With economic hardship on the increase and a growing lack of financial resources, it can be easy to slip into temptation. What kind of temptation?

There’s a temptation to try and make money as quickly and easily as possible. This is a mentality that can leave you vulnerable to all kinds of schemes. The lure of quick money can be hard to resist, especially when bills are piling up and the pressure is on.

The latest, greatest, fastest…

To compound the problem there is a seemingly endless army of marketers ready to sell you their newest release of the latest and greatest make money fast program. They can be so convincing! You know the story: How I went from food stamps to a Ferrari in 90 days and here are my clickbank screenshots to prove it. Give me a break.

If buying these programs worked even one tenth of the time then everyone I know online would be an internet millionaire. Chances are pretty good that you are the proud owner of a few of these programs, right? Trust me, you are not alone!

Then there’s the social media detour

Don’t get me wrong, social media has a place in every business, but from what I’ve experienced the time invested rarely represents a high ROI (return on investment). How are you doing on your twitter or facebook based million dollar empire?

My point is not that you can’t gain client contacts from social media because you most certainly can. But let’s be honest, social media makes it far too easy to diddle away hours of your valuable time when you could be doing something that produces more sustainable results.

Chasing the gold ring leads to irrational behavior

If we allow ourselves to focus on chasing money by following the crowd, we become easy prey for every get rich quick idea that comes along. This kind of pursuit is often accompanied by the tendency to throw reason out the window.

Millions have experienced an unplanned loss of income in the last few years and are desperately seeking a solution. The problem is, the more desperate we become for money, the more likely we are to make irrational choices that just compound the problem. When the fear takes over, rational thinking gives way to impulse.

What can we do if we find ourselves in this situation?

Ask yourself the kind of questions you would ask a friend if you were trying to help them to avoid making a foolish mistake.  This will help reintroduce reason into the equation. Here are three examples:

1. Do I know anyone else who has succeeded using this approach?
2. Have I done any research to determine if this is a scam?
3. How much would I have to invest and can I really afford to do that?

I’m reminded of the question: How come we never see the headline, psychic wins lottery? Asking the right questions is a way to bring us back to reality while allowing us to use our resources in a more creative way.

Yes, these are uncertain times, and sadly there are unscrupulous people who will try to leverage the situation.  They will see your fear as an opportunity to take advantage of you.

Strengthen yourself on the inside

You become most vulnerable to these kinds of situations when you are looking for a solution outside of yourself. True success and stability come from within. Having a successful mindset is the best defense against the fear of financial uncertainty.

Your mindset doesn’t change the fact that you still need an income, but it does change your approach to that challenge.  If financial uncertainty and fear are starting to get the best of you, it’s time to turn things around right now. Once you get control of the fear, turn your attention away from the quick fix. Instead, concentrate on sound business models that have stood the test of time and have the potential to become a sustainable source of income.

Look for real solutions and avoid the latest financial fad

I recently watched some free video training from a man who has created more millionaires and multimillionaires than anyone in the history of the world. These videos really helped me see why so many people go broke while working hard to create an online business. The man’s name is Dan Kennedy and this is the first time he has ever offered free training. His normal coaching fees start at $18,000 per day.

As you might have guessed, these videos are leading to a big product launch called GameChanger, but these free videos have information that I have never seen anyone offer even in a paid product. I am NOT encouraging you to buy anything, just go watch the videos. I apologize for the opt-in (I opted-in and it was so worth it), but I promise you, they will change the way you view making money, especially in these times of financial uncertainty.

Has the economy been putting pressure on you?
Have you invested in programs that haven’t paid off?
What’s your take on the videos?

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In case you haven’t noticed, turning your passion into profits is the single biggest promise making gurus and marketers rich these days. What a great marketing hook. Think about it, who doesn’t want to turn their passion into profit?

It’s a dream that is shared by millions of aspiring entrepreneurs, to get paid for living on their own terms and to make a living doing something they love doing. That is probably the primary reason why, worldwide, there are approximately 175,000 new blogs started every single day.

