A September to Remember

September is nearly over. We had initially planned to attend a conference or workshop during September.  Our plans backfired due to some unexpected bills and extending my vacation days over Labor Day Weekend to clean-up the house.

Although we missed both of this year’s events, we are already looking forward to next year!

I recently read successful people attend workshops and conferences in order to mix ideas, communicate, meet new people with similar goals and become recharged about your passion in life.

Here in the rust belt, we could use a little motivation to fire-up our passion.

Coaching with Excellence

My original plan was to attend Dan Miller’s Coaching with Excellence workshop in Franklin, Tennessee. Dan Miller is the best-selling author of No More Dreaded Monday’s and 48 Days to the Work You Love. Dan Miller recently released a new book co-written with his son, Jarad Angaza entitled- Wisdom Meets Passion: When Generations Collide and Collaborate (read the book review here). Dan Miller also has two websites with loads of community assistance, classes and podcasts at 48days.com and 48days.net.   

From the reviews of the three-day event we missed an excellent opportunity to learn about our abilities and choices in the coaching field. The event was full of insightful knowledge and it was an opportunity to meet new friends with the same interests. Did I forget to mention the food is excellent?

Quitter Conference

Jon Acuff’s Quitter Conference was held late last week in Brentwood, Tennessee. Jon is a successful speaker, blogger and author.  Jon is the author of Quitter: Closing the Gap Between Your Day Job and Dream Job. Jon is a team member of the Dave Ramsey staff.

The event was sold out and it would have been a great time listening to Jon and his guest speakers. Many of those attendance have authored books, established their work in the coaching field and technology. The opportunity to meet and speak with many of those faces I’ve seen or heard online or read their books and material would have been inspirational as well!

Wrecked

Writer Jeff Goins, author of Wrecked was a featured speaker at the Quitter Conference and subsequently was able to interview Jon Acuff.

This is one of the reasons building a network of people is so important. Opportunities grow from the circle of friends established. One of the neat things- is it happens when you least expect it!

Speaking of Least Expecting

I signed up for Twitter the other day. One of the people I am following is author Chris Guillebeau of The Art of Non-Conformity and “The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future.” Surprisingly, Chris is following me on Twitter. Twitter is a pretty neat application. I don’t know how people find the time for all this activity. I’ve discussed Chris previously in my work.

Chris just returned from visiting his 188^th country- Seychelles. He only has 5 countries left to complete his goal of visiting all 193 countries in the world. What an amazing life having the freedom as an entrepreneur on your own terms.

 

 

Seasons Change

Soon the leaves will be changing colors and it will be a nice time to take a short drive to Amish country. It’s always a laid back trip to observe the goods, lifestyle and entrepreneurship of the Amish community.

Did I forget to mention the food is excellent?

Until We Meet Again,
 Jim Carver

Author: The Legacy of David A. Wells- The Lexington High School “Band of Gold”Something Meaningful that Matters!
www.successthroughmusic.com

http://jimcarver.blogspot.com/

Disclaimer- Books and links on this website contain affiliate marketing sources between Jim Carver and third party companies. I only recommend products, brands and businesses that I strongly support. Photos used on this site are used courtesy of the original authors and in no way endorse The Rust Belt Chronicles or my work. Thank you.

NFL Replacement Refs- Good or Bad?

After the ruckus following some of the NFL games last week, I don’t know if the substitute officiating is such a big deal or if something bigger is at play. What I’ve seen so far in regards to officiating is somehow refreshing.

Whose got the Ball?

 

I only follow one team, but the officiating mistakes appear to be honest and the consistency isn’t bad. I’ve often thought the regular referees are too fixated on whatever the commissioner’s office advice is for each week, based on the previous week. Consequently, the referees zero in on specific criteria, while other possible penalties are missed.

When officiating becomes a marketing extravaganza it takes away from the game. Watch any NBA playoff series to experience the hype and overkill.  Sometimes the NBA refs control the game and at other times- just let the players play. This may prevent tempers from getting out of hand, while another popular opinion is the control and tempo keeps the games close.

What Happened

 

Last week (week 2), the NFL coaches and players lambasted the referees. With the enormous popularity of the game, illegal and legal gaming interests at stake; I must ask a few questions:

·        Has the referee lockout affected television ratings?

·        Has the referee lockout reduced NFL game attendance?

·        Are the betting parlors in Las Vegas losing money?

·        Has the officiating made a difference in illegal gambling outcomes?

·        Will the coaches and players  tone down the hostility towards the refereeing this week?

·        Is the refereeing actually any worse than any other season?

·        Or is the heated controversy just a union ploy to end the lockout?

