Family, Resource Articles, Uncategorized
Have you ever experienced something that has truly altered your core beliefs and became the one thing that lead you into your greatest self? There is really no telling which event is going to have the largest impact on who we are or how it affects the way we choose to lead our lives… It’s inevitable that at some point in our existence there will be a life changing event for all of us.
Perhaps it will be a near death experience or even the loss of a loved one. These events force us to confront our current behaviors, re-examine the consequences of our perpetual lifestyles and re-map our life’s purpose, or perhaps its just that these moments are the ones that define us and give us the purpose we’ve been searching for.
Depending on the nature of these moments and how you perceive them, even the most tragic events will later transpire as blessings in disguise and precious life lessons.
How you weather the storms in your life are the keys to being able to recognize the miracles that emerge out of these moments – giving you clues to getting exactly what it is you want.
What does this have to do with getting what you want?
First, it is discussions like these that help us to realize what we are truly capable of and what is required for us to achieve all that we have ever wanted. This is when we discover that we are more willing to trek through the tempest if we knew the reward at the end of it would be abundant and plentiful.
Second, when we know what we DON’T want, we get closer to the things we DO want. Pay attention. Keep a journal of these feelings so that you can map it out later on.
Finally— FLOW. This is the best advice I can give to anyone. The universe is filled with energies flowing, moving forward, growing, expanding and changing. It’s not hard to see. There is more than enough evidence in nature to see that the world has never stopped turning.
Rivers have currents…. THAT is energy flowing. Even if a large boulder falls into the center of the river, the current moves around it to keep flowing.
You can CHOOSE to be a part of this flow, and you will always be taken care of. Drop your oars and let the current take you. Relax, trust, and surrender. It works.
Julianne Wish, Member Contributions
To become a successful affiliate marketer it is imperative that you have a content strategy and implementation plan. Content is what makes your blog or website attract visitors. It works in two ways. First, the keywords within the content help the search engines know where to find your article. Secondly, once the reader finds your blog or article via the search engines the content engages the reader.
Without dynamic content your blog or website is no better than a paper brochure which no one sees unless someone puts it in their hands. There is no doubt that brochures are useful, but if no one sees it, then it’s worthless. This is what makes blogs and websites so exciting. Due to search engines, people can actually find you and your information as long as you regularly add quality, relevant, original, keyword-rich content to your blog and website. The problem is, without a plan, you can get overwhelmed.
Create a plan for your content. Consider what products you want to promote, as well as what type of information you want to provide to your readers. With each product you promote you can create several pieces of content. First, inform your readers about a problem they have. Then educate them about the solution to their problem. Next, give them a way learn more about the product or a way to purchase the product.
Ideas for content:
A discussion about a problem
A product review that solves the problem
A product overview that solves the problem
Case studies that show how the product solves the problem
The content can be in the form of print, audio, video or a combination of all three. Organize your publication calendar so that you update your blog and website with this content on a regular basis. Shoot for updating your website or blog three to five times a week with your original content.
Next, work on putting your content on other sites, blogs, and article marketing websites. You can do this via a blog tour, offering to blog on other people’s blogs in exchange for your byline. Another way is to send out press releases to online press release sites, and to put general articles on article marketing websites such as Ezine Articles. This strategy will provide relevant backlinks to your website and hopefully lead people to sign up for your email list, where you can market your affiliate products to them.
Julianne Wish, Member Contributions
If you’re new to affiliate marketing you might be wondering if it’s really possible for a normal person like yourself to succeed. If you’re willing to do the work necessary to succeed, you absolutely can succeed at affiliate marketing. There are some good points to think about when getting involved in affiliate marketing such as:
Know the rules and laws — Keep yourself informed about the laws in your country, state or province so that you can always make sure you are following the law. This is a relatively new form of business in terms of laws being made therefore it’s important to keep up to date with the news of the day regarding the laws being created.
