Time to Take a Break

Ring the church bells, mark your calenders with a big fat red X. This is a historic event.

I have decided to take a break.

Huh? Really?

Yes, really!!

The last time I took a break was, …. uhm, …. I really can’t even remember. So I believe its high time.

All work and no play is no fun. Actually, I have forgotten how to play so I don’t even remember if it is fun or not, but I will soon find out.

If you are wondering if I wised up on my own and came to this decision. Nope! I had some help from my loving husband, who kept on hinting for the last couple of weeks, actually.

There were signs that I was running out of fuel. I wasn’t able to concentrate anymore on what I was doing. I was very easily distracted and all over the place instead of keeping my focus where it should have been. And I was constantly tired.

I did sit down and write out my goals for the rest of the year. However, even with a road map infront of me, there is just no more gas in the tank to continue the journey … at this point.

As much as I dislike it, I do need to STOP … and smell the daisies. I need to do some of the fun things I used to do before I became a workaholic. Even if it’s just for a few weeks.

The kids will be happy to get some delicious homemade dinners and Georgi will have a blast going for walks and fetching those new tennis balls I just bought recently.

There are also some books I want to read and some loose ends I need to tie up. I’ve got to blow out the cob webs and clear my mind for new and exciting things.

So, I’ll be gone for just a little while, but I’ll be back after Labor Day. Hopefully you’re all still going to be here.

See you then,

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

Plugin Trouble

I believe each and every one of us bloggers has experienced some sort of plugin trouble at one point or another. Am I right? Those can be so frustrating. Especially when you can’t figure out what is wrong and why that darn thing isn’t working the way it is supposed to.

While I was pretty lucky so far, I had my first real experience with plugin trouble when I created my last blog post. For the longest time, I couldn’t figure out what had gone wrong.

What happened was, that I wanted to save time and re-use an image I had used on a previous blog post. Instead of uploading it again from my hard drive, I thought it was easier just to go into my WordPress Media Library and get it from there.

Not a good idea as it turned out.

I didn’t realize it though until I got an error message from one of my plugins with a lot of gobbledygook. You see, I have the “Yet Another Related Posts Plugin” installed and I guess that plugin didn’t like that I re-used that picture for another post.

Why?

Because I had already given that image a title, alternate text and caption which were unique to the previous blog post. So when I pulled it out of the WordPress Media Library and changed the title, alternate text and caption to suit the new blog post it messed something up in the “Another Related Posts Pluging” which created the gobbledygook error messages.

At first I didn’t realize that of course. So I kept deleting and rewriting my bog post, deleting and adding the image again, deactivating and reactivating the plugin. And so on.

I am not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to technical stuff. However, eventually it darned on me that it probably had to do with the values of the image.

So, I went into my image files on my desktop. Pulled that image up into PhotoShop and saved it as a completely different file.

Then I uploaded it into my post and gave it  a completey different title, alternate text and caption.

And voilà no more error messages. Plugin trouble solved.

Hold on. Not so fast!

While it did solve the problem last time, just before hitting “publish” on this blog post here today, I noticed the same error messages again. So,maybe it DIDN’T have anything to do with the image after all. But why then would what I did last time have worked?

In order to find some help, I went to the plugin website, but didn’t get very far. So I went on to the WordPress forum and ,voilà there were others who had the same plugin trouble. However, their threads for help weren’t answered in 5 days so I didn’t find a way to solve my problem..

So, as very last resort … I deactivated the plugin again until a solution is found. Who needs this headache anyway.

Hey, it would be great if you could share some of your own plugin trouble with us down in the comments below and what you did to solve it.

To Your Success!

Ilka Flood
The EnlightenedNetworker

P.S. If you found value in this post, please re-tweet it and share it with your friends. Thanks!

Self-discipline Key to Achieving Your Goals

Achieving your goals is a lot easier if you practice self-discipline on a daily basis.

Let me explain what I mean by that.

