Archive for December, 2005

As we close out 2005 today I want to put out my best-of list for 2005. This was the year of the mix, and an interesting one to boot. Almost everything on my list is a mix of different elements. There is really nothing “new” here but a fun and exciting mix of styles, times and genres. Most of these mixes work pretty well and I hope 2006 carries on the trend. Without further ado… The list…

• Best Movie: Without a doubt my favorite movie of 2005 is Cinderella Man. When you take the life story of fighter Jim Braddock and mix it with the directing talents of Ron Howard you come up with Magic! On screen performances by Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger take you back to the depression era and immerse you in the despair, hunger and resourcefulness of the time. This movie is what success is all about… overcoming immense obstacles with passion and a laser like vision. Truly a masterpiece!
• Best Album: Give pop musician John Mayer a blues guitar and bring in legendary drummer Steve Jordan and bassist Pino Palladino and you have some of the best blues-rock since Jimi Hendrix on his Stratocaster. The album is named “Try“, but this mix of talent creates a smokin’, bring the house down blues session. If you love good old fashioned guitar blues-rock, pick up this album.
• Best Designer Dog: Mix a pug with a beagle and what do you get? Why a Puggle of course! This is one of the coolest new designer breeds and a dog specifically designed for cramped city living. This little energetic pooch has short hair, a deeply wrinkled forehead, a curled tail and short little legs. This is one mix that works and they are really fun little dogs!
• Best Digital Camera: Can you put a video camera in your shirt pocket? You can if you purchase the Canon SD400. Mix a pocket size 5 megapixel camera with the abilty to capture video and throw in a 1gig SD memory card and you have a pocket production studio. This is the most fun I’ve had with a camera in a long time. I can capture great video on this little unit and play it back in just seconds on my computer. With a price under $300 this is truly a bargain!
• Best New Car: Hire away the designer of the PT Cruiser, put him in a design studio and tell him you want a remake of the 49 Chevy Suburban. That is just what GM did and the result is the Chevy HHR. A great mix of old and new with a retro look, modern high efficiency drive train, and a whopping 30 miles per gallon on the highway.  With an iPod hookup and a rear area that folds flat, this is one fun vehicle and a practical one too!

These are my picks and I’d like to hear about yours!

It has been an amazing year in the Blog-O-Sphere. Many blogs have come and gone. Stories about every imaginable subject have been written. Technology has improved and starting a blog is now easier than ever. This little blog had it’s humble beginnings back in March and grew slowly with a few new readers added each week. Along with the growth came many friends and acquaintances. I’ve found that the blogging world is a pretty neat place. I’ve learned a lot, had some setbacks and also had some really exciting things happen. 2005 has been a great year.

I would like to share with you my picks for the Best of the Blog-O-Sphere 2005… from my perspective.

1. Best Performing Blog: StevePavlina.com
Steve is an amazing guy. He has written on almost every imaginable subject relating to personal development. He has led us through his adventures in polyphasic sleeping, sending an intention to the universe to make a million dollars, and having dreams about gargoyles and Ghandi. His unique content has brought in a loyal following with over one million page views per month. This traffic loves to click on his Adsense Ad’s to the tune of almost $5000/month. This has been an amazing ride for Steve as his blog only made $10 back in February. Congrats Steve on an amazing journey… maybe now you can get some sleep!

2. Most Helpful Blogger: Rosa Say from Talking Story
Rosa is best known as the author of Managing with Aloha and a professional leadership coach. But there is much more to this amazing lady. She is a blogging teambuilder like no other. She has put together an amazing group of business bloggers called the Ho’ohana Community. She is always willing to help and has many online resources to help you become a better leader. “Aloha” Rosa on a Great Year!

3. Most Consistent Writer: Troy Worman from Orbit Now
Writing and posting to a blog can be a very time consuming task. Many blogs go weeks or even months between posts. It is refreshing to find a writer that is both prolific and consistent. Troy Worman has a passion for writing and it shows. He is responsible for 5 different blogs and each one is updated on a regular basis. Content is king in the World Wide Web and Troy is one of the most consistent content writers there is. Great job in 2005!

