Dan Hollings was brilliant tonight, talking about the Twitter marketing portion of StomperNet’s new Internet marketing platform.

As has been the case with every member of the StomperNet faculty over the past month, Dan was fantastic! The ladies and gentlemen of the StomperNet faculty have defined Internet marketing and online business success; and, they have also demonstrated the professional way to launch an Internet marketing product, with first-class information and a quality platform!

If you follow me anywhere on social media, you know that I am a big advocate of implementation. In other words, taking action using the proper tools, and to do so in the most efficient and effective way possible. I am talking about an Internet marketing business system, combining the necessary tools to make money online, along with those necessary to run a business effectively, not just in the sort run…but for years to come, should that be your desire.

I am always skeptical when I read some of the sales letters written by people calling themselves “gurus.” In some instances, these tomes are written by people barely able to keep their businesses afloat, offering this program or that, many of the words bandied about are:

Guru, and you may already know how I feel about that term as a descriptive adjective for most marketers!

Mentor, always at a prices that would make a Vegas Madam blush!

Coach, I wonder what John Wooden or Joe Paterno would say?

“Life” Coach, as opposed to what?

And many more!

Many of the people using these appellations have never built a lasting business of their own, in good times or bad, and fewer still have any real idea what it takes to be successful in the long-term. Yet we are bombarded daily with parroted advice from those among us…

“Faking it, until making it!”

Don’t get me wrong!

I am 100% behind people making a go of it online, in Internet marketing proper or in affiliate or niche marketing, because it’s all really the same thing (or is it?), they have my respect and admiration!

The problem I have is with people attempting to run before they have a good understanding of what it takes to walk…and attempting to lead others over the same cliff you may be heading for. The drop is steep and unforgiving.

So, my question is this:

If you aren’t sure of what you are doing, how in the world are you going to teach others?

The answer:

You can’t, at least not without pulling the both of you down together!

You see, sales and marketing is a lot more complex than most people maintain in their books with the catchy phrases. While many throw around names like Hill, Nightingale, Ziglar, Hopkins, Girard, and now Robbins and Tracy, they have little understanding of what drives people to act on a consistent and continuous basis, on both sides of the equation; sales/marketing; and, the purchasing-target audience/market.

Unfortunately, certain Internet marketing “gurus” have created an air of positive expectancy that doesn’t always match up with reality.

Some marketing “gurus” claim the “chosen few” will make from $10,000 to $100,000 per month in a matter of a few weeks, implying that all you have to do is:

1) Spend $X dollars for an application fee…that one kills me!

2) Spend $Y dollars an ebook…usually written in vague generalities in order to sell more, you guessed it, stuff!

AND

3) Spend $Z dollars for a monthly membership…and we get what for that? More stuff!

FINALLY

4) The heavens will open and all will be made clear from one high!

After all, their sales letter maintains…just look what Gee Willacres did in just 6 months after:

1) Having a leg removed…the wrong one!

2) Being trampled by a horse…a pony from the traveling carnival really!

AND

3) Having open-heart surgery…when he was supposed to have a kidney transplant!

If Gee can do it…well, gosh…so can you!

Pile on top of this line of whooey, whooey being a technical term I learned at the George Carlin School of Internet Marketing and Online Shenanigans Annual Conference, in suburban Tehran, the idea that a web presence (nice word for mass produced website) set up as some sort of a cookie-cutter, big scheme Internet marketing (Read: MLM) template is going to do draw the thousands to tens of thousands of victims, I mean visitors, per month necessary, based on even the best conversion numbers online, to generate that sort of income is flat out tom-foolery!

Another Carlin school term! Being a graduate, I am allowed to thrown them around!

And I am being very kind with the descriptive adjectives…sans the four letter ones!

Reality?

The reality of an individual with no clear idea of what to do and how to do it, just laid off from his or her job at Bob’s Burger Palace and Horseshoeing Emporium, a gig they’ve had for the last 20 years, and turning to the Internet in desperation is very different from the reality of an individual who has a marketing background, a stable home life, time to build a proper foundation before going full time, which includes the time educate one’s self, the moxie to network properly, and plenty of resources to spend on education and to fall back on if he or she takes a header off of one of those Internet marketing, online business cliffs!

Yet Internet marketing “gurus” seem to focus on the target market en mass…without realizing that Joe Palooka’s Internet marketing needs are very different from Betsey Homecki’s online business aspirations! Very few people (read: gurus with a small “g”) actually take the time to build any version of “Bob” (watch The New Money Masters with Frank Kern and Tony Robbins, brilliant!), and if they are, they must be way off the mark, because most of the people I talk to are frustrated, angry, disenchanted, and even bitter…tracking back to their experiences with the “gurus!” They want to make it, many want it with a white hot desire! The problem is with the delivery of information at a reasonable cost and in a way that is truly user friendly.

I don’t believe many of the “gurus” have a clue how people learn, much less what it takes to teach them! The end result is a support nightmare, a lot of people referring to “gurus” as scam artists, and a stadium full of people (Read: Joe Girard) screaming don’t buy from so-and-so! More to come on this topic!

So, getting back to Internet marketing, online business success, coaching, mentoring, and implementation!

