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Welcome to The Raybourn Effect - a newsletter that will aid in you being
able to work smart while you are working hard and long.
The newest issue is here!
Sit a spell with me this fine day. :-)
Theme for the next few months: Tolerance, Acceptance...Paying It Forward!
In Today's Issue: clicking any topic will take you to that section
*Editor's Gab - Are you a TAX survivor?
*How Organized Are You? It's all about email, Baby!
*Article: Goals - If You Don’t Know What You Want,
Then How Are You Going to Get It?
- By Della Menechella
*Pay It Forward With RAOK (random acts of kindness)
*Tax Extension - err, I mean Solo Ad Sale Extended
Editor's Gab
Well, did you survive April 15th and the IRS? Were you one of the "last minute" filers?
Or, perhaps you got everything done back in February?
Like the animation above - did the IRS vacuum all your hard-earned money away?
Tell you what killed me - it was the self-employment tax. WOW!
April 16th should be a National Holiday!
Last week I told you that April is always a slow month for activity on line.
Not just because of Daylight Savings though. With the Tax Deadline everyone is always
a bit more conservative this time of year.
Do you offer tax help to others online? If so, send me the details and your website.
I'll be sure to post it here - free. Please put "tax help" in the subject.
Yes, I know I'm a bit late in this. But asking for tax help is something that is done
any time of the year.
How Organized Are You?
Being organized means being more productive.
Being more productive means being more successful.
Organization is a crucial step to the Prelude To Your Online Success.
Everything we do online is email-driven. Having on organized emailbox will free up
so much of your time - thus helping you to be more productive so that you will be
more...say it with me...SUCCESSFUL!
"It's all about Email, Baby!
TIP #1: Identities, Identities, Identities
How many email addresses do you use online? One, two, three... maybe even 12?
Don't laugh. I have over 20.
If you use Outlook to retrieve your email, does email come into that one box for
all your different addresses?
If so, do you filter them to folders? If not - Oh my gosh!
See Tip #2 for filtering/folders.
Outlook allows you to create different identities for each of your email addresses.
This means you can login to separate boxes for each one.
Why is this a benefit?
Better organization of course!
I have talked with many people over the years that when I need them to find a
certain email, it takes them forever because they don't know where it is. It's faster
for me to send it to them again.
If you purchase services using Paypal - create a special identity for that Paypal email address. By the way - you should have a special email address specifically for Paypal and one you check often. I've been amazed over the years of people having Paypal yet they seldom ever check that email account.
If you can avoid it, don't use AOL, hotmail, msn or earthlink for your Paypal account. Those ISPs tend to filter. And if you purchase something and the merchant doesn't have your phone number or a backup email - they may experience difficulty in contacting you.
What's the result of this? You get upset because you purchased something but didn't even hear from them!
I strongly suggest using Yahoo (hey - it's free!) if you are simply a buyer online with Paypal. This way emails will get to you. BUT, be sure to check your bulk. Yahoo will filter emails there.
To create new identities open your Outlook follow these easy steps:
Click "file"
Click "identities"
Click "add new identity"
Bam - there ya go!
If you don't use Outlook - create different emails for different things you are involved with.
Let me give you an example of what I use different email addresses for and each have their own identity (their own email box):
Safelists - all admin contact to me and of course all the emails that come in from the MANY safelists. All under one identity. Nothing cluttering anything else.
TrafficExchanges - all the ones I'm involved with are in one identity.
Personal Email - not used much but hey! I use this to receive notices of when my telephone bill is ready online and other utilities.
Each of my businesses have their own box with their own identity.
I have many more.
You might be asking - doesn't it take time to login to the different accounts?
Sure it does! But what will take longer? You filtering/deleting unwanted emails... trying to find lost emails or logging into a new account/identity?
One last suggestion before Step #2. If you use Ezine Advertising Co-ops, like SubscribeMe.net, be sure to create a special email account/identity for those. You will be subscribed to many Ezines/Newsletters and you don't need them cluttering up your primary email address box.
But always check in on them! And always look at the welcome emails you get. Some of these publishers are giving away incredible bonuses in those welcome emails. Not just that - but many publishers will offer you even more free advertising.
TIP #2: Folders, Filters, Folders, Filters
Many web-based email services will allow you to create filters so that when emails arrive - they will be delivered directly to their special folder.
This will save you TONS of time so you don't have to manually move them.
If you are one that has everything coming into one box - how much time do you spend deleting unwanted emails or searching for lost emails?
Creating folders will help you find important emails.
Here are some examples.
Let's say you are a safelist junky. When you join one - you get login details, right?
Immediately create a folder for that particular safelist. Then move that important email to that folder.
Did you buy a program or service online? If so, immediately create a folder for each program or service you buy. That way your payment receipt is saved and if that service requires you to login somewhere - you can always easily find it.
Let's say you bought Signups from me. Well, create a folder called signups - Michelle and everything I send you put into there. If you buy Signups from more than one source - create different folders for each merchant.
Being organized with your email that we so depend on with all we do online - will help you be so much more productive.
Your success is dependent on your productivity.
Article
Goals - If You Don’t Know What You Want,
Then How Are You Going to Get It?
