Hi,
I hope everything is ok where you are.
I saw a great quote the other day at the TotalLifeSuccess.com forum.
It goes like this...
The bumble bee is aerodynamically incapable of flight, but because no-one told it, it persists in flying anyway.
What a great thought, think of the motivational follow ons - don't let anyone tell you what you can or cannot do, keep going to overcome the odds, etc, etc.
It's the kind of thing you expect to see on a poster.
There's just one problem...
It's not true.
It's complete baloney.
In fact, it might even be a non sequitur, if I was 100% sure what non sequitur meant. (Good word though)
So let's investigate this story.
Apart from the obvious fact that bumble bees clearly *can* fly, where did the story originate?
I did some research, and the story is easy to find on the web, there have been books and poems using it for a title.
Blimey, I knew my upbringing was sheltered, but as I turn 40 I still discover just how sheltered it must have been, I had never heard the story before.
Anyhoo, the most common story is that in the 1930s an aerodynamisist and a biologist were having the discussion, and the aerodynamisist did a quick calculation on his knapkin, and came to the conclusion that the wings were too small to prived the required lift for the body weight.
The story then took hold, and despite the clear falsehood of the story, it entered the world of the urban myth.
The calculation was wrong because it was based on aircraft with a smooth fixed wing.
Insects actually create upward thrust by forcing the air downwards when they flap, which causes an updraft into the space vacated by the wing - apparently!
So, it's a mutli-tiered affair, this story.
First you get the original story, which is great for a motivational goal achievement twist, and then you get another important point which is that you shouldn't trust everything just because someone says so.
There is a difference in science between theory and practice, and it's the same in life - people may come up with theories, but nothing beats getting out and doing it yourself!
Ok, that's it for this week, I'm off to see if I can work the story into my Rock & Roll Town song, and remember next time you see a bumble bee fly, to remind yourself that they can't/can/can't!
Have a good week.
'Til Next Time,
Health and Happiness,
Gordon
Support your own favourite cause at:
http://www.thegreatgordinomarathon.com
Monday, October 30, 2006
Monday, October 23, 2006
Issue 389 - A Firmer Buttock?
Hi,
I hope Monday finds you well.
I had 2 strokes of luck last week.
Firstly, the head gasket went on my car, which considering the state of my car, was a terminal issue.
Doesn't sound so lucky does it?
The luck was that I got a clue about it just as I turned the corner to get back home.
I have been doing many long mileage journeys to jams, and just this week the new curling season started, which means a long journey down narrow pitch black country lanes.
Had the car given up on me then, I would have been unamused to say the least, so although having to get another car is a pain in the derriere, the circumstances were lucky.
Speaking of a pain in the derriere, and the start of curling, blimey it's a good workout!
I'd forgotten how strenuous it can be, and it provides a good alternative to compliment my marathon training - I'm just hoping that a firmer buttock is helpful for a marathon...
Also, it's only firmer on one side, so will that give me a limp?
Maybe I could wear fancy dress as an upside-down Quasimodo.
Here's the 2nd piece of luck...
In the off season we had been asked to send in our playing intentions for the season as they were starting various leagues.
I duly sent mine back in, only to notice that when the fixtures came out, my name was nowhere to be seen.
I asked why not, and it seems that my intentions form had not been passed on.
I wasn't happy, and had to work quite hard to resist the strong temptation to throw the toys out of my pram and sulk, telling them to shove their curling where the sun doesn't shine.
Resist it I did though, and when I went this week for a non-league session, they asked me if I had dates available as one of the team members had dropped out leaving a space for me.
I duly accepted, and made a mental note to pass on that little story.
It's often said that luck is when opportunity meets preparation.
Well, had my preparation been a sulk and a strop, the opportunoty would have meant nothing when it came, but good preparation on my part had allowed me to enjoy the 'luck'.
I've been working hard on my Grab A Grand Club.
Remember that the idea is for me to pass on the knowledge I have learnt about internet marketing, and also give you specific hands on help with any of it that you may get stuck on.
The more work I've been doing on it, the more I have realised that the $19 a month launch price is ludicrously low.
There are only so many hours in the day, and since I offer the hands on help, it's actually a bad way for me to leverage my time.
As such, instead of raising the price to $27 a month on Nov 1st, I'm raising it to $47.
