At around 10:10am today (July 24th), my mom, Madeline Keifer, left this world to begin a new life. The picture to the left was taken just a couple weeks ago, not long after she entered the hospital.

Mom lost a battle with colon cancer. She had a tumor removed from her colon in May, and 12 weeks later it was discovered that the cancer had metastasized. The growth was extremely aggressive, doubling every two weeks.

She went back into the hospital on June 27th to get her pain under control, and it was then that the doctors told us the bad news.

I am one of six kids that my mother brought into the world. Anybody that can have six kids, and give us the wonderful ‘leave it to Beaver meets The Brady Bunch’ childhoods that we had is certainly a hero to me.

Mom was a registered nurse for over 45 years where she dedicated a good part of her life helping others. She took time off from her career to care for us, and didn’t go back into nursing until my sister (the youngest) was in high school.

She had a wonderful sense of humor, and was an avid Yankees fan. She loved all sports, really, but baseball was her favorite, and she was faithful to the NY Yankees for as long as I can remember.

The last Yankees game that she was able to follow was the game against the Rays, where the Yankees pummeled them 9 to 5 back on the 18th of July.

A couple weeks before, she asked my sister “who’s that man standing in the corner?”. Misty replied, “there’s no one there.” “Yes there is!, who is he?” my mom retorted. “Mom,” said Misty, “there’s no one there”. The room was empty and it was quiet. Misty was the only one in there with her.

About an hour later, mom woke up suddenly and said “She just told me they won… the Yankees just won the game” Misty, a bit taken aback asked “what? who told you?”. Mom said “That lady, she told me that the Yankees just now won the game”. Except for Misty, the room was empty, and it was quiet. Out of curiosity, she switched on the TV and click over to ESPN. At the bottom of the screen, a marquee was scrolling which read that the Yankees game just finished, and that they had won 1-0!

Was it just a coincidental hallucination brought on by the pain medicine? Perhaps, but it was quite apparent to me that there were many loved ones on the other side watching over mom & waiting to welcome her when the time came.

After that day, she never saw (or at least never told us) any other people who where not physically there. Her mind was very clear, & she was very aware right up until the end. I’m thankful for that. Even though she was too weak to speak these past few days, she still could get out a phrase here and there. The last thing I told her was “I love you mom”. She replied back several times “I love you Jack”. I embraced her as she fell back to sleep. On some level, I knew that it would be the last time that we would talk to each other & it was comforting to know that our last words to each other were “I love you”.

My sister was a Godsend. She is a school teacher, and with summer break, she practically lived at the hospital. In these final weeks, my mom was afraid to be left alone, and Misty spent many a night with her as well. Being a female, she can help take care of her in ways that only a female can.

My mom was worthy of the title in every sense of the word. She would have given up her last dollar for any of us if need be. She was always there for us, and her love was unconditional. I’m going to miss her smile, her gentle soothing voice, her wonderful sense of humor, and a host of other things that I could spend days listing.

The world seems a darker place without her. Mom lit up the lives of all that were privileged enough to know her. That light has now moved on, but the world is still a little better place because she was in it.

The last few months have been a real hell, especially for her. Back in June, she told me that maybe this was all just a nightmare, and that she would wake up from all of this.

The nightmare is now over mom, and I know that you have awakened to a new life, to be together again with all your loved ones on the other side, free from that painful body which has imprisoned you these past few months.

My mom & dad are now together once again, and I’m sure that amongst all this sadness, there is a happy reunion between them. Here in the physical realm, she is gone forever, but someday we will see each other again. Just knowing that will make even my last day, just a little brighter.

-to be continued…

I will always love you Mom.

Since the release of Internet Explorer a few years ago, third party cookie handling has slowly become more restrictive with the default security settings in Internet Explorer.

With the release of IE 8, you may have noticed that many of your affiliate links may not be giving you credit for your referrals.

I’ve noticed around the net that many affiliates have a rough time getting conversions on their products.

There’s many reasons that this can happen, & only testing can pinpoint the problem, but if your affiliate network is using third-party cookies to credit your referrals, then you may be losing sales because Internet Explorer is blocking them on your prospect’s computer.

Internet Explorer has been ramping up their safety features in each release, and IE8 will block any third-party cookies by default unless the website has a p3p privacy policy in effect.

