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

One of the most important pieces of a successful business of any kind is having a list of “customers”. My email subscription list is basically my list of customers. It doesn’t mean that any of them buy anything. But they do have an interest in the information I post on this blog. In a way it is similar to someone visiting a store and browsing the merchandise. Let’s look at an example…..

If I like model trains, I may visit a particular model train store every now and then to see what new trains are in stock. I probably won’t buy anything the first few times I visit the store but I will probably have a good time since I like model trains. While I visit the store, I may talk with the owner on occasion and build some sort of relationship with the owner. It still doesn’t mean I will buy anything. However, if someone else I know mentions something about model trains, there is a good chance I will mention the store that I like to visit. This is word of mouth advertising and can be very powerful for any business.

I would probably visit the train store many more times since I enjoy it and may learn something new about model trains that I didn’t know before. I will also probably meet some other people in the store that have something in common with me - model trains. This is even more reinforcement for me to return to the store another time.

Then, one day when I finally decide to buy a model train, I know exactly where to go. There is really not much “selling” or “pitching” the owner would have to do since I already have a relationship with the owner and have a sense of trust with him or her. I would probably even pay a little bit more to the store than I would to someone else that I do not know.

Blogs are really not much different. They are your “store” if you will. It is a place where your “customers” return on a regular basis and build a relationship with you and build a trust with you. They will keep coming back to see what is new with you and to hopefully learn a little bit more about what they enjoy.

This is one of the reasons it is so important to build a subscriber list. It allows you to let your subscribers (customers) know when you have updated your “inventory” or have some more words of wisdom to share with them. If you sell something through your blog, your frequent visitors will many times be the first to purchase your products since they already know you and trust you.

So, be sure to have an opt-in form so your visitors can subscribe to your blog and you can keep them informed and continue to build a relationship that will last a very long time.

One of the reasons I have started implementing the private posts is to encourage frequent visitors to sign up for my blog notification subscription so they can be added to my customer list. Subscribers benefit too with valuable information posts that I don’t publish to everyone and also with special product discounts or early releases.

Do you have a list for your business? You should. If not, get started right now….

- 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

Are you subscribed to this blog yet? I’m going to start posting private blog entries very soon (hint, hint). You must be subscribed to my email blog announcement list to get the password. If you are not yet subscribed, submit your info at the top right of this blog before any private posts are made if you want the password to be able to read them.

Don’t wait too long before you subscribe. If you do, you may miss out on some valuable information or product discounts. Also, the popup window will go away after you subscribe if you use cookies.

Subscribe to this blog right now. Your information will remain private and will never be sold or given away.

- Hill Robertson

If you read this blog, you will see how important taking action is. In fact, it is the one very thing that separates those that are successful and those that are not. If you take action toward your goals you will get there. Other factors such like testing can help you get to your goals faster. But the main thing I am talking about here is taking action. If you don’t take action, you will not be successful. You can think about it all you want to or study all you want to but until you take action you are going no where.

So, we’ve established the fact that you must take action. Now, you need to add a sense of urgency to it. If you don’t have anything driving you to continuously take action day after day, it is very easy to start slacking off and lose any momentum that you may have had. You must take diligent action every day. It will seem extremely slow and tedious at first. However, after a while, you will start to develop a routine (a positive one) and you will get better and better at what you are doing.

Don’t get discouraged when you only see three or four visitors to your site in the beginning. It will get better. You must keep moving forward. You need to have a sense of urgency driving you to improve all areas of your business. Let’s say you were going to get laid off from your job in six months. What would you do? You already know that you won’t gain financial freedom at a J.O.B. (Just Over Broke as many entrepreneurs like to call it). You don’t want to just find another JOB to replace your current one. You want to have the freedom to run your own successful business that can lead you to financial freedom.

Have a sense of urgency in building your business. Don’t just play the internet business game and think you are going to wake up one day and magically be a millionaire. It requires action. Take the action. Even if you don’t do it right the first few times, just do it. It is more important to take action and make some mistakes than not taking action at all. Don’t you learn better from your mistakes anyway?

- Hill Robertson

Did you just have a fleeting thought that you should blog about? If you did, stop reading this right now and blog it or at least write it down so you won’t forget it. Don’t just write down the topic. You need to go ahead and write down all of your thoughts while they are flowing and fresh in your mind. During this time you are “in the moment” and your emotion and passion are actively engaged.

These “in the moment” thoughts will be your best blogs because your passion and emotion will shine through every word. It will set you apart from other bloggers and your true personality will be evident. This is what your readers are craving. They want to know more about you. It is all about relationship with your readers, right?

This blog entry itself is one of those thoughts that just hit me. In fact, I was on my way to get a cup of coffee when it came to my mind so I immediately stopped in my tracks and pulled out my phone (Treo 700P) to start blogging right then and there. I am now putting the finishing touches on this post before posting it.

Just let the words flow. Do not take time to correct your spelling and grammar. If you do, your will lose your train of thought. Just keep writing until you write everything that comes to mind while you are in the moment. You can go back later and correct any spelling and grammatical errors.

If you don’t have a phone with blogging or memo capabilities, keep a small notepad with you that you can write on when an idea hits you. Or, you may even want to have an small electronic recording device with you that you can whip out and record yourself talking your thoughts that you can later transcribe to your blog. Another way you can capture your thoughts without buying anything is to call your own phone and leave a voice message to yourself. This is especially handy when you are driving and can’t easily stop to write something down.

The bottom line is, blog it as soon as you think about it. Blog it or forget it.

- Hill Robertson

To get more potential customers to make a purchase, sometimes it is as simple as giving them what they want. Don’t spend all of your time trying to poke, prod, and cram your potential customers into the product you offer. You should mold your product into what they are looking for. If you do this, you will have a happy customer. This holds true for most any business whether it is an internet business or not.

In my website businesses, I use to give the customer what I thought was what they needed. I would try to put myself in their shoes and decide what they needed based on what I knew. The problem with this method is that the customer knew how their business worked. I didn’t. I tried to push them into the mold that I conjured up in my own head.

Don’t tell your customer too much about what they need. First, listen to them. Then, listen a little more. Keep listening. They will tell you exactly what they need. Once you find out what they need, you can tailor your product to meed their specific needs. Even if you can’t give them exactly what they need, you can probably get closer than if you just forced something on them.

Be sure you over deliver. Give them even more than what you promise. They will realize how much value they get with you. Give them great service and support. Once they like you, you will have a customer that will give you repeat business over and over again. They will recommend you to others who eventually will also purchase from you over and over again. After a while, you will build up a very loyal customer base that will keep you successful for many years to come. It all starts with giving your customers what they want.

- Hill Robertson