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Body Magic Raffle

Posted by chandra on December 10, 2009 at 3:00am

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE, IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO START A NEW BUSINESS AND INCREASE YOUR INCOME NOW IS THE TIME. VISIT MY WEBSITE: www.ardysslife.com/chandrawadeBODY MAGIC RAFFLECreated by: Chandra WadeHosted by: Chandra WadeType- RetailStarts: Dec. 8, 2009Ends: Dec. 30, 2009 7:30pmLocation: Memphis, TNLet’s Start 2010 off Right!!!I am hosting a Body Magic Raffle from 12/08-12/30. Tickets are $5 and the Drawing will be held New Years Eve!!!!Additional Incentive: If you sell THREE tickets for me, you will receive a FREE ENTRY into the drawing!!!!!Contact me at (901)643-4928

Patti LaBelle Livin It Up

Posted by Corinne's Fashion World on December 10, 2009 at 12:30am

50% OFF $12.50 Until 12/16...Turn heads with the polished Patti LaBelle Livin’ It Up collection which is filled with cosmetic confections that convey a sense of richness and refinement. The collection includes 1 Lipstick (Satin), 1 Lip Gloss (Berry), 1 Lip Liner (Cabernet), 1 Flori Roberts Eye Shadow Trio (Indulgences: Caviar, Cashmere, ...Glimmer). ...The collection also includes a .5oz of one of Patti’s elegant fragrances with a luxurious accompanying fragranced shimmer powder puff. To complete your look, we’ve included an elegant, rich chocolate-brown crocodile designer-replica handbag.On Sale Now! $12.50. Until 12/16Visit http://www.colormedirect.com/cmitcham TODAY!

Suppose you achieved your goals?...

Posted by Necia Dewgard on December 9, 2009 at 10:34pm

Proceed Confidently & Diligently towards your dreams. Aspire to Live the Life you imagine. At times we feel like we’re afraid to fail & it stops us from going after our dreams but when we get to the root of the issue are we afraid of failing or succeeding? ~LuvUMuch Neciaisms

Give the Giftof Fitness

Posted by Carol Dunlop on December 9, 2009 at 8:58pm

Give the Gift of Fitness!

The greatest and most generous gift is the one that lasts and lasts and spreads joy to you as the giver and also to the receiver.

Give the ones you love the gift of:

Health
Life lived more abundantly and
Joy

all in one package.

Giving fitness to another person helps them to enjoy all the freedoms that come with living a healthy lifestyle.

Give 20 Get 3 Free! (In Studio) contact me for In-Home pricing

When you purchase 20 sessions for your friend or loved one, you get 3 free sessions!

Get all the information and purchase your gift certificate here

Utilize the Automated Greeting Card Strategy !

Posted by Donna on December 9, 2009 at 6:23pm

Since greeting cards have been proven to be the best means of following up nad building client relationships, why don't more people use them?.It is incovenient and time consuming to drive to the card store and pick out cards. Then thee is addressing the envelope, hunting for astamp, and the time it takes to hand write the message inside the card. And finally the trip to the Post Office to mail it.. The expense. Cards typically cost $3-5 each at a store, plus the cost of gas to drive to the store and the Post Office.We forget. Birthdays and important occasions are hard to keep track of with out a system to help us.Having an AUTOMATED system to print and mail the cards for you is the answer to these problems and to creating an effective follow up and customer retention system.The system also needs to be designed to send out multiple cards at once in order to allow a business owner or professional to mail targeted cards to their entire list at one time, or subgroups of that list. This would be an enormous time saver and enable a business to set up campaigns with different messages to different subgroups all going out in the mail on specified dates, similar to an email auto responder but with much more personal impact than an email.Imagine the effect of integrating the automation of an email drip marketing campaign with the personal touch of sending specific, targeted greeting cards to prospects and clients!About the personal handwriting issue....What if you found an automated system such as the one described above that also sentout your cards in YOUR OWN handwriting with out you having to actually take the time to write out each one individually? Would that be amazing?At this point you may be asking, " Does such a system exist?" Well, we were determined to find one that met all these requirements ( and more) and we have been using it with phenomenal results for several years.

Get Ready for an Explosive 2010!