In semi-English, this means that the original source of the cookie would have to have a p3p header reference in their web page to a compact privacy policy with another one pointing to an XML file which outlines the actual human readable privacy policy, which you also need.

If the browser determines that it is legit enough, it will allow the cookie to be set. Yeah, I know… that’s a real mouthful just to process an affiliate link.

Most product creators using their own affiliate software that rely on this type of tracking, aren’t up on the importance of a compact privacy policy, along with all the other techno-bs that goes along with it.

Fortunately, Clickbank, which is one of the most popular affiliate networks for digital products uses 1st party cookies, and are not affected. As far as I can tell, your referrals are pretty safe with them on this point.

If you’re using a link cloaker, this is much more significant, and there is a good chance that your affiliate cookies are not getting set because of this. Some link cloakers have been rendered useless, costing you precious commissions from your visitors who use Internet Explorer & Safari especially.

I suppose that you can always hope that every one of your visitors use Firefox.

…Or you can use a better tool that will get around this issue. AmazingCloaker just happens to have the feature built-in that will get around the whole third-party cookie issue.

I created AmazingCloaker because I was tired of getting shafted out of my commissions by link hi-jackers, link bypassers, & people who just plain didn’t like affiliates.

Now with Internet Explorer complicating things, I find that AmazingCloaker is more important than ever for keeping a level playing field for the affiliate.

If you’re an affiliate marketer and you don’t care whether or not you’re receiving everything that you deserve, then I would recommend that you continue on with your routine and enjoy the bliss of your ignorance.

If, on the other hand, you’re tired of working twice as hard and getting half as much, then you can check out AmazingCloaker here:

http://www.amazingcloaker.com

Yesterday June 25th, 2010 at around 9:50 pm, a wonderful chapter in our lives came to an abrupt close. Baxter (Beasley) Keifer passed away after contracting an illness about 3 weeks ago.

We never did get a definitive answer from the Vet. We personally suspect that he somehow contracted a non-effusive (dry) form of FIP (feline infectious peritonitis). The symptoms all seemed to match except for the fever.

Whatever he had was a mystery, and the antibiotics didn’t seem to help, so I suspect it was viral. All his blood tests came back normal. His chest x-ray showed a shadow consistent with asthma, or a lung infection, or even possibly the early stages of primary lung cancer, but nothing definitive.

Baxter came into my life when he was about 12 weeks old, back in August, 2000. He is a Siamese cat with an amazing personality. Beasley had just turned 10 this June which is equivalent to 50 human years. We have a lot of history together.

Beasley bonded with me right away as a kitten, and right then and there, he was daddy’s kitty. When my wife came onto the scene six years later, he bonded with her as well soon afterwords, which I am told is pretty rare because Siamese Cats usually will only bond to one owner.

In the beginning, Baxter never liked other people besides me very much. He would tolerate visitors for a while, but then… out came the claws. At the time, other people saw him as a mean cat, while to me, he was the sweetest, kindest, most playful cat I ever had.

When Tingting joined us, Beasley strangely tolerated her, but that was about it at first. Within the month, Tingting worked her magic, and Beasley became extremely fond of her. In fact, after that, he became friendly to everyone! Beasley was a changed kitty. If you knew him back then, you would agree that this was truly a miracle. Anyone who would now visit would be greeted by him with affection. Baxter has been loving to everyone ever since.

He was great around Kevin and even seemed to understand that Kevin’s prodding and poking at him were all out of innocence for his age. We would take walks and Baxter would follow us everywhere, just like a loyal friend. It was almost like having a dog in cat form.

One of the last funny moments that I remember just before he got sick was when I was fixing a cracked window on our house. I had the ladder out, and Baxter scaled right up it…. All 15 feet of it. It was hilarious, and it was one of those times that I wish I had my camcorder with me.

That was typical of the joy and light that Beasley brought into our lives everyday.

The past few weeks have been absolutely heart wrenching. It was a constant roller coaster ride of hope during one day, while sliding into discouragement & heartache the next.

I spent most of my free time nursing Beasley, trying to get him to eat. Sometimes he would do okay, while other times he had to be force fed to get nutrition. He became anorexic by the third week, and gradually refused any food at all by his last two days.