I got up this morning and looked at my “To Do List” for today. It’s not very long, but there are some items on it which I really dislike doing. However, they are important tasks that I need to do in order to move my business forward.

Now, would it really make such a big difference if I just skipped today and had some fun instead? At first thought, no, probably not.

BUT … who is to say that I wouldn’t feel like skipping them again tomorrow? What if tomorrow, I feel the same way as today and I just don’t feel like doing them … again?

That would set me back two days in achieving my goals.

Well, okay, two days. Big deal! What’s all the fuzz about?

I will tell you what the fuzz is about. If I skipped today, and tomorrow, then skipping another couple of days down the road won’t be such a ‘big deal’ either. Do you see a pattern here? It’s the pattern of mediocrity.

Temptation, the mother of breaking the rules …

Just think about it this way. You are on a diet and your kids want you to bake some brownies. You stir up the ingredients, pour the mix in the pan and stick it into the oven. Nothing to it, right?

However, after just a short while the aroma of the baking brownies fills the air and you can hardly wait until they are done.

You think to yourself, “I’m only going to have one. One little brownie isn’t going to make much of a difference.”

You take your first bite and that brownie just melts in your mouth. “Hmmm, delicious!”

“Okay“, you say, “let me have just one more. One more little brownie isn’t going to do any damage.”

And there, in an instant, you blew your diet.

The next day you get on the scale and find out you just had undone what you had been working on so hard all week. Was it worth it? I doubt it.

If you give in once to your temptations, it’s easier to do it a second, a third and a fourth time and so on.

That’s where self-discipline comes in.

You can’t give in!

You’ve got to stick to the plan you’ve laid out to achieving your goals.

You do have a plan, right? I’m sure you’ve heard the saying,  …

“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.”

Or, … “If you aim at nothing, you’re sure going to hit it.”

Did you know that only 3% of adults have written goals and plans how to get there? And, they earn more than the other 97% put together.

That is why achieving your goals first requires writing them down on paper and then the self-discipline to work on them on a daily basis. Without skipping even a single day. Of course setting realistic goals makes them a lot easier to achieve.

This post was inspired by a link that dropped into my inbox this morning. An exert of Brian Tracy’s book:

“The Power of Discipline – 7 Ways It Can Change Your Life”

Enjoy reading it. I am sure it will help you in achieving your goals. It sure saved my day.

To Your Success!

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

P.S. You don’t have to share this post, but if you do, you might just encourage someone to sticking to their plan and achieving their goals. So please go ahead and click the Re-Tweet and Facebook Share buttons above. Thank you!

Georgi - Learning about Limiting Beliefs

My last blog post was about the fact that dogs really don’t love bones. (Who would have thought?) They just settle for them. The moral of the story … why would anyone (dogs or humans) settle for less.

Well, there are actually reasons why we are settling for less than we could have and I will illustrate that in another story from the great personal development seminar I attended last weekend.

So here’s the “rest of the story”…The story of Gus, the lab, and the tennis balls

Gus, like all dogs, loves to play with tennis balls. (Our dog Georgi goes nuts over them as well.) So his owner, would bounce a brand new tennis ball a couple of times just to tease Gus and then he would throw it and Gus would go to retrieve it. But he wouldn’t drop it once he brought it back. Instead it would take some prying that ball out of his mouth.

Of course that ball then would be soaked with drool. Yuck!

Anyway, Gus’ owner would throw it again. This time purposely right into the dirt. Gus again would go get it and bring it back. But then, instead of prying that grimy ball out of Gus’ mouth his owner would bounce a brand new tennis ball in the hopes that Gus would drop the one he has in his mouth. Of course he doesn’t. He’s hanging on to that yucky, dirty, slimy ol’ ball.

As a matter of fact, it will take several more throws of that brand new tennis ball before Gus finally will let go of his grimy treasure.

What’s the take away of this story?

