50 Hopes For The Coming New Year

Ever so often I want to write about something other than business. Tonight I want to talk about hope and my personal hopes for the coming new year of 2010. Hope is a very powerful human emotion. I believe that hope creates goals and goals are how we get things done. In about 24 days we all roll into a new decade.

The following is my list of 50 hopes for this coming year. They are in no particular order.

1. I hope less people get divorced.
2. I hope less children are born with deadly or lifelong diseases.
3. I hope more divorced people get to spend extra time with their kids.
4. I hope the world finds a way to defeat cancer.
5. I hope more married parents get to spend extra time with their young ones.
6. I hope more legitimate home businesses start to flourish.
7. I hope the year goes by slow.
8. I hope I see no more death in my family.
9. I hope we have less “real life” television shows.
10. I hope Gilligan’s Island returns to TV again.
11. I hope my daughter and I can get to know each other better.
12. I hope my business earns enough money so my wife can stay home with us.
13. I hope the world endures less natural disasters.
14. I hope less people go hungry.
15. I hope my wife endures less pain from the loss of her little brother.
16. I hope Plankton finally gets the Krabby Patty formula.
17. I hope more people buy homes.
18. I hope everybody who loss somebody this year begins to heal.
19. I hope taxes go down.
20. I hope there are less violent crimes.
21. I hope we get some life changing new music.
22. I hope I finish my downstairs bathroom.
23. I hope my neighbor’s dog stops doing its business on my yard.
24. I hope people find my marketing class extremely useful.
25. I hope to see my parents and brothers more often.
26. I hope “Drive In” Movie theaters make a comeback.
27. I hope more people read this blog.
28. I hope it is a prosperous year for most.
29. I hope we see less war.
30. I hope technology improves drastically.
31. I hope less people drink and drive.
32. I hope my wife’s van makes it through another year.
33. I hope I lose a few pounds.
34. I hope most of you enjoy this list.
35. I hope they send me the money for all these email lotteries I have been winning.
36. I hope the amount of homeless in the world drops considerably.
37. I hope somebody markets the hover craft and it becomes secondary transportation.
38. I hope McDonald’s starts getting my order right.
39. I hope the FDA gets serious about regulating the safety and effectiveness of prescription medicine.
40. I hope more musicians get their shot.
41. I hope my wife returns safely from her trip to Egypt in January.
42. I hope the Rams play better football.
43. I hope I can say hello to more perfect strangers.
44. I hope it doesn’t snow a ton in January and February.
45. I hope I become wiser.
46. I hope I don’t have to fly on a plane until June.
47. I hope I can cut back on drinking soda.
48. I hope Aerosmith works out their differences and remains a band.
49. I hope we all find some more time.
50. I hope this list gets tweeted, shared and re-tweeted.

That’s pretty much all I have right now. What are your hopes for the new year?

How To Find My Niche Market

A niche market is defined by wiktionary as a relatively small and specialist, yet profitable, market. I like this definition. It’s short and sweet and to the point. In order to find your niche market you need to first truly understand what your deepest passion is. Many people have lots of passions. My best advice is to dig deep and think about what you know plenty about. It could be a hobby or a field that you currently work in for your job. Everybody is an expert in something. You just have to figure out what your something is.

Please allow me to tell you about a massive mistake I made when creating my site. I made my niche to wide. Let me explain so you can better understand what I’m talking about. This information will help you tremendously in the way of preparing to launch your first website.

You see my site is primarily about music and marketing because these are things that I really love to do and also love to talk about. With that being said I could have been much smarter and narrowed it down to one niche such as “music” or “marketing”. It should have been one or the other. To be quite technical those two keywords or niches could have been broken down to deeper more profitable niches. So instead of music, maybe the niche could have been rock and roll music. Instead of marketing maybe I could have went with website marketing.

Why am I telling you all of this? The reason is because with my niche being so wide I have to work that much harder to dominate the niche. If you don’t dominate your niche your competition will dominate it for you making it very difficult to be profitable. The object is to work smarter not harder! So if you really want to know how to find your niche market take some time to discover yourself a bit. Once you figure it out, whether it be gymnastics, medicine, travel, music, art, writing, comedy or whatever, try to see if you can break that particular niche down even further. This will make it much less like work for you and much more like fun. It will also give you the ability to easily target and then dominate your market. Be sure to use a good keyword tool to do your home work. It’s important to be sure their is an audience for your market before you go diving in too deep.

As always, your questions and responses are certainly welcomed and hopefully this post will give you a little added clarity on how to find your niche market.

Best Wishes!

Complacency Kills Personal Growth

Dictionary.com defines complacency as – a feeling of quiet pleasure or security, often while unaware of some potential danger, defect or the like; self-satisfaction or smug satisfaction with an existing situation, condition, etc.

These words ring so true to me and if you bare with me I’ll explain why. First I believe it’s time I formerly introduce myself to everybody. Hopefully there are questions about who I am.  If I’m really lucky some of you have seen my name on plenty of the articles on this website and maybe in some of the niche categories, ezines, forums and blogs as well as some of the article directories out there such as eHow.com, Ezine Articles, ArticleBase.com and GoArticles.com. It’s important for me to keep my name visible. At first I wasn’t sure about plastering it all over the website and the Internet but now I am glad I did. I’ve decided to be proud of what I’m up to these days!