Posted by Mrs. Opportunity on December 9, 2009 at 6:13pm

Get what you really want in your life!Compass is a personal development company committed to helping you improve your life through powerful, affordable coaching programs and services. Compass will help you take consistent action to make changes in the most important areas of your life in just a few minutes a day.Do you need help Balancing your life!Life gets really busy. Every day, you have to keep up with the demands of your life – job, kids, family, house, laundry, groceries, you name it. When was the last time you took care of YOU? To balance your life requires that you define what is really important to you, and then live like that is what is most important to you! It’s not Balance, it’s LIFE, and we’re pretty obsessed with it too.With Compass Coaching programs and services for Self and Life Balance, you will:SEE how you can live a balanced, beautiful lifeOWN your life and take responsibility for your actionsLIVE your priorities to make real improvementsAnd BE balanced and living the life you were meant to live because YOU ARE WORTH IT!Check out all the great resources, coaching programs and services focused on Self and Life Balance. Get Started NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Get yourself set up for 2010 by getting positioned for greatness.Visit http://www.mylifecompass.com/ahealthieru (Please forward to your circle of influence)My goal is to help people live the life they want by getting at least 60 people to take the leap of faith by joining Compass and getting 25 people whose purpose is to help people join me as a Compass Representative/Coach. This is for those looking to make some extra income by truly helping to change people's lives. My deadline is Dec 31, 2009 and with her help and support I can do just that. If it's not for you, all I ask is that you forward the information to those that you think can benefit.I appreciate you in advance for all of your help.G

Holding a Kwanzaa Event?

Posted by Zhana on December 9, 2009 at 1:00pm

If you are holding a Kwanzaa event, please send me the details privately and I will post them on my website.Click here to read the Kwanzaa listings I have compiled.For great books on Kwanzaa, Black history, Black achievers, plus children's books, music and more, go toAfrican American Holiday Shopping.check out my free African American Holiday Gifts Guide:Have a great day!

2 Easy Ways for the Working Lady to save over $2,000 in 2010

Posted by Richetta on December 9, 2009 at 6:30am

Coffee/ Specialty DrinksDo you really need a $4.00 cup of Joe every morning from the popular coffee shop (won’t name any names) on average you will be out of roughly $20.00a week/$80.00 a month/$960.00 a year

Eating Out for LunchWhat ever happened to taking leftovers or making a sandwich at home? On average, we spend around $5.50 a day eating out for lunch (most of the time more). On average you will be out of roughly $27.50 a week/$110.00 a month/$1320.00 a year

You do the math, what do you think you could have done with a extra $2000.00 next year. A cruise, weekend getaway, new electronic item you always wanted but couldn’t afford because you were eating and drinking it away!! Let’s get smart and get more out of our hard earned money!!

Shopping Made Easy with a Click

Posted by Richetta on December 9, 2009 at 6:00am

Join the party at http://www.youravon.com/richettablackmonHello Ladies,I know that you are all busy making plans, for your businesses and family. So I would like to invite you to join me for a eParty from December 9-13, 2009. You can order with a special promotions code newmembers. All orders over $30.00 will be shipped for free right to your door step. No more waiting for the Avon lady!! How great is that. On those days I will be available for live chat from 6:00pm to 8:00pm eastern time, to answer any questions you have about the products and prices. Hope to see you there!