That grimy tennis ball symbolizes the limiting beliefs we are sometimes holding on to and which keep us from achieving the success we desire and deserve.  It is just easier to hang on to them and use them as an excuse instead of getting rid of them and to take action to change our life.

Such limiting beliefs as…

• I am too old to do this business.
• I don’t have enough experience.
• Rejections from our prospects.
• I’m not good enough.
• I tried this before without success why would it work now?
• I’m not smart enough.
• I cannot do this because…

Well, you get the point.

Just think about it. These limiting beliefs are actually what is holding us back from accomplishing our goals and live our dreams. We do deserve better!

We can start overcoming limiting beliefs by silencing that critical little voice inside of our head and start turning negative self-talk into positive self-talk.

The only way we can make room for positive thoughts though is if we drop our negative thoughts (that grimy tennis ball) first.

Go drop your limiting beliefs and fetch some “I Cans”

To your success,

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

P.S. I tried that game on Georgi this afternoon by the way. And either Georgi is smarter than Gus, or he just doesn’t care about dirty tennis balls. Anyway, he went after the new one every time. Another reason could be of course that Georgi just doesn’t have any limiting beliefs and is just going for the prize every single time. Smart Dog!

P.P.S. If you liked this story and it made sense, please share it with your friends on Twitter or Facebook. Thank you!

Do Dogs Love Bones?

I attended an event for my company this weekend and I must admit that was one of the best events I have ever been to. While it did touch on product and company training, it was mostly about personal development and mindset etc., and if you have been following my blog for a while then you know that I absolutely love personal development stuff. The event was amazing and I came away from it a totally changed person.

As a matter of fact it made so much of an impression on me that I would like to share a few of my personal highlights with you in my next couple of blog posts.

As I sat there listening and soaking it all in I noticed that I had actually blogged about some of the stuff that was presented just recently. Sspecially how you can sabotage your own success by stinkin’ thinkin’. So the fact that our CEO and owner of the company brought it up at this network marketing event just reaffirmed the importance of it.

What do you want out of life? Really?

The question was asked, … Do dogs love bones?

Silly question, I thought. Of course dogs love bones. Georgi, our boxer, does. I just brought him some nice rawhide bones from the grocery store last Friday. Man he loves those. As soon as I unloaded the car he went sniffing around all the bags, saliva dripping from his mouth like a faucet, because he knows I always bring him a surprise from the store.

Now imagine this scenario …

Imagine Georgi in a kennel 20 feet (or so) away and I put a big rawhide bone on my right side and a juice t-bone steak on my left. When I open that kennel door and tell him to “go,” where do you think he’s heading to?

You guessed it. Given the choice between a t-bone steak and a big rawhide bone, he’d make a beeline towards that juice t-bone steak every single time. Of course he would. Duh!

So, do dogs love bones?

No, not really. They just settle for bones.

That little parable really made me think.

Why settle for less?

Think about it. Why would anyone be settling for less than they could have? It just doesn’t make sense. Why would you settle for anything less than what you could have in your home based network marketing business? Don’t you deserve to be one of the top distributors in your company? Of course you do. So what is it that is holding you back?

More on that here ….

To your success,

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

Enlightened Networker Joined DoFollow Sites

I bet, just like me, you have been pondering over the issue if you should set your blog to “DoFollow” or leave it at “NoFollow” as is the WordPress default.

To change your settings to “DoFollow” may raise some concerns about getting more spam. However, it would give some well deserved link juice to those who comment on your blog. And, if you have a plugin installed that combats spam, then it shouldn’t be a problem anyway.

As with everything there are Pros and Cons

My good friend Josh Garcia, who is very knowledgeable on this subject, wrote two blog posts recently that I don’t want you to miss. The information he put out sure helped me decide what was best for me.

