It’s been a few weeks since I’ve been able to update. The past few weeks have almost been a blur. I took a vacation form my full time job, mainly to work on my network of website which is at 11 sites right now. I had someone say to me the other day “11 websites? I understand 3-4 but 11 seems extreme”. My response was simple and makes perfect sense to me. So I told the guy “It’s easier to make $100 ten times, than $1000 once”. I can’t claim this quote as my own, but there is a ton of truth to it.

So, I’ve spent the last week working on my existing websites which at the start of the week was only 9, but by the middle of the week I acquired Stacks Back.com and my designer finished Poker Affiliate Team.com. I have never bought a website, and I had to do some dealing to get Stacksback, but luckily the previous owner is a great guy and worked it out with me. The Poker Affiliate Team site has been a dream of mine for the past year. Since I’ve been doing some sort of internet marketing for the last 3-4 years, I think I have a lot of great tips and tools new affiliates will find useful. I only wish someone had taken me by the hand years ago.

The PAP Radio Show

My good buddy Jeremy Enke has started a new Poker Affiliate Radio show and asked me to be the first guest on the show. Here is the link to my interview. I was very flattered to be asked and very excited to be on there. The Poker Affiliate industry is a very different business than any other I’ve ever dealt with. It is always changing and if you don’t keep up, you’ll be outdated and out of business.

Another buddy of mine John H was the next guest on the Radio show and he talked about starting out as an affiliate and the things he learned along the way to becoming a major player in the business. Greg Powell came on next to talk about some behind the scenes things well as the upcoming conference. He gave some great tips about negotiating with your affiliate managers. I recommend everyone listen to the pod cast as soon as it is posted to hear some of the stuff Greg talked about.

Anyway, I’m going back to work now. I’ll post more later.

I cannot take credit for writing all of these rules, I did add a few of my own though. I think it’s important to have a few rules that are things you will not stray from. Most people can these morale/principles, but whatever you call them you need to find out which one(s) you will follow.

1. Get and stay out of your comfort zone.
I believe that not much happens of any significance when we’re in our comfort zone. I hear people say, “But I’m concerned about security.” My response to that is simple: “Security is for cadavers.”

2. Never give up.
Almost nothing works the first time it’s attempted. Just because what you’re doing does not seem to be working, doesn’t mean it won’t work. It just means that it might not work the way you’re doing it. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and you wouldn’t have an opportunity.

3. When you’re ready to quit, you’re closer than you think.
There’s an old Chinese saying that I just love, and I believe it is so true. It goes like this: “The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed.”

4. With regard to whatever worries you, not only accept the worst thing that could happen, but make it a point to quantify what the worst thing could be.
Very seldom will the worst consequence be anywhere near as bad as a cloud of “undefined consequences.” My father would tell me early on, when I was struggling and losing my shirt trying to get Parsons Technology going, “Well, Robert, if it doesn’t work, they can’t eat you.”

5. Focus on what you want to have happen.
Remember that old saying, “As you think, so shall you be.”

6. Take things a day at a time.
No matter how difficult your situation is, you can get through it if you don’t look too far into the future, and focus on the present moment. You can get through anything one day at a time.

7. Always be moving forward.
Never stop investing. Never stop improving. Never stop doing something new. The moment you stop improving your organization, it starts to die. Make it your goal to be better each and every day, in some small way. Remember the Japanese concept of Kaizen. Small daily improvements eventually result in huge advantages.

8. Be quick to decide.
Remember what General George S. Patton said: “A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow.”

9. Measure everything of significance.
I swear this is true. Anything that is measured and watched, improves.

10. Anything that is not managed will deteriorate.
If you want to uncover problems you don’t know about, take a few moments and look closely at the areas you haven’t examined for a while. I guarantee you problems will be there.

11. Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to what you’re doing.
When you look at your competitors, remember that everything looks perfect at a distance. Even the planet Earth, if you get far enough into space, looks like a peaceful place.