The strange thing is that other than no appetite, he seemed relatively comfortable with just an occasional cough. He would still want to go outside to take walks to his favorite places. With each passing day he became gradually weaker, and his strolls became shorter.

On his last day, he was on the back porch, and even jumped off the side (forgetting that he was sick and weak)! He had a look of regret in his eyes after that one, but soon shook it off with what little energy reserves he had left, and took his short stroll over to the neighbors bush which provided him with a nice comfortable shade spot.

By that night, he suddenly began to cough hard, and cried out to us. At this point, it seems that the three of us (my wife, I, and especially Beasley) where suddenly cast into a private hell. Beasley was now suffering as he was choking for air, and trying to move to different areas of the house desperately trying to outrun the inevitable.

It was too late to call the Vet. Baxter finally stumbled into a corner and lay there struggling for life while my wife was with him. In the meantime, I had got a phone call from my sister. Tingting was desperately motioning to me to get back into the hallway, at which time I had to cut the phone call short. As I hung up the phone, Beasley took his last breath in front of my wife.

The whole ordeal probably lasted 20 or 30 minutes, but it seemed like an eternity. Tingting helplessly watched him as he took his last breath, which sounded like a pitiful whimper from a child. Now he just lay there with his big blue eyes still open, but now lifeless. In just a blink of an eye, our Beasley had passed from Yang to Yin.

When I confirmed that he was gone, she was absolutely inconsolable. It was my time to be strong for her, trying to comfort her as best as I could. I let her know that she gave Beasley the greatest honor by being there for him as he passed. As we mourn his death in this world, his birth is being celebrated in the next.

About 20 minutes after he passed, I turned on the spotlight in the backyard and we proceeded to bury him. I already had a nice spot picked out, just in case. Although I kept my composure as best I could for Tingting’s sake, my grief couldn’t stay inside for long. I barely slept that night trying to process the whole nightmare that had transpired & by next morning I had lost it too. Reality had settled in like a cold brutal winter.

Today we picked up some flowers for him to plant, and I made a marker for his resting place. It now seems to be a more fitting resting place for such a special soul as Beasley.

As I write this, my heart is aching because never before had I felt such a strong bond with a pet. I’ve had many cats and I’m no stranger to losing them at some point. It’s simply the price that we must pay in exchange for the joy that they give us during their short lifetimes.

Knowing this doesn’t make it any easier though, but this time too shall pass. Right now, thinking of those wonderful memories only amplify the fact that he is no longer physically with us. But in time, those fond memories will once again shine through as priceless experiences which enriched our lives each and every day.

By yesterday, I sensed that his time was short, and we said our goodbyes to him just in case. I thanked him for choosing us to spend his precious life with, and for the joy and companionship that this wonderful intelligent creature gave us. The night before, I had also asked my dad (who passed in 1996) to welcome Beasley as he crosses over, and to take care of him for us. I know he’s in good hands.

Baxter, you brought us joy and companionship unmatched by any other pet. I will miss your loud meow (Maoooow), I will miss your uncanny perception & intelligence, I will miss your purring as you cuddle in my lap, your hyper spells, and most of all, I will miss you, my dear dear friend. You will never be forgotten. We will love you forever.

May God bless you Beasley.

May has been a pretty busy month for me. I’ve been so absorbed in fact, that I haven’t posted to my blog for entire month of May! Ouch.

I’ve gotten myself wrapped up into a new programming shift for my software products. XinglaPro version 4 of my blog carnival submitter is about to be released in early June and I’m pretty excited about the changes ahead.

If all goes well, AmazingCloaker 6 will be released by the end of June.

One of the major shifts in my software is that I have moved to the Adobe Air platform. This means that all my software products that you purchase will be compatible with Windows, Macintosh, and Linux.

No longer will Mac & Linux users be excluded, or have to use an emulator to get the benefits of using quality internet business software which would normally only be available to Windows users.

The screen shot to the left is not the finished product, so XinglaPro 4 may look slightly different in its final release.

XinglaPro 4 has many improvements to the GUI to make an already easy to use program, even more streamlined and automated. You’ll no-longer need to tab between windows when building your list, and filtering your list to your keywords is now a one-step snap.

The migration of KeiferSoft apps to the Adobe Air / Flash environment is a natural fit for creating the finest internet based applications and tools that online marketers need to be effective in today’s marketplace.