It’s been about a year now since the early inception of Modern Day Peasants. I started this website and blog with the intentions of helping musicians and anybody else who wants to learn how to get a leg up in this world. I firmly stand by that! For the most part we are all Peasants living in a modern day world. Music is something that really makes life a better place for me and many others. I love to play and record and have for years but unfortunately I’m a better writer than I am a singer. I have great admiration for musicians because of their struggles and  hardships they must endure on their journey in getting paid to do what it is they love.

It shouldn’t be any secret that I do this for the advertising money as well. I mean that’s why you start a website right? I guess it could be because you have something you want to tell the world but that’s getting off the point a bit. For me it’s about sharing valuable information I’ve obtained over the last few years with everybody I can so they may better themselves. The money is good too. This is what I enjoy doing!

You see, I spent 16 years of my life working my butt off trying to get up the corporate ladder as a consultant in the service and repair end of an automobile dealership. It was a decent business to be in. I met lots of people and good friends. The problem was that it got to a point to where it became stagnant to me. The business pays you pretty well and kind of pulls you in and makes you complacent.

This brings me to the reason behind the title of this particular post. I had many mentors in the car business along the way but the one who influenced me the most was a good friend and the owner of the dealership I worked for at the time. We started working together in the beginning of my “career” in the auto world. He was my big boss and very young to own a car dealership. At that time Brian was 38 years old and making over half a million dollars a year and enjoyed everyday of his life not just because of the money he made but because he truly liked helping people acquire transportation and working with a variety of different people. I was about 21 at the time. He loved his business very much and I had never seen anybody so excited about what they do. He was though! The very first meeting we ever had he told me to never ever become complacent in life. It kills personal growth he said.  I nodded in agreement.

For some reason Brian and I hit it off early on and he tought me many things over the years about loving what you do and getting rewarded for it. He was so successful because he truly loved that business. I did not, however, love the car business. I just happened to be good at mimicking my friend and acting like I enjoyed it. In the real world I was more introverted unless I was around a customer because I wasn’t truly happy being there. If a customer was with me I would put on the outgoing happy social act. I got stuck! I was complacent in that business for years simply because the money was decent.

Later I discovered my personal complacency cost me so much more because I could have been gaining my own personal growth and tapping my thirst for inside knowledge about the Internet much earlier in my life than when I did. With proper training and a little bit of foresight the Internet can make anybody’s dream a reality simply because it is so vast. I find it fascinating and intoxicating. It’s also much easier for me to relate with people in general on the web. I suspect because there are more of you like me out there. I guess getting back to current times hindsight really is 20/20.

The point is I’m in my late 30′s now and about three years ago I finally heard what my friend Brian had warned me about so many years before. I had allowed complacency to kill my personal growth and decided I was going to make the necessary changes to better my quality of life. I left that business and self studied my way to a newer happier life.

I dove deep into the realms of Internet Marketing for three years straight and it has brought me here. Better late than never.  Don’t let complacency kill your personal growth too! If you aren’t happy with the life you currently own and the direction it’s heading. Make a change! If you need some help along the way and you find those changes leading you toward the wonderful and diverse world of Internet Marketing and web based businesses with some added music to boot this site can help you greatly. If you ever have direct questions I will always be happy to help.

Here’s to our continued success!

How To Get Your Music Heard On A Small Budget

When speaking of getting your music out there and you aren’t independently wealthy, to put it bluntly, you do whatever you have to do! Get your music in front of anybody you possibly can. This includes doing current shows for local fans to help spread the word, cutting a single on CD for submission to local radio markets, building and marketing a look for you as an artist or your band ,  and networking on the computer and anywhere else that the law will allow.

It will take all of the efforts above and then some. Make sure you have quite a bit of stamina and a “I’m going all the way no matter what” attitude. If you want something bad enough there will be nothing big enough to stop you from getting it.

Regardless if you’re trying to become a Super Star or just want to sell a few songs to some movie or television producers, start today by sitting down and planning out a budget. It will take a little money but you know what they always say, “It takes money to make money”. This is a very true statement. Unless you happen to be the friend of a music producer’s son or something along those lines it doesn’t matter if you can sing like Madonna or play the guitar like Eric Clapton, you don’t get in that easy. It will involve some dedication and work but in the end it will be worth it won’t it.

If you have some songs put together and haven’t cut them on CD then do so. Record them to mp3 and whatever other latest music transfer files are available. Why is this important? You need to have a means to display your music to the world easily and quickly! Go to some of the online music submission facilities and start putting your mp3′s out there for them to hear. Get an EPK (Electronic Press Kit) fast. This is a promotional tool used for online promotion. You can pay a professional promoter to set one up for you or you can build one yourself and save money if you are tech savvy. It includes photos, history, a few current songs, listed website for you or your band, any news releases or articles written about you, booked events, labels if you have one, etc. The EPK should be stored on your computer so you can send it out immediately if you need to.

Before you place recorded songs on your EPK, make sure they are of good quality. Think of your EPK as the “modern day demo”. When the person at the other end listening to your music hits “play” then it better be of good quality or they won’t be listening very long. Think about it….how long do you want to listen to a song that has garble and feedback and other noises in it. I’ll bet not very long! So if this means you have to go and get your songs professionally recorded then do so if you can afford it. You could also record your music on your own with a good multi track recorder and burn the songs straight to CD or mp3 by yourself. This will be a less expensive way to go but you will need to learn how to operate your multi track unit well.

