Being Controversial to Boost Your Traffic and Sales

Do you consider yourself to be controversial? You might not at this point, but you may want to consider voicing your opinions and taking some controversial positions in order to increase your affiliate sales online! That’s because controversy truly does sell.


If you’re confused about why you would do this, think about the content that gets the most comments and traffic on the web. It is usually items that are very interesting and are slightly controversial. These types of topics tend to bring out all kinds of opinions and get people emotional and actively fired up.



If you are able to post this kind of “link bait” content on your blog or website, you will most likely find that your traffic starts to skyrocket! People may publish what you’ve said on niche forums, on their own blogs Being Controversial, and on social networking sites. They post links to your content because they are very interested in it. Perhaps they completely disagree with you, or perhaps they think you are making good points. No matter what, this controversial content will definitely get you some attention — and possibly many more sales!



Think about the standard content you might post to your website. You may get some comments here and there, but the controversial topics get the most comments of all. Now, you will need to have pretty thick skin because along with controversy often comes anger and disagreement. People may think that you’re completely nuts and will have no issues telling you that!



At the same time, these people will be interested in the other things you have to say and recommend. The chances are good that if you have a good link bait piece that you will gain several new followers. They will be interested in what you have to say in the future and will come back time and time again. As your traffic increases, you will probably make more affiliate sales as well!



You will probably find that people start to link to you all around the web. The chances are good that your rankings in the search engine will rise as well. This creates a cycle of even more traffic to your blog, which can help you build your list to make more affiliate sales.



How controversial you should be depends on your personality and the niche you are in. Examine the niche blogs written by others and see what has gotten the most comments on their blog. This can give you some good ideas so you can take advantage of this method on your own.



There’s definitely something to be said for being controversial — especially on the web where news travels fast!

For more solid content like this Go to World's best Affiliate Marketing

A Taste of Wisdom

A Taste of Wisdom

By: Author Unknown



An aging Hindu master grew tired of his apprentice

complaining and so, one morning, sent him for some salt.



When the apprentice returned, the master instructed the

unhappy young man to put a handful of salt in a glass of

water and then to drink it.



"How does it taste?" the master asked.



"Bitter," spit the apprentice.



The master chuckled and then asked the young man to take

the same handful of salt and put it in the lake.



The two walked in silence to the nearby lake and once the

apprentice swirled his handful of salt in the water, the

old man said, "Now drink from the lake."



As the water dripped down the young man's chin, the master

asked, "How does it taste?"



"Fresh," remarked the apprentice.



"Do you taste the salt?" asked the master.



"No," said the young man.



At this the master sat beside this serious young man, who

so reminded him of himself, and took his hands, offering:

"The pain of life is pure salt; no more, no less. The

amount of pain in life remains exactly the same. However,

the amount of bitterness we taste depends on the container

we put the pain in. So when you are in pain, the only thing

you can do is to enlarge your sense of things. Stop being a

glass. Become a lake."

A Tribute to a Baker

A Tribute To A Baker




"HUUP...ONE, HUUP...TWO, HUUP...THREE..."Those melodious orders sounded like the commands of a tough marine drill sergeant. However, in reality the man's name was Tom Williams and he was an executive with the Houston Oilers (of the National Football League) and a world class trainer of famous athletes -- Earl Campbell, Darrell Green, Mike Singletary, Hakeem Olajuwon -- to name but a few.



During the off season he operated a Kolache shop, baking cookies and meat filled delights.



Approximately 200 yards from this Kolache shop was his famous "Hill", a very steep embankment, which led to the bayou. Tom would have his athletes train on that hill, running up and down to build stamina or to help rebuild muscles or ligaments damaged after an injury or surgery.



As for me, I had always wanted to be a pro athlete, but early on I realized that I was not quick enoughnor tall enough to become one, so I focused my dreams on becoming an Orthopedic Surgeon, helping my athletic idols to recover from devastating injuries.



That dream, however, was smashed during my sophomore year in college when I was seriously injured as an innocent victim of a convenience store robbery. I was shot in the back of the head, and very few thought I would even survive. However, many months later, after several surgeries and lengthy hospital rehabilitation programs, I met Tom, the eternal optimist.



The first day my family and I encountered Tom he was barking out orders for his athletes on the "Hill". He told my parents he could definitely help me, but I would have to discipline myself to work four straight hours every single day, including weekends.



At first, my parents would watch Tom work with me in the back of his Kolache shop. Tom would cover the tables he would normally use to knead his dough, and now would "knead" my muscles, massage my limp right arm, and struggle with me as I learned to walk again.



Then, one day, Tom barked, "Mike, let's go to the 'Hill'."