- By Della Menechella
Recently, I spoke with a client who wanted me to do a workshop at an upcoming conference. I offer a number of different talks, so I asked her what the focus of the meeting was in order to be able to suggest a relevant topic. She said that although the committee members had already picked several programs, they had not yet identified a focus for the conference. My first thought in response to this was, “If you don’t know what you want, then how are you going to get it?” However, I am savvy enough not to insult people, so we spoke a little longer and we came up with a program that she wanted me to present.
It never ceases to amaze me that people do not identify outcomes they wish to achieve. While the above example is related to a conference, it is by no means limited to that area.
Many people engage in activities in their careers and businesses, but they haven’t defined what they want to attain. They are completing tasks, but they aren’t focused on accomplishing clear-cut results.
When I was a human resources executive, I often worked with people to determine the appropriate jobs that were needed in their groups. Many department heads would complete job descriptions for key jobs, which described all of the tasks that the employees would be required to do. It took a great deal of effort for me to get these individuals to realize that employees in key positions are not paid to perform tasks, they are paid to produce results. Through much coaching on my part, we were able to identify the outcomes that the individuals were expected to achieve in the various positions.
Why is it so critical to determine outcomes for a job, a meeting, a department, or any other situation? Because if you don’t know what your outcome is, the odds are that you will spend a lot of unnecessary time and money trying to reach a fuzzy target. And there is a very strong chance that the target will not even be reached. Outcomes let you know where you are going. They give you important information about how to use your resources – time, money, and employees. When you know your outcome, you can continually make important decisions – is this going to help me reach my goal or will this take me further away from my objective?
Clearly defined outcomes can also be very motivating. I worked with a coaching client who had an idea about a new business that she wanted to start. When she first got the idea, she was very excited about it, however, she never took action to get the business moving. She continually came up with excuses about why she wasn’t doing anything to make the business a reality. I finally got her to sit down and write a detailed description of what the outcome was that she wanted to achieve with the business. That was the missing key. As soon as she wrote down the detailed outcome, she began to do the things that were necessary to get the business started. For her, defining the outcome spurred the action that is required in any business. Five years later, she has a very successful business that she absolutely loves.
Some people have a great deal of difficulty in trying to determine outcomes. It is because they are looking into a future that isn’t certain and they can’t identify what it is they want. An easy way to get around this is to imagine that the outcome has already been achieved and then to describe what it looks like. Going back to the situation with the meeting planner, the question that I asked her was, “Let’s assume it is six months after the conference and you know that it was a huge success. What would have happened to let you know that it was successful?” People are much more able to describe the past then they are to identify an unknown future. By asking the question this way, I was able to find out that according to the planner, the criterion for a successful meeting was that the attendees would have the tools they needed to be able to more easily and effectively handle the many changes that were going on in their industry. When I discovered this outcome, I was able to suggest a program that would help the organization achieve this desired result.
Before you take action (small or large), you need to identify what your outcome is – what do you want to achieve? When you do that, you will cut down your time, streamline your efforts, accelerate your progress, and reach your desired goal. When you know where you are going, there is a good chance that you will end up getting there.
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Della Menechella is a speaker, author, and trainer who helps organizations achieve greater success by improving the performance of their people. She is a contributing author to Thriving in the Midst of Change and the author of the videotape The Twelve Commandments of Goal Setting. She can be reached at della@dellamenechella.com. Subscribe to free Peak Performance Pointers e-zine - send blank e-mail to subscribe@dellamenechella.com.
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Pay It Forward With RAOK (random acts of kindness)
If you are anything like me, you sit in front of this computer for countless hours.
Sometimes doing this takes the fun out of actually being on here.
The other day I wrote my very dear friend Bobbette and made a quick comment that there just doesn't seem to be fun anymore in all of this.
It got me to thinking - well, I guess it's up to me to make sure I create that fun.
When we sit here for so many hours and are constantly working on our businesses - developing our sites - creating new business ideas... that's pretty draining. After a while it can start to drain on you if you don't break up the hours of hard work with fun things.
Years ago I used to send copies of the movie Pay It Forward to others online. I actually think I bought out all the copies here in San Angelo.
It's an excellent movie with obviously a great message.
If you feel the fun has left you here online - like me, it's up to you to create that fun.
Here's a GREAT start for all of us. Visit: HelpOthers.org.
Take moments out of your day to Pay It Forward with RAOK!
Tax Extension - err, I mean Solo Ad Sale Extended
A few of you wrote me requesting to extend the Life-time Solo Ads offer due to paydays and of course the April 15 D-Day.
I'm extending it for you for one more week. :-)
Get a solo ad each month in The Raybourn Effect for the life of your subscription. One fee for a life-time solo advertising opportunity.
Check it out here!
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If you ever want to drop me a line, please don't hesitate to do so. One of the reasons I enjoy being online is meeting so many different people. All with different goals, desires and thought processes of how to obtain them. Meeting all of you keeps me interested in all I do.
Thank You!
Don't forget - always enjoy the ride!
One man has enthusiasm for 30 minutes, another for 30 days,
but it is the man who has it for 30 years
who makes a success
of his life.
-- Edward B. Butler
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