12. Never let anybody push you around.
In our society, with our laws and even playing field, you have just as much right to what you’re doing as anyone else, provided that what you’re doing is legal.  If the law is unfair to you and others, you should do everything in your power to see that doesn’t happen anymore going along with not allowing anyone to push you around. Imagine if Rosa Parks would have obeyed the laws! [Thanks Katrina]

13. Never expect life to be fair.
Life isn’t fair. You make your own breaks. You’ll be doing good if the only meaning fair has to you, is something that you pay when you get on a bus (i.e., fare).

14. Solve your own problems.
You’ll find that by coming up with your own solutions, you’ll develop a competitive edge. Masura Ibuka, the co-founder of SONY, said it best: “You never succeed in technology, business, or anything by following the others.” There’s also an old Asian saying that I remind myself of frequently. It goes like this: “A wise man keeps his own counsel.”

15. Don’t take yourself too seriously.
Lighten up. Often, at least half of what we accomplish is due to luck. None of us are in control as much as we like to think we are.

16. There’s always a reason to smile.
Find it. After all, you’re really lucky just to be alive. Life is short. More and more, I agree with my little brother. He always reminds me: “We’re not here for a long time, we’re here for a good time!”

Looking over these rules, they are more for the entrepreneur than anyone else but due to their over all value, they are very good rules. I would like to hear of any other rules people live by, please speak up.

It’s funny knowing and talking to many successful people, as I’ve said before they all have traits in common. One of the things I hear all of them say is: “make the main thing, the main thing!” Seems like a simple and easy to follow statement, but when you look deeper within yourself you’ll see that more than likely you are neglecting the most important things in your life..

When I made a list of my priorities or the “main things’ in my life, I began to see that I had my “main things” out of order.. This is what it looks like in my head:

1. Wife and Family: This includes spending time with the wife and kids, making memories we will have forever.

2. Work and Business - This includes my corporate life and personal business (web marketing, etc)

3. Free time and “Randy” time: Watching TV, movies, ESPN, and playing poker, games, etc..

Now, notice what order I put everything in. Family, work, fun. Now, your priorities are usually what you spend the bulk of your time on, right?? So, in my mind the family comes first, then work, then Randy time. In reality, I spend most of my time working. Then I spend the remainder during the week trying to relax and get organized for the next day.

Here is how my typical week goes:

Wake up at 7am and get to work by 8am. Work until about 6pm and leave the office. Get home and spend about 15 minutes talking with the wife about our day. We usually eat dinner in the dining room with the kids for about 30 minutes.. Then I fire the laptop back up and go back to work.

As you can see, I spend more time working than anything else. Don’t get me wrong, I’m always planning on spending more time with the wife and kids on the weekend, but I usually end up working or taking some “Randy Time”. Every once in a while I’ll sit down and talk with the wife and kids, but never as much as I intend to.

After making the list above I realized that I’m not making the “Main Thing” the main thing. I would imagine many of you are making the same mistakes too. I’ve realized by doing this that I only have a short time to correct this mistake and create a new REAL priority list for myself.

I’ve been in this rut for a while now and I know it will take a lot to break this destructive cycle I’ve created for myself, but I am committed to changing not only for myself but also for the people around me. When my life is all said and done, I really don’t want to be remembered as the guy that “worked all the time”. That’s not what I want to be about.

Now, I can make a whole list of reasons excuses about why I need to work more and that list includes: Providing for the family, working for my retirement, getting a head so I don’t have to work so much, and the list goes on and on.. In the end though, we cannot take money or status with us, we can only take the love from those around us. That’s it! Nothing else. I’m positive my wife and kids would rather have more time with me than more money from me. I would imagine your family feels the same way.

So, that’s my thought of the day. Make sure your “main thing” is the “main thing”. If you look real hard, you may find out that you have mixed your priorities up just like I have.