When the economy gets a little rough and gas prices go sky high (among many other climbing expenses), people tend to increase their negativity.  They pay more attention to the negative things around them.  They get bombarded by media and practically everyone around them.  Many change their spending habits, cut unnecessary expenses, and do everything they can to survive without going under.

Right now, media keeps focusing on home foreclosures, job losses, oil going up, the stock market going down, food prices going up, and just about anything else that can cause someone on a tight budget to get depressed.  It is very easy to get caught in the trap of focusing on the negative and feeling like everything is “gloom and doom” and everything is going to get worse.  These ideas, thoughts, and feeling are exactly the WRONG way to be thinking………

Believe it or not, if you are reading this blog, most likely you are “RICH”.  Let me explain…….

If you have a computer, you are in an elite group.  Only about 5% of the world population has a computer.  Think about a few other things that you probably have…….

Do you have a roof over your head?

Do you have a car?

Do you have food in your kitchen?

Do you have …….  and so on….

Think about the things that you DO have in your life.  There are so many other people that have a LOT less than you.  They would love to be in your shoes.  They would appreciate having what you have and being in your situation.  Do you appreciate what you have or are you focusing on what you don’t have and how bad things are?

Do you have kids?  Do you focus on how they don’t clean up their room or all of the noise they make?  Do you focus on how much of your time it takes to take care of them or what you wish they did differently?  Or, do you focus on the joy they bring to your life - all of the times they laugh at silly things you do or when they pat you on the back or jump in your arms to show how much they love you?  Be thankful for your children.  They are a blessing from God.  Many other people long to have children of their own but can’t due to physical or other situations - and they would love to have a child that would mess up their room, make a lot of noise, and take a lot of their time.  To these people you ARE rich.  It’s all a matter of perspective…..

Do you have a home?  Do you complain about how much work it is to keep clean?  Do you complain about mowing the lawn, doing the dishes, doing the laundry, and cleaning every nook and cranny just to do it all over again the next day?  Or, do you focus on the fact that you have a home that you can relax and feel safe in?  Be thankful for your home.  It may not be a mansion, but their are countless people that wish they had a home.  They would gladly mow the lawn, do the dishes, do the laundry, and clean every nook and cranny and anything else they would need to do just to have a home.  They would be so thankful.  To these people, you ARE rich.  Are you thankful for your home?  Again, perspective…….

Take note of the positives in your life and focus on what you DO have.  Focus on how things will get better and look for the good in everything.  It is there if you look for it.  You will be much happier if you do.  Even in a rough economy, you are RICH.

Put your focus where you should.  Be appreciative.  It is all perspective.  Have a positive one and enjoy life….

- Hill Robertson

Yahoo launched the ymail.com and rocketmail.com domains for email accounts.  Yahoo is one of the largest email account providers in the world with both free account and pay accounts.  The free accounts have an ajax based web portal for reading and writing emails.  For years, Yahoo has used the yahoo.com domain for email addresses.  It is very simple to sign up for a new account.  Just go to ymail.com and sign up.  You can even chat with your friends within Yahoo mail.

Since these new domains just opened up, you may have a chance at getting your real name before someone else takes it.  I had some friends of mine get their first name (like name@ymail.com).  As long as it is more than four letters, you might have a shot.  But don’t wait too long or you may miss your chance and end up with something like name1234@ymail.com.  It is just not the same.

If you do sign up for a free account.  Be sure to login to it regularly or you may lose your account.  Or, you can purchase the “plus” package to add more features, more disk space, more spam filters, pop3 access, and much more.

So, go sign up for an account at ymail.com or rocketmail.com.

- Hill Robertson

I hope everyone had a great Father’s day. I sure did. I always enjoy spending time with my family. My family is the primary reason I build my internet businesses. It gives me the freedom to control my own success. A job will not allow you to control your own success (or freedom). A job will keep you enslaved to your employer. Your employer will dictate how much money you make, when you have to work, and how long you have to work. If you think about it in a different way, you employer tells you how little money you make (just enough to get by - if even that much). They tell you when you can’t be spending time with your family and they tell you how much time you can spend with your family. On top of that, they can lay you off at any moment regardless of your situation.