It’s a promise that speaks to our very core

The freedom to live by our own schedule, make money while we are sleeping, and earn thousands while we are on vacation with nothing more than a laptop or iphone. How many times have you heard these promises? Too many, right?

So, why do smart people continue to buy into these promises? Why do huge product launches continue to generate millions of dollars inside of a few days? Because the thought of turning your passion into profit is an irresistible offer, that’s why. Be honest, how many books and programs have you bought over the years out of a desire to quit your day job and become independent? I certainly own my share.

So, what is missing?

With all of these offers being digested by millions of eager consumers, why are so few people actually experiencing the freedom and independence being promised? Is it all just marketing or is there just something missing?

If no one was actually able to turn their passion into profit then we could assume the worst, but a small percentage do make it, so we know it can be done. Is it a serious lack of motivation or follow-through on the part of those who purchase these products? Certainly that is a factor, but nobody spends $1,997 on a seven module training program without trying to implement it.

So, is there some crucial information being withheld so that we are driven to buy the next product? Is the reality of entrepreneurship just so complicated that it is beyond the reach of most people? Personally, I don’t think it is either of those things.

Maybe we make it harder than it really is

When you combine a burning desire with too much information and too many choices, all you get is confusion. Trying to do everything just guarantees that nothing gets done properly. As a result, the essentials never get the attention they need because your focus is spread too thin.  In other words, we over complicate the process. Successful people follow a strategy that keeps their attention where it needs to be and filters out all the unnecessary distractions.

Any approach that can actually teach you how to turn your passion into profit would need to be relatively easy to follow, step-by-step, totally focused, and proven to work for a widest possible variety of interests, talents, and skill levels. It should also be inspiring, affordable and include some personal guidance every step of the way.

Let me tell you what I found

I’ve known Jonathan Mead of Illuminated Mind for a couple of years and his work has always resonated with me. In fact, he is one of the contributing authors for my newsletter, Sharing Life Skills. Last year I participated in his Paid to Exist program and his insights have contributed to my own online success. When he offered me a chance to review his latest offering called Trailblazer, I was eager to see what he was so excited about.

Listen, you know I am not a marketer, and that I almost never review other peoples work. But this is so absolutely good that I just had to write about it. I felt like I owed it to everyone who really wants to turn their passion into profit. Here’s the honest truth, Trailblazer is so amazing that I am going through it one module at a time, listening to all the mp3s, watching all the videos, and doing all the exercises. This is absolutely the real deal.

Strategies for positive change, it’s what I do

Listen, you can do what you want, but if you are serious about turning your passion into profit, Trailblazer is the most comprehensive, targeted, and focused program I have ever seen. I am not going to go into details here; you can read those for yourself on the Trailblazer site.

My mission is to provide you with the very best strategies for creating positive change in your life; the rest is up to you. I am already turning my passion into profit so I know it can be done. If that is your goal also, then you owe it to yourself to check out Trailblazer.

How much have you spent in the passion to profit pursuit?
What passion would you like to turn into profit?
The lines are open!

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Think about the fact that the currency we exchange is nothing more than printed paper. It doesn’t really have any value at all except the value that’s been assigned to it. Why would we want to measure our personal worth against printed paper that has no value? And yet, this is the fallacy that millions of people have bought into.

Look at the effect money has on the way we view ourselves. To some degree, our sense of self-worth and security tends to rise and fall with our income. Regardless of how we reason on it intellectually, the truth is, we always feel better when finances are not an issue.

Let’s adjust the picture a little

Imagine if the whole value exchange system had been built on something like strips of red ribbon. “Oh, I’ve got more red ribbon than you so that means that I am a more valuable person.”  The whole concept is so absurd, it’s laughable.  And yet, in reality, a strip of ribbon is probably worth more than a dollar bill.

A long time ago, currency was intended to represent a commodity like gold or silver, but is that still the case?  No! There is no commodity to back it up – they just print up currency and put it into circulation.  The whole economic picture is just an illusion. But it’s a picture that we are all involved in, so what can we do?