Again, once you have your music (the most satisfying to you) on CD and mp3 format start sending it out via the Internet. You can use venue’s such as Sonicbids, Taxi, Myspace, Ourstage, etc. There are plenty of them online just make sure that you do your research before dealing with any company. Also make sure your music is copyrighted before you present it to the whole world. You never know, you just might have some stuff that is so good that people may try to steal it.

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Quartet X2 Music Studio

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One Of The Best Concerts Of The Year Is Upon Us!

by: Dan Waggoner

Green Day is on their way….This Band Rocks…. The 2009 Tour is here.

Billie Joe Armstrong (vocals, guitar), Mike Dirnt (bass guitar, vocals), and Tré Cool (drums, percussion)

These guys are some serious musicians. You can always tell when a band is in total sync together and they’ve got it.

I can’t wait!

Who do you want to see this year?

Here’s the 2009 Green Day Tour Dates and Location!

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Buy and sell hard to find concert tickets here!

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Green Day 2009 Tour

Read "101 Golden Keys To Success"

I didn’t write this but I will always remember them………It’s a little long winded but well worth the read!

Most people want to be successful in life. There are goals set and then the hard work begins to reach those goals. The question is what is success? Actually, success can mean different things to different people.
For example, a person that owns their own oil changing service for vehicles might set their level of success at servicing 50 cars a day while someone who loves music might consider success as cutting their own CD. In addition, success does not always have to involve money. Success could be getting a good grade in a difficult class or learning how to bake the perfect chocolate cake.
Success comes in all different shapes and sizes with one common denominator. Success is important and it takes work to reach.

101 Golden Keys to Success!

Regardless of what your specific success is, there are ways to surpass your goal. I’ve put together 101 tips that can be used for any success. These are ways to better yourself as a person, proven methods you can apply to reach success.
So let’s get started, shall we?…
Realize Your Potential
In order to succeed at anything, you need to see that you have the potential to reach your goals. For example, if you want to be a recording artist but have no singing ability, having success in this field is not likely. However, if you love working on cars and have a real talent for fixing engines and transmissions, and to you, success would mean working for NASCAR, you have potential to learn and achieve that success.

Don’t Look Back
Everyone has failures or mistakes from the past. To have success, you need to learn from your past and value those difficult lessons but do not every dwell on the past. Simply move forward and make better, more educated decisions from the lessons learned.

Dare to Dream
To succeed, you need to have dreams and aspirations. Be honest with yourself as to what you want out of life and what you want to give of your life. Allow your mind to dream and think big.
Business Plan
Create a Business Plan as your very first step if you are planning to build a business. Whether you will be searching for investors or not, this plan will be the blueprint to your success. The Business Plan will consist of market trends, financial planning, competitive analysis, exit strategies, marketing and promotional options, everything about your goal. When going before an investor, you will be required to have a Business Plan. This is by far the most important document of all. If your success were something personal, you would not need to create a Business Plan although a project plan would be a good option to allow you to keep track of everything involving your goal.
Don’t Give Up
To reach success, you have to persevere. Even Thomas Edison had to learn this. When he was creating the incandescent light bulb, it took him more than 10,000 times to get it right. Keep striving even when it becomes challenging.

Have an Unstoppable Attitude
You need to have determination. With good intentions, there may be a close friend or family member that feels it would be better if you focused your attention in another direction. Uphold your unstoppable attitude, determined to succeed.

Stop the Complaining
You might think there is no correlation between complaining and success when in fact there is a connection. When you are spending time complaining about the obstacles you are facing, you are wasting so much time being negative that you are actually loosing chances to move forward. Instead of thinking of challenges as problems, think of them as opportunities.

Focus on Something you Like
To increase your chance of succeeding, you should concentrate your efforts on something you enjoy. When you start out, make a list of everything you find interesting. Then in a second column, write down the skills you have in relation to each of those items. This will help you narrow choices down based on interest and skill, which gets you started in the right direction for success.
Change your Circumstances
You have a choice in life to accept your position or change it. If you choose to plug along in life hoping that something will change for the better, you will not get very far. Always remember that when it comes to changing your circumstances, you can – you have that power. As an example, women who are in abusive situations often feel controlled and powerless to get out of the situation. They have the same choice of changing their circumstances as you do. If your circumstances lower the chances of success, you need to change them.

Have a Plan
Even if it is flimsy to begin with, you should construct a plan to include goal, milestones, deliverables such as contracts, business plans, etc., and accomplishments. This will provide you with a visual as to what you are working for, what milestones you have successfully met, and where you need to do better.

Accept Responsibility

You need to accept responsibility if you make a bad decision or fall behind in your plan. Let us say that you have set some firm milestones that need to be accomplished in order for you to move to the next step. However, you got tired of working hard and took some time to play, which is fine as long as it does not affect your goals. Now months have passed and you are way behind schedule. This delay has closed several doors of opportunities. Who is to blame?