That means you still have a week to take up the launch price of $19 a month, which is a locked in price once you join.
There is no commitment, you can stop whenever you want.
If you've ever been stopped from internet marketing because you think you don't know how to make a website, or set up an autoresponder, or research a market, or create a product, or write articles, etc, etc, etc, I will give you specific help on any/all of it.
Go and take a look at the site, which also has a 50% paying affiliate programme:
http://www.thegrabagrandclub.com
Ok, that's it for this week, remember to prepare properly for the 'lucky' opportunities that may be around the corner...
Have a good week.
'Til Next Time,
Health and Happiness,
Gordon
Support your own favourite cause at:
http://www.thegreatgordinomarathon.com
I hope Monday finds you well.
I had 2 strokes of luck last week.
Firstly, the head gasket went on my car, which considering the state of my car, was a terminal issue.
Doesn't sound so lucky does it?
The luck was that I got a clue about it just as I turned the corner to get back home.
I have been doing many long mileage journeys to jams, and just this week the new curling season started, which means a long journey down narrow pitch black country lanes.
Had the car given up on me then, I would have been unamused to say the least, so although having to get another car is a pain in the derriere, the circumstances were lucky.
Speaking of a pain in the derriere, and the start of curling, blimey it's a good workout!
I'd forgotten how strenuous it can be, and it provides a good alternative to compliment my marathon training - I'm just hoping that a firmer buttock is helpful for a marathon...
Also, it's only firmer on one side, so will that give me a limp?
Maybe I could wear fancy dress as an upside-down Quasimodo.
Here's the 2nd piece of luck...
In the off season we had been asked to send in our playing intentions for the season as they were starting various leagues.
I duly sent mine back in, only to notice that when the fixtures came out, my name was nowhere to be seen.
I asked why not, and it seems that my intentions form had not been passed on.
I wasn't happy, and had to work quite hard to resist the strong temptation to throw the toys out of my pram and sulk, telling them to shove their curling where the sun doesn't shine.
Resist it I did though, and when I went this week for a non-league session, they asked me if I had dates available as one of the team members had dropped out leaving a space for me.
I duly accepted, and made a mental note to pass on that little story.
It's often said that luck is when opportunity meets preparation.
Well, had my preparation been a sulk and a strop, the opportunoty would have meant nothing when it came, but good preparation on my part had allowed me to enjoy the 'luck'.
I've been working hard on my Grab A Grand Club.
Remember that the idea is for me to pass on the knowledge I have learnt about internet marketing, and also give you specific hands on help with any of it that you may get stuck on.
The more work I've been doing on it, the more I have realised that the $19 a month launch price is ludicrously low.
There are only so many hours in the day, and since I offer the hands on help, it's actually a bad way for me to leverage my time.
As such, instead of raising the price to $27 a month on Nov 1st, I'm raising it to $47.
That means you still have a week to take up the launch price of $19 a month, which is a locked in price once you join.
There is no commitment, you can stop whenever you want.
If you've ever been stopped from internet marketing because you think you don't know how to make a website, or set up an autoresponder, or research a market, or create a product, or write articles, etc, etc, etc, I will give you specific help on any/all of it.
Go and take a look at the site, which also has a 50% paying affiliate programme:
http://www.thegrabagrandclub.com
Ok, that's it for this week, remember to prepare properly for the 'lucky' opportunities that may be around the corner...
Have a good week.
'Til Next Time,
Health and Happiness,
Gordon
Support your own favourite cause at:
http://www.thegreatgordinomarathon.com
Monday, October 16, 2006
Issue 388 - More Speed Less Haste
Hi,
I hope everything is well where you are.
I had an interesting week with my marathon training.
For my long run last week, 9 miles, I didn't feel quite on top if it right from the beginning.
My thighs felt heavy for some reason, and despite imagining it would feel better as I got into the run, I just didn't seem to get into it.
There were many times when I thought 'Ohh I could just stop', but I gave myself a stern talking to, and decided to get to the end, no matter what the time, as I could tell my lethargy wasn't an injury type strain.
In the end I did 6 minutes outside my schedule.
I had a think about what the cause might have been , but just put it down to an off day.
'Off days' occur to us all in whatever line, and it's important not to give them more importance than they deserve!