Obviously, we need some financial security in our lives. Sadly, the way we’ve been programmed to attract money is probably not the best way to satisfy that need.  Let’s go over several false notions about the almighty dollar and its place in our lives, and consider some alternative approaches.

How we are conditioned to think about money

From early childhood we are told that money makes the world go around. As a little kid we might have looked at our parents and said, “Can I have a dollar?” Then we would reply, “I need it to get one of these.” So right away, we learn to recognize that everything we want in life has a price tag on it.

As we get older we start to link our worth with our hourly wage. As a result, our sense of personal value gets all wrapped up in what we are able to earn per hour. Notice how this conditioning process unfolded. Initially, money had value because it represented what we could buy with it.  But then, it took on a personality of its own.

Money is emotionally supercharged

We all need money so we can pay the rent and put food on the table. The need is real and without adequate finances things can get very uncomfortable. Is it any wonder that it is almost impossible to avoid forming an emotional attachment with that worthless printed paper?

What happens to those emotions when the economy is floundering and personal assets start evaporating? Our sense of security can easily turn into panic and leave us wondering how in the world we are going to cope. That’s a lot of leverage for paper with no intrinsic value.

How can we avoid the emotional rollercoaster?

Independent of the economy or our personal financial status, a balanced perspective can go a long way toward neutralizing the emotional influence of money.  Maintaining the right mindset will not only help us to get through tough financial times, it will also help us prosper in the future.

Let’s try looking at this whole monetary issue from a more empowering point of view.  We can do this by ignoring the negative press and addressing our personal relationship with money.

7 ways to look at money differently

1. Don’t entrust your finances to others. Have faith in your own ideas and take control of your financial future. Investments are often not as secure as acting on your own productive ideas. If you come up with a sound business idea, create a business plan and act on it promptly. Don’t allow limiting beliefs about your abilities to create income stifle your creativity.

2. Dare to operate from abundance instead of scarcity. Giving is a powerful way to attract what you need, and generosity opens the flow of abundance. I’m not saying you should give away your last dollar. But a mindset based on hoarding is a sure way to create scarcity. Remember, there are many ways to give outside the realm of finances. Could you give of your time or experience to help others?

3. Don’t put off enjoying your life and your resources. Planning for your retirement is not as powerful as living in the present with an awareness of your future. Putting enjoyment off until a future time is like pushing away your current prosperity. When you delay enjoying your life until your circumstances improve, you actually do yourself a grave disservice by linking your happiness to your finances.

4. Don’t expect money to solve all your problems. Money is not the path to happiness or fulfillment. It will not make your life feel more meaningful, or improve your relationships. Always remember that money only solves financial problems!

5. Let go of limiting financial beliefs. A belief such as, “money is the root of all evil” will only block your prosperity. There is no shame in a modest lifestyle, but there is also nothing noble about lacking money or anything else. Being respectful of, but emotionally detached from money will help you make better decisions in every area of life.

6. Don’t be afraid to chart your own path. Scarcity is a function of the mind and so is abundance. Human creativity can solve any financial problem and find ways to profit along the way. If you can block out the negative feedback and learn to think and act differently than the struggling masses, you may be astonished at what you can accomplish.

7. Spend some money on things that make you feel good. Practical spending is valuable and prudent, but you also deserve to enjoy some of the fruits of your labor. When you buy something that helps you feel good, you encourage a positive emotional response to money. When you feel better about yourself, you naturally tend to be more productive.

Never allow yourself to be a slave to finances

An obsessive view of money can foster unhealthy responses like greed and dishonesty. This can be true whether a person has a lot or a little. When money has that kind of power in a person’s life, they become its slave.

When we view money as just a tool, and don’t allow ourselves to get emotionally attached to it, we are in control. Remember, it’s just printed paper with no intrinsic value whatsoever. You, on the other hand, are extremely valuable. The more you actively share your unique value with the world, the greater your sense of self-worth will become.

Do you view income as emotionally influential?
Does your sense of self-worth fluctuate with your finances?
The lines are open!

