Here we are again, another new year is upon us.  The most important thing that any of us can do is to nurture our relationship with our spouse, children, parents, friends.  This will always be number one in my life.  In addition to this,  I have compiled 11 things that I plan on doing in 2011.  Feel free to add to the list!

1.  Make a Plan.  This is obvious and yet so many people feel that their business is just going to happen.  One habit that has proven very effective for me is to take a couple of hours every week, perhaps Sunday evening, to plan out the week.  This plan can be flexible but it gives me a road map of what I want to get done, need to get done, to move my business forward.  At this time of the year, I make a plan for the next three, six, nine and twelve months.

2.  Set Goals.  The goals that I set are based on the Plan that I have created.  Take time to set both business and personal goals.  I review these goals monthly.  It helps to keep me on course.  This site has a good goal setting sheet that you can download for free.

3.  Spend Time Brainstorming. This can be the single most important thing you do for your business.  Taking time, at least monthly, to brainstorm can bring a fresh prospective to your business.

4.  Take Time for Yourself.  If you are working full time, taking care of a family, trying to start an online-business, chances are you have very little time for yourself.  By taking time every day for yourself, even just a short walk, a long shower, a few minutes alone, can refresh and invigorate both your mind and spirit.  Don’t let your busy-ness consume you!

5.  Take Time to Learn.  Set aside time each month to learn one new thing.  It may be a new business model or technique, or something for yourself like scuba diving or crocheting.  Learning new things keeps you engaged in life and it is often during these times that new ideas spring forth.

6.  Use Your Time Productively.  You can spend the day reading forum posts and email, or you can spend the day moving your business forward.  Not enough time?  Dennis Becker of 1K a Day fame has written a fabulous blog post about how you can move your business forward with just 30 minutes a day.

7.  Surround Yourself with Positive People. I did not realize what a drain being surrounded by negative people was until I left my job in April.  Within about a month I felt so darn good — and it wasn’t simply being away from a toxic job.  Several months after leaving that job I was talking to one of my colleagues from that job and as I hung up the phone I felt engulfed with anger, sadness, depression.  Just from that one phone call, my empathy for my friend had brought me to a deep funk!  It took several days to shake off that feeling.  Surrounding yourself with positive people keeps your energy high.

8.  Join a Membership Site.  Joining a membership site will keep you surrounded by like-minded, positive people.  If you join a membership site that has to do with your business, it will help your business.  I currently belong to three membership sites:  1K a Day, Wealthy Affiliate and WP Classroom.  By doing so I am connected to people who can answer my questions, partner with me, give me knew ideas.  Internet Marketing can be a lonely business, but it does not need to be.  I have earned far more since joining these membership sites because the people I have met have motivated me as well as have given me information that I would not have found otherwise.  Whether it is for business or for personal interests, joining a membership site can help you meet your 2011 goals.  Most have introductory offers of a few dollars so you can see if it is right for you.

9.  Get Active.  This does not mean ‘be busy.’  Everyone is so busy.  But when was the last time you played a game of tennis, swam a lap, or went for a walk — just for fun?  Taking time to exercise keeps your mind and you body active and ready to tackle the day.  I find that my best ideas come when I am taking a walk.

10. Find a Mentor.  This can tie in with joining a membership site.  I have met so many incredible people through membership sites — people I know I would not have met otherwise.  You can also find mentors on forums, or through products you have bought.  Most people are very open to answering questions about their products or ideas that you may have.  Of course you don’t want to stalk them!  I have also gathered mentors without the evening knowing it.  I find Jason Fladlien to be a mentor.  I have bought many of his products, read all of his free reports, and through the information I have received I feel like he has mentored me in my business.  I have learned a lot just reading Jason’s blog!   I also subscribe to Tony Shepard’s monthly newsletter, which has also been a great source of mentoring.

11.  Find Joy! Don’t forget the reason why you have created your business.  Whether it is to become more financially secure, spend more time with your family, create a business you can be proud of.  Find joy in what you are doing.  Don’t let setbacks get you down.  With every setback you are learning and moving forward, even if it feels you are moving backwards.  Finding joy in what you do will make your success all the more sweet!

I hope you have a happy and very prosperous 2011!

Until next time,

~Norene

When I started this blog back in August 2009, I stated that I had a goal that I was going to use Internet Marketing to retire from my job by December 31, 2009. Was I successful? Well, I was not. By December 2009 I had a good understanding of Internet Marketing but I was not making enough to retire. That happened on April 23, 2010. This picture was taken on Sunday, April 25, 2010 by my 7-year-old daughter.

Now, I want to tell you that I was very fortunate to hold a job in a company where I could draw a pension after 20 years. I know that many, many folks are not in this situation. Because I was able to collect a small monthly income from this pension, I did not need to have in place a system to completely replace my income when I retired in April. However, being ‘retired’ and able to focus on my IM full time, I was able to make up my full income by August.