I was scared as I limped toward the bayou, and my parents were equally petrified. The "Hill" was so steep that I thought even a Billy goat would have difficulty trying to climb it.



Initially, Tom ordered two husky athletes to lift me under my arms and "drag" me down the hill. When we got to the bottom, one of the athletes screamed up to Tom, "What do you want us to do now?" Tom calmly replied, "Drag him back up."



At that point, my father, who by profession is a rabbi, told my mother that he thought Tom was going to kill me and they should get me away from him as soon as possible.



My father, wanting to be polite, thanked Tom and stated that we had to go home. But Tom replied, "It's only 2 o'clock, and Mike is to be here until 5, and by the way, bring him a little earlier tomorrow."



Even though my father was adamant about leaving, my mother truly felt that if Tom could help "million dollar athletes" recover, he could surely help her son.



My father went home, never returning to the Kolache store because he told my mother, "Tom is going to kill Mike," and my mother never volunteered any information to my father about my progress with Tom as the days wore on.



One day, a number of weeks later, Tom called my father at home and said, "Father, this is Tom Williams and you need to get here fast!" With that, Tom slammed the phone down.



My father thought I was dead or badly injured, the victim of a severe injury while tumbling down that "Hill." He quickly sped toward Tom's shop, jumped out of his car, and noticed many people huddled near the corner of the "Hill." With great trepidation my father peered over the "Hill" and saw me slowly climbing the "Hill" -- alive. When I reached the top of the "Hill" I quickly turned around as Tom instructed me and went back down to the bottom, to the bayou. Tears welled up in my father's eyes as Tom approached him and said, "Rabbi, you might give great sermons, but you don't practice what you preach. You tell everyone to have faith, but you did not have faith -- faith in me, faith in your son, and faith in God. You simply said, 'I give up,' and you went home."



My father pondered seriously as to what Tom had just said and watched as I slowly reached the edge of the "Hill" on my return trip. At that moment, with tears of great joy, my father and I fell into each other's arms and embraced one another.



That was just one of the many lessons I learned from Tom over the next few years. Even though I still have many physical disabilities as a result of the gunshot wound, the "Hill" taught me that even the impossible could become the possible.



Everyone in life has his own "Hill" to climb, some small, some large. On that day Tom taught me the most important lesson of my life: "Never give in; never give up."



-----------------------------------------------------



Even though Tom was a world class trainer of athletes, he learned that his true love was helping "ordinary" people, and soon after my success on the "Hill" Tom opened a Rehabilitation Center where he worked with spinal cord and head injured and stroke patients. In the "old days," Tom would use only a simple table in the back of his Kolache shop on which he prepared his pastries to help his clients. Now, he had a state of the art, modern Rehabilitation Center along with his own man-made "Hill" so Tom could encourage many more to defy the experts.



Tom received referrals from all over the country for he had a special ability to make patients want to excel. His patients improved and his Center was a huge success.



For the next few years I would regularly go to the Center, not only to exercise but more importantly to work out for the "Master," Tom.



I had developed a strong emotional connection with Tom. He had extended to me a lifeline to enjoy life once again which many physicians and therapists stated no longer existed.



However, later Tom became extremely ill with cancer and passed away. The funeral was huge. Many of his athletes were there to say their last "good byes" and "thank yous." I was an honorary pallbearer because his family thought that our relationship was a special and unique one.



After everyone left the cemetery I went up to Tom's grave to utter my final prayer and statement of thankfulness that such a wonderful man had been a part of my life. As I glanced at the inscription on the tombstone I read:



Forever Loved In The Hearts Of Those He Touched

Tom Williams

April 11, 1927 -- June 11, 1995



At that very moment I realized why we were so deeply connected: April 11 is also my birthday!



(c)2001 by Michael Jordan Segal, MSW



Michael Jordan Segal, who defied all odds after being shot in the head, is a husband, father, social worker, freelance author (including a CD/Download of 12 stories, read with light backgroud music, entitled POSSIBLE), and inspirational speaker, sharing his recipe for happiness, recovery and success before conferences and businesses. To contact Mike or to order his CD, please visit http://www.inspirationbymike.com/ and please take a moment to check out his youtube video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNeRqpaoNpQ you will be glad you did.

How to Create Systems that Boost Productivity

How to Create Systems that Boost Productivity
Excerpted from The Productive Me

Last time you learned about using tools to boost your productivity. Now this time you’ll learn about using systems. Let’s jump right in…


Using Systems


First, let’s define what a system is: It’s simply a method you devise or learn to do a process more quickly. It doesn’t have to be a complex system – indeed, basic systems often work the best. But your system does need to give you some benefit.


