Day and World Sight Day

October 12 - World Egg Day, Old Farmers Day, Pulled Pork Day, World Arthritis Day and Vet Nurse Day

October 13 - No Bra Day and Train Your Brain Day

October 14 - Be Bald And Free Day, World Standards Day, Dessert Day, International Top Spinning Day and Columbus Day

October 15 - Global Handwashing Day, Clean Your Virtual Desktop Day, World Students’ Day, White Cane Safety Day and Chicken Cacciatore Day

Friday, September 14, 2018

The week in review - September 14, 2018

Monday - "Could you use a detached living space?" From Jennifer Seidelman. "Today's homeowners and homebuyers love detached living spaces. These small stand-alone structures located on the property come with all sorts of benefits -- from added room for storage and recreation to extra income."

Tuesday - "Unboxed" Opening my Amazon package! "Last week I shared a post on unboxing. Later in the week I actually unboxed (or in this case unbagged) the package I got from Amazon. Here's the link to the Facebook Live that I created. Go ahead and check it out...it only lasts about 9 1/2 minutes but it actually contains a lot of value...a friend of mine, who is mentioned in the video, got a referral from this video."

Wednesday - "Just interesting days" Can you guess what this post is about? "I don't really have anything in particular to write about, so we'll just go with Interesting days"

Thursday - "Who is your ideal customer? #TBT" From two years ago. "If you're like most people, you believe that everyone would be the ideal customer for your product or service. I used to be the same way."

Interesting days

Today - Eat a Hoagie Day, Hug Your Boss Day, Gobstopper Day and Cream Filled Doughnut Day

Tomorrow - Butterscotch Cinnamon Pie Day, Linguine Day, International Red Panda Day, Felt Hat Day, International Eat An Apple Day, Greenpeace Day, Coastal Cleanup Day, Make A Hat Day, International Dot Day, Gymnastics Day, Double Cheeseburger Day and Cheese Toast Day

Next Friday - World Gratitude Day, Pecan Cookie Day, Miniature Golf Day, International Day of Peace, International Grenache Day, Concussion Awareness Day, Tradesmen Day and World Alzheimer’s Day

October 14 - Be Bald And Free Day, World Standards Day, Dessert Day, International Top Spinning Day and Columbus Day

Thursday, September 13, 2018

Who is your ideal customer? #TBT

Today's blog post was originally published two years ago:

If you're like most people, you believe that everyone would be the ideal customer for your product or service. I used to be the same way. I've heard people say "Everyone who has skin needs my product". or "Everyone who wants to lose weight or be healthy needs my product" or "Everyone who knows another person needs to send greeting cards" (the last one was me). But would you really want every person on the planet to be your customer? We'll start with the obvious...you probably don't want murderers, rapists or (shudder) politicians for customers. (It's the 2016 election season here in the US so I couldn't resist!).

But who do you really WANT to work with? If you're a realtor, do you prefer working with couples just starting out? Or maybe a family looking for a bigger house to keep up with a growing family? Or maybe empty nesters looking to downsize? Or maybe you prefer the luxury market. Or maybe you prefer a particular area. Would you rather work with people in similar demographics to you? Similar age? Gender? Political or religious beliefs? It will help when you ask people for referrals. It's much easier to tell someone that you'd like to meet newlyweds who may be looking to purchase their first house, or if they know anyone who just sent their last kid off to college, than to just say "Do you know someone who's looking to buy a new home?".

Casey Eberhart is really good at this. He knows exactly who his ideal customer is and he even has Facebook profiles for these people. He reads the same magazines that they do, he belongs to the same Facebook groups or Meetup groups. Casey has an event coming up in October where he will talk about this, among other topics related to networking (and yes, that's me in the group photo before the testimonials, standing 2nd from left).

I'm still working on identifying my target market...my ideal customer. Although I'm primarily aiming at small business owners and sales professionals such as realtors, auto dealers, etc. I know I have to work on narrowing it down some more. And the same for people who may be looking for additional income. Am I looking for people who have just retired or are about to? Actually, that is exactly who I'm looking for. So if you know anybody in those circumstances who may be looking for some additional income, then have them email me.

Update: The picture of me is no longer on Casey's website and he has another event coming up in October...this time in Colorado Springs.

Interesting days

Today - Fortune Cookie Day, Peanut Day, Roald Dahl Day, Programmers’ Day, Kids Take Over The Kitchen Day, Defy Superstition Day, Positive Thinking Day and Celiac Awareness Day

Tomorrow - Eat a Hoagie Day, Hug Your Boss Day, Gobstopper Day and Cream Filled Doughnut Day

Next Thursday- Punch Day and Pepperoni Pizza Day

October 13 - No Bra Day and Train Your Brain Day

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Just interesting days

I don't really have anything in particular to write about, so we'll just go with

Interesting days

Today - Video Games Day, Chocolate Milkshake Day and Quiet Day

Tomorrow - Fortune Cookie Day, Peanut Day, Roald Dahl Day, Programmers’ Day, Kids Take Over The Kitchen Day, Defy Superstition Day, Positive Thinking Day and Celiac Awareness Day

Next Wednesday - Talk Like A Pirate Day and Butterscotch Pudding Day

October 12 - World Egg Day, Old Farmers Day, Pulled Pork Day, World Arthritis Day and Vet Nurse Day

Subscribe To

Saturday, September 29, 2018

This week

Next week

Next month

Friday, September 28, 2018

Interesting days

Thursday, September 27, 2018

Interesting days

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Interesting days

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Interesting days

Monday, September 24, 2018

Interesting days

Saturday, September 22, 2018

This week

Next week

Next month

Friday, September 21, 2018

Interesting days

Thursday, September 20, 2018

Why Changing Your Morning Changes the Course of Your Whole Day

The How to Have Good Day Morning Routine

Interesting days

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

What Is a Reading Plan?

Interesting days

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Interesting days

Monday, September 17, 2018

Interesting days

Saturday, September 15, 2018

This week

Next week

Next month

Friday, September 14, 2018

Interesting days

Thursday, September 13, 2018

Interesting days

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Interesting days