The problem most people have starting out is not a lack of information, there is plenty of good information available if you know how to research and know what you are looking for; it’s not that there isn’t a proven template for success, there are several successful online business models available; and, it’s not that there is a lack of quality software to implement even the most ambitious strategies, there are some great Internet marketing implementation platforms available. The challenge is in knowing who to listen to, understanding what they are saying, which means cutting through all the hype; and finally, which program to invest in…in order to pull it all together…or at least start on the right path.

Who: Who to listen to and, more importantly, who to believe!

What: Understanding what they are saying. This means understanding the basics of marketing in general and Internet marketing specifically!

Which: Which way to go! There is no shortage of voices in the wilderness, some as soothing and convincing as any Siren’s call! Knowing which program to invest in has with it its own set of qualifiers and traps to avoid!

Beware!

Or better yet: Buyer Beware!

The reality…ah, back to reality…is that you can go any which way and get to where you are going. Or, as the old one-liner goes:

“You can’t get there from here!”

Ultimately, you have to put your faith, if trust is too big a word right now, in someone and something…both of them!

You must deal with the 3 Ws:

Who
What
Which

Back to Stompernet!

I have recommended a handful of programs over the last year, the ones I have wholeheartedly endorsed, and still use, I can count on one hand!

Enter StomperNet!

At $10,000 per year, it was just not in my make-up to invest that kind of money, even at $800 per month, in a marketing program, particularly at the stage of development I was in when StomperNet appeared on my radar. I have followed Brad Fallon, and he back, almost from day one of my involvement on Twitter, so I knew of Brad and StomperNet…and had heard nothing but good about both the man and the Internet marketing opportunity, because StomperNet is much more than a program, it is a complete system!

Ah, finally! The final piece of the puzzle:

System!

Like TrafficGeyser, a much more specialized system, one I endorse wholeheartedly, StomperNet is not only an Internet marketing system, it is a community, a university of sorts…in a very real way, a bit of academia on the Internet.

StomperNet is perhaps the only true Internet marketing university!

For that reason, and because I am so impressed with the StomperNet system and it’s community, including its amazing faculty, I am going to make the following offer:

If you purchase StomperNet using my affiliate link, you may contact me at any time, day or night 24/7 for the next 365 days, no kidding, for the next year, and we will work through the implementation together! I will always get back to you in short order, always!

PLEASE!

Do not take this as some sort of a “I am the greatest, I will lead you” ego trip!

I will be starting with StomperNet just like you, from the beginning! However, I do have experience with some of the components as individual products, so we will not be flying blind. What I am offering is a mastermind of at least two, open almost at your beck and call, and all you have to do is make your purchase through my link.

We will do the rest together.

In fact , I will make this even better:

For the next 90 days, we will meet online, via Skype, 3 evenings a week…for at least an hour a session…perhaps longer!

After the first 90 days we will see how things go. You never know, we may find we enjoy the mastermind sessions and simply expand upon it.

That’s my offer! I am so impressed with StomperNet, I think this is something that can serve to push a bunch of new “stompers” up all at once!

Once you get your email confirmation, and I get mine, we will set up our first session!

I am looking forward to having you as a fellow Stomper, as a colleague, and as a member of a mastermind focused solely on our collective success in Internet marekting!

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr., PhD
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@thequestrevealed.com
excellencepaidforward@gmail.com (my very personal email address)

PS, In case you missed it, the links toward the top of the article above are for the webinar series, the ones down the page are going straight to the StomperNet main page! Either way, see you soon!

The August Internet Marketing Quest Revealed Newsletter was a huge success!

September’s newsletter promises to be even better and will be out the week of September 14, 2009. It is my hope you will join me as we build our subscriber base. It is my intention to continue offering the newsletter as a free service, with an eye towards building a big subscriber case and creating a free and open forum for the exchange of ideas among subscribers.

Please join us and subscribe to the newsletter! The video will describe the upcoming edition more completely, I hope you enjoy it…and and it useful!

If you would like to see any issues covered in an upcoming newsletter, just leave a comment below and I will work to make it happen!

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@thequestrevealed.com

First, and let’s cover this right up front, I really don’t think most “gurus” care whether they impress me or not!

So, once again, let’s get that out of the way right up front. I harbor absolutely no illusions, or delusions, concerning that point…this point…whatever! Not only that, they don’t know who the heck John Zajaros is! Nor do most of them care to…they are all about the bucks!

Don’t believe me?

Try to get one on the phone some time!

I have actually had a conversation with exactly one Guru in the past year, one!

I will explain the difference between “gurus” and a Guru below.

Interestingly, I have spent hundreds, perhaps thousands, with “gurus” on their various programs, yet I have had actual contact with one! The amazing thing about that? The one GURU who did respond? I am not even a client of his!

He’s just a great guy, and a Guru! His name? James Schramko, a very cool Aussie and a genuine Guru!

If an individual is a modern-day “guru,” it won’t matter one way or the other what I think. You see, most are all about the money! A true Guru might be a bit more introspective, look within himself (I will use him generically without intending to show gender bias one way or the other) in an attempt to discover the source of the negativity, but ultimately they would probably attribute my mindset to the human condition and attempt to win me over…or at least understand me!

In the end, the former could care less, unless it adversely affects their business and then you will see a definite reaction, not based on love or understanding but purely on selfish, self-interest! The latter, while caring, understands the human condition and seeks to grow from the knowledge and the experience, perhaps even reaching out to guide, mentor, and advise (see definitions).