Here are Josh’s great posts about “DoFollow” or “Nofollow”:

What Everybody Ought to Know About DoFollow Blogs

How to Tell if the Blog You Are Visiting is a DoFollow or NoFollow Blog

After reading this awesome information I went ahead and installed a free DoFollow Plugin right away because I want those people who leave comments on my blog to receive some well deserved link juice in the form of DoFollow backlinks.

So, there you have it, The Enlightened Networker is now one of the DoFollow sites.

So, without further ado, head over to Josh Garcia’s blog and read those two blog posts. And while you are at it, make sure to bookmark it, because Josh always puts out great content you don’t want to miss.

To your success,

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

P.S. If you found this information valuable make some noise and share it on Twitter and Facebook. Thank you!!

P.P.S. See that “DoFollow” patch to the right >>> My friend Heather Stevens created that. If you would like one just like it to put on your own DoFollow blog then click HERE!

Blogging for Business

On 30 May 2009 I moved my blog from Blogger over to WordPress, because I had heard that WordPress was the blogging platform for professionals. I didn’t want to be viewed as an amateur so I moved it. If you are blogging for business then WordPress is simply the best blogging platform.

Seven months later I still had virtually no traffic. Here and there someone found my blog by accident, even left a comment which I had no clue I was supposed to reply to.

One day in January of 2010 I stumbled upon Jason Better’s blog and met the “Better Bunch”, a group of the most amazing marketers from all over the world.

That was the turnaround for me.

From these incredibly talented people I learned everything about blogging I know today.

Just six short months ago, I knew very little about “keywords” or “eye-catching headlines.” I had no clue how to “optimize my blog for the search engines.”

I didn’t have a clue, how to get backlinks, what page ranking was or how to improve it. What good is it if you give valuable content but nobody finds it?

When I look back I can’t believe where I am today and the exposure I have received since. My traffic is way up and my Alexa ranking keeps dropping. I also have almost 140 people following my blog. Wow!

I have met so many incredible online marketers. People who freely and unconditionally share their experiences and know-how. You can meet some of them here. I have formed friendships with these people that are absolutely priceless.

“I am not a big shot. Just a little shot that keeps on shooting.” _Dayle Maloney

I have found, if you hang with the right crowd, keep giving value freely and unconditionally, the universe finds a way to reward you.

The universe has rewarded me so richly this month that I am still quite flabbergasted.

First, one of my articles was featured in the July issue of the “Best of BetterNetworker Magazine”. (If you aren’t a  member yet, you can sign up for free.) Then just last week another one of my articles was feature in the very first issue of Hector Cuevas’ “Entrepreneur Report.”

I am not sharing this with you to impress you, but to impress upon you that I am no different from you. You can do the same thing.

This blog post was in response to a blog meme. The way this works (I admit I had to look it up) is, a blogger tags other bloggers with their post and asks them to answer a question. This meme was started by Ana Hofman who asked the original question: “How Blogging Can Increase Your Lead Generation by 67%”

My friend  Marcus Baker tagged me. His post is “What Has This Blog Done For My Business?

“How Did Your Blog Kick-Start Your Business Success“?

The above post is my answer to his question.

The idea is to see how viral this question can go. Ana will receive the most links as the originator of the meme because everyone links back to the original post and then I will of course get links back from everybody I tag.

So I am tagging the following and my question is: “How Did Your Blog Kick-Start Your Business Success“?

Melisa & Ken West|Michael B Wilbraham|Robert Strong|Carla Gardiner|Soren Egstrup|James Hampton|

Please answer this question in your next blog post, link back it back to this post and Ana’s post and tag

some of your blogger friends to do the same.  Thank you very much!

Also, please leave me a comment and if you liked this post, please share it with your friends. Thank you!

To your success,

Ilka Flood
The EnlightenedNetworker

Hector Cuevas' Entrepreneurs Report

Get Your FREE COPY!

My good friend, Hector Cuevas, just released his premier issue of the “Entrepreneurs Report.”

It’s hot off the press. The ink isn’t even dry yet.

Trust me, you don’t want to miss this!

