My Walk to The Mailbox
I was reading this morning in Walking With God and suddenly I was overwhelmed and I just had to write you and share my experience this morning.
I woke up this morning with my heart filled with hope, because today I was to go outside for the first time in 6 days, I was going to try and drive! I have been wrestles and wanting to get mobile and do something, I’m not very patient at the best of times as you know. So I asked God, Do you want me to drive today? I listened and then a huge shooting pain hit me, yes, right where I was opened up to fix my Hernia. I took that as a NO! So I then asked if he wanted me to try and walk to the Mailbox today, I heard nothing. So, I took my shower and cleaned up as well as you can clean me up, grabbed my coat and made my way outside. What a great moment it was, I felt the sun on my face and took a deep breath, then I took my first steps. I wanted to walk in my normal way of walking but I was scared, what if I slip? Could you imagine the pain? Would I really hurt myself? As you can see a full range of emotions was racing through my head, I found myself looking for Mommy.
I went to my car, opened the door and looked in the console. Why? I was looking for my wallet! I couldn’t find it anywhere, I knew for sure then I was not supposed to drive this day. I closed the door and looked across the valley, what a beautiful day it is for a walk I thought. I got to the end of the drive way and found myself remembering the first day I left home as a teenager, I said, well this it. Look out world here I come!
I also found myself walking like I was a hundred years old, taking baby steps and making my way to the mailbox. There was lots of frost on the ground so I was concerned about slipping and falling, if I did I knew I would be down for sometime crying I’m sure from the pain, not from the impact but from the sudden movement and tightening of muscles and would I tear open up the incision? There’s a reason why they say 4 to 6 weeks for recovery, but I want it over in a week of course J
I got to the mailbox with anticipation, what’s in here I wonder…Yippee No Bills! As I close the mailbox I look back towards the house and thought, I’m half way there and I didn’t fall. The commercial on TV came to mind, Help I’ve fallen and I can’t get up! I’m kind of weird at the most unusual moments but most people already know that about me…my silly switch just clicked. I walked back home without incident, it was a small victory.
Once back inside I made a cup of tea and thanked God for the walk to the mailbox, after all, God is busy why should he take time to walk with me to the mailbox? I picked up the book once again and continued to read Walking With God….a sense of peace and humility came over me, we all need to take a walk with God no matter what we’re going through. Stop and ask him, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Many Blessings,
Owen
It's The Traffic Man!
Between 8-8:30AM and 3-3:30PM I don’t dare try to leave or come home, why? There are 4 schools within a block and 1/2 where I live and the cars are lined up everywhere, it’s even worse when a school has an event. It’s impossible to get anywhere quickly, and some drivers are so clueless, they don’t care that they are blocking traffic because they are going to turn whether you like it or not! Those big SUV’s are no match for my Malibu so I have to wait.
I was watching the flag person this morning and they have to be on there toe’s, drivers are not watching them, they are looking ahead and strategizing how to maneuver the next exit or parking spot. The flag person’s are volunteers and they are risking themselves to ensure our children get to school safely while crossing the street. They should get medals for doing it if you ask me because the volume of traffic is unmanageable for one person. they just keep coming and coming trying to get ahead or turn into the parking lot before the next car closes the opportunity to turn. I would love to have this traffic problem on my website, I wouldn’t care what they did as long as they came and bought what I was selling.
So there’s the question, why would traffic turn to come into your parking lot called a Blog or website? How would you get them there and how would you get them to stay long enough to read your work or buy your products?
I have been researching (or playing whichever you like to call it) this challenge of traffic the past few weeks and I am coming to some very simple conclusions. I don’t know if it’s important but I have come to believe that everything comes down to one thing, It’s The Traffic Man! There are many ways to build or direct traffic to your website and many would have you believe that you have to spend a considerable amount of money to make it happen. I’m not here to say that you shouldn’t spend money on traffic, I’m merely pointing out that you have three options:
1.) Buy your traffic.
2.) Build Organic traffic (don’t buy traffic)
3.) Do both (1 & 2)
I am currently working on number two, it just seems more long term to me, they came because they liked what you were doing and sharing. Paid traffic has a purpose which primarily means your selling something or you must have a high rate of response in a short period of time. In a way, the slower organic approach to traffic appears to build community better, it lays a stronger foundation. I’m sure those buying or paying for traffic say the same thing but I haven’t gone down that road so I can’t speak intelligently on payed traffic.
I started building my traffic with Twitter over Christmas and found the community an amazing source of information not to mention it’s responsiveness. I was able to test topics, interests in traffic, all kinds of things that lead to traffic to my Blog, it is and was a fun experience and I truly value all those who follow me. That’s a key thing for me, Value those who follow you and those who visit your site regularly. The traffic that comes from Twitter is considerable on a day-to-day basis so twitter is probably the best place to start of you are building organic traffic to your sites. To find out how I build traffic using Twitter read my post called, ” 10 Days to a 1,000 Followers“.
No matter what you want to accomplish with your Blog or website, you need one thing, and thats Traffic. It’s The Traffic Man!