However, the fact is most “gurus” aren’t really “gurus” at all…they are simply savvy marketers who have adopted a particular label in order to promote themselves, their “brand,” and enhance their status…both as individuals and as marketers! The issue of whether or not someone is a legitimate Guru shouldn’t be left to the individual but should be a designation bestowed upon him by the people he touches, the lives he affects on a daily basis. The people he instructs, mentors, guides, and advises!

Here’s a question for you:

Do you think the Dalai Lama has ever referred to himself as a Guru?

Here’s another one:

Do you think Gandhi ever called himself a Guru?

In both instances, I believe we can answer with an emphatic:

“No!”
Interestingly, in the Internet marketing world the appellation of “guru” is conferred upon many whose sole claim to fame is the ability to make money! If that’s the case, I know of a few Columbians who are great at making money…they must be “gurus!”

Anyway, I thought I would examine the word itself and see where it takes us. Let’s look at Wikipedia:

“A guru…is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others (teacher). As a principle for the development of consciousness it leads the creation from unreality to reality, from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge. In its purest form this principle manifests on earth as a divine incarnation (saint), a person with supreme knowledge about God and all creation.” [italics added]

Is that even close?

So, let’s look at another “authority” site, Dictionary.com:

• A preceptor giving personal religious instruction.
• An intellectual or spiritual guide or leader.

Now here’s the western influence in the Dictionary.com definition:

• Any person who counsels or advises; mentor: The elder senator was her political guru.
• A leader in a particular field: the city’s cultural gurus.

Close, and number four gets right up against it…but still no cigar!

“A leader in a particular field.”

Yet this is a relatively new addition to the definition and is explained, at least in part, at Answers.com:

“An advisor or teacher. The term, which comes from Hinduism, refers to a spiritual teacher. “Gu” means darkness, and “ru” means light; thus a guru turns ignorance into enlightenment.”

Now here is where the corruption of the term comes in…to suit a very different end:

“In the west, the term has been interpreted quite often as simply an expert in a field whether that person helps you learn or understand anything or not.” [italics added]

Aha!

There it is! The modernization of the word, the corruption to be more accurate, in order to use the appellation for one’s own benefit, a marketing ploy in this instance, used to confer status as an expert in the field, any field. Again, and with emphasis added:

“In the west, the term has been interpreted quite often as simply an expert in a field whether that person helps you learn or understand anything or not.”

OK!

If we apply the original definition, the original designation and all the status that comes with it, is there a marketing expert out there who fills the bill, the original designation of a Guru (capital “G”), a true mentor, teacher, guide, trusted counselor and adviser?

I wonder? Overall, I would have to say no! Perhaps one!

Think about this!

I recently heard an individual give a seminar on marketing and he spoke of paying another “guru” $25,000 for a day’s advice! He also confided recently that he pays another “guru” $20,000 for advice 3 times a year! That’s $45,000 for 4 days worth of advice!

That has nothing to do with mentoring…that’s BUSINESS!

How in the world does that come anywhere even close to the original definition of what a Guru is? What a mentor is? What a trusted counselor and adviser is? That is simply a business arrangement between a client and the purveyor of information!

So, if being proficient at making money makes one a “guru,” so be it! However, it doesn’t make one a Guru! And to my way of thinking, there is a huge difference between “guru,” small “g,” and Guru…no quotes and a big “G!” Just as there is a HUGE difference between thinking small and thinking BIG, between seeing a picture and seeing the BIG picture!

So what’s the point? Other than a Dennis Miller-esque rant?

Well, I guess it’s that you get what you pay for!

In this case, if the driving force in your life is money, you will have few friends and fewer people who look to you as a valued resource, a mentor and advisor.

Meaning?

Well, if every time I help someone I have my cash registering ringing, if every time I coach someone I expect to be paid, people will value me and our relationship accordingly. Meaning? It will be nothing more than a financial transaction between a marketer and his client!

However, if I put forth real effort for others with little or no expectation of immediate reward, the efforts put forth will multiply ten-fold, at least, and I will establish myself as a Guru, a valued coach and adviser, a friend! Not by MY definition but by the definition of others, the people I help as I progress through life.

Life is a process, a progression, a journey, and along the way we touch many people, we plant seeds as we grow, learn, and prosper. But prosperity is not only about financial riches, it’s about the intangibles: the hugs, the kisses, the handshakes, and the gratitude we receive for all the good we do.

If it is all about money?

Sam Walton’s last words say it better than I ever could:

“I blew it!”

One of the richest men in the country, perhaps on the planet, and he “blew it!” You have a choice, you can assign the appellation little “g” or you can earn the designation big G! How will you view the journey that is your life as it comes to a close? How many people will be sorry to see you leave this life? How many people will say they will miss you, that you touched their lives? How many people will be grateful for the help you gave them,
knowing it was about more than a $997 upsell! I wonder!

