I know I am opening myself up to criticism for this post, but it's been on my mind and I really just want to put it out there. I dislike the way multi-level marketing has been done by many companies. I don't dislike multi-level marketers, mind you (well, most of them anyway). I just think that business model has proven destructive to many individuals and families. Continue Reading

Writer's block. Like the cement barricade at the end of an unfinished highway, the writer's block stands before me... mocking me... challenging me... It happens to everyone, but I sure didn't expect it to hit today. Because content creation is such a critical part of making money with your blog, writer's block can be the site owner's worst nightmare. What do I write about today?!?! Here's how I handle writer's block. Continue Reading

Yesterday, we went to church for Christmas Eve service. And the pastor put a twist on the message that I hadn't really considered before. He asked "How many of you believe that Jesus is the reason for the season?" Hands went up throughout the sanctuary. And then the room when silent when he said, "Jesus is NOT the reason for the season!" Continue Reading

We live in a reciprocal Universe. All of us are trained at a very young age to take. Hopefully, we are also trained to give. Give and take. Someone asks you how you are doing... ... and you ask them how they are doing. Someone gives you a gift... ... and you are more likely to give them a gift in the future. Give and take. That's the way the Universe operates. Continue Reading

Bionicles. A Lego creation that has an incredibly rabid fan base and has spawned numerous made-for-DVD videos and a comic book series. Why am I writing about Lego Bionicles? Because my son has been collecting them for years. And because he just dropped over $100 on the newest sets to hit the market and is incredibly upset. So much so that he is returning them to the store, disheartened and disappointed. I suggested that he... Continue Reading

I occassionally receive email that looks like this... "Dear Joel, I have purchased your ebook and applied your strategies to my web pages. It's been a week and I am not making any money. It just doesn't work" Welcome to our microwave society. We want our popcorn done in sixty seconds. And if we can get someone else to put it in the microwave and prepare it for us, all the better. So what is... Continue Reading

I'm in San Francisco, which is over 1000 miles from home. I'm attending Harlan Kilstein's Six-Figure Copywriting conference (which I am scheduled to speak at tomorrow and Sunday). The conference is taking place at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Hotel. I had a serendipitous event take place around 10 am. Continue Reading

I've had the privilege to meet quite a few people in the Internet industry over the past ten years. I've had the pleasure of turning many business associates into dear friends. One such friend whom I am honored to know is Dave Taylor. Dave is one of the brightest, thoughtful individuals I know. And that's on top of being a super nice guy! Dave is also a "go-to" guy when it comes to blogging. In... Continue Reading

As one of my frequent readers recently noted, our world is filled with people living in poverty or under a totalitarian government. While we do have many poor people in America, our version of poor looks rich by the standards of many third world countries. And even with money, some countries treat people as disposable objects. In China, boys are treated as worthwhile, but girls are unwanted. The orphanages are overrunning with children, most of... Continue Reading

Mary and I had the opportunity to enjoy a "date night" on Friday. First we enjoyed a nice dinner at Johnny Carinos Italian restaurant. Next we went to the mall and pigged out on ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery (superior to Marble Slab in case you are wondering). Finally, it was on the cinema to take in a showing of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. I received a great deal of chastisement... Continue Reading

This has been one crazy week. We run three web servers on a T1 line. This week, every single one of them crashed, a couple of them more than once. I've seen a power supply blow and begin smoking. I've had a motherboard go bad. I've got two hard drives that are failing. It has been an insane week for web servers. When WorldVillage.com failed this week (ie: smoking power supply), I decided it was... Continue Reading