DAY 100!!!

UPDATE: Friday, 17-Jun-2005 3:55 PM

FIRST of ALL, a PROGRESS REPORT!

After all the objective of the blog, site and focus of personal, business and financial success was to start with a PENNY (USD$0.01) and build it to $10M+. To be exact $10,737,418.24 --I noted that someone on the Internet had searched that exact number a week ago and ended up at this site.

Anyway, getting back to my idea, I have gotten up another notch after (DRUM BEAT...) 8 months. Yes, it took eight months to go from STEP 10 to STEP 11.

Here is what did it:

Google's AdWords. Yes, the same ads that you see displayed on the right side of the site are paying when clicked and when a search is done.

At this time they are not paying enough to throw a party or send my young one to college, but they are paying.

I will not discuss the amounts or frequency because of the following: Google has a few terms and conditions and I don't want to get into the specifics of things and upset my sponsor. Let's keep it at that.

The bottom line is that for your site and your building of a STEP by STEP plan, given a good topic of discussion, Google's Adwords can become a terrific partner. It has for me, and I plan to keep my loyalty to Google and keep it there for a while.

For 100 days, I have been toiling away working on building the pennies. However, at STEP 10, with 5 instances of coins, I got stuck. I had $10.24 x 5 and that was it.

At http://www.p31.com/blog/2004/oct04/day3.html you can see what happened.

I left off with these comments: So, in my diary/Notebook, I am off with:

ATTEMPT ONE: @ STEP 10
ATTEMPT TWO: @ STEP 10
ATTEMPT THREE: @ STEP 10
ATTEMPT FOUR: @ STEP 10
ATTEMPT FIVE: @ STEP 10

Total: $5.12 x 5 or $25.60 "in the bank" mostly made of coins and 'many' dollar coins from 90's and 2000.

So what does this mean?

I was at STEP 10, which meant that I had 5 instances of USD$5.12 for a total of $25.60. These funds I deposited in a bank account.

Now I have the funds to go to STEP 11 or I have 5 instances X 10.24 or for a total of USD$51.20. Actually a little more than that but the problem is that Google Adwords will not 'cut a check' until there is at least $50 or $100 (I can't remember exact amount) in the account. Not a problem. I trust Google.

This is clearly not like the situation where I sold a 5 year-old corporation from Nevada to generate Corporate Credit Building to a business Associate and expected to collect around $3,900. I never did collect that amount.

Then again, I never did count on the money to build my STEPS. What I did was to take that as a lesson to never "count on my eggs until they hatch". I have to say that Google is an exception because I am not getting a check -they will direct deposit the funds to my bank account holding the funds for this project.

That is the end of my announcement --so on to some lessons during these 100 days!

What I have learned?

Well, some good lessons. First of all I was not prepared at the start of the discussion and project. It actually took several months before I got serious.

Actually, there is a good lesson here. I didn't know what and how I was going to proceed. I knew that I had to START or nothing was going to happen. Perhaps, that is the most important lesson here --NO MATTER WHAT, GET STARTED.

You can actually see that by the frequency of my blogging. When I really got down to doing what I first set out to do, it was a good three months down the road. I do have to put in a bit of an excuse. The Saturday after Thanksgiving (US Thanksgiving is the last Thursday of November 2004 to my international readers) I suffered a serious knee injury while building a bookshelf and desk. That really got me down. I was in pain for two months. Only after three months could I even walk normally.

As I worked my way out of that mess, and functionally finished my desk and bookshelf project, things really started to move in my life. Then the frequency of my updates increased. Now it's nearly five or six days a week, which I am happy about.

What makes me even happier is that the discussion and my own abilities, my own ideas, focus, my own desire has "notched up" several points. I think I have elevated myself as a person several notches and I see the results of that personally and professionally. That was part of my personal success building efforts that I undertook as I analyzed my own life and identified several weaknesses.

The argument was that in order to build financial success, which was what I wanted to do while doubling the coins, I had to also build a business success. And in order to build a business success, I had to build personal success FIRST.

