My buddy Jess just started a great new site called RSS Poker. Rss Poker is a great new Poker News Resource for Poker Affiliate Webmasters and players. The site allows anyone to upload new articles to be added to the site. Of course all submissions are subject to approval, which will help to reduce spam and poor quality content. Users have already uploaded dozens of high quality poker related articles and the site is taking off.

The best part of the whole site, is that new webmaster can submit unique article and get 1 backlink to their site for every 400 words of the article. This is a great way to get free links and gain some extra exposure to a new website.

I questioned my buddy Jess about this site, and this is what he had to say:

“RSSPoker.com offers players a wide variety of poker news, promotions, gossip, and strategy articles written by webmasters all over the world. With information from so many contributing writers and webmasters, the perspective is as wide as it gets. Instead of only receiving information about poker rooms that any particular website chooses to promote, now players will get exposure to everything in one place. The same goes for gossip articles, news and strategy articles. This should provide players a lot of interesting reading.”

“The site offers RSS feeds for the entire site, or players can choose to get feeds from specific categories as well. You can also share the site or specific articles with any of your favorite social bookmarking sites. Use the ‘Share This’ button located at the bottom of each article to introduce your friends to the site, or add it to your MySpace page.”

So, if you have a minute, go on over to RSS Poker.com and check this site out. New articles are being added daily and if you looking for a great way to get some valuable backlinks to your site, submit your own article now.

I could probably write a book about things I love about being in the internet marketing industry, but I’m just going to give the top five pros and cons. This really isn’t hard for me to do because I am still a corporate slave working as a senior executive at one of the largest companies in the United States. Anyway here are my top five pros and con’s of this business.
 Pros:

1. One of the best things about this business is that you can actually control your earnings. Obviously you cannot say “I will make $xx,xxx this month, but you basically get out what you put in. This may be an over-simplification but I think it’s pretty accurate

2. You get to be creative. In so many jobs now days, you are restricted to what others what you to do. In the internet marketing world, you get to think outside the box and explore things most people only wish they could do.

3. Freedom! I suggest to everyone I know that you must set a schedule and goals for yourself. However, if you have a late night with the wife planned, you can sleep in you just need to work a little longer the next day.
4. A sense of accomplishment. You build a website, program, or whatever you do and you can look at it and see that YOU have created something. That is a great feeling
5. knowing you are in a group of select group of people that have the skills, bravery, and motivation to thrive in this business. The internet marketing game isn’t for everyone. I see so many people that are just too lazy to make it and end up back working for the man.

Cons:

1. Income variance. Sometimes you can have some big swings, some good and some bad. When the bad swings hit, they can be scary. Managing your income is crucial to make it through the downswings.

2. Sometimes you fail. We all fail at things. Not everyone can deal with failure and it can be a self esteem killer. You may invest 10k in a project and never see a return. If you are afraid of failing, this business isn’t for you.

3. Competitive. This isn’t the 1990’s anymore; the business has gotten aggressive and very competitive. You have to stay on your game and never get comfortable. Just because you are #1 in Google for keyword x, there is no guarantee that you will be there tomorrow.

4. Sometimes you have “webmaster block”. You must find ways to keep your motivation and goals in focus. If you get stagnant, you will fail.

5. Once you tell someone what you do, you will spend hours of your life explaining what it is and how you make money

Ok, this list if half serious. There is a ton of truth in my list though. the bottom line is that this business isn’t for everyone. It’s tough, hard work, long hours, but very rewarding!

It’s 3am and I have an urge to write a bit, I promised the kids we would do “something” tomorrow even thought I’m not quite sure what that will be yet. The funny thing about having kids is that they can always think of something. Anyway, this post will probably be a short one.

I had a few things come to mind tonight when talking to my good buddy Eric. Now Eric and I have been working together for about a year now and we even have a website that we are building together. Eric is a brilliant programmer and I am… Well, I guess I’m an internet marketer of some sort. Eric and I have been discussing what our next big business venture adventure will be. Our goal is to make a million dollars in the next two years together. So, we have been bouncing ideas off one another. The funny thing is that I am quite certain we will find a few good ideas and I only hope that will have the timing right for whatever that idea is.

Business and life are funny that way; everything is all about timing and making the most of opportunities. Brilliant ideas come to people everyday, but only a few recognize the potential and make the effort to achieve their goals. Everything has to start somewhere and that’s a simple but important thing to remember. That is the great thing about Eric, he thinks big, even bigger than I think and I think pretty damn big.

Eric has come up with a few ideas and when he explained some of them to me my first reaction was “Holy shot that would be hard, expensive, and tons of work” That is what makes his ideas so good and I quickly smack myself for being hesitant and not thinking big too. I tend to think on a smaller “what can be done quick and easy” kind of scale.

As most everyone knows I primarily do internet marketing and I spend most of my time analyzing data and trying to target great keywords or niches nobody wants. I didn’t get serious about my marketing efforts until about a year ago. Thank god I have had some great mentors along the way that have shown me how to learn and I’ve made some great strides this year.  The world of internet marketing or affiliating is a tough game and not for the weak, lazy, or easily intimidated. It’s hard work and if you fall asleep at the wheel you could wake up and realize that you are now 6 months behind your competition. Distraction in our business can be fatal from a business perspective. 