Although, I am quite proud of myself — I am a middle-aged, not very techie woman who set a goal and achieved it — this post is not to brag, it is to reassure you that it CAN be DONE. Regardless of your situation. If your situation is as dire as mine was, it is important that you think no other way than ‘it can be done.’ I want to inspire you. I want to help you find your way to achieving your goals.

So, having reworked my blog, I am going to go forward from today showing you how I was able to do it.

I know that so many people are currently out of work, or in dead-end jobs, or as I was, working for a very abusive boss. I want to do everything I can to help you succeed so you can create the life you want. Please do not hesitate to contact me either in the comment boxes or via email with any questions you may have. We are all in this together! I want to see YOUR picture of your last day at your job when your IM endeavors enable you to quit.

Until next time!

~Norene

It wasn’t until I started the coaching program with Alex Jeffreys that it dawned on me one day that I Was Having Fun! The reason I was having fun wasn’t related to making money, as I hadn’t made any money yet, it had to do with the networking that was occurring as a result of the coaching program. Through forums and blogs I was learning more and more about Internet Marketing and these wonderful people that I was meeting along the way were making what had been overwhelming for years, doable. I had heard many times that Internet Marketing was simple but it was not easy. And I let that thought really paralyze me. What I found was that once I started networking with other internet marketers, all that I thought I could never do, really was easy. One step at a time.

Reading other people’s blogs, you really get a sense of the person’s personality and strengths. I came across so many really good, helpful, instructive, motivating posts and I wanted to share some with you. Today I will share some of my favorite blogs that were written in the areas of Blogging, Traffic, and Motivation/Attitude/Goal Setting.

I hope you find them helpful as well.

Blogging
If you are having trouble blogging or want to improve your blog, Matt Wolfe is truly one of the most knowledgeable bloggers that I know. One of his blogs that really shortened the learning curve for me was his blog post about plugins called The Best Plugins for WordPress. He also has numerous short posts that are extremely valuable to the both the new and advanced blogger, making everyone who visits feel comfortable and competent due to how easy to understand his posts are. One such post was about scheduling blog posts in the future called How to Schedule Posts for Later. This was a simple post, but it gave me immediate information that I hadn’t known previously. Matt’s blog is just a wealth of information and he has a free course called WordPress Classroom that is outstanding.

Another blog post that I found really helpful was Lee Berlemann’s pinging post, Follow Up to My Additional Pinging Post. In this post he lists tons of sites that will ping your site bringing in more traffic. I would have never found and compiled this list on my own and I’m very grateful to him.

Traffic
Getting a constant stream of traffic is critical to an internet marketer’s success. The following blog posts were extremely useful to me.

Rob Willis lists 13 different tips for getting traffic to your website or blog. His list is detailed with how to set up these traffic generators easily.

Kim Roach lists 21 ways to get traffic in her blog post titled, 21 Untapped Traffic Sources. I have written more extensively about Kim and her traffic generation strategies in a previous blog post.

Another very extensive description of ways to increase blog traffic can be found on the problogger.net website. Additional information on what might be causing a decline of traffic to your blog can also be found on the problogger blog.

Motivation/Attitude/Goal Setting
One of the most important part of an internet marketing business is to maintain a positive attitude and to keep motivated. I found several excellent posts about this topic.

One of the best posts I have read about goal setting I have mentioned before. It is Paul Norwine’s blog post titled, Goal Setting for Dummies. In this post he explores being specific about your goals and how to whittle down your goals to one main goal to focus on.

Another excellent post is Rob Willis‘ blog post titled, Simplify – Prioritize. Rob lists 5 action steps to help prioritize to make attaining your goals achievable.

A fun blog post was created by Huddson Lee titled What I Learned From My Dog about Online Marketing. It is a post about setting priorities and living in the moment. Well worth the read!

Heine Wentzel writes about his method for always staying positive in his post SOTOFOT.

Finally, a huge part of goal setting and moving your business forward is to remember the importance of continuing to learn. Many people, especially those who are comfortably successful, slow down or even stop learning new ways to use the internet. This attitude can quickly leave you behind. Daniel Scocco talks about this in more detail in his post, Always Be Learning New Skills.

The internet is a big place. Learning from others, networking with like-minded folks, this is what makes this business fun!

What are some of your favorite blog posts about Blogging, Traffic and Goal Setting/Motivation/Attitude?

Has this ever happened to you? You plan, you set goals, you feel all pumped up and you start working toward your goals and then you are sidetracked. Before you know it, you are somewhere, but not where you had planned. And often not in a good place at all.

When this happens to me, it is often because I did not have my goals planted firmly in my mind to remind me of where I was going. Or I kept hammering away a goal that no longer suited my purpose. I didn’t take time to re-evaluate the plans and the goals periodically as I was moving forward. When this happens I often become derailed or overwhelmed or stuck.