I’ll release more details on XinglaPro4 when it’s about to be released, which will be very soon.

From March 12, 2006 to the middle of 2008, James Brausch was among the top bloggers of the internet business arena.

During these two years online, James amassed a huge following because of his no nonsense shoot from the hip style, dishing out a lot of value to the online business community.

His teachings, of course, were always backed with solid statistical evidence based on his own research as he grew.

If I remember correctly, James worked as a statistician at one time, and was a programmer before declaring his freedom from the work force back on September 1, 2003.

By June of 2008, James had migrated his business to a new domain – diegonorte.com, and was living in Costa Rica (and still is as far as I know). He sold his business shortly afterwards and went off into retirement with a one year no compete clause as part of the terms from the sale of his business.

Even though he’s been under the radar, it seems that he has been busy with some new innovations. He has developed an interesting product called IBB, or Internet Business Box. This is a complete blogging system, or more accurately, a business system with built in continuity.

Beyond that, I don’t know too much more about it at this point, but it appears to be structured as a membership oriented blog, with a complete system onboard similar to a traditional offline business franchise.

This looks very interesting indeed, and will warrant further investigation.

Since his retirement, many who really didn’t know much about James, thought that he was in reality many different people on the net. I’ve heard that he was Stephen Dean, Aaron Brandon, Kristi Daniels, and even Michel Fortin!

I’ve always gotten quite the chuckle from these types of ridiculous rumors, so for the heck of it, I decided to try an experiment. I found a photo of Aaron Brandon and used photoshop to superimpose a Hawaiian shirt onto Aaron.

Much to my surprise, with the Hawaiian shirt, Aaron Brandon looked exactly like James! Okay, this was just too weird, so next I took a photo of Frank Kern and again, superimposed a Hawaiian shirt on him… again, he looked exactly like James!

Now surely, this couldn’t happen with Kristi Daniels… but alas, the same result!!! Kristi became the splitten image of James. Now this was just getting downright scary.

“How could this be?!”, I asked myself. Later I consulted a well known professor from Cambridge University who explained to me that this is a simple result of the “Superman effect”.

He went on to explain that Superman was able to render himself completely unrecognizable simply by putting on a pair of eyeglasses. James Brausch has mastered this same technique, only in reverse using a Hawaiian shirt. Without the Hawaiian shirt, James is able to morph into anyone, anytime, at will!

So the shocking truth is, that James is everybody that you see online who has an internet business presence. Don’t believe me? Try the Hawaiian shirt test for yourself… You’ll be shocked, amazed, and maybe even a little terrified.

Once you recover from the shock, jump out to James’ blog and either get to know him, or get back on his list. Whichever the case may be, you can find him here:

http://www.jamesbrausch.com

Oh, and welcome back James!

Many people who start out online have pretty limited budgets to work with. It’s kind of a catch 22. At some point, you need to invest some money into building your online business so that you can generate sales, but you need to generate sales to get money so that you can invest in your business.

Most people will jump into marketing online for a couple of reasons.

1. They hate their J.O.B., and / or
2. They need / desire more money.

The barriers to entry for an internet based business is much lower than starting a traditional ‘brick & mortar’ type business offline.

I remember wayyy back in the day when I started my electronics shop. It was a major deal to get set up. There was finding and renting the retail space, getting a business phone, an occupational license, utilities, FAX machine, Cash Register & the Point of Sale stuff to go with it, signs, inventory, equipment, vendors… I could go on for days!

All of this was not cheap, and on top of all that, you don’t even know if the venture’s going to succeed or not. An online business, on the other hand can be started literally the same day for around 20 bucks! Even zero cash if you’re a little creative.

Also, if you need free traffic, you can put in a little ‘sweat equity’ such as article writing, blog carnival submissions, etc and get free traffic right to your virtual doorstep. Yet even with this incredible opportunity of starting out on a shoestring, so many are still slammed by the challenges of actually succeeding in their business.

How is it that starting an internet business can be so darn cheap, give you exposure to a worldwide audience like never before in the history of mankind, yet be so tough for so many to succeed? It’s kind of mind boggling when you think of it.

As mind boggling as it may seem, the real answer is really pretty simple. Lack of focus. 98% start out online with the wrong mindset. The vast majority are not entrepreneurs, they’re opportunity seekers.