This issue is jam-packed with valuable information, tips, tricks and strategies that will send your blogging and online marketing experience to new heights. What I am really excited about is, that yours truly is featured together with some of the best online bloggers in the industry.

If you are not familiar with Hector Cuevas, he is a well respected authority on everything that has to do with blogging and online marketing.

In fact, his website is “The Internet’s #1 Resource for your Blogging and Online Marketing Needs.”

He freely shares with his readers everything he knows about blogging, copywriting, e-mail marketing, traffic generation, personal branding, etc. This guy knows his stuff!

Hector always gives great value. No wonder he has such a large following.

And now, he is releasing a value-packed monthly report, where you can even get more blog design tips, tricks and strategies on blogging and online marketing … At no cost.

Did you notice …. I said no cost. That means it’s absolutely FREE!

Do not miss out on this!

• In this Issue:
• The Good, The Bad & The Ugly Of Network Marketing
• Top 4 Critical Blog Design Tips To Increase Usability
• 6 Spots Where You Can Grab Kick A** Blog Post Ideas
• How To Write A Great Article In 30 Minutes Even If You Almost Failed English
• The Power Of Failure
• Quick Sale Or Lifelong Customer – Which Would You Choose?
• Commit To Comment On “YOUR” MLM Blog

Click Here To Download Your Free (PDF) Copy Now!

(No opt-in required)

Not convinced yet?

Here’s what the man himself has to say ….

“The Entrepreneurs Report is a valuable monthly issue I produce to distribute to the blogging and online marketing industry at no cost.

Every issue features 4-6 of the BEST and MOST Valuable content pieces from the Top Players in the online marketing blogosphere – for the given month.

These “hand-picked” featured entrepreneurs have shown true leadership and understand the concept of giving massive value to their community.

Their work is designed to give you tips and tricks, big picture ideas, and inspire you to create whatever you want to create for yourself and for your online business.

But here’s the BEST Part…

YOU can be a Featured Entrepreneur, too!

Convinced now?

Just think about it for a moment.

YOU could be featured in the very next issue. What would that do for your exposure? For your business? This could mean massive traffic to your website for free!

Go ahead, click HERE NOW and make sure you grab a copy of this very valuable report.

See you in the next issue.

To your success!

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

*** P.S. Please share this information on Twitter and Facebook so your friends don’t miss out on this valuable information. Thank You!

*** P.P.S. Please leave your feedback in the comments below and let us know what you thought of the report. It’s very much appreciated. Thank you!

Success in Network Marketing

Success in network marketing starts (and ends) with YOU. Have you ever heard that?

If that is news to you, listen up.

Can you relate to this scenario?

You are doing everything your upline sponsor tells you to do. You are using the tools he or she recommends. You attend all company meetings and listen to every single conference call. Yet, … for some reason you don’t see the network marketing success you would like to have.

What’s wrong?

One important ingredient is missing. Actually, the most important ingredient is missing.

Neither systems , tools and conference calls nor company meetings are building your success. They do help considerably and are very important, don’t get me wrong, but unless you add the most important ingredient you will never see the success in network marketing  you could have.

This one missing ingredient is … YOU!

Plain and simple!

It’s YOU and what you are THINKING.

Do you have doubts about your products? The comp plan? The company? Doubts about your own ability to succeed?  Fear of failure? Fear of success? Maybe you are afraid of your own courage?

If you have a case of “Stinkin’ Thinkin,” get rid of it. Stop sabotaging your own network marketing success!

I am just re-reading “Think And Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill and in the book he states …

“Both Poverty and Riches are the Offspring of Thought”

Think about this for a minute. That’s very a powerful statement!

If this is true, than that would mean that you can think yourself into poverty or you can think yourself into riches. Which would you choose?

Well, I know which way I would go.

In chapter 3, Napoleon Hill talks about “The Law of Autosuggestion.”