Is the niche profitable? — Just because you have a passion for something doesn’t make it automatically a good niche. Do your due diligence and study the niche that you want to become involved in so that you can determine if it is profitable or not. Learn about how to research a niche for profitability before moving forward.
Know your niche — Study your niche, which is the market segment you will market products to. Know what they like, know their ages, their sex, how many children they have. Know what they like to do during their free time. If you know your niche inside and out you will also know what types of products to market to them because you’ll know what problems they have and what solutions they need.
Less is more — Don’t allow “shiny object syndrome” to affect you and ruin your business. Promote one or two products at a time and don’t go crazy buying domain after domain. Get one domain up and profitable before moving on to another one. The rule less is more applies so well to the business of affiliate marketing because if you look at who is successful they usually have one or two products they actively promote strenuously and the niche is very well defined
Would you buy it? — If you’re trying to promote a product that you won’t buy, why do you think anyone else will want to buy it. It’s really important to get a review copy, or at buy products and try them out before you promote them to others. Skipping this step can make your job really hard because your cluelessness will come through when you’re trying to promote a product you’ve never used and would never use.
![The Last Kid]()
Chris Loprete, Dads
It’s a moment we all have to go through. A moment that is profoundly sad. The moment that you realize you’ve had your last kid. My oldest started kindergarten this week. My youngest started pre-school. My babies are growing up. I cleaned out the garage last week and found a storage bin filled with bibs, tiny shoes and onesies. They had all been worn by my first born and been passed down to his baby brother three years later. I got a lump in my throat knowing as I put them away, they would not be worn by another child of mine. My wife and I have two beautiful children. We will not be having another…and I am soooo, so cool with that.
I’m done. I’m ready to move on. Don’t get me wrong. I really loved the baby stage and there are many things I miss and will always miss about it. I hate that I can no longer carry my 5 year old because he’s getting too big. I hate that his cute baby cries have turned into a not so cute whining sound. I hate that my two year old is starting to climb out of his crib on his own and will soon need a bigger bed. But, man, I love the fact that I’m about 6 months away from never having to change another diaper. And that everybody’s baby teeth have already painfully popped though their gums. And that when I go to sleep at night I’m not going to be woken up every two hours until dawn. Yes, I grew very melancholy when I packed away the baby clothes, but I would have grown melancholy no matter how many kids I had. There always has to be a last kid. Might as well be now.
I can tell you for a fact that as my wife is reading this blog, she’s either welling up with tears or getting really angry. See she wants to leave open the possibility of a third kid (hopefully a daughter). In her head she knows that the family dynamic is perfect now, it’s not financially feasible to add another mouth at this point, and that we both have very busy lives and can’t handle the commitment it would take to care for another infant. But in her heart she is always hoping I’ll change my mind. I knew I was going to stop at two as soon as she sent me a picture of the pregnancy test confirming that another bundle of joy was on the way. By the way she sent that pic to me on my phone just before a callback for a major national commercial. No wonder I didn’t book the job. Plus I saw that commercial ad infinitum for about two years afterward. Never really forgave her for that one. Anyway I knew we were done during the her second pregnancy. We already had a three year old boy so obviously we were hoping for a baby girl to get that nice perfect sitcom family. When we were told we were having another boy, we shrugged and said “Oh well. Saves us money on clothes and toys and anxiety during the hormonal, “mother hating” teenage insanity years” Plus not having a daughter saved me the time and money spent on researching chastity belts and convents. At the time though, my wife didn’t want to close the door on a third child. I told her, “No, of course not, dear.” Meanwhile I had closed, locked, barred, and thrown a heavy bookcase against the door. A few years after the birth of our 2nd little boy, she began to realize that our family unit was perfect. She said, “By not having a daughter, I shall stay the most beautiful woman in the house.” That’s not an exaggeration by the way. She really said that. In fact she said it while standing in front of a magic mirror and holding a poison apple. But now the queen is beginning to change her tune a little and hinting that she may want a princess after all. Now I reminded her that in 7th grade health class they told us we don’t really have a say over if we get a princess or a 3rd prince, but she said it didn’t matter. She would be okay with another little boy. I then went on to remind her that raising two boys has so far nearly killed and divorced us (in that order) and it does in fact NOT get easier with a third. In fact a friend of mine said it best. She said raising another child is like adding a full point on the earthquake Richter Scale. Each point up the scale means the earthquake is exponentially worse. Going from 1 to 2 kids is like going from a Richter Scale 5 to a 6. Minimal destruction. Going from a 2nd to a 3rd (and another boy at that), well you’re talking a 6 to a 7. Now you’re looking at pretty extensive damage and injuries. Plus you should never let your kids outnumber you. Right now my wife and I can play a man to man defense. If we have another one, we’ll have to go to the zone and any basketball coach will tell you that’s a much tougher coverage. So I hate to tell my wife (and her mother), but I have now added another padlock, a couple of couches and an angry Doberman to that closed door.