An entrepreneur has a plan. An entrepreneur will focus on one specific objective to generate revenue. He / she will create a business system of proven techniques that can be constantly tweaked and improved. They understand that success is arrived at incrementally through consistency. They know how to scale up their successes and shave off the failures.

An opportunity seeker will buy the latest and greatest method to making a million dollars overnight. They will learn all about it, try it, and when it doesn’t work the first time around, dump it and buy the next shiny object that passes their way. The opportunity seeker doesn’t really have any focused plan.

Like a tumble weed, they just drift from one opportunity to the next looking for that golden egg that surely must be out there somewhere. While the opportunity seeker is waiting for their ship to come in, the entrepreneur is building their own ship to sail.

While the opportunity seeker is spending money all the time (and getting little to nothing in return), the entrepreneur is making money. When something doesn’t produce an instant result, the op-seeker dumps it for another opportunity. The entrepreneur does their homework. They will tweak and test their methods for measurable results over time, knowing that some things need to build momentum before showing a positive result.

Do you have a plan of action? Do you follow through? Do you give yourself deadlines and meet them? Do you love improving the lives of your customers by selling them your products? If you can answer yes to these basic questions, you are very likely in the exclusive 2%.

If you find yourself in a constant spiral of info overload, surfing the forums for that elusive magic trick that’s going to make it all “click” one day, then I’m afraid that you are still in op-seek mode. You still have the J.O.B. mentality. Not to worry, there’s hope. You can turn it all around with a simple desire to act.

Here’s your new mantra to get you pointed in the right direction. FOCUS – BUILD – SELL

If you don’t have a website yet, then start one today! Right Now, and follow the mantra above. This will be your first step to success. Oh, and you don’t have to shell out a fortune to have it built either. You can get my complete course on how to build an awesome website using WordPress which is a FREE open source CMS. This blog is built on WordPress.

Creating a professional looking website will be the perfect start to developing your entrepreneurial mindset (focus & build). In the future, you can have others do it of course, but for now you need to build that mindset, grasshopper… FOCUS – BUILD – SELL.

You can get the complete Red Hot Mini-Sites with WordPress, course by clicking below:

http://www.declareyourday.com/redhotminisites/

Guest Post by Neil Ashworth

My Harvest America; So what is it then? Let’s take a detailed look inside Harvest America to see if it has legs as a Work at Home affiliate program or does it seem like just one other lame duck? Here is the most definitive overview of My Harvest America that  you’ll ever have to read (bold declaration I do know however go with me on this).

Here goes;
The long-time entrepreneur and well acknowledged Fred Wieh has teamed up with web advertising guru Ronnie Ellis to bring to us My Harvest America. Fred Weih’s reputation is stable enough that Cornell University has truly looked closely at his enterprise fashions for progressive concepts, and Ronnie Ellis is a pioneer of no little repute. Let’s simply see what they’ve given you, shall we?

Developed in 2009, My Harvest America is an internet operated grocery supply depot that gives non-perishable items at a reduced price. How can they provide this low cost? In one phrase: Bulk.  They’ve teamed up with some of the biggest canines within the grocery trade to buy in bulk and pass over the financial savings down the line to the typical consumer.

Reductions have been around for a while and the need for meals will probably be around for oh, let’s just say eternally! Slap the 2 together and you could just have a successful combination. One of the good things right here is the World population isn’t going to start out shrinking anytime soon;  in other words, you will have a customer pool that has an evergreen need. That’s definitely the correct sort of opportunity for a Home Based Business affiliate program of any sort.  If you need to discover more about starting a business take a look at this Xyngular MLM Review

There is nevertheless, a downside to the whole concept. To this point it’s a toss-up as to whether or not it will probably be worth it for the savvy shopper with a fist full of coupons. There’s many ways to save cash should you look long enough, and in this financial system individuals are searching harder. Another subject is shipping. Meals can be pretty bulky so the delivery prices are more increased than I would like to see. My Harvest America as of yet has no good offers on transport however that will change as they get some time behind them.

Now let us take a look at the actual business opportunity. To activate your representative status you want to first maintain the $29. 95 membership fee. It is a price that everybody pays whether or not they’re a distributor or a shopper. Second, you could buy your $69. 95 product package. The whole is more than I wish to see however, in case you have spent any time researching MLM opportunities, you already know you can be paying rather more in regards to a start up cost.