Just for Entrepreneurs--December 4th, 2009

Posted by Dr. Niama L. J. Williams on December 9, 2009 at 2:26am

Because joy is your birthright ..........December 4th, 2009IN THE RAIN FOREST .....THE WATERFALLNiama Leslie Williams, Ph.D.Copyright September 2009859 wordsfor josephIt is that his faith is an immovable rock, and his satisfaction, his confidence, his pleasure is in me. I look at the stack of bills, the empty bank accounts, the two days of work coming and no money for gas, and I see failure, that all too familiar "What am I doing wrong?" stick drawing bloody streaks from my hide.I wanted to lie down, curl up in him and sob, let him comfort me. Busy with God's inspiration, writing a message for a bright and sunny twenty-six-year-old whose lung transplant gave up after only two years, he is occupied, and I sit silently, turn my back to him, tears rolling down my face but no shuddering, no sound.A momentary respite of comfort as I rinse out a dish in the kitchen, his arms open wide and his neck warm, soft, but we have this one-sided conversation too often and I know the fault lies with me. He evinces a faith and contentment I cannot reach and I turn away aggrieved, saddened, enraged once again with myself, determined to do something different.And that, dear faithful reader, is the key: the decision to do something different.Michelle, my #1 business coach and apostle-in-training, confirmed what all of the new spiritual leaders are saying: the Secret is true; you must focus on what you do want, not on what you don't. I hate that ideology, that spiritual truth for a hot minute because I want to scream to God "reduce the bills; evaporate the debt" and not have the Universe only hear "debt." I want to be able to scream to God in my language, from my desperation, and not have to constantly, consistently work on focusing my mind.Yet Universal Laws are what they are, and I knew without going deep down that the fault lay in my thinking. So I chose to do something different. I lay down, carefully and with set intention, the "What am I doing wrong?" cudgel. I put it in a nice flower box in which had come long-stemmed roses, covered it in the finest, roughest white tissue paper, and sealed that puppy with Death Ray Magic Visible Tape.Death Ray Magic Visible Tape glows bright yellow around whatever it seals off and it seals within an inch of your life. Takes a death ray to remove.I sealed that puppy in his tomb and left him in there squirming, breathless and very uncomfortable.Then I went to my computer, my beloved eMac, and clicked play on that Abundance and Success teleseminar I'd stumbled upon while listening to Raven Blair Davis the other day. Soon Jennifer McLean and her several "Heal Your Life, Heal Your Business" guests were talking and meditating me into a better frame of mind.One of them, a woman whose name I don't remember, had us envision a place of abundance. I was filing as I listened to the teleseminar, but paused, took a deep breath, and let my inner dream-maker take a run. Within a millisecond I was standing by a pool of beautiful light-green water, my abundance water, and the air was cool, the sunshine bright, the vegetation rich and green and plentiful, and the pool with its nearby waterfall babbling peacefully in my ear.The new information that I needed? The glitch represented by my frequency with the cudgel? I dunked a boisterous, clear, bar half-glass into my pool of abundance and tried to drink. The water was like acid on my tongue. The teleseminar was talking about beliefs that no longer fit. I thought, desperate and shocked, I'm choking on my own abundance water? This is information I need!I quickly reviewed possible reasons for my body's rejection of the nourishing green drink and like past events that have truly faded into a more pleasant present, none of them seemed to fit: it had nothing to do with my mother's possible inability to balance a checkbook or my father cheating her out of thousands in the divorce. None of that relevant; no emotional tweaks or pangs as they floated by on the memory. Absolutely no relevance. About then, the teleseminar coached to take a deep breath, and I did.And the something different burst into flower.Suddenly, I saw myself stepping under the waterfall, into its dark cool wetness much as I would step under the showerhead