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By D. Clay Hays I’m putting my foot down and things are gonna change around here! It's really not as bad as it sounds. I'm just frustrated with the proverbial "pursuit of happiness" which, for me, is to make a living doing what I love and never again work a "regular" job. Eating, however, has always been high on my agenda and this entrepreneurship thing is not working out so well in that respect. Don’t get me wrong, I certainly don't mind work (except cleaning – I hate cleaning!). I just have a thing about slaving my days away for someone else's gain. I did that for a long time while getting absolutely nowhere and became convinced that "nowhere" was the only stop on the route by design. Oh sure, employers are not all "out to get us" but, as an employee, we are subject to the repercussions of their decisions. Decisions, by the way, which are made with only the success and survival of their business in mind. And you're seriously fooling yourself if you think otherwise! That's why I’m here writing this blog; that's why I built this website; and that's why I struggle to make successes of two other home-operated businesses (see Boat Safe and GAPS). Brilliant ideas if I do say so myself but one suffers from seasonality and the other has, temporarily I hope, fallen victim to our current economic situation. So today, things they are a changin'! I was inspired recently, thanks to my Sister, to begin a renewal of this site and really put some effort into my blogging. She told me about a self-help guru, Steve Pavlina, which is not the kind of thing I usually go for but this one was different, she said, and deserved a look. Boy, am I glad I looked! Now keep in mind I usually don't promote other sites unless my site/business stands to gain from it in some way. In the web business, if you give your visitors an avenue of escape, a reason to leave your site, chances are they will, and you just lost an opportunity. That makes you a nice guy that offers free advice – not an entrepreneur. Having said that, I highly recommend giving some of his articles a read as they not only provide inspiration but real world advice on building a profitable website or blog. You'll note, however, that I did not provide a link – look it up yourself like I did! When Steve agrees to a link exchange I’ll be happy to do so! I'll be making a lot of changes, adding new pages and adjusting content to more reflect the "real me" (yet another inspiration from Steve). One very important step is the new Hot Blogs where you found this post. In practicing what I preach (see above), even though Blogger and other such providers make blogging very simple and easy, my readers can now stay right here instead of sending them away for some other site's gain. Now, back to the "real me". Up until now I have stifled the real me, afraid my cynical, smart-ass, in-your-face nature might offend someone. Take "Yankees" for instance; when I was writing the Hot-Springs-AR-Info Home Page back in 2005, I had reached the point where a mention of Hot Springs Village was appropriate. My natural inclination was to make a humorous reference to the fact that the Village is popular with Yankees. Instead, I succumbed to pressure from my "Teacher", Jim, and my wife, Laura, to use something less offensive like "often snow-bound brethren from the North". Well, the damn Yankees are just going to have to get over it! Our entire society is so afraid of offending someone that it's a wonder we can get anything done! And besides, "Yankees" is kind of an endearing term for us Southerners these days. We really don't mean any offense by it (most of us anyway!), nor are we offended when the Yankees refer to us as "Rednecks" (again, most of us). It's not like "shoot 'em if you see 'em Yankees", just a general reference to folks from up North that has been a part of our lives down here since way back in the day. And old habits are hard to break! But I must add, if I do end up offending someone, well...Bye! Love ya, have a good life and maybe we'll meet again some day when you've had time to get over yourself. Steve Pavlina (Yeah, that's a link. So, I caved and threw you a bone!) also reminded me of all the tools I have at my disposal through SBI!, or Site Build It!, the system I use to build/maintain/host this site. If you’ve ever wanted to build your own website, whether it is for a hobby or an online business, then you absolutely must look into SBI! Yes, I know you've heard that before and, yes, I know most of the "get rich quick over the internet" sellers spout a load of BS. SBI! Is no closer to a "get rich quick" scheme than you are to becoming my "Best Bud"! In fact, they tell you the truth; that with over 100,000,000 websites presently on the web, NO ONE can guarantee overnight success. If that's what you're after, you'd be better served buying a lottery ticket! They provide a system so simple that even a complete novice can follow along and build a high traffic and/or profitable website. And they also provide all the tools you could possibly ever need to make your site/business a success – all part of the package – for less than $1 a day! But hey, I understand your reluctance so why take my word for it? Go see for yourself @ Sitesell.com, or, if you prefer to watch and listen as opposed to reading, try the SBI! Video Tour. This site has endured the "Tortoise" phase which, according to SBI!, is the slow, real world process of developing valuable content and therefore traffic. That's one of the reasons I'm all Gung Ho again, because my traffic is good and steady now and it's time to Monetize this baby! Well that and because I just took myself through a little SBI! refresher course that has me on the right track again. So watch for bigger and better things around here, I'll let you know how it goes! Give 'em Hell..............Clay If you'd like to comment on this post please use the Contact form.
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The Rocky Road To Success - Part 1
