A Silver Lining in the Housing Market

     The media always loves to focus on the negative, and it may get you doing so as well-well, don't.  The book and DVD called The Secret show pretty conclusively that whatever you focus on becomes your experience, i.e., whatever your worry about ends up happening. You know me, I always focus on the positive-well, here it goes:

POSITIVE #1:  Since the housing market has slowed down, more people are saving.  More savings provide more funds for banks to loan to homebuyers.

POSITIVE #2:  Since the increase in gas prices, people are driving less, buying more energy-efficient cars, and starting to install more solar features in their  homes-all good for the environment. People also are starting to move to the inner city, great for revitalizing downtown areas and giving families more time to spend at home with one another.

POSITIVE #3:  The fall in the dollar is helping our economy because foreign consumers are buying more of our products, taking more vacations here, and helping our trade imbalance.

POSITIVE #4:  The subprime lenders had sold homes to people who could not afford them anyway.  Now those less-expensive foreclosures are being bought by people who otherwise could not have afforded a home.

POSITIVE #5:   The slowdown in the housing market is confined to those areas that went up too fast, anyway-i.e., Florida; Washington, DC; New York; California; Las Vegas; and Arizona.  Now the locals there once again can afford to buy a home.  

     So savings are up, we are using less gas and moving back to the inner city, more people are concerned about conserving energy, our trade deficit is improving, and more deserving Americans are able to afford a home.  We also live in the best place in the world-what could be better? 

     Be grateful and enjoy your Thanksgiving.   God bless you all.

SOURCE:  "Housing Prices are Down, Oil is Up, and That's Not Really So Bad,"  New York Times, November 14, pp. A1 and A20.

As you grow your web application and become successful, conferences and other venues might ask you to speak about yourself, your site and your success to their audiences. As I have sat through thousands of presentations both at work and at events, I thought I would share 10 tips for presentation effectiveness. This is not an exhaustive list but by doing these 10 things, you will absolutely increase your effectiveness of giving presentations. Some of this comes from listening/watching CEO presentations where they have only mere minutes (5-7) to get their audience engaged and excited.

Tip 1: Leave out the PowerPoint effects
This is probably the most important tip of all. Why? Because each of these effects take time and can provide severe distraction for your audience. The most recent example I have of this is at AlwaysOn in NYC when the CEO of Payperpost presented. He had 6 minutes for his presentation and clocking the effects, he lost 81 seconds waiting for the next screen to load. Are the effects cool? Sure, but leave them at home.

Tip 2: Verify your presentation works
When I give presentations, whether they are to my team, or to a large conference, I always have my presentation on multiple media formats. I am a bit over the edge but you can never be prepared enough. Just providing it to the conference planner is not enough. I usually store the presentation on a remote file server, and a usb stick drive as well. So total of 3 places including my laptop makes certain that I will always be ready. You should be ready too. Remember someone might want to ask you later about your presentation so having it locally will help afterwards.

Tip 3: Be relevant
Make sure the presentation fits the audience. If you are speaking to a group of young women entrepreneurs, tailor your presentation so they get excited. If you are speaking to young kids, don't bore them with a speech showing your service working with elderly folks. Remember that it is all about tip 4... engagement!

Tip 4: Engage the audience immediately
Two presentations at AlwaysOn did a good job of immediate engagement. Unfortunately I was unable to get the company name of the first but they used the ding-dong sound from the TV show 24 to get attendees to pay attention. Great job because when they showed the clock like on the TV show, they kept the clock accurate. 3-4 times overall for 10-15 seconds but the audience laughed and was engaged. The other presentation was from ClipSync's CEO. He brought in a story from his days playing basketball in Israel which drew in the audience. Once he moved to the discussion of his service, the person sitting next to me asked, "why did he talk about basketball, I don't get it?" So I am assuming more than just this one person didn't get it. Make sure they get it.

Tip 5: Provide multiple means for contact
Offer attendees multiple ways to contact you. Where possible stay after the presentation for on-site questions. Offer a phone number and an email address for other contacts.

This documentary-style movie stirred up a lot of buzz within our group of friends, colleagues and also online with many of the Yahoo Groups I'm a part of. If you haven't seen it yet, it's something I would highly recommend be watched to my family and friends.

If you live nearby me (in San Jose, California) and are interested in watching it, please let me know. You can also go online and view it yourself for $4.95 at http://www.theSecret.tv or purchase it via that site or at Amazon.

The following is an article by Tony Mase on why you/we should should always buy the best and surround ourselves with the best...

Enjoy.

------------------------------------
Why You Should Always Buy the Best

- by Tony Mase

© Tony Mase - All Rights Reserved
==================================

One of the single, biggest mistakes people make in their
quest for wealth is buying things because they're cheap
rather than buying things because they're the best.

Surrounding yourself with cheap things is not in any way
conducive to developing and maintaining the mental attitude
that's absolutely necessary for you to become wealthy.

In an article titled "The Constructive Attitude", the fifth
article in his "Lessons in Constructive Science" series,
Wallace D. Wattles, best known for his classic masterpiece
"The Science of Getting Rich", said this on the subject:

"... if you wear cheap clothes, eat cheap foods and surround
yourself with cheap things to "save money" you will put
yourself in the mental attitude of cheapness and
inferiority. You will think of yourself in connection with
cheap and inferior things, and so will see yourself as a
cheap and inferior person. The cheap and inferior within you
will be brought to the surface, and you will never do your
best. You will be incapable of exerting your whole power,
and by the law of reaction, cheap and inferior things will
move toward you."

On the other hand, in the same article, Wallace D. Wattles
said this:

"If you wear the best, eat the best and have the best in
your home, it puts you in the right mental attitude. You see
yourself as one who has the best, is of the best, as IS the
best; and the best there is in you will come to the surface.
You will take the mental attitude of faith, confidence and
power, and your success will be assured. You will take hold
of your work with conscious power, and your work will be
well done. You will BE the best, and by the law of action
and reaction, the best will move toward you."

Now...

Before you run out the door and go on a spending spree...

I'll post a picture of my completed dream board when it's finished. Stay tuned...

In case you're curious, the five pieces Jim Rohn goes into are 1. Philosophy, 2. Attitude, 3. Activity, 4. Results, and 5. Lifestyle. Even if someone who has read countless of self-development books and sat through a number of motivational speaker events, there are both insightful and thought-provoking words worth reading. It's a quick and easy read by the way.

Napolean Hill's book is a classic motivation book that takes a little time to digest for some (like me). The information and format are well written and the publication you'll likely purchase is the abridged version. I liked that this book gives specifics and not vague ideas on how get to succeed. In the next few weeks, I will pull together a mastermind group to apply the principles this book provides.

Contact me directly to learn about the 3 day "Millionaire Mind Training" in Los Angeles.

Here's just a portion of what you'll learn!

* The 5 critical ways wealthy people think differently than the poor & middle class.
* The hidden cause of almost all financial problems.
* How your childhood conditioning is affecting you financially today.
* Why knowledge & skill do not create wealth.
* How to attract so-called "luck" with money and success.
* How to train your "mind" to work for you instead of against you.