photo credit: dannyfowler

A Different Christmas Poem
By Michael Marks

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn’t loud, and it wasn’t too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn’t quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

“What are you doing?” I asked without fear,
“Come in this moment, it’s freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!”

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire’s light
Then he sighed and he said “Its really all right,

I’m out here by choice. I’m here every night.”
“It’s my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I’m proud to stand here like my fathers before me.

My Gramps died at ‘ Pearl on a day in December,”
Then he sighed, “That’s a Christmas ‘Gram always remembers.”
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ‘ Nam ‘,
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I’ve not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he’s sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
Our country’s flag.

“I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.

I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.”

“So go back inside,” he said, “harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I’ll be all right.”
“But isn’t there something I can do, at the least,
“Give you money,” I asked, “or prepare you a feast?

It seems all too little for all that you’ve done, For
being away from your wife and your son.”
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret, “
Just tell us you love us, and never forget.

To fight for our rights back at home while we’re gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.

Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.

A professor stood before his philosophy class with some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked his students if the jar was full…they all agreed that it was full.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly and the pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked again if the jar was full. Again, they all agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else in the jar. He then asked once more if the jar was full to which the students responded with a resounding..YES!

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under his table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students started to laugh.

Now, said the professor as the laughter subsided, I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things…your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favourite passions…and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.

The sand is everything else…the small stuff.

If you put the sand into the jar first, he continued, there is no room for the golf balls or the pebbles. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Spend time with your parents, visit with your grandparents. Take time to get regular medical checkups. Take your parents out to dinner, play another round of 18 holes. There will always be time to clean the house or fix the disposal.

Take care of the golf balls first…the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and asked what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled and said…I’m glad you asked.

The coffee shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.

The Gazzman, Gary Simpson

Rod Macbeth

1) Was Born in 1955 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

2) Has lived here all of my life save for ten years spent in Richmond, BC when the job market took a nose dive.

3) is a Gemini.

4) Has spent 34 years as an electrician. Due to a repetitive rotator cuff injury, arthritis and a small tendon tear in my right shoulder I’m no longer really able to work in my trade any longer. This is largely behind my decision to pursue Internet Marketing full time. Although, after 34 years, I’m ready for a change.

5) Used to smoke but quit eight years ago.

6) Used to be a heavy drinker. Quit that nonsense twenty-two years ago. The single best thing I’ve ever done.

7) Has had Type II diabetes for six years.  It’s the type controlled by pills and diet, not insulin. Thank goodness for that. I may have got it due to my drinking as none of the usual factors like being overweight or having a family history of diabetes applies to me.

8 ) Used to play the bagpipes and was the pipe major of a Pipe and Drums band. No, I won’t tell you what a Scotsman wears under his kilt. That’s for you to find out at your own risk… which is considerably less risky for the ladies.

9) Used to play the drums in a heavy rock and roll band.

10) Is a headbanger.

11) Enjoys all types of music with a few exceptions.

12) Doesn’t watch TV…hasn’t for fifteen years.

13) Is not into sports. Used to be but got tired of listening to inane colour commentators and supporting huge salaries for playing a game.

14) Has been a computer addict since getting his first one.

15) Has been surfing the internet since before most people knew it existed or what it was.

16) Plays “World of Warcraft” extensively and is the Guildmaster of a successful guild and moderator of probably the largest WoW related forums save for Blizzard’s official forums.

17) Has a dry, sarcastic sense of humour.

18) Loves animals of all types…well snakes maybe not so much.

19) Has no real desire for material things beyond the necessities. Excluding the best computer I can afford.

20) Has no driving desire to be wealthy but does buy lottery tickets.

21) Has a very low tolerance for having to repeat himself.

22) Loves the old Clint Eastwood and James Bond movies.

23) Has read “Lord of the Rings” several times…so many I’ve lost count.

24) Favourite song is Led Zeppelins’ “Stairway to Heaven”. Do you know how they got their name? Eric Clapton remarked to the band members that they’d go over like a lead balloon.

25) Dislikes traveling. Would like to have his own “Scotty” to beam him to exotic locales and beam him home again…along with his own bed and computer system.

I tag:

Anne Marie Dennis

Gigi Messina

Gary Simpson to come up with another 25 …<Evil Cackle>

A project I`ve been working on is coming to completion. At least I hope so. I was hoping to have it out some time ago but ran into some hurdles. It`s become even more important as the benefits I`ve been receiving for my bad shoulder are about to run out so an income stream from all this is becoming much more important. I haven`t mentioned my shoulder, and how it`s largely behind me entering the Internet Marketing field, as it was going to be brought up in my “About” page which I have yet to get around to doing. (see above about planning going out the window ) Anyways, I’m an electrician by trade, have been for over thirty years, and I’m no longer able to raise my right arm above my shoulder for extended periods of times. This is due to a combination of chronic bursitis and a small tendon tear. Needless to say, I’m not of much use as an electrician with that kind of a limitation so here I am trying to do this Internet Marketing thing.

Being that I’ve fallen behind in my posting and things have kind of got out of sync in terms of what Alex has taught us, and when, I’ll be trying to do a post on each module in the near future. I’m going to give each one another listen then post on it. They may become a little spread out as there’s other things I want to post on also and projects that need my attention but I hope to get caught up fairly quickly.