Back to the point of the post. You should never be afraid to think big! You should only be afraid of not trying and wondering “what if”. I have goals for myself and my family like most everyone else in the world. I’m not going to reach those goals if I don’t put in the effort and start changing the way I look at ideas and how I look at my future. I could easily sit back and make what most would consider good money and never achieve my goal of a million dollars in two years. Instead I am choosing a path that is going to be tough, but I know the rewards will be well worth it.

So the next time you start thinking how much you hate your job, or hate the way things are going in your life. Take a minute and think big. Don’t be scared of what you come up with, because you might have the next million dollar idea.

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.

For all busy goal oriented people. We sometimes do too much, take on too much, and put too much on ourselves. We like to think we can be all things to all people, but we often neglect our own needs.

Recently I have done what I just described. I took on too much and I overloaded myself. My body started rejecting all the ware and tear I put on myself. I started getting sick, had no energy, and became a bitch to be around. I was working about 18 hours a day, getting 4-5 hours of sleep at night every night for several weeks.

I just thought I had some much to do and so little time to do it. My story isn’t unlike many people I know that are successful. They work long hours, don’t sleep a lot, and still manage to produce at whatever they are doing. They make it happen! There are a few differences I’ve discovered that make them better off than what I’ve been doing. They focus on themselves too!

Now, I’m not saying they neglected to do work, neglected their families, or anything else. They did however pay close attention to how they spent their time. They are organized and efficient, which is the x factor in successful people. They use their time wisely and pay close attention to their own needs.

I’m the type of person that has always been able to get things done. I have a huge monkey on my back sometimes though, I am a big procrastinator. I love to put things off because I like making it through in “crunch time”.  I love to seem like I can accomplish the impossible and make things happen. The truth is that this makes my life harder than it should be.

So, I’ve been working hard on my “character flaws” and trying to eliminate them one by one. My main focus now is to quit allowing my self to put things off until later. Later never seems to come until it’s “crunch time”. I bet many of you are the same way. Luckily, we’re not alone with this issue, but it will be up to US to fix it.  

We can all find great excuses to procrastinate, but think about all the time we would save if you “just did it”. I tell my kids all the time “if you would just quit arguing and do it, you would have been done by now”. Sound familiar??  Truth is its human nature to procrastinate. 

My plan now is to work on getting more organized and efficient with my time. I’ll keep you updated. 

It has been one of the craziest months of my life! First we had tornado’s, then we had a records snow storm this week. I can only think that we must be being tested. The best part about the last month is that we have spent a lot of family time together and I’ve really enjoyed it.

Our Kids are growing up very fast and there just isn’t a lot we can do about it. I’m starting to actually feel old now. I know it won’t be long and they will be moving out headed for college. Life does seem to go by fast,

Anyway, the title of this post is “Opportunity Knocks”. The older I get the more I start to see lost opportunities. Opportunities are honestly few and far between. Not only do you need to be in the right place at the right time, but you also need MUST recognize it when you see it! Sometimes you won’t ever have certain opportunities again, and you must take advantage of them.

Motivation + Opportunity = Success

To see an opportunity you must have motivation and you must have goals. We all have a certain amount of motivation. Everyone has something that motivates us. For some it’s money, for other is may be something as simple as finding time to relax. The real truth is that motivation is only part of the formula to get where you want to be. Being motivated alone will not make you successful. The flip side to this is you must find or MAKE an opportunity.

Now I can’t tell you how to find or make an opportunity, that’s something you must do for yourself. If you were to ask me for some advice on becoming motivated or finding an opportunity I would tell you this:

1. Find out what you want out of life and what you need to get there. Do you want a promotion at your job? Or maybe you want to retire before your 50. It all depends on what YOU want

2. You have to realize that with all things there is a price to pay for it. It might be less time with the family or it might be less time watching your favorite sports.

3. Motivation = opportunity - If you are motivated you will start looking for opportunities that will help you achieve your goals. Remember though, you cannot put one before the other and you cannot have one without the other.

4. “The boring guy leads a safe life”. This is a simple statement, but there is a lot of truth there. Getting where you want to be will take some risks. Not every risk will pay off, but you cannot be scared to try. With every opportunity there will be risks. You must ask yourself if you are ready to take on these risks.

“The are a million ways to make a million dollars, you just have to find one” This statement is from my good friend Jeremy Enke (jeremyenke.com) . He is a self made millionaire and the man is constantly staying one step ahead of his competition. The business he is in really doesn’t matter. Once he sets his mind to something, he does it and works his ass off to do it better than anyone else.

Jeremy will be the first to tell you that not every opportunity has worked out, but that didn’t keep him from trying. Not giving up and continuing to find and recognize opportunities has been the key to Jeremy’s success and the success of many others.

“Never worry about trying and failing, as long as you don’t fail to try”