As soon as you’ve taken care of all the enrollment details, you change into the proud owner of your personal My Harvest America Web site to customize as you see fit. The downside to that is you don’t have a management office This isn’t such a big deal if you’re accustomed to Search Engine Optimization, squeeze pages, lead capture pages, mailing lists and the rest. Personally, I would instead throw out the additional dollar.

The commission matrix is a good 3 wide and eight deep with the chance to get deeper. The construction has been around for some time and works well. To begin reaping the benefits of the system it’s essential to do one of two things. You’ll find at the very least one customer you personally introduce otherwise you recruit your first member or, “Retail Subscriber”.

From private gross sales and matrix payments, we transfer on to a different stream of income, the bonuses. My Harvest America has just a few different sources for income. One particularly that struck my fancy is the “Shopper-Matching Bonus”. There’s a payment hook up of $29.95, however as soon as paid, it is best to understand some respectable income. You pull in 50% of the sale from your entire Subscribed Shoppers and an additional 20% from Super Buyers that you just sponsor to the fifth level.

My Harvest America mlm affiliate program seems like an effectively rounded mlm affiliate program or enterprise alternative and has two sturdy names at the helm. The area of interest they have entered additionally has good potentialities; sadly, since the company is a new child in the Home Business affiliate program arena, and seems like a well rounded multilevel marketing business program there isn’t any recorded data as to how they are doing. You might want to wait a little to see if they take off first before you start as a community advertising affiliate for this specific Home Based Business business program.

Neil Ashworth is a successful entrepreneur who shows average men and women how to leave their 9 to 5 misery behind and create financial freedom in less than 30 days with the world’s fastest growing Internet Marketing Business using article marketing and the best Automated SEO Software

I’ve seen many debates lately about video sales pages, and whether they’re effective or not. Coincidentally, as I began writing this post, a blog announcement showed up in my inbox from Terry Dean regarding this same subject! D’oh!…

We’ll Terry did a great post, so instead of getting over detailed, I’ll simply elaborate and add to it. One thing that I’ve seen around the net lately are people debating on whether ‘video only’ sales pages vs long / short copy are more effective.

I’ve seen responses that video chases away customers, and that written copy is the only way to go. Others feel that ‘video only’ is the way to go, and to heck with writing copy.

In one of my recent posts, I talked about videos with no control functions, and how some people were irritated by them while others claimed getting great conversions off of them. I also mentioned that ultimately, my own testing has shown that I do best with a combination of both on my sales pages.

Here’s my take on it. In my case, I mostly get new prospects across my sales pages. My testing is based on these types of prospects. I think that new prospects probably are more receptive to having an option whether to view either the video, or to simply skim over the hard copy.

Some of these other marketers who are using video only to promote a product, from my observation, are getting the bulk of their traffic from email lists, including JVs & affiliates. I haven’t actually tested yet using a list / JV against other types of traffic to a video sales page, but at this point, I have a hunch that the best conversions from these ‘video only’ sales pages are coming from people who are already fans of the list owner, or were pre-sold somewhere else before being directed there.

These types of visitors are already “warm” to the idea of checking you out. A visitor who clicked on your PPC ad on the other hand, might see the video and run. Most people who don’t know you want to quickly see who you are, and what you have. If you can’t convince them why they need your product within that first critical minute, you’re toast.

For all my main sales pages, I have moved to the combination of written copy with video. This is what works best for me with my particular traffic. The only real way to know what works for you is to test it. I’ve noticed that many who tout their points of view on the subject are biased either for or against video for various reasons, without ever testing one way or another themselves.

If you want to read more about what Terry Dean has uncovered in his own test results, simply click the link below:

http://mymarketingcoach.com/big-mistake-in-using-video-to-sell

Terry Dean has been successfully marketing online for years, and he is definitely one of the good guys. He is one of the few that I would highly recommend.

A vast majority of us who venture into online business have one real goal in mind…

In the beginning, you may think that your desire is simply for extra money, or maybe its because you just don’t want to worry about money. Perhaps your goal is to be filthy rich. But is money really what you are after?

When you think about it, money is really just a tool. The more you have, the more that you can accomplish. It gives you to power to do what you want when you want.