John Zajaros
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
JohnZ@TheQuestRevealed.com
excellencepaidforward@gmail.com (personal email)

I was in the shower and it hit me! One of those eureka moments when everything becomes crystal clear, at least until you get out of the bathroom and it leaves your brain forever. You know what I mean, kind of like what a dream does, you struggle to remember, but it’s gone forever. First of all, I guess I should explain what the heck I am talking about! You see, I seem to get some of my best ideas in the shower. I did some research with a physiologist during my stint in academia and he said it had to do with the fact that as we put our head under the nozzle and allow the water to pulsate and massage our head, the brain is being stimulated by the repetitive pulses of the shower massage. The stimulation leads to increased brain activity, the result being creative thoughts and ideas. I was impressed and thought about it for a minute or two.

After a couple of minutes back on the task we were working on, surveying 3100 skeletons in the Hamann-Todd Collection at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, a question came to mind. Interestingly, my question then is just what you are thinking right now if you are with me on this. What about before shower massages? What happened then? He laughed and told me not to be so old-fashioned. Me? Old fashioned? Well, we both laughed and then he continued. My research partner noted that the topic had been researched thoroughly, the evidence conclusive. Who was I to argue with him, it sounded reasonable to me. He went on to talk about impulses and axons and dendrites and after about 5 minutes I knew two things: one, I was glad I was a bone guy and not a physiologist; and two, I knew he knew a whole lot more about it than I did!

Anyway, back to my revelation. I was actually thinking about a Clickbank marketing campaign I started a couple of days back, considering the target market and how to reach them. It was then that it hit me like a ton of bricks, my eureka moment! I know, but I really do a lot of my best thinking in the shower and lately all I can think about is marketing, it’s a sickness! So, all at once, the two came together in a moment of total clarity. It’s about perceptions and assumptions!

That’s right that was the moment, the revelation, and the epiphany! The thought was so intense and so amazingly clear, I got out and wrote it down else it disappear much as the dreams mentioned above vanish in a moment. Let me explain. As marketers we see the world a certain way, we make certain assumptions based on our perceptions, our observations and, if we are really good at what we do, our testing. We study, quantify, test, optimize, study, and then test again. Once we assume that we have everything pretty well knocked, a clear understanding of whatever it is we are attempting to monetize, we launch our product, service, campaign or whatever. Interestingly, we cannot test the one variable that makes everything that preceded the launch so much window dressing, the testing just this side of pseudo-science. We cannot test how people will react given their individual perceptions and assumptions.

Interestingly, the perception or perceptions, and the assumption or assumptions based on those perceptions, is precisely where the challenge rests. We base our marketing, in fact every decision we make in our lives, on the schema we bring with us through life, our own life-mind-map, if you will. The conundrum, the puzzle, the real and difficult challenge is to shed our pre-conceived notions, our perceptions and assumptions, in order to make an educated guess about what a prospective customer will do or won’t do based on their perceptions and assumptions.

So what does this mean for Internet marketers, in fact for all marketers? Well, let’s take the Clickbank example for a moment. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard Internet marketers, regardless of the niche, advice people to stay away from Clickbank. The Reasoning? I’ve been told, and heard others complain, that you will market your product and when people find out it’s a Clickbank product, they will go and sign up for their own account, if they don’t have one already, and take the sale and the commission for themselves. You do the marketing, someone else gets the sale! All I can say to that is that the person making that assumption, based on a certain perception, is not thinking like a prospective customer, they are thinking like an Internet marketer. Perceptions and assumptions!

Significantly, most people do not view the world as we do; and, they don’t have any desire to. The fact is most people have no idea who or what Clickbank is until they see a form with it written across the top as they are making the decision to purchase an item. Think about your first experiences online. Did you have any idea what you were doing, much less what Clickbank or Clickbooth or Commission Junction does or is? Much less know how they work? The average consumer types in a few words, ones they think might get them a bit closer to solving a problem or answering a question, and they wait for a page to crystallize in front of their eyes. They don’t know anything about sponsored links or PPC or SEO or anything else, all they know is there’s a page with some possible answers and those answers may help them solve their problem. That’s it! However, we as Internet marketers assign to our prospective clients and customers all of our own, very personal, skewed, slanted, and even biased perceptions and assumptions. Significantly, most customers just want the quickest, easiest fix for their particular issue, question or problem; and, hopefully at the lowest price possible.

So that was it, the eureka moment, the moment of clarity, the ah-ha moment. I knew then, at that precise moment, that there was nothing to worry about because I am not marketing to Internet marketers, at least not for the campaigns I am currently invested in. I am marketing to John Doe or Jane Smith and all they want is for the pain to go away or their dog to behave or to lose 15 pounds or for their little Janie or Johnny to make the soccer team or any one of a hundred or a thousand different things to happen or get fixed or have answered that have absolutely nothing to do with Internet marketing or Clickbank…they just want their problem fixed!

That was it, that was the moment and it was an amazing one for me personally. You see, I’ve become so immersed in the culture of marketing, and particularly Internet marketing, I forgot what it is like to sit in front of a monitor, not having a clue how to turn the darn thing on, much less try to get the answer I needed. Going back to that mindset was an amazing moment, because it helped me to reshape my thinking and to understand once again what it is like to be on the other side of the transaction; and, on the other side of the learning curve. Our perceptions, based on certain assumptions, must be shed if we are to be effective marketers. It is about more than empathy, it is about being able to step outside yourself and view a situation from both perspectives, without making any assumptions! It is something like what we call an emic and etic perspective in anthropology, the ability to view a situation from different perspectives in order to achieve a clearer understanding of the individual, the society in which he or she resides, and the culture they are a part of, and how that all comes together to shape an individual’s schema or life-mind-map. If you can read that map, you are going to be successful beyond belief. If you are a lousy navigator, I suggest you learn how to read a map. Or? Take up glass blowing, it may be more profitable!

