Well David & I have some exciting news! We are expecting a baby at the end of March 2010, that’s what you get when you live on an isolated Island! Unfortunately for me I have spend a large amount of time, rushing to the bathroom, leaning out car doors and looking at the base of trees throwing up – not pretty and very exhausting. I have been battling to get my regular daily tasks complete and the IM has gone somewhat by the wayside. The great news is I am starting to improve and only throw up about once a day at the moment, hopefully this ends soon and I can actually ‘glow’…lol

As a consequence, we have quit our Island job as we decided it was far to isolated and simply not suitable, so we are now also in the process of moving house and back to the mainland. With the knowledge we have gained we have managed to rank Canvas Prints Online depending on the day, from page 1 to 3 of google which is super exciting. We think that using Youtube and Traffic Geyser has had the biggest impact on the ranking. Another niche that we developed with a friend has also recently had a mention in Australian Home Beautiful Magazine, which is also super exciting and grown the business overnight –  Trambanners.com.au

So I feel I need to almost go back to scratch and re-watch some of Alex Jeffreys traffic modules and really re-motivate and consolidate much of the learning. So expect to see more blog posts and posts in the private member forums. 

I am looking forward to re-connecting with you all!

Cheers

Mel

I also feel like a winner by simply being a part of the Alex Jeffreys Coaching program. I expected to learn a lot about Internet marketing, but I never expected to be surrounded by such an amazing community. The support and generosity of the group as a whole and also from many individuals has been overwhelming. I also feel like I have made friends from all over the globe, that will hopefully last a lifetime. The private members forum is a very positive place to ‘hang out’. 

I hope that all of Alex Jeffreys students achieve their goals and ambitions and that all the dreams come true.

To your success!

Cheers

Mel

Well the second question is easy to answer, fear is definitely what was holding me back from making my first online video. Certainly a fear of many things! Firstly, I think fear of negative criticism and just simple negativity! I think in truth no-one wants to suffer from other people being negative and criticizing them especially when they are a newbie. Secondly fear of failure. The question is- what if I declare myself to the world and then I am a dismal failure, everyone will know! It was a giant step and leap of faith for me to make the the very first video.

What made me finally get my  act together and finally do it. Well the same answer as question two – fear of failure! If I don’t do it I am bound to fail, heck all the gurus are using video marketing, so therefore I need to be. I was also very nervous about putting myself ‘out there’ in the form of my own personal blog, but hey so far it’s been a pretty good experience. So how bad can Youtube be?

I know the first video isn’t going to rock the world and certainly isn’t a masterpiece by any stretch, but hey I have done it, it’s out there! Hopefully I can only improve from the first effort and not get worse If you are also struggling, the only advice I can give is listen to the gurus and just act and take the plunge, surely it couldn’t be any worse than mine…lol

Some of the things that made it slightly easier for me was:

• Watching Maria Andros over and over and over again, I keep telling myself I wasn’t procrastinating, but rather I was learning…lol
• I shot the video in a situation that I felt relaxed. For me it was around my horses, they give me a feeling of being relaxed and I am very comfortable around them. For you it may be with family members, so your kids or at the beach, out shopping or whatever it takes to make you feel relaxed!
• I didn’t put any pressure on myself to make a epic masterpiece. I was just happy to get something achieved that showed a little about myself, I know I can improve at a later date and learn from my first go.
• I decided that I was just going to have a go and do it regardless of the outcome.
• I didn’t do to many takes. I found that after a certain time I actually got worse and become more critical of myself and more nervous. So I decided to choose the best take I had a run with that. I can always go back at a later date and have another go!
• Don’t be overly hard on yourself, sure analyze things, but it takes time to achieve perfection. We can’t all become gurus overnight.

So…..here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w1YHbOYldo

Please leave a comment, but be nice, it’s been a terrifying experience!:)

Cheers & Good Luck

Mel

Brainstorming is a way to gather ideas, it can be done as an individual or can involve a group who are looking to develop ideas and problem solve. The aim is generally to develop as many ideas as possible and then go back and evaluate them at a later date. Ideas can be worked on changed and improved.

Brainstorming is a great tool in any situation to bring out ideas and stimulate creative though processes. It can often bring a shift in paradigm and thinking and enables many different minds and ideas to be brought together. It is incredibly beneficial to bounce your ideas and thinking processes of other people. This bouncing of ideas then may in turn spark the ideas of another individual.

Some of the benefits of brainstorming may include:

• Encouragement of creativity
• Expanding of thinking to see different perspectives of problem solving and idea development
• Everyone can be involved equally, every idea is a worthy one
• Brainstorming can help ideas to grow quickly
• It can dramatically increase productivity
• Can help to develop lateral thinking

So wether you are involved in a group as just an individual brainstorming can be a useful tool to develop ideas and solve problems. Please feel free to comment and add your ideas.

I now have a very clear idea and path of where I want the canvas printing business to be but also, but also feel I have resources and knowledge to get it there. The first thing I will be doing is setting up a list building resource with a free ebook. Outsourcing is a big scary world for me, but after today’s call with Alex Jeffreys, it all seems pretty straight forward. I have already posted on elance to have a eBook written for the canvas printing site, yeah! I am easily amused by the simple achievements in life.

I am so very excited about the path I am going to be travel and now also have some great ideas for future eBooks. I am also really looking forward to getting to know and work with some fellow students of Alex Jeffreys.

I have started Alex Jeffreys Marketing With You program and I am very very excited. Hopefully over the next few weeks you will get to know me a little better.

I have also started playing around with imindmap and I am finding it very useful. Check it out, it has a FREE 7 day trial. Anyone who is setting goals and working using back planning will find it very helpful.

I believe that one of the most important keys is to act and move forward and don’t get bogged down in the detail!