Be Happy
A positive mind and happy, upbeat attitude will help you succeed. It has been proven in many studies that a person living in a happy state generally gets much further in just about everything they do. This relates to attitude. Just as bad attitude can pull you down, good attitude and a happy, healthy mind will help you meet your objectives.

No Shortcuts

An old cliché states, “Anything worth doing is worth doing well.” This should be your motto. When you want to succeed, you cannot afford to take shortcuts. Taking shortcuts leads to imperfection and inadequacies. Always strive for the best, even if it requires a little more time and effort.

Have Courage
Depending on what your specific success is, it may take courage to arrive at your desired destination. For example, if you have a dream of being a writer and to you, that is success, but according to your long line of family members who have all gone on to be doctors, the only success in their minds is if you follow down the medical path. This means you will have to have courage to stand up for what you believe and desire to do, even if it means disappointing family.

Be Excited to Learn
Referring back to the analogy of Edison, when asked about his failures by a young boy, Edison commented, “Young man, I didn’t fail 9,999 times, I discovered 9,999 ways not to invent the light bulb.” As you work toward your specific success, always enjoy opportunities to learn, even if it takes longer than you think it should.
Share your Success

Although this may be more at the end of the process, it is important. When you finally do reach your success, use your experience to teach, guide, and mentor others so that they too might succeed.

Seek Input
Whatever your idea of success, conduct a “sanity check” throughout the process of reaching your goal. This should be done with someone you trust and who is themselves successful. Ask them to provide honest feedback about your success and as you move through different milestones, bounce concerns or new ideas off them to help keep you on the right track.
Toxic Poisoning  No

We are not talking about actual poison but toxic people that can poison. Unfortunately, it would be great if close friends or co-workers could share in your
success but all too often, there will be someone who is either dealing with the “green monster” of jealousy or has a case of the “I knew that” syndrome. If you are serious about reaching your goal and being successful, you will need to rid your life of these people. While you may not be able to get them out of your life completely, you should avoid them as best as possible. If this is a person, you see every day, keep your goals to yourself, and avoid that specific subject.
Be a Good Listener

To succeed, you need to learn how to listen first. Pay attention to other people who have enjoyed successes in their life, attend seminars given by people that can motivate and encourage, or be open to hearing that a particular idea is not a good one. Good listening takes time to learn but in the end, it will be your greatest tool.
Birds of a Feather

If you have a goal of being a best-selling author, find friends and mentors who either have achieved that same goal or are also pursuing a successful writing career. It is important to surround yourself with people that can associate with your goal and passion, people who understand the burning desire to succeed and can encourage when you meet with disappointments.
Little Red Engine
Do you remember the story of the caboose that was desperately trying to make it over a very large hill? He kept telling himself repeatedly, “I think I can, I think I can.” When you start feeling overwhelmed or defeated, tell yourself aloud these same words. While it may seem a little awkward at first, stand in front of a mirror and tell yourself, “I think I can, I think I can.” You might even change the words to, “I know I can!”
Be Proactive

While it may take time to learn how to identify ways to avoid obstacles or failures, get into the habit of tackling problems before they arise. This will help you avoid wasting precious time on your road to success.
Stay Motivated

When striving for the big goal of success, it is critical to stay motivated. Find inspiring and motivational tapes, seminars, books, movies; whatever you are able to get your hands on. When you start to feel a little down and out and doubt starts to creep in, turn to these motivational tools to help you keep on track. A few excellent motivators include Tony Robbins, Norman Vincent Peale, Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar, and Les Brown.
Give Yourself a Break

While being determined is important, do not be so hard on yourself that you become critical of every move you make. Give yourself some room to make mistakes and
flexible with you. That does not mean you can miss goals but it does mean that if you do, you find out how to avoid that from happening again and then get back to business.

Be Passionate
Fall in love with what your successful at. Okay, although that sounds funny, you need to have an intimate passion with your interest. You can do this regardless of what your success is. By having passion for what you are doing and driving toward, you will automatically put more effort into it. Passion is a good thing as long as it does not become an obsession.
Don’t Settle
If you have a goal of becoming a world-famous chef and you know you have both desire and skill, do not just settle to become a short order cook at your local family-style restaurant. While that may be good training ground, do not allow yourself to lose sight of your ultimate goal.

No Excuses
Many famous actors, music artists, inventors, etc., had special challenges ranging from learning disabilities to physical disabilities. Take Beethoven for example. He was born deaf yet he went on to be one of the world’s greatest composers or Joni Erickson who was paralyzed from the neck down yet she learned to paint with her mouth. Today, her paintings are famous around the world and worth millions. If you are faced with a special challenge of your own, while you may have to adjust things from time to time, do not use excuses. If you want something bad enough, there is a way!

Getting Past Fear of Failure
Being afraid of failure is a normal emotion for every person on the planet. How you get past that fear is the determining factor between failing and succeeding. You can do that by setting realistic goals and then examining those goals on occasion to do any necessary realignment. Above all, believe in yourself and the desire burning within.

Patience and Dues
Succeeding takes time. A goal worth setting will take time to achieve. Be patient with yourself, the people around you, and the process it takes to become successful, also referred to as “paying your dues.” Just like the chef scenario, it takes time to be a master chef. Pay your dues by learning and working your way up the ladder to success.