Should We Trust Technology?
I was helping a friend fix his computer, he asked is everything lost? I ask him if he backed up his data, of course not why would he do that? I asked the next question, when was the last time you backed-up your data? Then like he had a megaphone in my ear, I DON”T KNOW HOW TO BACK UP MY DATA! All my spreadsheets and word documents are lost, how can that be the computers brand new?
If I had a dollar for every computer that broke down out of the box I wouldn’t have to worry about money. But for some reason when we buy something we just assume it will work for ever, especially things like TVs, stereos, freezers and computers. We put more faith in those purchases than we do in anything else, well, outside of eating in a public restaurant anyway. Why? Why do we do that? Nowhere does it say these devices and equipment won’t breakdown or already be broken before we even get them installed. Most things we buy today all have some form of technology in them, try and think of one that doesn’t…well a potato peeler maybe but there’s not many.
There seems to be this unwritten law that if I buy something it just works, there’s no chance it won’t we’re thinking as we drive home. I have sold more computers than I can count over the years and manufacturer’s don’t always get it right, something can fall through the cracks. Assembly lines are not immune to malfunction, why? Technology!
I got a call to provide some input on what was thought to be a DNS issue, after asking enough questions, two or three I discovered that most likely it was that expensive high end Router that was installed. I said pull it and go get something different and see what happens. You guessed it, that high end router was faulty.
We put alot of faith in technology, we build spreadsheets thinking that they are accurate and the software can’t make a mistake, really? How do you know? Society has gone down the technology road so far now we can go back, and would we want to? Most of us have High Speed (Broadband) Internet connections, would you go back to dial-up now? I rest my case.
Now technology is progressing at a rate that is exponential, explosive growth. People think linearly, one, two, three, and 30 steps later your at 30. But the reality of information technology it is going 2, 4, 8, 16, and 30 steps later you are at a billion! With growth moving that quickly how will ensure that it is accurate and not faulty?
Take nanotechnology, little blood cell sized nanobots will be injected into our blood streams and cure say diabetes. Will it? What if doesn’t, what are the side effects and who is going to guarantee that nanobots are full proof? I suspect no one will back them up 100% but how can we be sure these technologies will work 100% of the time and not fail in the future?
I believe there needs to be a body that overseas and sets standards to protect us against faulty technology in the future, in light of this exponential growth curve. You may assume that there will be, but, let’s not assume please. So, should we trust technology? Some of it? Yes. A Lot of it? Yes. But when it comes to injecting blood cell sized nanobots into our bodies, I want to know for sure something won’t go wrong. How far do we allow technology to go, to intrude on our privacy and watch over us? How deep is your trust in technology?
I’m just asking the questions nothing more. I’m suggesting we keep things in perspective, make sure we put the proper framework in place now to ensure the safe use of these new technologies being worked on today.
Should we trust technology?
Internet Marketing & Advertising Are Too Confusing To Small Business Owners
I have come to the conclusion that the online world has forgotten how to connect with small business owners. Talking in terms of impressions, traffic, page views and links just doesn’t compute. The small business owner doesn’t care about those events unless it means increasing revenue, they’ll make more money from it. Yes they are indicators and bench marks to determine if online efforts are paying off but the real truth is in the cash draw at the end of the day. For small business owners to understand all this jargon you need to keep it simple, dummy it down so to speak.
I recently met with a small business owner and they could care less about what all that stuff meant, they want to improve business that’s it that’s all. More sales, more traffic through the doors, more traffic to their website that they spent a pile of money on. Because at night when they go to bed they are thinking about how to pay the hydro bill, the phone bill and their staff. The problem is still the same even with Internet. Why is it that Internet Marketer’s think the problem changes just because it’s the Internet? Oh, to make it more confusing, there appears to be different types of Internet Marketers!
Granted, a well thought out marketing strategy should include an online presence and a good advertising program, but, the Internet is only one part of it not the end all answer. Cross promotion, making sure your websites address is on all correspondence, letterhead, business cards and the like. You bet!
That business owner told me that all the jargon was too confusing not to mention being told how it all worked! It could be that the person selling the online presence is not looking at the problem from the same side of the table as the potential client. Looking at it as a transaction instead of genuinely wanting to help, to help solve the problem, to sit in the same boat and go on the journey with them. If you did, you would find the client much more open to your suggestions, why, because they will feel you have something to lose too.
Keep it simple stupid (KISS) still rings in my ears, help your clients get there by joining them on the journey. I know you think I’m assuming all marketers are doing the same thing, but when you hear the same story everyday from small business owners you have to wonder what’s up.
Online Marketing is different, it’s not the same as traditional advertising even though the results might be the same. Take the time to help them understand, show them how simple it can be and stop trying to sound so smart because you get it. And if it’s possible, help them and yourself identify the different types of Internet Marketers there are in the world.
I had to share this with you today because it was frustrating to hear another story as to why their online presence was a negative experience, they felt stupid because the person selling didn’t take the time care for them.
Care for your clients and tell the truth, the rewards are great for all parties involved.