During the week I thought I would try something different in my 3 mile sessions.
For the first one, I put short sprints in.
I guess they must have been about 200 metres at a time.
It felt good to be flying, er ok, make that trundling along at full pelt.
At the end of 3 miles though, my overall time was only slightly faster, but had needed a huge increase in effort...
Hmm, my quest for an easy life kicked in, and it occured to me that if a huge increase in effort results in only a small time benefit, then logically I could make a noticable reduction in effort, and the time loss would only be small!
So for the 2nd 3 mile session I deliberately went slower in the running stints than I ever had before, lower leg lift, shorter stride.
Sure enough, I felt better for it, and only lost a small amount of time.
Ah Ha!
So for yesterday's 10 miler, I decided I would stick to this plan rigidly, and see what happened.
My target time was 2 hours dead, and when I go to the end, my time was 1 hour 58!
More haste, less speed as my mother would say.
Hang on, was it more speed less haste?
Anyway you get the idea, the goal can often be achieved quicker by going at a more sensible sustainable pace.
Regarding my marathon, all this effort I'm putting in is for one event 6 months away, and since it's now 6 months to the race this week, Apr 22nd 2007, I'm relaunching the sponsorship site.
There are 2 main points to note.
The first is that 100% of your donation goes to charity.
I'm not seeking to make a penny profit from it.
The second thing, is that you get to choose the charity!
When I previously chose MIND, the UK mental health charity, people told me they didn't know enough about the charity.
So here's the thing, if I asked you what your favourite charity was, what would you say?
It could be a domestic charity for you country, or a local charity for your town.
It could be an international charity.
It could to do with animals, children, mentally ill, homeless, etc, etc.
It doesn't matter what it is, as long as it's an officially registered charity, it'll do!
Then just decided how much you would sponsor me for my marathon, to go towards that charity - then you just hit the donate button!
If you run a newsletter or support a particular charity, get your readers to sponsor me, and tell them to pick the charity you are helping!
Hopefully you can see the appeal - you get to support me in my marathon to mark turning 40, plus support your favourtite charity at the same time.
If you can't decide on a charity, or aren't bothered, then say so, and it will go to my personal choice, MIND.
Go and look at the site, you can download my free book!
http://www.thegreatgordinomarathon.com
Ok, that's it for today, could you do with more speed, less haste (possibly less speed, more haste)
Have a good week.
'Til Next Time,
Health and Happiness,
Gordon
I'll help grab a grand a month at:
http://www.thegrabagrandclub.com
I hope everything is well where you are.
I had an interesting week with my marathon training.
For my long run last week, 9 miles, I didn't feel quite on top if it right from the beginning.
My thighs felt heavy for some reason, and despite imagining it would feel better as I got into the run, I just didn't seem to get into it.
There were many times when I thought 'Ohh I could just stop', but I gave myself a stern talking to, and decided to get to the end, no matter what the time, as I could tell my lethargy wasn't an injury type strain.
In the end I did 6 minutes outside my schedule.
I had a think about what the cause might have been , but just put it down to an off day.
'Off days' occur to us all in whatever line, and it's important not to give them more importance than they deserve!
During the week I thought I would try something different in my 3 mile sessions.
For the first one, I put short sprints in.
I guess they must have been about 200 metres at a time.
It felt good to be flying, er ok, make that trundling along at full pelt.
At the end of 3 miles though, my overall time was only slightly faster, but had needed a huge increase in effort...
Hmm, my quest for an easy life kicked in, and it occured to me that if a huge increase in effort results in only a small time benefit, then logically I could make a noticable reduction in effort, and the time loss would only be small!
So for the 2nd 3 mile session I deliberately went slower in the running stints than I ever had before, lower leg lift, shorter stride.
Sure enough, I felt better for it, and only lost a small amount of time.
Ah Ha!
So for yesterday's 10 miler, I decided I would stick to this plan rigidly, and see what happened.
My target time was 2 hours dead, and when I go to the end, my time was 1 hour 58!
More haste, less speed as my mother would say.
Hang on, was it more speed less haste?
Anyway you get the idea, the goal can often be achieved quicker by going at a more sensible sustainable pace.