I think this quote is appropriate for how things have gone in the past couple of weeks.

“The best plans of men and mice often go awry” Robert Burns

Then my outsourcing didn’t pan out as expected. Some of it is taking longer then I’d hoped, which is fine. I’d sooner see the time being spent to put out a good finished product then rush it and get something that’s second rate. The results from the three outsourcing sites I used, ELance, GetaFreelancer and oDesk Outsourcing, for one project have left a bit to be desired. Interestingly enough, eLance has provided the smallest response of the three. Several providers have asked for a deposit and I was wondering what you folks reading this think of that. It’s nothing major, rewriting existing copywriting, so I personally feel that a deposit is unwarranted but I’m new to all this and could use the views of others.

It’s not all doom and gloom though. I’ve learned lots, and that in itself makes for a successful week, and I did get a few smaller items out of the way. One super thing that happened is I got a personal taste of the awesome support that Alex Jeffreys students are providing for everyone. I was wondering what a fair price would be for the outsourcing of a project and figured I’d see if Twitter would provide an answer. To no surprise it didn’t but one of my fellow students shot me a direct message and he is now having a look at it. I’m not going to mention his name as it involves something he’s really not interested in doing any longer but to say I appreciate this is a huge understatement. It’s kind of getting down to crunch time with me and getting this product out is pretty important. So having someone offering to help, and especially with something they’d prefer not to be doing, out of the blue like this is really awesome and so greatly appreciated.

I’ve expressed a couple of times in the forums how I think we have such a great community already but this really brings it home. While Alex Jeffreys course in itself is providing great value I really feel that the community that’s been built around the course and him may very well prove to be the biggest thing of it all. The future looks bright.

“We don’t accomplish anything in this world alone … and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one’s life and all the weavings of individual threads from one to another that creates something.” Sandra Day O’Connor

As mentioned, posting journals and having partners are great tools but they don’t mean squat if you can’t hold yourself accountable. They are aids only, accountability is only achieved through one’s own efforts. While posting journals may not be the way to go for all people everyone should be religiously keeping a journal. I can’t think of a better way then looking at your short term to-do list and your did list to account for what you’ve achieved over time. If you go back a week and most of your to-do list is still there you have problems. If it stills mostly there after a month you’d best have a long look at yourself in the mirror. This, of course, is where planning plays such a critical part. I’ve always planned but not to the degree suggested in the course and I can see where it would have helped. My planning was with a pretty broad brush and could have used a lot more finesse. I have a long ways to go in learning how to plan properly but have already seen improvements in my habits and most of all for accounting to myself. I’ve always kept track of my activities in a notepad scribbler and have found it to be invaluable. It’s all there for you to refer back on things and to check on your progress. Also, you’re not loosing or throwing out sheets like you might do with individual ones and you can’t walk away from being accountable. It’s all there for you to see, what you did and what you didn’t do. That’s been my biggest asset.

I’m in no way trying to downplay what having a partner can do for you and/or what posting your journal may achieve but I feel accountability has to start within yourself.

“It is not only what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable” Moliere

“Forward to Basics“. This module focuses on the basics of running a business and having it run smoothly. The core of it is planning and organization. Short term, mid-term and long term planning or, put another way, daily, weekly, monthly, quartly and yearly. By planning your tasks you enable yourself to focus more and you greatly improve your productivity. It hasn’t even been a week since the first module and I’ve seen my productivity go up greatly. This in itself may not be a new concept to some of you, although I’m guessing most of you don’t do it, but one element that’s discussed is breaking your tasks up into priorities and labeling them A, B or C. By doing this you’re focusing on the tasks that need to be done and leaving the lesser ones for later. I started with talking of putting up a new site as it illustrates how well this can work. You may plan to spend four hours to put up your new blog but easily use up the whole day and still not finish. However, by planning your tasks you have them written down and can just move everything forward until such time that you can complete them. You may even find that some of the B’s and C’s weren’t even necessary. Longer term planning helps to make sure you don’t pass over other important A tasks that can so easily be forgotten.

You may find it hard to plan far ahead, I know I certainly do, but as you progress it should become easier. Reading the forums I get the sense that some people take some things too literally, which may not be the best way to approach things. I feel you need to adapt courses like this to your own needs, abilities, goals, etc. Personally, I’m not in this business to try and make millions of dollars but to make a comfortable living with the least amount of effort. That’s not to say I’ll turn away the opportunity to make millions but I’m obviously going to approach things differently then someone who is after that kind of money. I’m also single and have no family so my plans are going to differ from those with a family. All these factors can affect the way you plan and the ease with which you can do it. I am finding that by always doing a “did sheet“, keeping track of tasks completed, and making a daily and weekly plan that I find myself thinking of things that can be done next week. I’m guessing that as I progress further that it will advance into thinking of things months ahead. The main thing is to make sure you plan at some level. At a minimum plan tomorrow today. If you can plan farther ahead all the better. “Forward to Basics” is much more then just planning and delves into other areas to prepare us for building our businesses and to say I was impressed is an understatement. I’m looking forward in anticipation to the next module.

“Attitude is everything, shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll be amongst the stars.” Authour unknown