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Have you ever wanted to own and operate your own business? Do you fancy yourself as an entrepreneur? Do you dream of being your own boss? Well, if you said yes, then this article is for you. I admit, it does represent a deviation from our usual format but I think you will find the information extremely useful.

This article is actually part 3 in a series about the 7 ages of a business, an entrepreneurial perspective, initially published at eDragonu.ro. The remaining 6 articles have all been published simultaneously as guest posts on 6 other fine personal development and business blogs. You will find links to each of them at the end of this article.

Learning To Fly

The 3rd age of a business, the attention age, is usually the only phase when you are actually doing most of the stuff a business requires you to do. You start identifying processes, you understand your products or services and your market, you attract clients and beneficial partnerships. After the enthusiasm and naivety, attention is like a deep breathe and a count to 5.

During the attention phase you undergo a slow transformation. At least I know I did. I started to become more focused, more relaxed and more effective. If you are a serial entrepreneur, chances are that you can start most of your businesses directly into this stage. It’s the skillful and ambitious stage. It’s also the first one in which you actually enjoy benefits.

The most important sign that you are into the attention phase is your constant flow of good deals or contracts. Whenever you experience a non-interrupted flow of moderately good contracts for more than 6 months, after the naivety and enthusiasm period, you’re usually there. In this stage you’re actually stopping the loss. Not too much of a profit at this stage, but you’re covering your expenses.

What To Avoid

Although you’re entering a very stable period of your business, there are still some things you can do in order to avoid some common pitfalls.

Excessive Analyzing

During the attention phase your analyzing skills are heavily strained. It’s a demanding process in which you are both learning and applying what you learn. If you’d be a surgeon, it’s like operating on an opened patient with a surgical knife in the right hand and the manual in the left hand. You have to act, otherwise the patient can enter a coma. Excessive analyzing is not for you at this stage. Entrepreneurship is about doing in the first place, and that’s the
time when you should really act.

Expansion

It’s easy to get with the flow, but you must first cover your losses. If you start expanding at the first sign of success, without solid partnerships, solid team background and solid cash-flow behind you’ll most likely fail. The expansion temptation is always there, during all phases, and in my experience it was the most frequent cause for business failing. It’s like in military strategy: It’s crucial to first master your surroundings and then go conquer new territories.

Routine

If it’s working, don’t break it, goes the saying. It’s OK to keep the same successful approach but don’t allow yourself to be caught in a routine. Once you start doing the right stuff, you will want to repeat the process over and over. Repetition helps you fixate the learning but can lead to boredom. Don’t allow yourself to get stuck into a narrow decision corridor. Do apply your best knowledge and keep your business growing but pay attention to other details too.

What To Do

The attention phase will give you some necessary and creative distance and will increase your control level. Here are some enhancers for this stage.

Innovate

The attention phase is the most appropriate stage to start innovating. Start adding new features to your products, improve your services or marketing strategies. It’s quite demanding to do this in this stage because you won’t have great resources. Although steady, your cash-flow is still fragile. Your employees are just beginning to get a sense of security with you. But if you manage to stretch a bit, it will give you a highly competitive advantage in the next ages, maturity, expansion and leadership.

Long Term Planning

Take time to make some plans. You have reached a stable point in your campaign and it’s time to establish long term goals. You have all the tools and most of the desired knowledge. Planning long term will also give you a sense of confidence and self-worth. Being in a positive trend will also help you make moderate yet inspired decisions. I remember that during this phase I made my first 3 years plan, including cash-flow, employees and products enhancements.

Learn

Do it consciously. Keep a diary. Take notes. Track your winnings, assess your losses and put them in a system. Identify what’s working and what’s not. It’s the best time to start learning from what you are doing. I still have a box full of copy books with all sort of plans, meeting notes SWOT analysis and employees records from that period. Looking at it 5 years later was enlightening. Entrepreneurship is not learned in schools. You are both teacher and student.

From Attention To Maturity

The next stage of your business is maturity, a stage in which you really master your business process and start enjoying long term benefits. My attention period lasted around 1 and half year and I finally considered myself out of it when I was able to predict my profit for the next 2 years with more than 90% accuracy.