I recently had some friends of mine told that they were no longer needed at their place of employment. They had worked hard (and did an excellent job) for many years and made the business what it was for their employer. They made many sacrifices along the way for the sake of their jobs and in the end, they were just let go. This seems to happen more and more these days.

The best way to be successful and in control of your own freedom is to have a business of your own that you control. An internet business is an ideal way to accomplish these goals. All you need to do is find out what people want and are willing to pay for, create the product, and sell it. It’s really pretty simple. It may not be easy, but it is a simple formula.

What are you interested in? Do you have a hobby? What do you know a lot about? You are an expert about something. If you know more about something than a majority of other people, you are an expert to them. They will want to know what you know. Just think about how many times someone asked you advice about something. You were an expert to them about whatever they were asking about. There are MANY more people that would ask you the same type of questions if they knew you could help them and a percentage of those people will pay you for your information.

So, get started and set up a blog or some other internet presence about yourself and your “expertise” and let people know about you. This is just the beginning of a successful business that can help you can gain financial freedom and success.

- Hill Robertson

I love to observe people. I really enjoy watching how people react to different situations and what type of attitude they have. One of my favorite times to do this is around Christmas time when the malls are flooded with people rushing around to get the hottest toy for their kids of the perfect gift for their spouse. It brings out the best and worst in people.

I like to go to the local mall and sit in the food court area. I usually get honey chicken with fried rice at the Chinese place. They use to have awesome wontons there but they got rid of them once they changed ownership. Anyway, I’ll sit there and nibble away while observing people complain about the long lines or that the one specific gift they came to get was sold out. Usually, the attitude that is displayed with these type of comments is a very negative attitude that points the finger at everyone else. Their attitude doesn’t make the lines any shorter or help them find the sold out gift. All it does is make everyone else around them more negative.

If you look carefully enough, you will see the more positive site of people too. While I sit there savoring my last few grains of fried rice, I see happy people with positive attitudes and a smile on their face as they enjoy the time of the year and enjoy spending time with family. They have to wait in the same long lines and don’t get that sold out gift but they have the proper perspective and they are upbeat and positive. They make people around them happier.

So, people are characterized by their attitude. What is your attitude? Are you portraying a positive or negative attitude to others? Do your customers dread calling you because you are grumpy and have a bad attitude? If so, they may not be your customers very long and they certainly won’t recommend you to anyone else. Or, do your customers enjoy talking with you because you have a positive attitude and they feel better about themselves after having a conversation with you? If so, they will be long lasting customers and they will recommend you to others they know and your business will grow.

Remember, business is all about people. Without people, you have no business. With a bad attitude, you have no business. Everyone has an attitude the portray - whether good or bad. Your relationships will be based on attitude. Be sure you have a positive one if you want a successful business and a happy life.

Many people I know seem to live by the motto of “working for the weekend”. They go to their JOB Monday through Friday and put in their time. They practically proclaim that they have no fun and don’t really “live” until the weekend comes and they don’t have to work.

People with job mentality tend to think a JOB is the way to success. They either jump from job to job every few years looking for happiness and maybe a little bit more pay or they work hours and hours of free overtime trying to impress their management to rise up the corporate ladder thinking that it is a path to success. They never really think about building their own business and creating their own success and freedom. They typically think that anyone that becomes successful in their own business had different circumstances than them or had some advantage that allowed them to be successful.

Why just work for the weekend when you can work for freedom? You can have the freedom to do what you want to do when you want to do it. If you can eliminate the things and activities that are robbing you of your valuable time and you focus on things that can make you productive and successful, you can determine your success in life whether it be monetary, physical, or spiritual. It is your choice. You can make the decision and take the action to make any of your wildest dreams come true. Make wise choices.

So, are you working for the weekend or are you working for freedom?

