Find yourself a mentor
October 31, 2008
For me, having a mentor is quite important because you look up to them. And then you always ask yourself if you have learned enough. In a way, you idolize them and they are also responsible for your intellectual growth. You say, “I want to be like so and so in a certain number of years.” I’ve had a few mentors while growing up, notably my grandfather but in this internet marketing industry, you don’t really have to know your mentor personally because there are bunch of reputable players out there that openly help others and reveal their methods for success. You can learn alot by keeping up with their blog posts… yeah I know not every post is useful information, but you don’t want to miss out on anything because these guys are usually the first to post about breakthrough methods and advice. My advice for the new guys is to learn how to use a RSS reader because it make it so much easier to keep up with reading those blog posts.
Happy Halloween and stay safe kids!
Please use your head before you vote
October 29, 2008
I’ve been meaning to write about this for a while and finally forced myself to get it done just in time before the election. Politics do not usually interest me but I am aware that the outcome of this election will impact our lives and generations to come. My main concern is for our government to take care of its citizens and look out for the greater good of the nation as a whole. Right now I don’t feel very confident in our leaders, but at least we can rest assure that W’s term is almost over and that the next guy can’t be any worse… hopefully not!
Anyway, the 2008 election will go down as the most important election in US history to date… at least for my generation. Race and color barriers have fallen and the gender gap has narrowed. Never before in our history has their been so many viable candidates from such a diverse set of demographics and backgrounds. Hillary Clinton, through her hard work and experiece almost got there. Sarah Palin… umm… well she must’ve done something deserving to be up there, but thats another story.
America for the most part is finally living up to its melting pot image of a land made up of immigrants and limitless opportunity and everyone seems to be getting along… or so we think. As the election gets closer, the past couple weeks were critical times and the candidates are making their final campaign push. It is during these desperate times that true colors of Americans show. The bottom line is that racism and hate still exists.
To whomever is voting next week, please vote on real issues. Don’t vote for McCain because you are Christian, or don’t choose Obama because you’re black. Remember that we are choosing a leader that will inherit our country’s current problems. For once let’s set aside biases and religious beliefs. Not that abortion isn’t important, but chicks will abort babies no matter who is president. Bush is anti-abortion and he hasn’t done squat to prevent it. Also gay people will be gay and do gayish acts regardless of who is president.
Let’s choose a leader that will make decisions for the good of the entire nation - not just the rich, poor, Christian, Muslim, white, black, rapper, rocker, gay, straight, whatever.
We’re already familiar with both candidates - McCain and Obama.
I feel that both men are highly capable leaders and are strong bi-partisan builders of consensus and coalitions, but are they both capable of making just decisions to lead America out of the current world economic crisis? McCain emphatically states that he is not Bush and loves to showcase instances in which he has gone against bush or the Republican party on an issue. But when you step back from those instances, some of which I must admit were pretty gutsy on his part to make, what percentage of the whole do those instances make up? How many times did he NOT stand against Bush and or the party? Other than that, what solutions does he really have for the current situation with the war and economy? To this day he has failed to show Americans a bright future if he were the President of America. Instead he focuses on negative attacks towards Obama. His campaign is far from what it should be - “Vote for me because I will strive to become the greatest president and will do my best to serve the country.” Instead it can be summed up as “Don’t vote for Obama because he is a muslim terrorist!”
Obama on the other hand, has shown remarkable steadiness and calm in analyzing the great economic challenge and proposing solutions. He understands the world so much better than McCain and shows respect towards other nations, unlike the arrogance displayed by the Republican administration that alienated 95% of the planet. In addition, he shows real compassion towards the poor. In times where the American people doubt the American model and its role in the world, he brings new ideas, enthusiasm and hope.
The American people will decide on Nov 4th which man will lead us into a bright future… unless the Republicans cheat again.
Here’s who I am voting for:
Hustlin the ebook game
October 23, 2008
Just to let the fellas know that ppc ads aren’t my only source of revenue. I’ve been slangin an ebook for the past half a year as well. Here’s my paypal orders from the past month.
YES these screen shots are LEGIT!
What is Kontera?
October 17, 2008
Although I’ve been doing pretty well with Google Adsense, I’ve learned that it’s always wise to diversify your income source. For the past half year I’ve been primarily dependent on my adsense income… my ad earnings would be ZERO if I lost my account (knock on wood). I decided to try find another source of income so the best way was to check out programs other bloggers recommend.
After doing a lil bit of research, I decided to give Kontera a shot and placed it on a couple of my lower traffic sites - this was about a month ago. For those of you that havent heard of Kontera, it is a Pay Per Click program but unlike adsense, their ads turn your website text into clickable links. These ad links seem deceiving because they look exactly like text links and chances are that a majority of your visitors won’t know that they are even clicking an ad. This is how it looks like…
See it looks just like a text link!