to feel the water pour over my hair, neck, and stream down my back. Suddenly I was stroking my hair and head and arching my back as I do everyday and opening my mouth to gulp my own pure abundance water.As I had suspected, the problem lay with me. The cudgel now wrapped and put away, the waterfall at the ready to be summoned and to soothe.Tomorrow I hear back from a man who has capital and is looking for companies in which to invest. I also meet with a business consultant at Temple's Small Business Development Center.It will be a good day. I've showered in and drunk my pure green loving abundance; my thirst is sated and my mind is fertile.Love and peace,Dr. Niama L. WilliamsBlowing Up Barriers EnterprisesNorristown, PennsylvaniaAS THE HOLIDAYS ARRIVE .....Remember that love is a gift given freely and by choice. As entrepreneurs we exist to satisfy the needs of our clients, and as an intuitive counselor, I am sensitive to my clients for whom the holidays are still problematic.One of the greatest gifts I took away with me from 12-step meetings were the concepts of families of origin and families of choice. For many of us, our families of origin are toxic for our mental and emotional health. I live, quite happily, in the Northeastern region of the United States because at a critical time in my life I needed geographical distance from my family of origin. Such distance was essential if I was to survive.Many call this "doing a geographic," and I am here to tell you, sometimes it works. 3,000 miles of nation gave me the safe distance and perspective to work out who I wanted in my life and to what degree. I was able to think clearly about whom I wanted to interact with and who was dangerous in terms of my mental health.As the holidays arrive, many of us feel "forced" into visiting and spending time with family. You may be a corporate king, but Mama's whining will have you on Priceline.com in a New York minute purchasing a ticket home. You may have worked all year planning to send your father the best Christmas present ever, but one bark from him and you are heading home with your stomach in knots and your holiday season already ruined.Don't do it. Just don't do it.Use the same steel you found in your back to make those cold calls to eventual customers. The same steel you found to call on that fifteenth bank that eventually funded your loan. Listen to that same "Inner Winner" as Mark Victor Hanson and Richard G. Allen call it that told you this, this was the business idea to follow.The holiday season is yours, YOURS, to do with as YOU please. It is a time of renewal and celebration, and if time with your family is not going to be pleasant for you, you have your answer: your holidays need to be spent elsewhere.Take your power back. Do what you need to do.My spiritual transformation began when I started fantasizing about spending the week between Christmas and New Year's in a cabin in the woods, alone, just me and my Maker. I never got to that cabin, but I did develop a case of walking pneumonia so severe the emergency room physician instructed me to go nowhere, and I do mean NOWHERE.One final word: this is not dishonoring your father or your mother. If being in their presence is not healthy for you, you will not be honoring them to spend the holidays in their presence. You will be directly corrupting your personal relationship with God. He knows and sees all, and will see right away the misery and stress building up in your heart.Lying to yourself and your family is not loving the Lord.Enjoy your holiday season. That is why it was created.AboutJUST FOR ENTREPRENEURS is a publication of Blowing Up Barriers Enterprises, founded by Dr. Niama L. Williams and Rev. Joseph W. Massey of Norristown, Pennsylvania.The publication grew out of frequent mailings to women Dr. Ni met at a Women in Entertainment Empowerment Network event. It has no affiliation with WEEN though the founders support WEEN's agenda and mission.JFE exists to inform entrepreneurs of opportunities that could improve or grow their businesses as well as to share personal essays about the stresses of entrepreneurship.For more information about Blowing Up Barriers Enterprises, please visit our company website: BUB-E website. You will see all of our books, memoirs, poetry, workshops and counseling services.{!contact_address}