Good Time / Resource Management
Being successful also means keeping to a schedule. In addition, you need to learn how much is too much. Good time and resource management will help you ensure that you use your time wisely and that you are not adding third portions onto a plate still overflowing with seconds.

Make Opportunities

Rather than wait for opportunity to find you, you need to find opportunities. This might be watching for business opportunities in the paper regarding small businesses being sold, great real estate opportunities, and investments with stocks, bonds, or mutual funds, taking a talent and turning it into an entrepreneurial adventure. People that have reached financial status will tell you that they look for ways to seize opportunities, not wait for opportunities to come knocking on their door because it will not happen that way.
Attitude
Putting yourself in the right attitude for success should be at the top of your list. Staying positive and surrounding yourself with friends, that share a positive attitude will help you succeed. Do not allow negative thoughts to slip into your mind. Attend motivational seminars and find ways to enjoy life. A good attitude will allow you to turn any bad situation into a learning experience. You have heard the saying, “The glass is either half-full or half-empty.” You need to adopt the attitude that life is half-full. The result is that you will feel better, have more energy, and have a much higher opportunity for success.
Be Thankful
You need to be thankful for not only your accomplishments but also your failures. Having a grateful attitude is important. It will help you stay humble, which in turn, will help you continue striving for the ultimate in success.
Keep a Journal
As you work hard to reach success, regardless of what you consider that success to be, you need to be able to see your accomplishments. Start a journal and track every thing you have conquered. When you feel discouraged or frustrated, reflect on what you have achieved, and rejuvenate yourself.

Rewards
When children do something great, parents will reward them with something nice, whether a kind word of encouragement or a new toy. When people do well in their job, they get raises. As you surpass your milestones, reward yourself. Treat yourself to something nice – a new dress, a new fishing pole, whatever you like, be sure to award yourself for a job well done.
Watch for Scams
Whether you are just starting out or expanding an existing business, unfortunately, there are thousands of people waiting to defraud you out of money. If something appears too good to be true – IT IS! Always conduct thorough research and never jump into opportunities that look perfect. If someone becomes pushy, wanting you to make a quick decision on any type of investment, do not walk away – RUN away!

Focus on the Big Picture
As you make your way toward success, you will be challenged with big obstacles as well as small obstacles. Pick your battles wisely. While you need to resolve the small issues, do not dwell on them and lose precious time and energy when you should be focusing on the bigger picture. In other words, do not allow the menial things to clutter your mind and monopolize your time.
Make the Best of Each Day
Try to live every day as though it were your last. Make the most of every day and accomplish something. Even if it is something small, every baby step adds up to a huge success in the end.
Make the Process and Adventure
You should look at every angle of your journey as an exciting adventure. When you think of your childhood years, you loved investigating the unknown. Carry this with you as you strive toward success. Anticipate the excitement of each accomplishment – make it a real adventure.

Don’t Neglect Things
Especially when things are small and do not appear to have a major impact on the big picture, you need to ensure you follow through and complete your tasks. Those little things can quickly add up to a big mess if not taken care of in a timely and efficient manner.
Offer Praise
If you have people helping you out, whether on a volunteer basis or a full-time employee, always offer praise. These people are an important part of your success and by providing praise and support; in return, they will show dedication and work hard to help you reach your goal.

Set Daily Goals
In order to visualize your accomplishments and stay encouraged, you need to set daily goals. These goals can be as simply as a follow up phone call or a written letter to an investor. Whatever the task is, get it done. In addition to keeping the process for your success on track, it will help you to feel like you are making accomplishments, pushing you closer and closer to the success.

Collaborate with Others
More than likely, you will reach various times when you do not have the appropriate expertise to accomplish something. This is the time collaboration and/or networking is valuable. These relationships can help you answer questions, provide guidance, and provide the ongoing support and encouragement you will need.
Customer Relations
Keep your line of communication open with your customers. If they have a problem, show them the deserved respect and resolve the issue quickly. Make occasional phone calls to see if they have any needs. This will let your customers know that you are there for them and care about their business. This relationship is what is going to keep you on the road to success. After all, the customer is your link between failure and success.
Repositioning and Reflection

On occasion, reflect on what you have accomplished as well as your open milestones and ensure you are still heading in the right direction. Repositioning along the way to success is perfectly normal and to be expected. You may have been struggling with something specific. Rather than continue battling this issue, reflect on what has not been working, and reposition yourself so you do not have to keep battling the same things repeatedly.
Accept Responsibility
You and you alone are responsible for your success. While you will have help in many instances, the bottom line is that you are responsible. You need to be surrounded by the right people, working with the right investors, going about meeting your success in the right way. It is you that will make the choices and therefore, your responsibility to make the right choices. In other words, your desire for success must always be greater that any obstacle that stands in your way.
Community
Regardless of what your goal for success is, get involved with your community. First, get involved with town meetings, the local Chamber of Commerce, and attend community functions. You will be amazed at the opportunities for support, business ideas, and financing available right there in your own neighborhood.

Record Keeping
Always keep your records up to date. This would include contact information, investor information, Business Plans, attorney information, accounting, everything you touch regarding your goal. In addition, keep your files on your computer backed up and current. First, you never know when you are going to be asked for a specific document and need to provide quick turn-around. Second, computers do crash and it would be a disaster if all of your information were suddenly gone.
Get out of Debt
Take time to get any debts paid off, especially credit card debts that will cost you a fortune in interest. This is especially important if you will be seeking funding as a part of your particular success. You want to ensure that your records and credit are clean if you need to make a presentation before an investor, asking for money.