 

No Challenge Flag in Those Days

A former Cleveland Browns player on the old WEWS- Quarterback Club television show years ago mentioned the Cleveland Browns played in two games during the 1960’s which were investigated by the FBI and proven to have been fixed by the mob. One of those games involved the Dallas Cowboys back in the days of Bob Hayes. I am unable to recall the other game mentioned. The former player stated the games were fixed by the refereeing.

Interestingly, I was unable to find any information from any Browns-Cowboys game in reference to game fixing on the Internet. Although during the 1960’s, several players were investigated for ties to gambling and the mob.

Bottom Line

 

I don’t believe the NFL is dirty, nor do I believe the NFL has any direct ties  to organized crime. I’ve always trusted the officiating in the NFL. So trust isn’t the issue.

Is the question of the substitute referees about the performance on the field or the color of the field (money)?

What’s your opinion?

Until We Meet Again,
 Jim Carver

Author: The Legacy of David A. Wells- The Lexington High School “Band of Gold”
Something Meaningful that Matters!
www.successthroughmusic.com

http://jimcarver.blogspot.com/

Disclaimer- Books and links on this website contain affiliate marketing sources between Jim Carver and third party companies. I only recommend products, brands and businesses that I strongly support. Photos used on this site are used courtesy of the original authors and in no way endorse The Rust Belt Chronicles or my work. Thank you.

BloggingTips and Secrets

I’ve spent a great deal of time in the last week attempting to increase my blog viewership. I’ve tinkered with everything from SEO (search engine optimization), keywords, metadata and coding. Life was much simpler just focusing on writing.

Content is King!

Some folks believe it is all about content. Content is king! Forget about algorithms, SEO and attempting to understand what makes the search engines the happiest.

What is SEO?

My Blogger blog site rates my own blogs high in a Google search, but I noticed once I log out of Google+ the ratings plummet. Google Blogger doesn't seem to play well with other search engines. I attempted to add metatags information inside my code to allow other search engines to find “keywords” and rate posts higher. Some experts believe the attempt is no longer valid in the SEO game. From my own experience, I believe they’re right.

The experiment didn’t seem to improve my ratings within Bing or Yahoo.

SEO is kind of mysterious function. The rules within the cycle of parameters sometimes change. It’s similar to the Federal Reserve (lots of secret information).

WordPress- A Bloggers Best Friend

I experimented with the free version of WordPress (WordPress.com) in my early blogging days. I found it easy to use and the search engine results are stellar! The only problem with the free version- it doesn’t allow affiliate marketing. So I switched to Google Blogger.

In the near future I will probably switch to the pay version of WordPress (WordPress.org) using the Thesis or Genesis Framework Themes. For hosting I will likely use Go Daddy or Bluehost.

Note: WordPress.org allows you to add affiliate marketing links and you own the content posted.

Why spend valuable time worrying about SEO, when the Thesis or Genesis framework can optimize my work and reach possible viewers?

Keep it Simple

This brings me back to focusing on clarity and writing. That’s what it’s all about. Without quality content, it doesn’t matter what or where the material is displayed if nobody is interested or I can’t earn your respect and keep your attention.

List of Blog Rules

·        Choose a catchy, popular or interesting topic.

·        Write a catchy headline.

 

·        Content is King!

·        Use sub headings (a plus with search engines and a great way to divide the story and keep it interesting).

·        Use  bullets or numbering to breakup blogs and allow easier readability.

·        Blogs should be limited between 500-600 words.

·        Blogs with fewer words are a better idea (Seth Godin is the king of pithy blogs), keep it short and easy to read.

·        Respond to comments and treat your followers with respect.

Stats Tracker

 I’ve done a fairly decent job of attracting new viewers (a third or more of all viewers are new) each month and my page views double each month. Overall, my visitors average over 8 minutes on my blogs per visit. Not bad at all.

Google Blogger features its own statistics tracker, but I really like the functionality of using Google Analytics (and it’s free).

Find your Niche and Build a Tribe!

My biggest concern is reaching out and finding my tribe of followers. Expecting everyone to read my blogs or like what I have to offer is unrealistic and a recipe for failure. One of the biggest secrets to online marketing and writing is to find your niche and build a following.

Give Credit where Credit is Due

So, I thank all of you for reading, following, and commenting on my writing. Without you- none of the inspiration would be possible to continue to do something meaningful that matters!

Thank you- from the bottom of my heart!

Until We Meet Again,
 Jim Carver

Author: The Legacy of David A. Wells- The Lexington High School “Band of Gold”
Something Meaningful that Matters!
www.successthroughmusic.com

http://jimcarver.blogspot.com/

Disclaimer- Books and links on this website contain affiliate marketing sources between Jim Carver and third party companies. I only recommend products, brands and businesses that I strongly support. Photos used on this site are used courtesy of the original authors and in no way endorse The Rust Belt Chronicles or my work. Thank you.