Move over EBAY! I'm getting my gifts here.....

Posted by Lorissha Coburn on December 8, 2009 at 11:00pm

Althou ,there are lots of websites that one can choose to shop from,I highly recommend one that has lots to offer. I seen name brand items dirt cheap! If your searching for bargains,watching for deals...you'll love what you see here. I definetly made this site one of my favorite's. This is because I often see really hot stuff!Go ahead and visit the site these are reasons enough to keep coming back;* Snatch bargains for pennies on the dollar* New items added hourly* Collectibles and hard-to-find items* Gadgets and gear available nowhere else* Crazy-priced closeouts* Sell your own unwanted stuff too for quick cash!

You can literally stretch a dollar here fill the empty spaces under the tree!Hope you'll love it!

piZap.com free online photo editor

Learning to Forgive

Posted by Michelle Howard Smith on December 8, 2009 at 8:41pm

Forgiveness has and will always be a difficult tasks for fallen humankind.Check out this blog post on the importance of forgiving: Why Forgive - Reasons for Forgiving

Start Networking, Grow Your Business and Give Back to Your Community Today!

Posted by Gabriela R. Chavez on December 8, 2009 at 8:30pm

Women Entrepreneurs don’t have to look much farther for assistance starting, growing, and expanding their businesses. Beauties on the Go, LLC is offering a three tier business membership to help small businesses become the number one choice to consumers in the marketplace.Membership marketing is the backbone of driving client and organizational relationships. When businesses are active members of membership programs, they have access to supportive groups, a network of strong professional contacts, and resources that can increase any business.Beauties on the Go is offering a three tier membership; Pink, Sepia and Purple.The benefits that these membership programs offer are top notch for any female business owner. Beauties on the Go that all members are supported and remain inspired through the entire program. Moreover, members receive the support of Beauties on the Go and resources that help toward the advancement of women entrepreneurs; access to targeted business demographics; live/interactive customer relationships, valuable savings on exclusive event invites online, phone conferences, workshops, as well as chances to enter VIP drawings/contests.Beauties on the Go simplifies women’s lives and is a community created by women for women that lead busy lives. Beauties on the Go provides the most inspirational and supportive resources and network available.Grow your business while giving back to your community. When purchasing your membership, part of the proceeds go directly into funding the TEEN L.U.V.E Program-for at-risk teens as well as support for other charities Beauties on the Go believes in. YOU get to choose from a list of charities that BOTG believes in and know that a percentage of your paid membership goes toward the betterment of your chosen charity.For Membership Details Click Here and/or read below.The Pink membership has a $59.00 set up fee and starts at $39.00 per month and offers the women’s inspirational guide, Her Little Ways to help women get through the difficult and frustrating times, the e-book Crush Your Competition and Brand Yourself and Your Business in the Social Media Age, a guide that shows women how to crush and take market share from their competition as well as a business directory listing, back links to help with search engine optimization, VIP passes to conferences and 20% off all BOTG events, products, web design and social media services.The Sepia membership has a $129.00 set up fee and starts at $99.00 per month and offers all of the products/services in the Pink package with an additional 30 minutes of personalized life coaching and 30 minutes of personalized business consulting, while the Purple membership provides the most resources.The Purple membership has a $229.00 set up fee and starts at $199.00 per month and includes all of the products/services that the Sepia package includes but with one hour of personalized life coaching and one hour of personalized business consulting, an introduction into the Beauties on the Go newsletter, a Woman Owned Store Front, and Young Living all natural health energy drink.

Hook-up in the Spirit Realm

Posted by Minister Coylette James on December 8, 2009 at 6:46pm

Hello Family,I pray that you are experiencing the Grace, Mercy and Favor of God in a mighty way in this season of your life.Those of you who have been part of my friends circle for awhile know that every year at the beginning of the year, I send out a Clarion call to the Body of Christ to join me for the first seven days of the New Year in a time of Prayer and Fasting before the Lord. We are planning on bringing in 2010 in a like manner.This is something you can do right from where you are. It is a matter of setting aside the first seven days of the New Year as a first fruits offering of yourself unto the Lord. If it is possible for you, I would recommend you take that week off from your jobs and truly get alone with God and allow Him to set the tone for your year and give you clear directive in your assignments.As we get closer to the time I will ask you to submit your prayer request for the prayer calendar which we all come into agreement over. We have seen God move in such a miraculous way and answered prayers have been overwhelming.For this entire time, I will be shutting-in at my Church in Las Vegas. If you are in the area or desire to come, you are more than welcome to join us there. The Shut-In will take place at The New Bethany Family Worship Center, 1229 West Owens, Las Vegas NV. It will start January 1 and 12:00 AM and end January 8 at 8:00 AM. Please note that you are not required to stay at the church the whole time should you join us there, but know we will be there and you are welcome at any time.The type of fast you do is between you and God. I know some of you can't do full fast because of health issues, and I don't want anyone to feel guilty or like they are in bondage in any way. Ask the Lord to give you the fast He wants you to take and know, He will bless it. As we shut-in, we fast from food for the seven days, but drink liquids. Again, start praying now and ask God how He would have you fast before Him.I will be in touch as we get closer to that time. Please RSVP by adding a comment to this blog or email me at godsmarketplace@yahoo.com if you plan on participating, that way I will know who to get further information too as we get closer to January.Stay Blessed Family and I look forward to hooking up with you in the Spirit Realm.Minister Coylette James

Don't miss the Jumpstart 2010 Webinar Tonight ...

Posted by LaShanda Henry on December 8, 2009 at 5:23pm

You are invited to the best marketing webinar of the year! The Women of Color Coaching Program proudly presents our ‘Jumpstart 2010’ webinar to the extended Business Women of Color community and the members of Black Business Women Online. The Women of Color Coaching program was founded by multi-million dollar momprenuer, Richelle Shaw and myself, wahm-webpreneur, LaShanda Henry. For the past few weeks, Richelle and I have been teaching our coaching clients how to Jumpstart their businesses in 2010. Tonight we will host the final discussion on the remaining THREE Marketing strategies and essentials you need to implement to make your small business a smart business in 2010! Don’t miss the call tonight! If you are not a WOCC Member, this is your chance to be our guest! And yes, you can invite friends to this webinar. Date: Tuesday, December 8, 2009 Time: 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM EST Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/110684579 After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar. Want to learn more about the Women of Color Coaching Program: http://womenofcolorcoach.org