Read
Stay current on the industry news that your goal falls in. Learn about current trends, company failures or successes, new ideas; whatever information you can find. For example, if you have decided to open a retail store and have a great idea and a real passion for your goal, read about that specific type of store, location, potential revenue, downfalls, everything. This information will be a part of your business plan and is crucial.

Location, Location, Location
If you are planning to open a business, you have probably already heard how important the right location is in order to be successful. Do not settle for any location as a means of getting the doors of your business open. Instead, take the appropriate amount of time and find the “right” location. This will be one of the best decisions you can make. It would be far better to delay your opening a month in order to secure the right location than to open early in the wrong location!
Good Habits

Being successful, whether personal or business requires good habits. It is just like trying to do well in school. You have to have good study habits in order to do well on tests. It is the same for the business world. You need to do your “homework.” Read the newspaper, scout out opportunities, and take time each day to dedicate specifically to your endeavor.  Be Open to Improvement
Sometimes, people get into the habit of thinking they have the answers needed. You need to accept that you do not have all the answers and more importantly, be open to recommendations from other people. That does not mean you have to agree or even follow those suggestions, but it does mean to listen. You never know when someone will have an idea that will make things easier and more functional, ultimately helping you arrive at your goal more efficiently.

Write Your Ideas Down
How many times have you had an idea either through a dream, while doing the dishes, or sitting at your desk, and have thought that as soon as you have time, you will make a note of it. When that free time rolls around, you have forgotten some or all of that great idea. Keep a journal or notepad handy at all times. When you have an idea, write it down immediately.

Take care of Yourself

Being successful means taking care of you, both physically and emotionally. You will need to have energy, focus, and rest. In turn, this will help you concentrate and put in the hours required to be successful. Without taking proper care of yourself, you will end up struggling and your business could feel the effects.
Take Good Notes
Whether you are at a seminar, a casual meeting, or notice something special in the news, take good, comprehensive notes. This is not always a natural skill but something that has to be acquired. You want to pay attention to the emphasis being made capture it. Even if there are materials being handed out, if there is something that you feel you should capture separately, do it. Good notes will help you learn better and provide additional reference points.
Participate
If attending seminars or lectures that will help you get ahead, if there is the opportunity, participate by asking questions or making valid points. Participation is a great way to remember what is being taught.

Be Serious
Take your efforts to success seriously. Success is a serious thing and it takes serious dedication. You have to have the mindset that this is not going to be all play, at least not in the beginning.

Study Time
No matter what your goal for success, you should set aside some time to study. If you want to be a successful hair stylist, study different styles, colors, and trends. If you want to be a veterinarian, study animals. Whatever your success, take time to read, research, and ask many questions. You should also consider volunteering at the local beauty school or hair salon or your veterinarian’s office. Ask if you can follow them around for a day or two and without getting in the way, observe, and ask questions.

Apply What You Learn
Since you will be setting milestones as you reach for your success, apply what you have learned through each phase of the process. Doing is a much more powerful tool than simply reading or watching.
Provide Yourself Time

You need to be sure to allow yourself some time just for pleasure. Being successful is hard work so to avoid burnout; you need to treat yourself to a night out or just time to
sit back, watch TV, and do absolutely nothing once in awhile.
Set Realistic Goals
People wanting to be successful often want overnight results. Unfortunately, that is not going to happen. You need to do an analysis to determine a realistic amount of time it will take to reach your specific success. As you go through your Business Plan you may find times that dates have to adjusted but even if there are changes, keep it realistic. Otherwise, you will become frustrated and quit!
Talk About It

Talking about your goals for success not only keeps it in the front of your mind but also keeps up your excitement level. In addition, it adds in an element of accountability. Think about it, you go around telling everyone that you are going to be a masseuse, those people are going to be expecting, and anxious to see you succeed. By talking about your goals, you are creating a motivational system – a system of accountability.

Don’t Make Quick Decisions
When things in your plan need to change, unless necessary, do not make quick decisions. Just as it took time to plan in the beginning, it will take time to change. You want to make sure you are making the right decisions when changes come up. Do your research just as you did in the beginning and then make educated choices.

Avoid Stress
When you strive to be successful, stress is a natural part of the process. Do everything you can to avoid stress. Adding in unnecessary stress into the equation will take focus away from accomplishing your goals. You can listen to relaxing tapes, get a professional massage, take a walk, or whatever helps you to relax. When you start feeling overwhelmed, stop, change direction, and avoid stress. The only thing stress accomplishes is draining your think power and creativity.

Learn How to Delegate
As you start getting closer to your goal of success, you will find that there are many more things to do than hours in the day. If going into business, consider hiring someone; even part-time or on a freelance basis to help take some of your load. If your success is more on a personal basis, have family or friends pitch in to help you get things done. You will be amazed at how much this will help ease the situation and allow you the proper amount of time to focus on the things that need your full attention.
Be a Problem Solver
Rather than stew over things or let stress overtake you, find ways to become a problem
solver. Look at ways that you might find new customers, increase productivity, or resolve issues.