“The subconscious mind makes no distinction between constructive and destructive thought impulses. It works with the material we feed it, through our thought impulses. The subconscious mind will translate into reality a thought driven by fear just as readily as it will translate into reality a thought driven by courage or faith.

…If you fill your mind with fear, doubt and unbelief in your ability to connect with and use the forces of Infinite Intelligence, the law of autosuggestion will take this spirit of unbelief and use it as a pattern by which your subconscious mind will translate it into its physical equivalent.“

Wow! Pretty scary stuff, huh? So, be very careful what you think.

I would like to close with a poem that describes the law of autosuggestion very well…

“If you think you are beaten, you are,
If you think you dare not, you don’t
If you like to win, but you think you can’t,
It is almost certain you won’t.

“If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost
For out of the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow’s will—
It’s all in the state of mind.

“If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You’ve got to think high to rise,
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

“Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But soon or late the man who wins
Is the man WHO THINKS HE CAN!”

Napoleon Hill, “Think & Grow Rich

Think POSITIVE!

Success in network marketing can be yours if you can adjust your thinking. When you get a case of “stinkin’ thinkin”, which we all do at times, get rid of it immediately and change your negative thoughts into positive ones. You do have a choice.

When I get down and negative thoughts creep into my mind, I get away from it all. I do something fun and uplifting.  Sometimes I go for a walk. Doodle a while in PhotoShop or listen to upbeat music. Or I read a few pages in a book. (Hint: Think & Grow Rich is a great one.) Or I take a shower and wash those negative thoughts right out of my mind.

To your Network Marketing  Success!

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

P.S. Share with us what you like to do to get rid of “stinkin’ thinkin’.” And if you found value in this post, please share it. Thank you!

Online Marketing Forum

Is it worth spending time in online marketing forums? Does forum marketing really work?

I would definitely say “YES!” Considering you are following the forum marketing tips below.

You can make some great connections there. Find answers to your questions by posting threads. Well, even find prospects for your business opportunity.

However there are some rules you need to follow.

Some are common sense but still I see people violate them all the time.

Just like blogs, or social networks, online marketing forums are very public. People can follow and observe you without you even knowing it. So it is of utmost importance that you are at your best behavior at all times.

I think it goes without saying that you should be treating people with courtesy and respect.

Here are some forum marketing tips that will make your experience in online marketing forums more fun:

1. Read the rules. That should be a no brainer, as not following the rules can get you banned from online marketing forums altogether.
2. Be transparent. Don’t hide behind an avatar, company logo, picture of your dog or any other such nonsense. People want to know who you are. They are much more likely to connect with you when they can see your face.
3. Be kind and polite to fellow members. Think twice before cutting someone down, leaving a rude comment, or being darn right nasty. Remember, these are real people you are interacting with. Just like you, they do have feelings. Offensive language doesn’t get you anywhere. It can actually get you banned from the forum as well.
4. Never sell or promote anything. People don’t like to be spammed. An online marketing forum is not an ad board, but a place to communicate, share experiences and help and support other members.
5. Always give value. If you have helpful information that you can add to forums, or the solution to someone’s problem ,  by all means share it. Share freely without expecting anything in return. The more you contribute the better people will get to know you.
6. Be appreciative. If someone helped you out, please let them know that you appreciate their help and support. A little “thank you” can go a long way.
7. Create an attractive signature file. This is the place where you can link to your opportunity, your website or your blog. The only place where you can toot your own horn. So make it interesting for people to want to find out more about you or your business.

There you have it. It’s not rocket science. Most of it is common sense.

Remember, whatever you say in online marketing forums is public and out there for everyone to see.

I hope these forum marketing tips have been helpful.

Oh, by the way, you can find some great online marketing forums by doing a search on Google.

However, the best online marketing forum I have found is BetterNetworker.

If you are already at Better Networker, make sure to connect with me. I’d love to meet you.

To your success!

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

P.S. If you found value in this article please share it with your friends on Twitter and Facebook. Thank you!