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
216-539-7412
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@thequestrevealed.com
Join me on Twitter!

I received a message from a facebook friend. I belong to several groups, some are good, some are vehicles for spam…I get out of them fast! The man who sent me this is usually quite good about sending reliable information and not spamming, he is usually dead-on as far and insights and content. I got this message and I have enclosed the message and my response…and a few notes on the side.

By the way, this is not a knock on the group, it is a quality group, nor the gentleman, he seems like a great guy!

Message begins:

“Hi, John Doe (name changed) here.

Here’s a little thing I’ve noticed recently…

Now, I’ve learned amazing things in my 10 years in the home business industry. Life-changing things.

Here’s a quirky one that makes me giggle.

It’s this…

A. People loves to reference ‘Think and Grow Rich’ as their favorite book.
B. Most of those same people have never read it.

Now, I’m not here to judge you if you haven’t. (It truly is gold.)

Sure, the language in it is a little stiff, but the principles are what success are based on. Hands down. No fluff or filler.

So, here’s my time-saving gift for you…
All of Napoleon Hill’s Success Principles…in one place.

http://his product.com

Print it out and put it on your wall.

Rock and roll,
John Doe (name changed to protect the innocent)
Direct: XXX-XXX-XXXX (someone after my own heart, he puts his phone number on his stuff!)

http://XXXXXXXXXXXX.net

P.S. I live [X] blocks away from Michael Jackson’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and It’s been a complete mad house over here. Proof that one person CAN absolutely impact the entire world. The next person to do it could be you. ”

Message ends!

My response:

I wonder why it makes you giggle? Is it just that they haven’t read it or that they are “faking it until they make it,” something the “gurus” have told them to do? Clearly, many of the “fakers” don’t have a clue about the real power of the work…but then I wonder how many “gurus” do either?

I first read Think and Grow Rich after watching Zig Ziglar and J.Douglas Edwards speak years ago, decades ago! It is still with me. The real power of the book in the underlying theme, the unwritten lesson. Like you mentioned in your comment about Michael Jackson, and the impact one person can have on the world, Napoleon Hill was fortunate enough to have a mentor, someone who was wiling to say “Do this… and I will show you the way!” Andrew Carnegie changed Napoleon Hill’s life. Or at least Carnegie provided the vehicle for Napoleon Hill to change his own life. Infinitely more valuable!

Carnegie didn’t say, “Do this and I will show you the way. by the way, that will be 5 easy payments of $497! Or one payment of $97 and, by the way, here’s this one time offer!”

Carnegie said, “Spend the time, do the research, and I will reward your efforts with something of far greater value than money!”

I wonder how many Napoleon Hills are out there without the money for the upsell and the irresistible one-time-offer? A “guru” willing to get paid based on the if-come? Ha! Never happen! Not with the current crop of mentors and “gurus!”

Interestingly, it is precisely the pursuit of riches that most readers take from the work, the main idea or lesson. Yet Hill clearly states that is not where the real treasure lies!

I guess I was just perplexed by the “giggle” comment. Contrary to a “giggle,” I am almost saddened when I think of how profound an impact the work has had and how so many people have it dead wrong!

John

Response ends!

He Messaged Back!

“Good call, brother John. I should have worded this better. My giggle is the head shaking, “you guys are missing out” kind.

My life has been transformed by Hill’s principles. It seems ludicrous to me that people will reference the book as a favorite, but have never cracked it open.

And like you, it drives me nuts when someone thinks buying one ebook will quickly and easily show them the way. The lessons are learned in doing the thing. And man, doesn’t is seem like all our best stories are from those times we fumbled through it?

Loved hearing your piece of mind.

I saw Zig one time live. Boy, he is a master of owning the stage. (I also get a kick out of when he refers to his wife as “The Redhead.”)

John Doe”

His Response Ends!

I Followed Up!

Well said! Have a great night!

More like a chuckle than a giggle. I know what you mean now.

I think the key is in the title! “THINK” and grow rich! Most people are simply absent the “THINK” in the message, focusing solely on the riches.
Of course, they will never get it, the message or rich…but that’s what makes the world go around, I guess!

Take care!

John

Response Ends!

I added a couple of comments within the first response but it is 95% as written. The second part is 100% us! I wonder what Napoleon Hill or for that matter Andrew Carnegie would have to say about the interpretation many have applied as gospel? The gospel according to Napoleon Hill! I would be willing to bet the man is spinning in his grave. If Napoleon Hill could, I will bet you he would shout from the tree tops, for all to hear:

“You’ve got it all wrong!”

The fact is, many do have it wrong! There are key words many readers seem to have missed or simply do not get!

Words like:

Pursuit
Conceive
Achieve
Believe
Burning Desire
Mastermind

and so many more!

Think about the words in the context he used them, in the context of the day! The history of the times! Not how we shape them but how they were intended…as a guide, a process, and a journey!

There is no ultimate destination, other than death!

Success, and in fact life is all a process, a discovery process, a lifetime PURSUIT!