4. Best Search Engine Blog: Yaro Starak
Every blogger wants to find that secret to blogging success… more traffic. Yaro is a rarity in the Search Engine Optimization blog world. He is not your typical “Pay me lots of money for my secrets” SEO blogger. In fact he has taken a very helpful approach with his fellow bloggers and has shared many of his search engine secrets with all of us. I have learned so much from his site. Thank you Yaro for all of your insights!

5. Best Blogging Tool: Performancing for Firefox
Performancing.com is the new kid in town. Their motto is Helping Bloggers Succeed. Performancing LLC was formed, and is owned by Patrick Gavin and Nick Wilson. Also on the team are Chris Garrett, the techy guy, and Andy Hagans, the monetization expert. Their new plug-in for Firefox allows you to edit your blog from a window in your Firefox browser. This is one cool timesaving tool… and it’s free! Thanks Guys!

6. Best Blog Theme: Life Hut
This has to be one of the best designed Wordpress blogs to come online in a long time. The design and concept of a Hut make this a fun site and the voting feature makes it interactive as well. It’s rare to see a new blog come online with so many great features. Take a look at the imaginative graphics and well laid out CSS. Great job Bryan!

7. Best Coffee Blog: Life-Leadership-Lattes
If you are hanging out in Starbucks with your laptop you must checkout ScottHodge.org. This site is dedicated to caffeine and sock monkeys! What is a sock monkey you ask? Well they even have a sock monkey photo album and some cool video clips. Great site and great multimedia Scott!

Honorable Mentions go out to To-Done, Genuine Curiosity, Slacker Manager, and Good at Everything for new blog interfaces for 2005. These are all exceptional sites and each has a great new look. Check them out!

I want to say thanks to all of you out there who have made this a great year online! We have some exciting things in store for 2006. Stay Tuned!

Steve Pavlina has an interesting article today called the 50-30-20 Rule. It is a concept similar to other A-B-C task allocations like Stephen Covey’s four-quadrant Plan-Plus approach, but it actually specifies how much time to invest in each type of activity. I like to think of the concept like the Zone Diet. The Zone Diet Allocates 40% carbohydrates, 30% Protein, and 30% fat in a diet plan. The term in the zone refers to how you feel when you partake of this mix of nutrients.

Steve breaks things down this way,

A tasks are expected to yield significant benefits over a 5-year time span and beyond.

B tasks are expected to yield benefits over a 2-year timespan or less.

C tasks are expected to make a difference only in the timespan of 90 days or less.

Steve’s Zone is 50% A Tasks, 30% B tasks, and 20% C tasks. Steve will feel most empowered when his day is divided up in this manner.

I think everyone can agree that it is the C tasks such as E-mail and phone calls that take up much of our time. Steve suggests listing things out on paper and planning a daily regimen of activities around the allocation. I have tried this approach in the past with Covey’s Plan-Plus system for Outlook in which you assign all tasks a letter priority and then sort items by importance. The problem that I have had with this system is it takes quite a bit of time each day to plan the days activities. I find that I spend more time planning than doing on many days.

I like Steve’s idea but I think it may work better divided up on a weekly basis with major portions of time allocated to certain tasks. I like David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” approach to time management. On my job I like to set aside a planning time at the beginning of the week. Then at the end of the week I like to set aside a “cleanup” time for filing and sorting e-mail. This helps me keep focused better on a daily basis. Instead of being in e-mail constantly I can better focus on my A and B tasks. The Getting Things Done Plugin for Outlook has been a big help for e-mail sanity and project management and I find it much quicker and easier than Covey’s Plan-Plus system.

One way Steve’s system would work for me would be to plan out times for A and B activities on a weekly basis first, allocate a percentage of time, and make them a priority. Then the C items will then fill in the gaps. It’s Covey’s idea of the big rocks (A-items) that need to be in place first. For example, I may set aside a whole day to a work on an “A-task” with my entire focus on that one project and then set aside a Friday afternoon for C items.