P.E.A.S. Magazine 8th Edition

Posted by Denise Bethune on December 8, 2009 at 4:59pm

http://issuu.com/p.e.a.s.intheirpods/docs/p.e.a.s._magazine_8th_editionGaetane Borders, President, Peas In Their Pods wrote this commentary, Essence Magazinehttp://www.essence.com/news/commentary_2/how_many_more_shaniyas_are_there.php/how_many_more_shaniyas_are_there.php

Pass this on its true I just join its free Earn Cash for socializing with others

Posted by Workathomemomblogs on December 8, 2009 at 10:31am

Pass this on its true I just join to try no credit card needed or bank account you can start making money now today I just made some cash just by being on the site check it outEarn cash just by socializing Check out this its on the news all over .Free,Free You will not believe what I saw on the news you get paid just by getting your friends and family to join the social network its free you do not get paid here on fb but they pay you for getting friend to join you I just joined today they paid me .03 just after getting in 3 seconds freeEarn cash just by socializing

DO I HAVE A CASE?? WHAT LEGAL RIGHTS OUR MIND? I WANT TO SUE! I HAVE BEEN SUED!!

Posted by Rickey on December 8, 2009 at 4:38am

Let no one fool you. It is better to have access to a legal resources, than not! Ignorance is Costly. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. I HAVE FOUND OUT THE HARD WAY THIS FACT!!!Ignorantia juris non excusat or Ignorantia legis neminem excusat (Latin for "ignorance of the law does not excuse" or "ignorance of the law excuses no one") is a legal principle holding that a person who is unaware of a law may not escape liability for violating that law merely because he or she was unaware of its contentYou can acquire the service and/or use as an income producing asset (providing prepaid legal services)I am actively promoting this service because I know any business owner/operators especially direct sale independent distributors are leaving themselves to financial liability exposure. It would be foolish not to have legal access.DECEMBER 2009 BUSINESS SPECIALACQUIRE YOUR OWN PREPAID LEGAL SERVICE AND MEMBERSHIP FOR ONLY $99Regular Price $249I welcome you to our teamwww.jusstart.comsource: http://www.lectlaw.comLAWSUITS BEST AVOIDEDAs a general rule, it is in a business' best interest to avoidlitigation or reach a quick settlement if sued.There are always two sides to every story and, if you file a lawsuit, the personyou sue will probably file a lawsuit against you. Be cautious of anyone who saysyour business will be a clear winner in a lawsuit without any risk of loss;have your case evaluated by a second source.It is very easy to file a lawsuit. The complaint is fairly inexpensiveto prepare, and the filing fee is only a couple of hundred dollars.However, once the lawsuit is filed, it's virtually impossible to get ridof without the other side's consent or without exposing yourself toserious liability.Should you find yourself faced with the prospect of litigation,carefully explore the alternatives of arbitration or mediation; thesealternatives are often faster and cheaper and provide less exposure forthe business. And, if you do find yourself involved in litigation,whether it be as the plaintiff or the defendants, good luck -- you're infor the experience of a lifetime!www.jusstart.com

Black Owned Business B.O.B Street Smart Magazine

Posted by Singleton on December 8, 2009 at 4:35am

If u are a African American business owner, send info about your business for Black Owned Business section for Street Smart Magazine to singleton@streetsmartmag.com. *No record labels or artists please*.