Success is the pursuit of a worthwhile or worthy ideal or goal!

The goal is simply a stepping stone to the next goal and the next worthwhile pursuit!

A goal is a single event in a lifetime full of PURSUITS, endeavors, journeys, and processes!

Riches are not a destination, they may be a reflection of how effectively you translate action into dollars, time into money. But they are in fact only a reflection, and not a very good one!

The destination? The goal? To live life fully and without remorse! Full of hope, and faith (in something, anything!), and love!

A successful life as one individual sees it, may not be a successful life for another. If success is viewed in terms on dollars?

Mother Teresa died a failure!

Success is the worthwhile pursuit of an ideal, a QUEST! When you look back upon your life, that is when:

The Quest is Revealed!

Will you die serene and fulfilled, as Mother Teresa did?

Or will you die one of the richest people on the planet, whose final words were:

“I blew it!” Sam Walton

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@thequestrevealed.com
http://johnzajaros.com
http://ultimateinternetimage.com
and about 30 more!

Twitter, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, and Internet Marketing Seem to Be Inextricably Linked!

This is the first in a series on Twitter applications, tools, and their usage, both in a purely social sense and in a marketing context. It is my hope that by the end of this series you will have at your disposal a hole new set of tools and applications, and a clearer understanding of the true nature of Twitter and how it fits into the Internet marketing landscape.

The world is a flutter over Twitter, it has emerged as the darling of social media and all of the Internet. There are a myriad of Twitter tools and applications available for novice and expert, alike. Or should I say “newbie” and “guru,” alike? Interestingly, the jargon of social media, in fact the lexicon of all Internet marketing seems to have accepted this rather broad [mis]use of the term “guru.” Be that as it may, Twitter is an undeniable hit and a social media platform that in this author’s opinion has yet to reach its full potential. The number of applications, tools, websites, articles, blogs, marketing strategies, and advertising opportunities centered around and focused on this latest phenomenon are absolutely mind-boggling. In this article, the first in a series, and future articles we will discuss a few of the more popular Twitter usage platforms. While this article will focus on the most used, and most accepted of the Twitter usage platforms, single and/or multiple, Twitter itself, subsequent articles will reveal several remarkably innovative tools just now beginning to emerge, taking their place in what some refer to as the Twitterverse!

Twitter as a stand alone platform!

The first application or platform we will discuss is of course the most obvious, Twitter itself. Remarkably, for all of the alternative tools and applications available, Twitter offers an impressive array of features without ever leaving the nest. By now we are all aware of the 140 character limit, and while there is an application available which makes it possible to double the limit, most of us have become quite comfortable using 140 characters by way of abbreviations, contractions, and other Twitter-esque codes, enabling us to get our messages or “tweets” to one another.

Trending Topics

“Trending Topics” is just one tool made available without ever leaving the front page. The “Trending Topics” tool allows one to view, at a glance, the most popular topics of the moment. Interestingly, most topics have very little to do with Internet marketing, at least directly.
The search feature, usually found on the sidepanel, at least on the more basic, traditional page, allows Twitterers or Tweeple depending on who you listen to, to type in any keyword and, regardless of whether you are following the individual or not, you immediately get up to date tweets, relevant to that keyword. There are a number of applications using various approaches to the search, various Twitter search engines, but the very simple search application is more than adequate for most Tweeple!

The Profile Page

The profile page allows an individual, any individual, to check out at a glance what any other Twitterer has been tweeting about, as well as refreshing their mind about their own tweets. Not only that, it also provides, in most cases the name, location, web address, and a short biography about the individual. The profile page also includes the number of followers and those people who are being followed by the person. Finally, the profile page also provides the number of updates for any given individual, indicating how active, in a very broad sense, the individual is or has been, and their last tweet. With the information on this page, you can tell what a person is focusing on, how often and at what times of the day or night they are most likely to be on Twitter and tweeting, and how many and whom they are following; and, vice versa. Actually, this is a great deal of information and can be very useful when deciding whether or not to follow or follow back.

Find People

The next tool Twitter offers its users is the “Find People” feature. Interestingly, this tool has a number of uses, beyond simply locating a specific individual. Like the search application, the “Find People” tool may be used to find everyone who has mentioned a given keyword, when they have talked about it, and to whom. Beyond that, Tweeple can then see who those individuals are tweeting with and if those Twitterers are also tweeting about the same topic to others, going deep into another’s list of followers and across lists. The keywords can be anything from back pain to the Iran elections, the results are the same, identifying possible followers, Tweeple with like interests. With this information you can decide whether or not to follow someone, simply offer a suggestion to help them or the maybe answer a question, perhaps make a comment about an observation they made, thus enhancing your authority, “your brand” in the Twitterverse!

Setting and Connections

Finally, one of the newest features or at least the one the social media phenomenon has enhanced greatly of late is the “Connections” feature, within the “Settings.” Twitter has added several tools and applications that not only enhance your search abilities but also allow you to follow others easily and to unfollow faster, as well. Many of the applications and tools in “Connections” are designed to enhance your ability to connect with other Tweeple with like interests, track current trends, and also advertise yourself and your services across the Twitterverse. I would definitely recommend FlockToMe, Twibes, and Tweeple pages. In fact, any of the tools listed on this page with help you build a nice following, and free!