I think the real secret here is to test out some different scenarios and see what works for you.

As Steve says…

In the long run, it’s the A tasks that make or break us. If we don’t do them, we essentially let our potential go to waste. Who wants to devote the bulk of their lives to answering email and paying bills? We need to keep such tasks from taking over our lives, so we have time to tackle the truly great challenges that can make a real difference to us… and to the world.

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The Time Zone is a great place to be…

With the end of the year closing in fast I thought back to some of the highlights from 2005. Almost all of them have something to do with a “community”. A community is described as “A group of people having common interests.” I belong to a number of communities. At home I’m part of my family community, at work I’m part of the “technology” community, while in my spare time I’m part of a Toastmasters community, a church community and a blogging community. Some of the great things I’ve found out about community are…

1. Your family is your most important community.
Sometimes life becomes so busy we forget about our “family” community. Don’t let outside things steal away your relationships with your family and friends. Communication is very important in family communities and especially during the holidays. A phone call or letter to family members can really pull together your most important family asset.

2. A community is a place to share your heart.
As part of a small group at church I have found a great place to share and pray with others. We meet once a week and share worship together, have an uplifting study and then pray for each others needs. There is incredible power when 2 or more people pray together. I can’t tell you how many miracles we have seen as a result of prayer and sharing each others needs.

3. A community is a great place to solve problems.
I work with a talented group of technology professionals who are very helpful and open to discussion. As technology becomes more and more complicated having a group of peers that you can share ideas and strategies becomes more important than ever. I am lucky to work with a group of people that are insightful and not condescending and the synergy that results has solved many complex problems.

4. A community is a great way to meet new people and develop new friends.
In almost every community I have ever been a part of I have met interesting people and many have become lifelong friends. There is something about having a “common interest” that breaks down barriers and brings people together. Smaller groups of 10-20 people seem to be the best for networking and getting to know one another.

5. A community is a place to grow in knowledge and skills.
My life has been profoundly changed with leadership and speaking skills I have learned at Toastmasters. This is a place that you find yourself surrounded with talented people from all walks of life. The great thing about Toastmasters is the camaraderie as you progress in giving speeches and learning new skills. A group where you see people do better week after week is very encouraging.

As you write down your goals for 2006 and develop a life strategy make sure to include “community” in your plans. Here are a couple of guidelines that have been helpful to me in the past when joining a new community.

1. Look for a positive group of people. If your first group meeting is divisive and negative stay far away and find a different group.

2. Look for people with skills that you admire. If you can find a group with helpful and knowledgeable mentors you will find your personal growth greatly accelerated.

3. Look for a group with vision. Where is the group going should be one of your questions on your first visit. If they don’t have a destination or goal in mind you might want to look elsewhere.

4. Look for a fun group of people. If there is no laughter or merriment allowed the group will be a tough place to visit on an ongoing basis. Look for smiles and humor to make your visits bright!

I just want to say a special word of thanks to all of my blogging friends that I have met in 2005. The blogging community has been a very supportive and positive place for me this year. I just want to wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah and Wonderful Holiday season as we all look forward to an incredible 2006!

You don’t see the Ads on this page. They aren’t there. They are invisible. Since they are invisible make sure you don’t click on them.

There is an ongoing debate in the blogosphere about putting Google ads on your blog. Some bloggers such as Steve Pavlina have many Adsense ads on their site while others such as Yaro Starak have moved away from them all together.

Erik Vossman over at Good at Everything has taken a middle of the road approach. He writes…

I find Google ads to be helpful at certain times although I don’t tend to click and them often when I am on other blogs. I go for the articles not the click through. My goal with this weblog is to have many return readers who find my insights helpful. Therefore for the next couple of months I will keep the ads to a minimum. I may find that bringing them back is a good idea but only when readers find me helpful to read.