Regarding my marathon, all this effort I'm putting in is for one event 6 months away, and since it's now 6 months to the race this week, Apr 22nd 2007, I'm relaunching the sponsorship site.
There are 2 main points to note.
The first is that 100% of your donation goes to charity.
I'm not seeking to make a penny profit from it.
The second thing, is that you get to choose the charity!
When I previously chose MIND, the UK mental health charity, people told me they didn't know enough about the charity.
So here's the thing, if I asked you what your favourite charity was, what would you say?
It could be a domestic charity for you country, or a local charity for your town.
It could be an international charity.
It could to do with animals, children, mentally ill, homeless, etc, etc.
It doesn't matter what it is, as long as it's an officially registered charity, it'll do!
Then just decided how much you would sponsor me for my marathon, to go towards that charity - then you just hit the donate button!
If you run a newsletter or support a particular charity, get your readers to sponsor me, and tell them to pick the charity you are helping!
Hopefully you can see the appeal - you get to support me in my marathon to mark turning 40, plus support your favourtite charity at the same time.
If you can't decide on a charity, or aren't bothered, then say so, and it will go to my personal choice, MIND.
Go and look at the site, you can download my free book!
http://www.thegreatgordinomarathon.com
Ok, that's it for today, could you do with more speed, less haste (possibly less speed, more haste)
Have a good week.
'Til Next Time,
Health and Happiness,
Gordon
I'll help grab a grand a month at:
http://www.thegrabagrandclub.com
Monday, October 09, 2006
Issue 387 - Would A Grand A Month Help You?
Hi,
I hope Monday finds you well.
It's time to tell you about another new product of mine.
The other day I got an email offering me a no cost report on how to make $1000 in 15 days online.
I downloaded it out of curiousity, and found it to contain bland unspecific advice which helped neither the newbie or the experienced.
Disappointing.
Then I got an offer offering me a 'clone' of a membership site which had 5000 members at $29 a month.
Again I looked (it's always an education to look at how these offers are presented).
It was presented well, but at the price of $4000 I didn't stay for long, not with my tight arse.
Also in the last couple of weeks I had people at jam nights asking me exactly what I did.
I normally say I have a 'couple of online businesses', but they wanted to know more details.
So, I decided to offer a membership club, where I would spill the beans on all I have learnt in the past 4 + years about how to market online.
I've spent a lot of dollars buying information, and although it would be naughty, (er, illegal) for me to give you these books, I am perfectly allowed to relay the information in them!
Take for example 2 products released this year - Tag & Ping by Sean Wu, and Adsense Videos by Michael Cheney.
Combined they have a price of $244, and that's what I paid.
I will pass on the info inside them to members of my club, along with everything else.
How much?
$19 a month.
That means you could be a member for a full year and still not have paid as much as buying just those 2 products, along with all the other content, which is listed on my site.
I decided to call it The Great Gordino's Grab A Grand Club, and here's why -
The idea is that if I can teach you, and give you hands on help to get to earning $1000 a month online, you will have the tools and knowledge to repeat the process.
I originally decided to set a launch date of Nov 1st.
However, I noticed another product launching, callled Affiliate Project X, and having bought it at $77, I decided to bring my launch forward, because the info in Project X will be included in the club, as it's now info in my head!
I spent many hours rushing to get it all done earlier than planned, and had many nights working through the small hours.
That's one of the joys of working for myself, from home, I can just choose to do it.
When I say I give hands on help, that's just what I mean - if you have problems with any part of the process, ask me, and I'll guide you through it, it's included in the cost.
What's more the club has an affiiate programme paying 50%, meaning if you sell a membership, you get 50% of that fee every month they remain a member!
That price of $19 is way too low, I'm really starting with that to give readers and buddies the early start, but after 50 members are in, or the 1st Nov, whichever is earlier, the price will go up to $27.
Go and have a look, note all the knowledge I will be passing on that I have paid for, tell me what you think.
Ask any questions!
I'll be interested to hear what have to say!
Here's the link:
http://www.thegrabagrandclub.com
Ok, that's it for today, what would an extra grand a month do for you?
Have a good week.
'Til Next Time,
Health and Happiness,
Gordon
Get my self-improvement book at:
http://www.transformyourlifenow.com
I hope Monday finds you well.
It's time to tell you about another new product of mine.