Does Twitter Pay?

Twitter has taken the Internet by storm. Social media is the darling of the Internet and social media marketing the new brass ring everyone is reaching for. Social media marketing may in fact be an oxymoron, as stated previously. Interestingly, social media, for all its recent press and attention, is still something of a conundrum, a paradox even. While many believe there is wealth in social media and particularly in Twitter, I believe the jury is still out. Ploked just announced that Dell’s announcement of 3 million dollars in sales, attributed to Twitter, is validation that the social media giant is now a legitimate marketing vehicle. I am not so sure. In this series of articles, we will discuss the various applications and tools, particularly the really cool ones; and there are some awesome ones!

The $3,000,000 Question!

We will also spend some time analyzing the state of social media and attempt to get a handle on such assertions as those made by Ploked, Mashable, and others. Because that is actually the 3 million dollar question, isn’t it, “Does social media pay?” And beyond that: “Does Twitter pay?” In this author’s opinion, the data while suggestive is by no means conclusive, and may be misleading. We will see in subsequent articles, and videos, in this series on social media.

We will look for your tomorrow, as we continue this discussion!

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@thequestrevealed.com

The Internet Marketing Quest Revealed has taken me from MLM, to Niche marketing, to mini-sites, to social media and social marketing, to affiliate marketing, and finally to my own companies, my own online businesses! What is the correct formula? What prepares you to succeed? What programs are the best and which ones should be avoided like the plague? Well, I will discuss the answers to all of those questions, and more, in the coming video series!

However, in this video we will discuss steps 5 through 7 of the 10 steps I feel are absolutely essential for success in any sort of online business, whether traditional Internet marketing or very specific and specialized niche marketing.

Once again, I will suggest the best of the best…I simply will not put my name on anything else! I hope this helps and I hope you will take the time to comment. Should you wish to contact me, feel free to do so, all my contact information is listed below. It is my hope that this video, and Part I and Part III (coming soon) will help you formulate a plan of action. But I am getting ahead of myself! Enjoy the video and thank you for looking in!

Jeff Herring, The Article Guy, is the man responsible for my picking up the pen again, figuratively speaking, and beginning to write once more! He made it interesting, fun, and easy…his course is nothing short of fantastic. Jeff has the best program on the market for article marketing, hands down! You can do no better, and you can do a heck of a lot worse! And that’s why I have used his course and I endorse it whole-heartedly here. Jeff Herring is indeed The Article Guy!

Marc Joyner’s Simpleology will do what the name implies and so much more! This program will focus that energy to a knife point and you will experience productivity like never before! The best part? It’s totally free! That’s right, free…always! No trial period, no hitch, just free and absolutely awesome! Sign up today!

Don’t forget to sign up for the newsletter and, if you are interested in pursuing the offer I mentioned to work along side me, and along with the rest of the Ultimate Internet Image Mastermind Group…and the business that goes along with it? Contact me at the email below!

Best wishes and I am available for personal consultation any time!

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@thequestrevealed.com

The Internet Marketing Quest Revealed has been an amazing journey into a fascinating line of sales, marketing, and business both exciting and frustrating, simple and incredibly complex. The contradictions seem as pervasive in Internet marketing as they are in the sentence above. In fact, nothing is as it seems in online business. We will explore Internet marketing in this video and the next one as we attempt to sort through the confusion and offer a way through the apparent contradictions.

As you watch the video, and yes it is a little long but full of content and useful suggestions, take the time to think about what you have been taught already and ask yourself this question:

Why am I still struggling?

Then if you can’t answer that one, or even if you can, ask yourself this question:

Am I following the right person, the right “guru?”

And finally this one:

Do I want a way out of the rat race and into an opportunity that will not only provide a decent income but will provide me and my family the kind of life I’ve always envisioned for them…and myself?!

If the answers to the questions above drive you to search for something better, and you are tired of throwing money at the same “gurus” launch after launch, then you have reached the end of your search! You see, in this video, and the next one, I will “reveal,” as part of The Internet Marketing Quest Revealed, what I have discovered along the way to my own version of success; and, I would love to have you come along or, at the very least, apply the tools I suggest, and have used myself, so you can succeed too!

Unplug the phone, run to the restroom, OK walk, no it’s not that long, grab a Diet Coke or a cup of coffee, and let’s take a ride through Internet marketing on the way to your success. I would love to say I had a small part in putting you back on course, or perhaps played a larger role…it is up to you! Buckle up and let’s get going!

Jeff Herring, The Article Guy, is the man responsible for my picking up the pen again, figuratively speaking, and beginning to write once more! He made it interesting, fun, and easy…his course is nothing short of fantastic. Jeff has the best program on the market for article marketing, hands down! You can do no better, and you can do a heck of a lot worse! And that’s why I have used his course and I endorse it whole-heartedly here. Jeff Herring is indeed The Article Guy!

Marc Joyner’s Simpleology will do what the name implies and so much more! This program will focus that energy to a knife point and you will experience productivity like never before! The best part? It’s totally free! That’s right, free…always! No trial period, no hitch, just free and absolutely awesome! Sign up today!

Don’t forget to sign up for the newsletter and, if you are interested in pursuing the offer I mentioned to work along side me, and along with the rest of the Ultimate Internet Image Mastermind Group…and the business that goes along with it? Contact me at the email below!