Lifestyle of The Minimalist?

My wife and I spent a couple of weekends working around the house on junk removal. We moved into our house quickly and really didn’t have the time to sort through items. We’ve accumulated over thirty years and it was time to seek the help of a waste removal service.

I’ve read a lot recently about writers who become minimalists. Minimalists are people who sell or do away with nearly everything they own. This allows the freedom to relocate, travel and reduce living costs dramatically. Less distraction equals increased focus on what matters in your art or life!

Lifestyle of the Minimalist

·        No vehicle, car payment, insurance, gas, upkeep and repairs.

·        No house payment, insurance, upkeep, services, appliances and taxes.

·        No TV and monthly cable costs.

·        No excessive waste of resources.

·        Wages become less a factor.

As you can see this eliminates some of the largest expenses during a lifetime. Instead try renting a small apartment with minimal furnishings or travel the world. A laptop could be used for entertainment, reading and writing. Minimalistic living sounds simple, especially if you’re single, young and want to experience life.

Would this lifestyle work for us? Only if we had several storage sheds to keep many of our possessions from our childhoods, hobbies, activities, books, and music. It’s nice to know if things become desperate, instead of feeling like we're trapped; we have the ability to become instantly mobile. This actually opens many new possibilities for experiencing the fulfillment of life.

Wait a minute. Oh yeah, all the critters, what would become of them? I guess we will have to wait a few more years.

Those with the Least Toys Aren’t Broke

I’ve worked around several people who retired early (and wealthy) just from driving a motor scooter, riding buses or walking to work and shop. We always thought of those folks as odd. I now know they saw the world differently and their goals were successful.

Those folks were early stage minimalists, never caring to follow the pack or keep up with their friends and neighbors. Their reward was early retirement and freedom from saving money.

The new lifestyle is an alternative to work or travel, go wherever you want, whenever you feel the urge. No strings, nothing holding you back-just a huge world in front of you! Interesting concept.

One Man’s Junk…

The folks offering junk removal are making a good business in recent years due to scrap metal prices and home foreclosures. Trash removal was once thought of as a dirty business. In recent years it has become quite lucrative.Today's waste management services aren't like Sanford and Son. 

I must admit there is a certain feeling of power throwing away junk into a waste container. The house is more organized, I can find my way through the basement and it was invigorating to separate yourself from things with no real value. Clothing and items of any value can be donated or sold on eBay. Scrap materials can be sold. Perhaps a new side business could be started with some increased knowledge and a truck.

Keeping up with the Jones’s (they’re broke too)

It’s ironic how we follow the crowd and attempt to keep up with the Jones’s. We become so ingrained in our lifestyle never noticing the forest through the trees! Spending money and living broke. 

Hoarding?

During the process I found it easier to relate how a hoarder must feel with an insurmountable task of sorting, decisions, stress and guilt. Not an easy job!

We figured we are getting older and why keep objects never used? If we want to become minimalists or move, the next step will be less cumbersome!

So roll up your sleeves, go through closets, shelves, drawers and cubbyholes. See what treasures you can find. Discover what you could give to someone in need. The rest of the objects are placeholders, occupiers of free space, most commonly known as junk!

Until We Meet Again,
 Jim Carver

Author: The Legacy of David A. Wells- The Lexington High School “Band of Gold”
Something Meaningful that Matters!
www.successthroughmusic.com

http://jimcarver.blogspot.com/

Disclaimer- Books and links on this website contain affiliate marketing sources between Jim Carver and third party companies. I only recommend products, brands and businesses that I strongly support. Photos used on this site are used courtesy of the original authors and in no way endorse The Rust Belt Chronicles or my work. Thank you.

The Passion of Politics!



Photo used courtesy of: Beverly&Pack.

If only people were as passionate about making a difference as we are in making political choices. How much control do you have after an election? Not as much as deciding on a choice. Economics plays out one way or another and the political system in place (depending on your choice) appears to be another race (sprint or crawl) to the bottom.

 

Lobbyist and special interest groups control the agenda of the election term.

We don’t.

Political blogs or rants receive more attention than a common blog, but I have to ask why? I generally abstain from political writing for a number of reasons.

The constant heated debates between political parties, bickering between one politician and another has shed some light on the possibilities of why we are so passionate concerning candidates.

·        It’s easy to have an opinion with a limited amount of choices.

·        The odds of winning or losing with your vote of candidates become slim.

·        Everyone believes they’re an expert.

·        If our political choice wins we believe everything is ok and if we lose, we spend four years blaming someone else.

·        We generally have no personal outcome, commitment or sacrifice involved.

The Meaningful Alternative

Far better to spend our time and energy doing something truly meaningful such as:

·        Feeding the hungry.