The other day I got an email offering me a no cost report on how to make $1000 in 15 days online.
I downloaded it out of curiousity, and found it to contain bland unspecific advice which helped neither the newbie or the experienced.
Disappointing.
Then I got an offer offering me a 'clone' of a membership site which had 5000 members at $29 a month.
Again I looked (it's always an education to look at how these offers are presented).
It was presented well, but at the price of $4000 I didn't stay for long, not with my tight arse.
Also in the last couple of weeks I had people at jam nights asking me exactly what I did.
I normally say I have a 'couple of online businesses', but they wanted to know more details.
So, I decided to offer a membership club, where I would spill the beans on all I have learnt in the past 4 + years about how to market online.
I've spent a lot of dollars buying information, and although it would be naughty, (er, illegal) for me to give you these books, I am perfectly allowed to relay the information in them!
Take for example 2 products released this year - Tag & Ping by Sean Wu, and Adsense Videos by Michael Cheney.
Combined they have a price of $244, and that's what I paid.
I will pass on the info inside them to members of my club, along with everything else.
How much?
$19 a month.
That means you could be a member for a full year and still not have paid as much as buying just those 2 products, along with all the other content, which is listed on my site.
I decided to call it The Great Gordino's Grab A Grand Club, and here's why -
The idea is that if I can teach you, and give you hands on help to get to earning $1000 a month online, you will have the tools and knowledge to repeat the process.
I originally decided to set a launch date of Nov 1st.
However, I noticed another product launching, callled Affiliate Project X, and having bought it at $77, I decided to bring my launch forward, because the info in Project X will be included in the club, as it's now info in my head!
I spent many hours rushing to get it all done earlier than planned, and had many nights working through the small hours.
That's one of the joys of working for myself, from home, I can just choose to do it.
When I say I give hands on help, that's just what I mean - if you have problems with any part of the process, ask me, and I'll guide you through it, it's included in the cost.
What's more the club has an affiiate programme paying 50%, meaning if you sell a membership, you get 50% of that fee every month they remain a member!
That price of $19 is way too low, I'm really starting with that to give readers and buddies the early start, but after 50 members are in, or the 1st Nov, whichever is earlier, the price will go up to $27.
Go and have a look, note all the knowledge I will be passing on that I have paid for, tell me what you think.
Ask any questions!
I'll be interested to hear what have to say!
Here's the link:
http://www.thegrabagrandclub.com
Ok, that's it for today, what would an extra grand a month do for you?
Have a good week.
'Til Next Time,
Health and Happiness,
Gordon
Get my self-improvement book at:
http://www.transformyourlifenow.com
Monday, October 02, 2006
Issue 386 - Mon 2nd Oct 2006
Hi,
I hope everything is well where you are.
As we lurch into October, it's time to address the urgent issue of the day - have you written your letter to Santa yet?
October is the signal for swathes of high street retail space to be taken over with Christmas stuff, so quick - hurry!
Christmas must be only just around the corner!
It's 3 sodding months away!
That's a full quarter of the year!
Don't let this marketing ploy lull you into thinking that the next 3 months are simply a waiting period up to Christmas.
You can achieve a bucket load in that time - life changing things if you want!
Let's leave Christmas 'til December at least!
I did a nice 8 miles training yesterday in 1 hour 36, right in line with my 12 min mile pace.
I have no tweaks or twangs to report, and with my new shoes and extra grass running, I feel back in full flow for my training.
You may remember a few weeks ago I wrote about how the prisons here in Britain were close to being full up.
If you don't remember (shame on you), it was Issue 378, you can see it in the archive.
Anyhoo, that state of full prisons may happen this week.
There are around 320 places left, with 370 being jailed last week.
When they do get full, prisoners then have to be put in the cells at police stations, which costs £360 per prisoner per night!
That's a lot of moolah!
The last time this happened was in 2002, and the final bill was around £10.5 million.
This government had been power for 5 years by then, but hey, it's good to see they have the sorted the problem in the 4 years since!
This bit might make you giggle, it's one of the government's suggested solutions to the overcrowding of prisons - make some offences liable for an on the spot fine.
Hmm, ok, maybe less court time, and less jailing, but also less criminal records for the, er, criminals.
And what are 3 of these suggested offences?