I love my two boys. They’re my best friends. My 5 year old is watching sports with me and starting to understand satire and sarcasm. I’m starting to have conversations with my 2 year old. I am eager to continue on to the next phases of raising my wonderful family. I want to look forward and not start over. So barring any “accidents”, I’ve had my last kid. Oops. Shouldn’t have written that last sentence. I’ll bet my wife is putting the kids to bed, opening a bottle of wine and slipping into something more comfortable right now.
Chris Loprete, aka the father of Our Milk Money, began writing his experiences as a new father upon the launch of Our Milk Money, calling his work, appropriately, The Daddys Den. Chris is no stranger to comedy composition. He wrote and performed his one-man show You’re from Philly, Charlie Brown, having successful runs at Circle X Theatre, The Lonny Chapman Repertory Theatre and The Comedy Central Workspace in Hollywood, California as well the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Chris has performed all over the country in theatrical productions, television and film. He is an alumni of The Circle X Theatre Company and The Groundlings Sunday Company. Currently, he is a writer/producer for the Comedy and Reality Promo Team at ABC Television. Chris lives in Stevenson Ranch, California with his wife Ally, founder of OurMilkMoney.com and his two beautiful sons, Braden and Henry.
Family, Resource Articles, Uncategorized
We all know how important that first hour is when we wake up in the morning, and how it sets the tone for the rest of our day, but how often are we utilizing that first 60 minutes to our advantage, Here are some sure fire tips to controlling your day before it controls you:
1. Claim your space! Before you ever power up the computer, write on a paper notebook what you would like to accomplish for the day.
2. Power it up with Pages! An effective way to fully wipe the sleep from your eyes and clean out the cobwebs are to pick up a pen and write for 5 continuous minutes whatever comes to your mind. Just spill it out without thinking and simply writing. About anything and nothing. This is what I like to call a brain dump. It gets out all the feels that I don’t need to be having to push forward. If something is bothering you, and festering deep within, these pages will find the culprit and squash it.
3. Voice your Value! Give yourself a pep talk each and every morning to dominate your domain. Keep it simple and easy to remember. “Today I will create magic!”
4. Create a ritual! One that is YOURS and belongs to you. Some people find that having their morning cup of Joe on the porch with a newspaper is a wonderful morning ritual. Others do Yoga. I put on make-up. Yep, don’t laugh. It’s MY time with MYSELF looking in the mirror and being artistic with my face. In fact, I put on make-up every day — even during the pandemic. It helped me stay grounded when the world felt so displaced.
As stay-at-home parents and business owners its very easy to get sidetracked with everyone else’s needs, or the unexpected chaos of the world. But as the CEO of your home and business, you do have SOME control over the direction you want to move in. As women, we are built to grow things. Creation of anything is nourishing and fuels us.
Morning rituals are a perfect way of starting the day holding your ground and keep jurisdiction over anything unexpected that may come your way.
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