5 Lessons I Learned from Blogging

Posted by LaTosha Johnson on December 8, 2009 at 2:18am

Everyday people share information via various social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, etc. why you should have a blog (especially a company blog). Yet, you hardly ever see articles that share lessons bloggers have learned from blogging. I definitely wanted to take this opportunity to share the lessons I have learned from blogging because one week ago was my blog’s anniversary.I have always had a passion for writing and finally decided to channel that energy into a blog. From a business standpoint, I know that having a blog is essential because it serves several purposes such as demonstrating your industry expertise, generating interest in you or your company, connecting with prospects and customers, etc. In case you are experiencing some reluctance in jumping on the blogging bandwagon, I believe it is a worthwhile endeavor because blogging will teach you the following lessons:1.) Inspiration comes in many forms: Many do not blog because they do not know how to come up with blog topics. At times it can be overwhelming to generate ideas for your blog because you are putting so much pressure on yourself that you are inadvertently causing your mind to shut down. When I get like this I force myself to take a time out because staring at the computer is only going to frustrate you. I have a variety of activities that I perform during my time out such as reading other blogs, exercising, etc. The best ideas come when you are not intentionally looking for them.2.) Write on: One of the main reasons I started this blog was to share information that I felt would empower and encourage people. I wanted to be more than a logo. However, you have to realize that there will be times when you put your heart and soul into writing a post that you may consider to be a “masterpiece” and still not receive the attention you anticipated. It can be disheartening to receive a negative comment or worse—no comment at all. However, this is still no excuse to avoid blogging. One of my favorite blogs, Men with Pens, wrote a great post about comments. People often do not leave comments for various reasons (check out the comment section of this post) and this is not necessarily a reflection on your content.3.) Patience: When you first start blogging you may feel that no one is reading your blog. Therefore, many often give up right before their blog starts to pick up momentum. You have to have confidence in your capability to write quality content because it takes time to build up your community. Do not blow your opportunity by posting content just for the sake of posting. This will not only hurt your credibility, but waste your readers’ time.4.) Expand your network: Blogging requires you to be willing to put yourself out there. Having a blog has introduced me to incredible people who I otherwise might not have had the opportunity to meet. I met many of these people by commenting on other blogs, Twitter, forums such as the VAF, etc. In my experience, I have found bloggers to be extremely helpful and always willing to provide you with great advice.5.) Exchange ideas: One of the main reasons I enjoy blogging is because I truly enjoy learning. I enjoy researching different topics and listening to various points of view regarding that topic. I like sharing information I learn with others because my desire is to help people and of course I incorporate that mindset into my blog. In my opinion the only way to learn more about a topic is to talk with those who are passionate about the subject and a blog is an excellent platform to facilitate a conversation.Some concepts and tools that I have found to be extremely useful in blogging:1.) Self-hosted WordPress Site: If you want to have some flexibility in how you customize your blog, you should use WordPress. It is extremely simple to use and has a myriad of themes and plugins that allow you ability to make sure your blog reflects your personality.2.) Editorial Calendar: You want to keep the content on your blog fresh and relevant. Using an editorial calendar will keep you from repeating the same topics. Rod Kirby’s video does a phenomenal job demonstrating how to create and use an editorial calendar.3.) Linkedwithin: If you do not want to feel as if your old posts were written in vain, this widget gives new life to those posts. Underneath your current post, this plugin shows older posts your readers may be interested in based upon how they are categorized or tagged in how they are related to the current post.4.) Flock: This social web browser enables you to easily locate pictures and videos to insert into your blog—without having to have multiple screens open (I will be writing a blog post on this browser). This browser has enabled me to keep track of all my RSS feeds while keeping in touch with what is occurring within my social networking sites—all on one screen.5.) Wordtracker Firefox SEO add-on: You want to make sure that you increase your posts chances of being ranked in the search engines so you need to keep track of your keywords. This plugin easily enables you to do so.6.) Zemanta: Having a great picture to accompany your blog post can reinforce the viewpoint you are attempting to convey. However, searching for the “perfect picture” can be incredibly time consuming. Zemanta takes care of this for you by generating pictures and smart links based upon the post. Having smart links in your post will result in more traffic to your blog.I could go on and on about all the lessons that blogging has taught me, but I feel that the aforementioned reasons and concepts are hopefully enough to entice you to start a blog. In case you are wondering why I did not write this post on the actual day of my blog’s anniversary, it was because on this day I received a link to a post that reinforced the reasons why I blog. Amber Hunnicutt wrote a post commenting on a post I wrote called Life is NOT an ATM (which happens to be my favorite post) and how my post inspired her to pursue her dream. I truly hope that if you are on the fence about starting a blog, whether it be personal or for your company, surrender to the peer pressure and hop on the bandwagon (companies should consider hiring a ghostwriter if their staff does not want to blog). I guarantee this will be a ride you will not want to miss.What lessons have you learned from blogging? If you do not have a blog, what is stopping you from starting one?

Note: this page contains paid content.

Give the Gift of Fitness!

Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.