The most important thing from the attention period is the experience. This can’t be learned, it must be experienced. The feeling of putting together various pieces of knowledge, intuition, risk and business processes, and seeing at the end of this chain a positive result is fantastic.

As always, none of this stages is set in stone. In my experience none of the described business ages was 100% present at any time in my activity. There is some enthusiasm, naivety and attention in each stage of your beautiful journey as an entrepreneur.

Want to Read the rest of the series?

You can find the remaining 6 ages of your business on these fine personal development and business blogs:

1) The Enthusiasm Business Age… Attraction Mind Maps
2) The Naivety Business Age… Small Biz Bee
4) The Maturity Business Age… Steven Aitchison
5) The Expansion Business Age… Rat Race Trap
6) The Leadership Business Age… My Wife Quit Her Job
7) The Exhaustion Business Age… Learn This

Editors note: All 7 of these articles were written by Dragos Roua of eDragonu. The related articles emerged as a spin-off series from one his most popular articles: The 7 Ages Of A Business. This coordinated effort is part of Internet first called Massive Guest Posting. My thanks to Dragos for his hard work and dedication, and to all of my fellow bloggers who made this project possible.

With identity theft and fraud on the increase, I wanted to give you some practical ways to protect yourself both online and off. One of the keys to enjoying life to the full is taking reasonable steps to avoid painful situations where ever possible.

A few months ago my computer was compromised and I am still picking up the pieces from that little episode. In today’s world there are so many different ways for unscrupulous people to invade your life, that it is the course of wisdom to take some preventative measures. The following 17 points are designed to help you do exactly that.

Avoid identity theft: Ten preventative measures

Tens of millions of people have fallen victim to some sort of identity theft. They face not only the expense of resolving the situation, but also may have problems with their credit history for years afterwards.

However, there are quite a few steps you can take to protect your own identity:

1. Shred sensitive documents. Shredding any documents with your financial information, Social Security number or other sensitive information is a bare minimum to protect your identity.

2. Use a locking mailbox. For an identity thief, getting their hands on your paperwork can be just as easy as opening your mailbox and pulling out a few envelopes. Having a lock on your mailbox can protect you.

3. Contact the post office if there are major changes in your mail. If you suddenly stop getting mail, check to make sure that no mail forwarding was set up without your knowledge. You should also contact the post office if you think your mail may have been stolen.

4. Put your cards, passports and other documents somewhere safe. The fewer pieces of sensitive information you carry around with you every day, the less chance you have of losing something.

5. Change your PINs and passwords regularly. It’s rare to find someone who changes their passwords on a regular basis, but it’s important. And that goes double for your bank and credit card accounts.

6. Protect your computer. Keeping your anti-virus software and spam filters up to date should be a priority no matter how much or how little you use your computer.

7. Keep in mind how much information is already out there about you. When you’re setting passwords and security questions, remember that information like the name of your high school, your mother’s maiden name and even your first pet are probably out on the internet somewhere.

8. Minimize who actually has your information. Many of the forms that ask for your Social Security number and other personal information don’t actually need it. You’re well within your rights to ask how a particular organization plans to use particular bits of information before handing them over.

9. Check into security breaches. If you hear that your information could have been included in a security breach, it’s worth checking into. Banks and other companies with access to your information will usually be able to tell you just what information got out and what sort of problems to look for.

10. Beware of emails from eBay and banks. Even I have been fooled in the past when I was rushed and responded to an eBay fishing scam (I knew I had something up for auction under my name, and someone else had posted it for me). Fortunately I realized that it was likely an identity theft scenario shortly after I did it, but I still had to go through all the paperwork and security precautions as a follow up.

So as number ten, I would advise you to make sure that you are VERY careful about responding to any bank or eBay requests, and NEVER enter your password and username in response to an email they send unless you first call them to confirm it is an authentic email.