It gives you the ability to travel, to purchase things that make your life more comfortable. It can allow you to spend more quality time with your family. It gives you the power to tell your boss to stick it where the sun don’t shine… It is liberating. And the list goes on.

Many realize (often too late) that their true core desire is freedom. Having this goal defined in the beginning will allow you to create systems in your business that will keep you out of the trenches, so that your business can grow faster while freeing you up to enjoy the finer things in life.

A prosperous business can ultimately give you freedom if you structure it that way. Your business can be your ticket to freedom, or it can be your master and jailer.

Way back in the day when I was living out of my car in Virginia Beach, I was able to wander around and walk the beaches, as if I was truly free. There was just one catch… this wasn’t the way that I wanted to live out my life.

Without money, my options were really limited. On the one hand, I loved the freedom of not answering to anyone or anything, but on the other hand, I was imprisoned by my circumstances. Scarcity was my mindset, and as a direct result, scarcity then became my reality.

Our business can become a prison too if freedom was our core desire, and we didn’t have this goal defined from the start. When you get started, really drill down and get in touch with your core desire, so that you can shift into the right direction from the beginning.

Are you working 16 plus hours a day trying to scrape a living out of your business? If so, you’re probably using the wrong systems (unless you enjoy working 16 + hours a day).

Don’t be a hero. You can duplicate the things that make you money in your business by outsourcing it to other people. Would you spend $500 in a month to have someone make you $2000 or more?. Would you then spend $5000 to make $20,000 or more?

Of course! Getting rid of the “no one can do it better than me” mindset, and stepping away is one of the best ways to really multiply your business.

The most you can work yourself is about 60 to 80 hours a week with a guaranteed burnout in the end. By outsourcing, you can get hundreds or thousands of hours accomplished in the same amount of time!

…Just a little something for you to ponder.

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, then the first thing that you might be thinking after seeing the title is “yeah, I know Jack, there is no secret, no magic bullet, I’ve heard it before.”

Well, it seems that there IS a secret. This secret was so well hidden that even I never spotted it right away.

No, it wasn’t stashed in a secret vault deep underneath the Pentagon. It was actually hidden in plain sight.

I’ve taken many journeys through the net over the years trying to reverse engineer why one person would use a certain color in their headlines, and that person would use long copy in their sales letters while others used short copy.

Some have started using “video only” sales letters. Some videos start automatically and have no controls for the users to pause it, or skip ahead. Some videos have the controls left in so people can skip ahead, or pause.

I’ve seen the debates as to why this it the absolute WORST way to do it, while others staunchly defend their positions because their conversions have skyrocketed because of it.

So what’s the deal? Are those people that hate video sales pages in the majority, or simply a vocal minority?

Still, others have found that they get much better conversions with printed copy than they do with video. Man!, why all the conflicting information?

On the surface, none of this really makes a lot of sense. Maybe nothing works… maybe everything works. Okay, I’m not trying to give you a headache, and you might be wondering what this has to do with “the big secret”.

This secret actually gets more profound the more you think about it. Incorporate this simple philosophy into your mindset, and your business will love you for it.

The secret is that your business is as individual as you are. Your business is a reflection of you. When others view your sales pages, read your articles, forum posts, see your products & reviews, your personality is being ingrained into all of it.

You may, by nature be a little introverted, so maybe people relate to your hard copy better than someone who has the “video” personality. As a result, your copy will do much better than your video pages, because your true persona is expressed best via this medium.

As a result, it is a hundred times more powerful than your video pages. By contrast, the other guy’s personality may be oriented in the opposite direction and get a hundred times better results with video in the very same market.

So the key here is this: It’s always good to emulate successful marketers in order to understand the components of a successful website, BUT… and this is the “but” that nearly everyone misses…

It may not work for you because, not only do you not know the history behind that technique (why its being used), but you also have to ask yourself, does it fit in with my persona?

Testing is the bottom line. You may find out that you have a knack for making video presentations. Maybe you think that you sound like a moron, only to find out that others who listen to you love you!

The same may be true for writing. Without testing, you would have never known, because we are almost always perceived differently by others, than how we perceive ourselves.

So in a nutshell – emulate others only to get the foundation of the basics, but be true to yourself as you build. Express your business by expressing yourself, and the results you get will be pure gold.