What it all came down to was that my MIND SET and work habits had to be as good as the objectives, goals and desires that I had set out to reach.

This is perhaps the most important lesson that I have learned in this process.

For example, I have made the argument that IF I wish to sail in a fantastic sailing vessel as those built at Royal Huisman Shipyards in Vollenhove, The Netherlands, (! new page) my own abilities, my own excellence had to be as good as or better than the Associates who are designing and building the sailing vessels.

My theory goes to the extent that I cannot gamble, I cannot dream, I cannot merely wish for my goals of success, but I had to also elevate every aspect of my personal and professional life in such a fashion that I had to make sure that I learned, planned and executed my objectives in such a manner as to equal or better the the builders of such vessels of excellence, such as those at Royal Huisman.

I use this example because I have had the pleasure of touring the shipyard as "a young lad" on my first trip to the Netherlands. And when I left the shipyard, I said to myself "one day I'll return to order a sailing ship from here".

Well, that was easily said. But again, what does it take to actually meet that objective?

What will I have to do as a person, as a leader to reach that kind of excellence?

Certainly, I could go out and get a 10 meter boat and then sail the world. Sure I can do that. But how far will I get? How safe would the entire experience be? Will my wife and family join? I bet not. Yes, for about 2 years I can transfer the blog updates from a boat. I can re-title the blog as the "LONE SAILOR SEEKING SUCCESS". Actually, the lone sailor seeking success and trying to circumnavigate without sinking. One look at a 10M boat and a good size wave would put everyone firmly planted on a shore or dock.

Then the question is how big? Well, that is not the way I want to look at things. That type of question leads to competing with "the Jones's" -which is something I never want to do.

What I want to do is reach excellence in what I am doing.

In this blog. In the business that I run. In the investing that I do. I want to reach excellence. I didn't say PERFECTION. I know that cannot be done. I don't want to try the impossible.

What I do want to do is reach excellence. AND I know that can be done. Many have done it. Certainly, everyone that signs an order form at the Royal Huisman Shipyard has done just that --reached their excellence --in what ever craft they had pursued. In what ever vocation that they excelled in, they had (the owners of such beautiful sailing ships) reached their excellence.

I want to do the same.

That is what I endeavor to do. That is why I am here. That is what I also hope to help you start. Or keep moving along with.

What I hope to accomplish?

The above question I typed earlier in the day to "freshen up my ideas" on what to write about today. Well, I think I have answered that in the thoughts above.

What are my challenges?

Well, another good question. First of all I really don't know. I do know that I need to be careful. It seems that good 'ol Murphy is on my back. So, I have to stay every vigilant about most of my projects.

I also need to make sure that I don't undertake more than what I can do. I identified earlier in my blog that often I had failed not because of a lack of hard work, but because I undertook too many items and didn't do so well in any of them. Then I identified that my intensity was not good enough.

So, now I believe that I have a full plate. I have a lot to do. But, I don't have too much to do. I am content with what I am doing and how things are moving along.

DAY 100: My plans.

I had made plans to actually go for a long walk. The plan was to head out to the beach in the morning and walk 'til lunch time. Have a good lunch and walk back. That was my reward for blogging for 100 days.

Today, Friday the 17th of June was going to be it. However, with the pc problem last week and being about 3 days behind from my updates after the last trip, I had to postpone my walk. On top of it my wife is away on a business trip. So, next week it is...

Now I hope you too have started a SUCCESS PLAN.

Often it is said that many people spend more time on their vacation plans than their retirement plans. I hope you are not one of them and that you are moving along on your personal, business and financial success plan.

In fact, I hope you are moving along a LOT FASTER than I am. I hope that you are doing much better at it. I personally have always had to work much harder than the guy next to me. But that is Ok. That is how things work out for me.

In your case, I hope a lot better. And with those thoughts, hope you'll have a great weekend during these beautiful summer days. Success. Sam.

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