This is why I have begun to re-evaluate on a weekly basis. The benefit of this is that if things begin to go off-track you can get back on track fairly quickly. It also allows you to relish, if only for a moment, all that you have accomplished that week and celebrate any and all successes you have had.

I recently read an excellent blog post by Paul Norwine called, “Goal Setting for Dummies Part Two — Honing in on the Target.” In this post Paul talks about the importance of “whittling all the numerous (and sometimes overlapping) goals you may have down to the ONE main goal that will most improve the quality of your life,” an epiphany that he had after reading a post on ZenHabits.

What happens when you get stuck? Overwhelmed? Tired and confused? How do you refocus and get back on track?

I found this great, short video from the GoalGuru on youtube that talks about just moving forward. If you get confused or overwhelmed, just take action, even if it is just a small step toward your goals.

The only way you can truly fail is if you just stop trying. By moving forward, even a little, you will get the momentum to keep going. Taking the time, weekly, monthly or whatever best suits you, is critical to keeping on track and monitoring and adjusting to what is working for you and what is not. It also gives you a great perspective on where you have been to recharge you to move forward.

I hope you enjoy the video as much as I did.

Let me know — what you do when you feel that your are stuck or your goals are not materializing fast enough?

1. I spent time learning to fly. I got as far as doing a cross-country trip — flew from PA to Iowa where we visited Field of Dreams, from the 1989 movie. I did not finish but hope to once my children are grown. There is nothing more beautiful and calming that taking flight on a warm summer day.

2. I have worked in my current job for 20 years! I’m looking forward to kissing it goodbye in December to take up IM full time!

3. I worked at Friendly’s as a teen. I loved ice cream then, and still do!

4. I drink iced tea every day.

5. Almost all of the work done on my house, I have done myself. I stripped and refinished the hardwood floors, put down the kitchen floor, and put up new cupboards. I really enjoy working on my house.

6. I am currently taking a kickboxing class for old ladies. To join the club there is only one rule — you cannot look good in spandex.

7. I love chocolate. I also consume a great amount of this daily. Kinda eliminates the positive impact of kick boxing, I think.

8. My favorite winnie-the-pooh character is Eeyore. My daughter is a tigger — so we get along well!

9. I love to go outside in the winter and gaze at the stars. We are all just a speck in the universe. Very humbling to remember that from time to time.

10. I grew up riding snowmobiles and minibikes. I love the feel of wind in my face. I look forward to owning a motorcycle within the next year.

11. When I was in my 30′s I took a bartending class. It was great fun learning how to make such a variety of drinks!

12. I have visited China, England, Scotland and 30 of the 50 states. I would like to visit Japan, Germany, France, Spain and Australia in the future. I would also like to return to China. It is such a beautiful country.

13. I love to listen to music and do yoga to maintain calmness.

14. I love to plant flowers, but then usually I forget to water and weed! I need a gardener.

15. I enjoy research and figuring out how/why things happen.

16. I hate a sticky car. I limit the kids to drinking water only in the car.

17. I spend lots of time reading motivational material!

18. One of the favorite family times with my girls to spend the evening painting our nails, putting on makeup and dressing up in fancy dresses! Daughters keep you young!

19. I went to my very first concert in the 1980s. We had front row seats to Billy Joel. Tickets were $25 and I thought that was such an outrageous price for a concert! Haha! How times have changed!

20. My favorite dish is Pad Thai and I get it whenever I go to a Thai restaurant. With chicken.

21. My least favorite chore is cleaning the kitchen floor. Although once I make my first million, I will not hire a maid, I will hire a chef! How I would love to have someone cook for me!

22. I am quite introspective. Doing this kind of task — 25 things — is right up my alley! I love to reminisce and plan future goals.

23. I used to play the harp. I played for three years when I was in my 30′s. They highlight was when I went to a recital and a little girl came up to me and asked me whatever made me want to learn the harp at MY AGE????

24. I am a quilter. Although I have put it on hold while my children are young, I plan to start it up again soon! It is the ultimate expression of creativity and it has always been my therapy!

25. I love being a mom more than anything in the world. Every day is a fabulous adventure!

I pass on the torch — I am now tagging Jeanette Fitzgerald, Jose Perez, Mark Strong, Syed Akram, Bruce MacKinnon! Go for it guys!

How about you? Leave a comment about something that others don’t know about you!

-Norene

That was the day that I decided that it was time I take charge of my life and find a way to quit my day job.  It was on that day that I was handed a new boss, a woman who insisted that I work 20 hour days, despite the fact that I am the mom of two young daughters, one of whom has cerebral palsy.

Like it or quit.  That was my option.  I can not quit.  Not yet.

My goal is to quit by the end of 2009.

This is my journey.  Perhaps yours is similar.  Starting from scratch to learn how to make money online.

Please join me.  Share your thoughts, your encouragment, your knowledge.  Let us learn from and support one another.  Together let us regain our freedom.