Conduct Research
It is important to know what you are getting into. First, you will want to conduct research as far as the business, industry, or interest associated with your particular success. Second, the research will help you stay up to date on trends, which may or may not require you to make adjustments in your own goal. For example, if you were interested in opening a particular business focusing on a specific technology and that technology took a turn to another direction, new advancements, you may need to change the direction you were going for your own business. Unless you kept up on research, you would not know when a change was needed and therefore, would end up building a business already headed for failure.

Offer a Guarantee
If you have created a business that offers either products or services, in order to get and keep customers coming back, they have to know that you stand behind what you offer. Providing a guarantee will help your business grow and reach the highest level of success.
Get Excited
Do you remember your first trip to see a professional baseball game and how exciting it was to see the thousands of people cheering, enjoying the mouthwatering smell of popcorn and hot dogs, and hoping that you might get a chance to catch a foul ball? Perhaps you can remember your first prom, being excited that the right boy asked you to the dance, shopping for the perfect glamour dress, and buying your date a corsage. You need to be excited about your venture for success. Remember some of the things that brought true excitement to your heart when you were growing up and add that same excitement to your grownup life.
Expand your Mind

Whatever your idea of success, take it one-step further. Stretch your mind and reach just one-step higher than you thought you could reach. If you were going to open an ice cream store, offering 30 flavors, go one more step and make it 31. Okay, you get the idea.
Be a Strong Leader
Learn to be a good leader and a good mentor. Enjoy making a difference and in guiding others to achieve their potential as well. Help people reach to new horizons.
Be Logical
Okay, you may be thinking that logic itself is logical. However, being logic in many
cases means having some level of analytical ability. Regardless of the way you think, find the logic in it. This will help you think and plan clearly and honestly.

Give 100% Effort
If you are going to succeed, you have to be able to get through tough times. You will have to rise to challenges and not quit. You have to plan to go the extra mile and make personal sacrifices. Succeeding means giving 100% effort. Stay focused while keeping your performance on a consistent basis.
Take Classes

Take some classes at college where you can get a certification. Enhancing yourself on a personal level will boost everything about you, making you feel better, about the person you are. When you feel better, you achieve more. This is a great time to obtain your certification in CPR, First Aid, a computer class, or some other outside interest you have.

Understand your Goal
A great challenge is to prove to yourself that you can do it. One of the ways to prove this to you is to take on responsibility. If your goal for success involves opening a restaurant, work in a restaurant as a server to get a perspective of all the jobs involved to make the restaurant a success. Understand the entire business from the ground up.
Raise your Standards
You may think you are working your tail off and you probably are. Try raising the bar just a little bit. Always expect the best from yourself. Do not beat yourself up if you do not always hit 100% but increase your standards and strive for more.
Unconscious Power
The unconscious mind is a very powerful tool. Take advantage of this and each night before heading off to bed, take some time to pose questions to yourself and then allow your mind to hash them out while you sleep. In addition, mediate in whatever way you find relaxing before going to bed to clear your mind from clutter and allow the subconscious mind to go to work.
Paint a Picture

A great way to keep working toward your goal is to see it. If you want to open a computer store, find a picture or article about Bill Gates when he first got started. If your success is to lose weight, go to Diets.com or Slimfast.com and print off a before and after picture of someone that has a similar body type to yourself. Perhaps your goal is to redecorate your bedroom. Again, locate before and after pictures on the Internet of decorated rooms. Seeing is believing!
Develop Uniformity
At first, this may be a little challenging but strive to keep things on an even keel. This will keep your efforts and focus from going up and down. The more you can stay the course the quicker you will reach your goal to success.

Just Do It
Okay, so Nike coined that phrase but it is so accurate. Quit putting things off and just do it. If you want it bad enough, go for it!
Identify Procrastinations
If you have a problem with procrastination, make a list of the things you constantly put on hold. This will help you identify your poor patterns and make the appropriate adjustments. Local colleges often have improvement courses regarding making better decisions and procrastination. Locate a class that would help you with this kind of challenge.
Want Versus Need
When you strive for success, do it because you want it, not because you need it. When you want something, it brings about intention, desire, and action. However, when you need something, it will lead to pain, stress, and frustration.
Be Independent
Do not be afraid to go for what you know is the right thing for you. Being independent allows you to take control over your destiny and emotional state. Stand firm in what you believe and do not allow other people to determine how you feel or what you believe in.

Economic Value
Considering your talent, also look at things that can help create economic value. These types of goals have better chance of being successful and lasting. Is there something in your community that could bring about more revenue? As an example, do you live in a smaller town where there are no fast food restaurants, causing people to drive miles outside of your town for a cheeseburger and shake? If so, perhaps opening a small fast food restaurant would be a great option. You could have the success of running your own business while bringing something to your community.
Learn a New Skill
Learn new skills that will enhance your success. If you want to become a hairstylist and someday open a line of salons, in addition to cutting hair, learn how to braid, color, do weaves, etc.