- Hill Robertson

We seem to be taught our entire life that to be successful, you need to get an education, earn a degree, and get a job . However, getting a job is not going to let you achieve financial freedom. It will barely keep you treading water until some unexpected expense comes up that wipes you out. Not only that, but a lot of your time is taken away from you. As many entrepreneurs will tell you, J.O.B. stands for “just over broke”. It is just enough to get by.

Sure, you may be able to survive working a typical JOB and then plopping on the couch to watch some mindless brain numbing television. But you will probably work like that your entire life and retire with almost nothing and just barely surviving. You have the choice to work at a JOB and live with these results. Or, you can start your own business and work it consistently until you are financially free and can do what you want when you want. You can even do it while you still work at a JOB.

Think a little bit about what your future expenses may be. Do you have kids? What will their education expenses be? Do you have girls that one day may have wedding expenses that you are expected to pay? Have you thought about what kind of taxes you may have to pay? (They seem to go up every year whether federal, state, property, or anything else the government decides to tax). As for me, my kids go to a private school and my tuition keeps skyrocketing every year. If I only had a J.O.B., I would not be able to even afford the tuition, much less save for college or anything else.

I’m sure your pocket book is getting too light too fast right now with gasoline well over 3 dollars per gallon. Also, many of the basic food necessities have jumped in price as well. Just the normal living expenses have been climbing and the dollar is weakening. What are you doing to combat it? Are you trading more of your time for money? Many people that I know are just working extra hours for a little bit more pay. However, they don’t usually realize that they may be paying more taxes on the overtime and getting less take home pay per hour. Back to my main point; the time is much more valuable than the money.

If your time is invested wisely in your own business and the right systems are put in place, you can make MUCH more money than at a JOB. You can also build it where you invest the time creating a product or service ONCE and continue to get paid without having to put in more work. This is the essence of a freedom mentality instead of JOB mentality. My biggest successes in business have been my service businesses where I spend my focused work efforts creating the product. Then, it is just a matter of making it available, writing good copy (which I am admittedly not very good at yet), and getting traffic. After that, the sales start coming in and the money comes in every month. I’m generating a very generous income without even being good at writing copy. I’m still learning the ropes in this area. The point is, you don’t have to be great or even good at everything to make money. Just start your business and work at it. You will make mistakes but you will learn as you go. You will get better and better. I didn’t know squat when I started, but I learned along the way and it has paid off. I’m still learning in a lot of areas (and will never be an expert at everything).

Don’t live your life thinking you must have a good J.O.B. to be successful. That is what we are taught but it is not a path to freedom. Stop trading your time for money. A J.O.B. is a path to slavery to your employer - until they don’t need you anymore…. Start a business of your own and pave your path to financial freedom.

Every now and then, something in your life just may grab your attention and make you think a bit about what you are doing with your life and what really matters. You’ve probably heard the saying, “Stop and smell the roses.” Generally, it refers to taking the time to appreciate the things around you and embrace life. Be thankful for what God has blessed you with. Slow down a little bit and realize what is really important in life.

Another saying by the great philosopher, Ferris Bueller - “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Once again, the idea is to slow down and really appreciate life and all of our blessings.

Every once in a while, you get a swift kick in the rear by some life changing event or challenge that makes you really focus on the things you are spending your valuable time on and what is REALLY important. What is really important to you? What should you be doing differently once you realize what your priorities SHOULD be?

It can be easy to lose site on the important things in life when you are trying to build an internet business. You can get so caught up in the busy work of running your business that you overlook your family and other priorities. You convince yourself that they are the reason you are building the business. While this is probably true, you need to focus your efforts on working smart. Do things in a smart way so you won’t end up doing “busy work”. Put systems in place and/or outsource your busy work so you can spend time with your family and do the things that are important. You can always build your business late at night and miss a little sleep. Missing a little sleep is much better than missing out out your family. You only have one chance to teach your children how to ride a bike for the first time - or catch their first fish - or hit their first ball - or FILL IN YOUR OWN LIFE MOMENT HERE. Don’t miss out on all of the little things in life. The little things in life ARE life. Life is a long journey full of “little moments”. You want to experience as many little moments as possible.