·        Helping the homeless.

·        Saving a  child from disease or prostitution.

What a true difference we could create in OUR society.

The world would be a better place today, tomorrow and four years from now!

Until We Meet Again,
 Jim Carver

Author: The Legacy of David A. Wells- The Lexington High School “Band of Gold”
Something Meaningful that Matters!
www.successthroughmusic.com

http://jimcarver.blogspot.com/

Disclaimer- Books and links on this website contain affiliate marketing sources between Jim Carver and third party companies. I only recommend products, brands and businesses that I strongly support. Photos used on this site are used courtesy of the original authors and in no way endorse The Rust Belt Chronicles or my work. Thank you.

 

What Really Matters?

Stuff that Doesn’t Matter

·        Last week’s football game.

·        Last week’s weather forecast.

·        Last week’s news.

·        Last week’s favorite television show.

Something that Does Matter

·        Why you finish.

·        What you read.

·        How you treat others.

·        Who you are.

Until We Meet Again,
 Jim Carver

Author: The Legacy of David A. Wells- The Lexington High School “Band of Gold”
Something Meaningful that Matters!
www.successthroughmusic.com

http://jimcarver.blogspot.com/

Disclaimer- Books and links on this website contain affiliate marketing sources between Jim Carver and third party companies. I only recommend products, brands and businesses that I strongly support. Photos used on this site are used courtesy of the original authors and in no way endorse The Rust Belt Chronicles or my work. Thank you.

The Government Cure?



Document photo used courtesy of: roberhuffstutter.

While reading Wisdom Meets Passion: WhenGenerations Collide and Collaborate written by Dan Miller and Jarad Angaza, I came upon an interesting piece of information. There are people living in the United States, who for three or four generations have been living on government welfare programs.

Obviously, the system has failed us a long time ago.

I have sympathy for those who've lost a job, family or home. What I oppose is how a system designed to temporarily help those in need actually keeps people “stuck” in the system.

 

The current setup provides no hope, inspiration or incentive to improve their lives or become employable.

Free Ride

While attending school, each quarter I noticed a trend. I would see the arrival of many new students receiving classes and books paid for by state and government subsidization. In most cases, the students slowly dropped out of class. I recall several women bringing their babies to class.

It irked me to no end that most had no interest in learning or obtaining a degree for free.  I repeat- for Free! Wasting tax payer’s money, each semester, year after year!

Those folks didn’t have ambition to study or drag themselves to class. They didn’t seem to understand the purpose for attending class or care. Those that attended beyond a week or two couldn’t bother to do their homework assignments. A majority would withdraw or be absent during our first scheduled test.

The colleges are making a nice income from the subsidizations. In truth it’s just another free ride for some folks. I actually believe in some cases those “entitled students” thought someone would hand them a degree just for showing up. It was as if they were isolated from the world.

Why? Because our system has taught them that there is no requirement, no cost, and in most cases no hope. Set back, enjoy the ride, everybody owes you something because the state and government have been paying you for injustices for generations.

Socialism is Alive and Well in America.

We’ve successfully taught entitlement to scores of U.S. citizens. Too earn their trust, buy their vote; we’ve keep generation’s dependant on assistance, while believing the Federal Government is looking after their best interests. In truth it has served to keep those folks trapped within their poor existence.

Due to the fact that the system hasn’t given you whatever it is you want the choice is to blame someone. Become angry, resentful and filled with hate. Blame everyone, the rich, the middle class and anyone else who doesn’t reward you with entitlements.

Mandatory Testing

We should have drug testing mandatory for anyone seeking welfare. There must be an indoctrination or introductory class for students (required to attend with guidelines established and met) prior to subsidized educational funding. Let’s not waste our time, their time or precious funding courtesy of the U.S. tax payers.

The Government Cure?

If you have no desire or passion to apply yourself or do the work, no amount of subsidized money will correct your problem. No magic wand will touch your mind and make something happen. No government or state can cure your problem.

It isn’t where you live or what you’ve lacked. It doesn’t matter at all in today’s world. We have choices available to us more than any other previous generation.

Many people have overcome (physical, psychological and emotional) obstacles in life to better themselves. Some of us have to work harder or longer than others in order to achieve results.

The truth is change begins within you!

Until We Meet Again,
 Jim Carver

Author: The Legacy of David A. Wells- The Lexington High School “Band of Gold”
Something Meaningful that Matters!
www.successthroughmusic.com

http://jimcarver.blogspot.com/

Disclaimer- Books and links on this website contain affiliate marketing sources between Jim Carver and third party companies. I only recommend products, brands and businesses that I strongly support. Photos used on this site are used courtesy of the original authors and in no way endorse The Rust Belt Chronicles or my work. Thank you.