Appreciate Life
Do not burn any bridges in life. Appreciate life, people, everything around you. Learn as much as you can from every person you meet. Do not turn people away just because you do not agree with them. You never know, the very people you turn away may be the very people that come to your rescue during a time of difficulty.
The Right Marketing

When you get ready to start marketing your business or idea, never rely on one method of marketing. It is important to look at several options since nothing will last forever.   Believe
Not only do you need to believe in the product or service you are building to success, you also need to believe in you. Your confidence is what will get you through the difficult challenges and build credibility with your customers.

Know your Customers
You should know, really know, your customers, especially your top ten. Find out what they like and dislike. What other products or services would be of value to them? These very relationships are what will keep your business going. It is crucial to consider your customer’s desires all of the time.
Plan your Costs
Unbelievably, there are thousands of entrepreneurs that start a business without the foggiest idea of what their costs are going to be. Either there is an estimation that is way overstated or understated. From the very beginning, you need to have a strong handle on knowing what you will need to get your business started and keep it running. Additionally, you need to have projections for your future success. Know your numbers and make sure they are accurate.
Timing is Everything
You have probably heard it before – timing is everything. Especially when it comes to opening a business, there is a right and a wrong time to start a business. This would be extremely important if your business has cycles or is seasonal. For example, if you are starting a business to do landscaping, the winter months when snow is on the ground is not the right time. You can be working toward your Business Plan, marketing ideas, finding investors, if required, etc., during those cold months, but you certainly would not want to open your doors for the first time in the heart of winter.
Keep it Lean

Start-up businesses do not have room for “dead” weight. As an example, when first starting out, if you need some assistance, rather then hiring a permanent employee that
will involve salary, insurance, other benefits, etc., consider a temporary employee until the business grows. Keep improving the bottom line before you start adding on more expenses to your business.
Get the Word Out
If your success is focused on a business, when you get ready to open your doors, make sure you get the message out. This will include marketing promotions, advertising, sending out a press release, etc. The more people know about your business, the better chance of you have of reaching success.

Guard your Emotions
Keeping emotions in check is not always an easy task. You will have times of disappointment that will require you to react with integrity. You may feel like crying and feel as though your world has just ended. Keep telling yourself that it has not ended and you will just have to make some adjustments in your plan. Never allow anger to be a response. You never know the trickle down effect of that anger and how it could permanently damage your reputation.

Be Nice
Study after study has shown that people with pleasing personalities have an easier time reaching success. Now only are they more levelheaded in handling the business but they also draw people around them that are eager and willing to help. In fact, in addition to being pleasing, be polite, show true interest, and have a great sense of humor.

Break Bad Habits
Habits, regardless of size or nature, can be exceptionally difficult to break. This will take a lot of effort but you can do it. Unfortunately, poor habits can be the one aspect of your behavior that could be the obstacle to your success. If you have a habit of sniffling or chewing your nails when you get nervous or saying demeaning or offensive things as a way of trying to control, to be successful, whether on a personal or business level, you have to stop.

Improve Efficiency
You will want to develop your potential to its fullest. The more efficient you can become the better job you will do. Be efficient with your time by not procrastinating and efficient with your effort by staying focused.

Have Balance in your Life
Imagine yourself on a canoe with another person. The day is beautiful, sunny, and warm. The two of you are floating along without a care in the world. Suddenly, ripples of water start rocking the canoe and without proper balance, both of you, along with all your belongings, are thrown into the cold water. It is the same when you strive for success. You have to find balance not only for yourself but also for others around you. Balance means providing time away from work for pleasure, working extra hours when required, knowing when a new direction is required, etc.

Have Fun
When people start into the process of being successful, whether for personal growth or starting a business, they may start by incorporating fun, but within a very short time, they realize it is hard work and the fun simply falls by the wayside. If you look at some of the most successful people in the world such as Sam Walton, Oprah Winphrey, or Ross Perot, you will find common threads that run between all of them. First, they started with nothing; second, they are all multi-millionaires many times over, and third, they have fun. They enjoy life, the people around them, and even find enjoyment in the challenges. This one element is often forgotten. This is a crucial element for success and should be a part of your plan.

Face your Weaknesses
The best way to get better at anything and to be successful is to face the weaknesses we all possess. Everyone has weaknesses and in order to be better, think clear, act appropriately, and succeed, you have to identify the areas you need to improve on and then take action to turn your weaknesses into strengths.
There is no better gratification than being successful. Accept that you are in for some hard work but the results will be incredible. Use these tips as guidelines and step outside the box. Take action and succeed!

Update: My sincere apologies to Mr Bryan Winters for not posting your name as the author of this outstanding piece of work.

I guess I never noticed it wasn’t posted. Please forgive me.

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Acoustic Version MP3 Of "Missed A Few Years" With Lyrics

Missed A Few Years

Acoustic  Version By: Dan Waggoner

People often ask to hear some of my music. Sometimes I am reserved about it. Sometimes I am not. This one is special to me so I hope some of you enjoy it.

We Missed A Few Years MP3 (1)

Copyright (2008) Dan Waggoner

This song was written for my sweet wife Heather who stands with me thru all good, bad or otherwise. I try to tell her how I wish we had met 10 years earlier. Don’t get me wrong. I am happy we’re together now! I just wish I could have known her a bunch sooner. I am truly a lucky person. She is my all.

I bought my Prize Silver Burst Epiphone Les Paul Custom Guitar from these guys and I cherish it.. Great Sounding Guitar!

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