Let me give you an example of an extremely simple system. Let’s say you’re trying to lose weight. Instead of taking the time to create healthy meals every day, you devise a system where you do all your grocery shopping and cooking for the entire week at one time. You may even do it in an assembly line style, where you line up food containers and put the meat in first, then the starch (like rice) and then the vegetable. Then you label the containers and put them in the fridge.


Again, that’s just a simple example, but it gives you an idea of what I mean by system. You can create and use systems in both your personal and professional life to get more done in less time. This includes everything from cleaning systems to organization and file systems to systems you can use to accomplish important tasks.

For example: if you sell a lot of items on eBay, then you may develop an efficient system for uploading auctions. This likely would involve using templates and other tools to upload the auctions quickly. You might also have other systems in place, such as taking digital photos in the order you intend to load the auction. And once the auction ends you likely would have a system for keeping track of payments and shipments.



Point is, no matter what you’re doing, you can probably develop a system to accomplish the task more quickly. Here’s how…



1. If you’ve never done a particular process before, then ask people with experience how they handle this particular task efficiently. For example, you may ask other business owners their process for hiring a freelancer or keeping track of their expenses.



TIP: Some experts outline their own systems in books, so be sure to run an Amazon.com search to see if there are any books on the system you’re working on.



2. Get input from those who may work on the task with you. For example, if you have a business partner then you should get his or her input. Or if you’re working with a team (such as when you outsource part of a task), be sure to get your other team member’s input.



3. Outline the steps. Now that you’ve received input from team members as well as experts who’ve done what you want to do, list out the steps in detail.



TIP: Some people prefer to create graphical representation of a process and system using process maps or mindmaps. If you prefer these sorts of graphical maps, you can flesh out your system using software like conceptdraw.com or similar.



4. Now complete the process as outlined in your system. If you got good input from the experts, your system will need very little tweaking. Nonetheless, you should examine every step of your system and ask yourself, “How can I make this step more efficient?”



If you feel your system isn’t as efficient as possible, outline it on a niche forum or directly ask an expert to give you feedback. You may also consider asking a friend who doesn’t know anything about the process, as sometimes an outsider has ideas that the insider can’t even see!



That’s it for this time. Next time’s productivity tips will be aimed at a special group of people. You’ll find out next time if you’re a part of that group!

Find out more on being more productive at http://www.theproductiveme.com/

Science to Back Meditation Up!

There are some people who readily accept the idea of meditation. There are others who dismiss it as some “airy fairy” New Age junk. No matter which camp you put yourself in right now, it can really help to know that there is some science behind meditation.



It’s very interesting. Meditation has been around for thousands of years, but we’ve only recently developed the technology that makes it possible to study it. We are now finding what the monks and yogi’s knew all along — meditation works!



Neuroscientists have found that meditation affects the way our brain reacts — the way it is wired, so to speak. Dr. James Austin, author of “Zen and the Brain: Toward an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness” states that meditation can sculpt the brain. He is a neurologist, and knows what he’s talking about!



He’s not the only one. There have been more than a thousand peer-reviewed research studies and articles published on this topic. Some of these are correlation studies, but we now have have the ability to go further with our research!

In one such study, Harvard Medical School researchers used MRI machines to monitor brain activity while experienced people meditated. They found that, while meditating, people have very interesting changes in their autonomic nervous system. This has to do with things like digestion, blood pressure, stress, and more.



That’s right — meditation affects both our mind and our body! Herbert Benson, M.D. has also collected data that shows that meditation has a physiological affect on our body. It can do so much more for us than allow us to be stress-free for a short time! It can have real implications on our health. It’s very worth it to start meditating, and the science backs that up.



Dr. Benson calls this effect the relaxation response. He recommends that in just minutes per day, you can reverse the harmful effects things like stress have on your body. Imagine: an easy way to lower your blood pressure, reduce anxiety, eliminate anger and hostile feelings, end insomnia, remedy PMS, reverse infertility, and get rid of headaches. You can do all of this with meditation. Once again, it’s backed up with science.



Richard Davidson has done further research. He is the director of the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience at the University of Wisconsin. Jon Kabat-Zinn is also doing research. He is the founding director of the Stress Reduction Clinic and Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.



They have a theory that those who are dealing with stress, anxiety, and depression have an overactive right frontal cortex and an under-active left frontal cortex. Those who are calm have more activity in the left frontal cortex. Their bodies release less cortisol and are able to “bounce back” faster from negative events in life.



The tested this by gathering information about participants’ brain waves. There were 25 people in the meditation group and 16 in the control group. They took a course and were given their tests. Those who were meditating had a shift in activity to the left side! Those who did not meditate, did not.



This is just the tip of the ice burg with the research that is coming out. The bottom line is that meditation can do amazing things for you! Find out more on how meditation can benefit you and those around you. http://www.9minute-meditation.com/