I like Erik’s approach. I have found Google Ad’s to be effective at times but require a lot of work to match the current content of my blog. I have had to block over 100 different ads to cut down on content that doesn’t meet my standards that I have set up for this site. And most ads just become invisible to regular readers. So what does Google say to make Adsense more effective? They have a heat sheet that points out the hot spots for ads on a site. The most effective place… right here in front of your face in the middle of this article. You can’t miss them. They are in your way and in your face.

Ads in the middle of content are irritating, like a child leaving their skates on the floor for you to trip over. You trip… you get mad. But when you trip, you’ll pick up the skates and move them out of the way. When ads are in the middle of content you are much more likely to see them and think about them. And then you do the unthinkable… even though you are irritated with them being in your face as you are trying to read… you click on one.

Your curiosity gets the best of you…

What is that ultra low rate on a home loan?

Where is that timeshare resale for only $500?

What is that new success strategy guaranteed to make you more productive?

You click… you see the ad website… and you buy the product or service a certain percentage of the time.

It’s human nature and a very effective strategy for Google who is valued at over 8 billion dollars.

Google has a policy against clicking on your own ads. The other day there was an ad that showed up on this blog that was real interesting to me. It was about a new CSS editor and I had to know more about it. I couldn’t click on it or I would void my TOS agreement with Google. The ad had no visible URL so I was in a quandry. How could I see the ad site?

I realized the only solution was to fire up Internet Explorer and use the Adsense preview tool. I fired up IE and was able to view the site and download the new tool. Unfortunately I’m a big Firefox fan and I was rather dismayed to have to open IE to see the ad. The advertiser almost lost a sale…

My question is… should I subject my readers to in-your-face ads?

I would love to hear your comments…

Oh by the way… resist the temptation to click on that weight loss ad… you really can’t lose 10 pounds in a week… at least I don’t think you can??

I ran across a book the other day at the bookstore entitled Five Factor Fitness. It is a new take on the Body-for-Life type of fitness program and it may be easier for most people to stick to. The basic premise is you work out 5 days a week for 25 minutes per day. Each day’s exercise regimen is a combination of aerobics and weight training. The only equipment that you need are a set of dumbells and a workout bench. The diet portion consists of eating 5 balanced meals per day with each containing protein, carbs and good fats.

5-Factor Fitness encourages you to work out less and eat more. Yes, you heard me correctly. Work out less and eat more. Eating 5 meals a day raises you metabolism and provides a steady stream of vital nutrients that help you body maximize tone, fit, and physique. And working out for 25 minutes a day builds strength and stamina.

People report having good success with the program. I like the fact that it only takes 25 minutes per day and the meals plans are all developed to be prepared in 5 minutes or less. I’m going to try the regimen for 5 weeks and see how it works. I’ve been working thru the Body-for-Life program but I find it hard to squeeze the plan’s 45 minute workout times into my usual workflow. The 25 minutes workout times in this new program are a much better fit.

I’ll keep you posted on my results.

On a side note, I received an invitation to join fellow blogger Jason Womak on a 3 month fitness quest. The program starts in January and he has a few more openings for anyone interested. He posted some details in his note…

Well, January is just around the corner. I’m putting together a complimentary 3-month training program for anyone interested in moving toward a health and fitness goal. I am going to compile and present some practical information - the same processes I’ll use - to reach, or even surpass, a new wellness standard.

If you’d like to participate, just let me know. You can e-mail me: Jason[at]jasonwomack[dot]com.

The format will take us through 12 weeks, January through March. Some of the highlights will include:

* Short and long articles e-mailed to your in-box
* Regular blog entries at www.FitAndEffective.com
* PodCasts
* At least two tele-conference calls
* Handouts, worksheets and forms to track progress
* and more…

Of course, the program will be built by someone who’s too busy to exercise, who travels too much to stick to a program, and who isn’t in a hotel long enough to find the gym. So, for anyone out there “too busy,” I promise you’ll get some good tips and tricks out of this.

This sounds just like the motivation that I need and Jason is a great coach who works with David Allen and Company (The Getting Things Done folks).

You can get more information and sign up for his program at www.FitAndEffective.com