Here are the results of my first month using Kontera. As you can see the CTR is through the roof! I’ve never had that high of a click through rate from Adsense so its amazing to see that a 33.57% CTR means 1 out of 3 people are clicking the ads!
That high of a click through rate means that I should be earning tons of money right? Not really, because I was only getting 8 cents per click on average. These same sites which used to host Adsense ads were getting anywhere from 50 cents to $2 per click at about a 3-5% CTR. If you do that math, Adsense still earns more than Kontera in the long run. I’m pretty sure Kontera clicks pay differently per niche but it seems you’re better off using Adsense for higher paying niches. I’m gonna let Kontera sit on these sites for another month or two to get a better feel on the CTR/earnings ratio.
Now they better send the check on time or I’m taking my ads off! 
The Art of Being a Gentleman - 12 Easy Steps
October 15, 2008
I learned everything about treating women from my mother. She impressed on me the importance of being a gentleman—opening doors, pulling chairs, and helping women (of any age, political affiliation, or social standing) across our ever-dangerous streets. It helps . . . not matter how the woman ends up treating you.
Being a gentleman doesn’t mean ending up with limp wrists and having to raise one’s pinky while sipping Earl Greys. You can know what tiramisu is without fear of being labeled a one of them “funny boys.” Yes, I do believe that is what keeps a lot of men from acting civilized with women. Or maybe they just do not have any breeding.
You don’t have to be born with breeding, however, to develop it. It took me years to get my act together despite what my mom (and old romantic movies) taught me. It was difficult to master Cary Grant’s accent until I grew chest hairs. But its not the accent that counts, it’s the message you give the woman when you treat her well.
- Good treatment starts with learning how to listen. That is the first and most important step. All others are just icing on the cake. For most men, the young ones especially, that seems to be a most difficult thing to do. It took me a decade and a half after puberty to develop the skill. Although most women are of the belief that puberty is the terminal stage of male evolution, there is hope.
- Start small. Try listening with genuine interest for one whole minute, say. Make eye contact and maintain it. Work yourself up to three minutes. Test yourself after the session. What did she say? Was that reference to personal hygiene aimed at you? Did she really mean what she said about not really needing to visit her mom with you next week? You get the drift. Yes, and it doesn’t hurt to take notes. That’s where the $500 palm pilot you bought comes in handy.
- That brings us to schedules, dates, and appointments. Keep them. Throw away your stock alibi list. How many times can your tires go flat…or your boss assigns you to that emergency client call?
- And never, never, never use your friends as excuse for missing a date or being late. It’s your friends or her and when asked to make a choice—never hesitate. He who hesitates—dies.
- On a related note, never put off what you were supposed to do for her till tomorrow. If you can’t drop off that dress at the cleaners or the dog at the vet’s or that check payment for her cellphone bill, then don’t offer. Never offer if you know you have even the slightest chance you may not be able to do it. It’s better to deliver fewer times than to bungle everyday. It’s quality not quantity. And yes, women keep count.
- On dates (and still a date when you go out with a long-time girlfriend or wife of 20 years) always treat her like it’s the first time. Compliment her on her looks, shoes, her scent, or just her smile. There’s always something that genuinely attracts you or is worthy of notice. Be sincere. Unlike women, you can’t fake it.
- Make sure dinner or venue arrangements have been previously arranged. That’s your job. Lead her into a room going in and let her lead out when done.
- Make sure she manages steps by, yes, offering your hand. There is nothing more gentlemanly than offering a hand, arm (or whatever appropriate body part) to your date. Many offerings of your hand may get you hers eventually
- For the meal itself, remember your manners. All that training around the family dinner table should now come in handy. Elbows off the table, keep your mouth closed when chewing, no playing with the food, don’t slurp or pick your teeth, and no gross stories about chainsaw murders when eating meat. Enjoy the meal. Start a good conversation but try to listen most of the time. The most important person at the table is your date. If you have any doubts about table etiquette, get a book.
- Volumes have been written about how to carry yourself—sartorially and manners-wise. That is why you read magazines. Unless it’s the models that attract you, you must get beyond the pictures, actually read the articles, and apply what you learn in real life. Practice makes perfect. Listen, read, learn, and do. Rinse and repeat.
- Finally never let your guard down. You are only as good as your last performance. It’s easy to succumb to the dark side of macho-manliness; unshined shoes, unmade beds, dirty nails, unkempt thinking, unkept appointments, and generally bad behavior. Rude dudes and bad boys may attract some, but the keepers go for someone they can keep.
- Always be a gentleman. That’s the golden rule. Treat women well. Be generous with your attention. Do not be afraid to be demonstrative of your affection. That is what our moms, dates, girlfriends, wives all look for. It’s the soft side of manliness that really defines a true man. Do that and you’ll never get kicked out of the house.