Source:  Lifehack

7 Online blunders that threaten your identity

There are many ways to invite identity theft, and certain online blunders can render your computer an inoperable mess. Here are the top 7 most common mistakes you don’t want to make:

1. Assuming your security software is protecting you. Security software is fully effective only when activated and frequently updated. Renew the subscription when the software prompts you, and make sure your security software is active when you’re online, and that it has been updated within the past week or so.

2. Accessing an account through an email link. No matter how official an e-mail message looks, trying to access a financial account by clicking on embedded Web links is risky. If the e-mail message is fraudulent, a cybercriminal could use the account number and password you enter to steal your identity or empty your bank account. Access your online accounts only by using your existing browser bookmark or typing in the institution’s Web address.

I was actually nailed on this one when I was in the middle of selling something on eBay and clicked on a phishing scam that I thought was related to an active auction in progress, which one of my assistants had done for me.

If you suspect that an e-mail is a phishing attempt, forward it to spam@uce.gov and reportphishing@antiphishing.org.

3. Using a single password for all online accounts. Nine percent of home Internet users designate a single password for all their accounts. That practice lets someone who gets your password and steals your identity easily access all your accounts. Using different passwords need not be burdensome. Use slight variations on one password.

4. Downloading free software. You couldn’t resist that neat, free utility. Now your computer runs slower than ever. That’s because spyware was probably packaged with the freebies. Download freeware only from reputable sites such as SnapFiles.com and Download.com. Eliminate most spyware by downloading the free Microsoft Windows Defender and scan your PC.

5. Thinking your Mac shields you from all risks. Mac users fall prey to phishing scams at about the same rate as Windows users, yet far fewer of them protect themselves with an anti-phishing toolbar. To make matters worse, the browser of choice for most Mac users, Apple‘s Safari, has no phishing protection. Until Apple beefs up Safari, use a browser with phishing protection, such as the latest version of Firefox or Opera. Also try a free anti-phishing toolbar such as McAfee Site Advisor or FirePhish.

6. Clicking on a pop-up ad that says your PC is insecure. Fifteen percent of respondents to our survey who saw pop-up ads clicked on them. But that’s never a good idea. Even if you know such pop-ups are phonies, they’re still dangerous. It’s easy to click inside the ad by mistake and be transferred to a spyware site or, worse, have malware automatically downloaded onto your computer. When closing a pop-up, carefully click on the X on the upper left or right corner, not within the window. To avoid pop-ups altogether, enable your browser’s pop-up blocker or use a free add-on blocker such as Google Toolbar.

7. Shopping online the same way you do in stores. Online shopping requires special precautions because the risks are different than in a walk-in store: You can’t always be sure who you’re doing business with. You must disclose more personal information, such as your address, to the online retailer. Thieves can sneak in undetected between you and the retail site. Use a separate credit card just for your Internet shopping. Don’t use a debit card. Sites that display “https” before their address when you’re entering sensitive information and those displaying certification symbols from TRUSTe and other organizations are usually safe, but there are no guarantees.

How to regain your privacy online

In addition to these seven valuable tips, I highly recommend checking out Regain Your Privacy Online. It’s a great resource where you can learn more about how to protect your personal information against free distribution.

For example, did you know your personal information is listed in at least 49 FREE online directories that are accessible to anyone? With nothing more than your name, someone with less than good intentions can access these directories and compile an astounding amount of information about you, your family, your home, your work, your social network and more, making stealing your identity, planning insurance fraud, planning a robbery, or worse, easier than ever before. RegainingPrivacyOnline.com has done all the leg work and heavy lifting to make it easier for you to take back control of your private information and protect your privacy.

Source: Yahoo Finance

An ounce of Prevention

A few months ago, someone hacked into my banks customer files. They sent out emails telling everyone that they needed to change their PIN number for their ATM access because of a security breach. Thankfully, the bank was quick to detect and remedy the problem, and no one lost any money. But I live in a very small rural town in Oregon, which illustrates how widespread the problem really is.

Friends, as we all work toward a life of exceptional quality we want to remember the old adage that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” I hope you found this information useful and informative.

If you have any additional pointers please share them.