Best wishes and I am available for personal consultation any time!

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@thequestrevealed.com

That’s right! It’s been six weeks and the finals hours are upon us! The Internet Marketing Quest Revealed, launched on March 17, 2009 will hold its drawing for:

1) A Dell Studio 17 laptop $4094 Retail!

WITH:

SYSTEM COLOR Jet Black
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9550 (2.66GHz/1066Mhz FSB/6MB cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Service Pack 1 64 Bit
OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft® Office Professional 2007 – Small Business + Access database
WARRANTY AND SERVICE 2 yr In-home Svs after remote diagnosis+Your Tech Team+Complete Care+LoJack
HD DISPLAY Bright, Hi Resolution, glossy widescreen 17.0 inch RGB LED display (1920×1200)
MEMORY 8GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 800MHz
HARD DRIVE Size: 500GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
VIDEO CARD 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 and AVerTV NanoExpress TV Tuner edit
OPTICAL DRIVE CD/DVD writer (DVD+/-RW) +Roxio Creator 10 Premier-Ultimate Burn/Authoring
BATTERY OPTIONS 85 Whr Lithium Ion Battery (9 cell)
WIRELESS CARDS Intel WiFi Link 5100 802.11 Wireless-N Card with Linksys WRT160N Wireless Router
MOBILE BROADBAND AT&T built-in cellular mobile broadband (HSPA 7.2)
BLUETOOTH Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Internal (2.1)
BLUETOOTH Dell Travel Mouse (with Bluetooth Technology)
BLUETOOTH Dell Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Bundle
BLUETOOTH Dell Bluetooth Stereo Headset (w/built-in Mic)
BLUETOOTH ExpressCard Media Remote for Bluetooth
INTEGRATED WEBCAM Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
SOUND OPTIONS ExpressCard Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio Sound Card
KEYBOARD Back-lit Keyboard
FINGER PRINT READER Integrated Finger Print Reader

AND!

Accessories:
SECURITY SOFTWARE McAfee SecurityCenter with anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, 36-months
TOP SELLING SOFTWARE Sony Imagination Studio Suite
TOP SELLING SOFTWARE Norton 360 3.0 – Complete Package
TOP SELLING SOFTWARE Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2
BAGS Targus Facets Backpack – Fits Laptops with Screen Sizes Up to 17” – Black/Blue

Software & Accessories:

ADOBE & ENTERTAINMENT WildTangent Games
& MORE!

Service:

REMOTE ACCESS Dell Remote Access, free basic service
DATASAFE ONLINE BACKUP Dell Online Backup 2GB for 1 year
DIAL-UP INTERNET ACCESS No ISP requested
ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM
LCD and Camera Hi-Res TL widescreen 17.0″ RGB LED display (1920×1200) w/ 2.0M Pixel Camera
Labels Windows Vista™ Premium
Processor Branding Intel® Centrino® 2 Processor
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9.0

2) A Dell 24″ HD Widescreen Monitor $299 plus S&H!
3) 6 New York Times best sellers on self-improvement, time management, social media, and entrepreneurship worth $150!
4) a 1 year, all-inclusive Internet marketing program worth $1200 or more!

Also included:

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@thequestrevealed.com

Internet Marketing? How do I start an online business? Who do I trust for my Internet marketing resources? Are there any Internet marketing gurus? Really?

In order to begin and run an effective Internet marketing, at-home business you must first educate yourself! But how do you properly educate yourself? Who do you purchase your first program from and how long do you stay with that program? Do I need more than one program? What Internet marketing niche do I enter and how do I find information?

These are all questions we, or people like us, have all asked ourselves hundreds of times! Everyone has the solution, everyone has the product, and everyone is the expert of self-anointed “guru!” Unfortunately, most are not “gurus,” they are hucksters, sales reps at best…pushing their own products to feather their own nests!

So, you must do two things! One, you must find a program that works for you, one that serves your needs at the level you are currently at; and two, you must develop what I call Internet Marketing Myopia!

Internet Marketing Myopia!?

Internet Marketing Myopia (IMM) is the ability to put blinders on and to work, with a single-minded purpose and determination, on your online business, without paying attention to all of the experts out there, ignoring all the distractions that come along with constant exposure to the Internet. And above all? Avoiding the Black hole of internet marketing…email! You must be able to focus, stop following every pied piper that comes along with their distinctive and very appealing siren’s song! There are launches every day, you are enticed at every turn to go here, follow this, do that, try this, just sign up for that! The end result? the Black Hole of internet Marketing sucks all the time you have and you end up spending days with nothing to show for it, except for a very full inbox and a very empty back account!

So, as you watch this video ask yourself one question: “Is this me?”

If the answer to the above is yes, then ask yourself if you have had enough! If you can answer yes to that, we are ready to talk!

Are you ready to succeed? If so, watch this video, opt-in for the newsletter, and call, Skype or email me! Tell me you are ready and what you are willing to do to succeed. We will commence at once to start a profitable and prosperous Internet Marketing Business, a relationship, a mastermind group, complete with the appropriate level of Internet Marketing Myopia!

Don’t forget to sign up for the newsletter! We are having the drawing on April 30, 2009 at noon! Don’t miss it!

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
johnz@thequestrevealed.com