Mugging, assault, and assaulting a police officer!.
I think I may take up a new career, here's the scenario...
I mug you, and pinch your mobile phone.
I get caught, and am given an on the spot fine of £100, and no criminal record.
I pay the £100 out of the £150 I sold your phone for.
You have no other recourse against me available, so vent your frustration by smacking me around the head.
I report you ( believe me, as a criminal I want the full protection of the law when it's my turn!)
You then get an on the spot fine of £100.
Net result - the government is £200 better off.
You are £100 plus your phone out of pocket.
I am £50 to the good, and free to carry on mugging with no more than a minor bruise on my head.
When this kind of thing was pointed out to the government, they did a usual about turn, saying it was drafted by a junior official.
That's not a jibe at this particular government, the other lot would probably be just as bad.
It's one of the reasons I stood in the election last year.
Truly, our trip to hell in a handbasket is gathering pace...
I must leave on a positive note, and it's this, if I get my Christmas chocolates in now, I may get a discount!
Hmm, that's brought back a memory from last year - individual slices of Christmas cake, ideal for a singleton like me, but with a 'best before' date of mid-November!
If I see that again this year, I'm a-writing to Mr. Tesco just to see what happens!
Have a good week.
'Til Next Time,
Health and Happiness,
Gordon
Get my self-improvement book at:
http://www.transformyourlifenow.com
I hope everything is well where you are.
As we lurch into October, it's time to address the urgent issue of the day - have you written your letter to Santa yet?
October is the signal for swathes of high street retail space to be taken over with Christmas stuff, so quick - hurry!
Christmas must be only just around the corner!
It's 3 sodding months away!
That's a full quarter of the year!
Don't let this marketing ploy lull you into thinking that the next 3 months are simply a waiting period up to Christmas.
You can achieve a bucket load in that time - life changing things if you want!
Let's leave Christmas 'til December at least!
I did a nice 8 miles training yesterday in 1 hour 36, right in line with my 12 min mile pace.
I have no tweaks or twangs to report, and with my new shoes and extra grass running, I feel back in full flow for my training.
You may remember a few weeks ago I wrote about how the prisons here in Britain were close to being full up.
If you don't remember (shame on you), it was Issue 378, you can see it in the archive.
Anyhoo, that state of full prisons may happen this week.
There are around 320 places left, with 370 being jailed last week.
When they do get full, prisoners then have to be put in the cells at police stations, which costs £360 per prisoner per night!
That's a lot of moolah!
The last time this happened was in 2002, and the final bill was around £10.5 million.
This government had been power for 5 years by then, but hey, it's good to see they have the sorted the problem in the 4 years since!
This bit might make you giggle, it's one of the government's suggested solutions to the overcrowding of prisons - make some offences liable for an on the spot fine.
Hmm, ok, maybe less court time, and less jailing, but also less criminal records for the, er, criminals.
And what are 3 of these suggested offences?
Mugging, assault, and assaulting a police officer!.
I think I may take up a new career, here's the scenario...
I mug you, and pinch your mobile phone.
I get caught, and am given an on the spot fine of £100, and no criminal record.
I pay the £100 out of the £150 I sold your phone for.
You have no other recourse against me available, so vent your frustration by smacking me around the head.
I report you ( believe me, as a criminal I want the full protection of the law when it's my turn!)
You then get an on the spot fine of £100.
Net result - the government is £200 better off.
You are £100 plus your phone out of pocket.
I am £50 to the good, and free to carry on mugging with no more than a minor bruise on my head.
When this kind of thing was pointed out to the government, they did a usual about turn, saying it was drafted by a junior official.
That's not a jibe at this particular government, the other lot would probably be just as bad.
It's one of the reasons I stood in the election last year.
Truly, our trip to hell in a handbasket is gathering pace...
I must leave on a positive note, and it's this, if I get my Christmas chocolates in now, I may get a discount!
Hmm, that's brought back a memory from last year - individual slices of Christmas cake, ideal for a singleton like me, but with a 'best before' date of mid-November!
If I see that again this year, I'm a-writing to Mr. Tesco just to see what happens!
Have a good week.
'Til Next Time,
Health and Happiness,
Gordon
Get my self-improvement book at:
http://www.transformyourlifenow.com
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