Keep in mind, the reason you are building your own business is so you can have the freedom to be able to experience more of these little moments since you won’t have to be working at a J.O.B. You will be able to be where you want to be when you want to be there. So, work smart so you can smell the roses.

- Hill Robertson

Do you have business systems in place that do work for you whether you do anything or not? A business system in place that gives you the freedom to focus on other areas of your business or take care of other matters is one of the key ingredients to a successful business.

Today was a great example of how one of my business systems kept my internet business rolling along while I was unable to. You see, today, I had an appointment with my eye doctor. I was planning on a normal checkup with no interruption to my regular business and family activities. However, it turned out that I needed to have my eyes dilated for some of the tests. Getting your eyes dilated in not fun at all. It disrupts a lot of your routine.

After the procedure, I had to wear 2 pairs of sunglasses (at the same time) to keep the light low enough to not be painful to my eyes. They said my eyes would not be “normal” for at least 3 or 4 hours. As soon as I got home, I got in bed and covered my head so there was no light getting to my eyes so I could have some relief until my pupils returned to normal. I had to wait a few more hours before they felt normal again. In fact, I kept the sunglasses on for the first few hours on my computer (and we’re talking at night) just to stay comfortable.

Anyway, thanks to my business systems in place, I didn’t have to worry about many of my normal functions (such as blog carnival submissions). If I had to submit them myself, my eyes could not have handled it and I probably would be in too much pain to write this blog posting.

So, set up as many business systems as you can to reduce the work you have to do yourself. This will free up your time to focus on other areas of your business (or let you go to the eye doctor and have your eyes dilated).

- Hill Robertson

Think back on some of the things you have been passionate about throughout the years. What hobbies have you had in the past that you really loved? Are you still actively pursuing those passions? Which of those passions have you lost interest in or have otherwise let fall to the wayside?

It can be very important to understand why you lost interest in previous passions. If you can determine the factors involved in letting go of your passions, you will better understand how to stay passionate about something for a longer period of time (or why you may not stay passionate about something as you look a little way down the road).

As we’ve discussed before, you will want to spend more time on things you have a passion for. Your desire will keep you motivated and it will be obvious in your work whether it is in your internet business, family life, hobbies, or just about anything else.

On the same thought, if you recognize the reasons you stuck with certain passions that you have had for longer periods of time, you can better understand what factors are involved in consistently sticking with those passions.

Identify your passions and use them to create happiness and potentially a successful business. Just think about the things you love to do. What would you do if time was not an issue? What would you do if money was not an issue? Those things are the very things that just may give you the time and money freedoms you desire.

- Hill Robertson

The big news today has been the presidential election primaries. Everyone wants their candidate to win for many different reasons. The issues cover just about the entire spectrum including religious beliefs, taxes, health care, illegal immigration, the war in Iraq, the economy, education, and the list goes on and on. When you boil it all down, people tend to vote for the candidate they believe will give them what they want.

What motivates the way you vote or who you want to win? Do you want the candidate that says they will give you everything for free (usually at the expense of others) or do you want the candidate that best enables you to build a successful business of your own? The lines often get blurred as to which side each candidate falls in these areas. Regardless of how you plan to vote (or if you are going to vote at all), you have a choice of how successful you will be.

If you put all of your hope and dreams in what someone else will do for you, whether it be the president of the country or your boss at work, you will end up disappointed. You are the only one that can control the path of your future. While other outside forces may change the terrain of your path and may cause little bumps, pot holes, and maybe even detours along the way, you are still in control of where you drive and how fast you get there.

It really just takes a decision on your part and then consistent action. You can choose to be successful and you can shape your future based on your actions today. Start on your journey of success today. It is YOUR decision. No matter who wins in the primaries or general election, your future is in your control - if you decide to take control. If you take control of your future and take action, the real winner is YOU.

- Hill Robertson