As you know, I've been building websites since 1995. I've always been a big fan of creating content-rich sites that bring value to others. That's why I have always spoken against creating spammy sites designed to game the search engines. It's not a good model for building a long-term business. I've sold a number of my sites over the years. In 1998, Yahoo! purchased my multiplayer game site, ClassicGames.com. Today you know it as Yahoo... Continue Reading

On September 1st, 2010, I weighed in at over 225 pounds. I didn't step on the scale often because it wasn't very good news. My energy levels were low. My blood pressure was high. And I was moody. I didn't want to feel that way anymore. I had lost weight in the past, but I wasn't sure I could do it again. After all, I DID balloon back to my previous weight AND put on... Continue Reading

What makes the difference between a person who succeeds and one who doesn't? What makes the difference between a person who accomplishes great things and another who never does anything? What makes the difference between a person who gets what they want and one that is left empty-handed? Certainly, life can throw all kinds of curveballs at us. We don't get to choose our parents. We don't get to choose where we are born. We... Continue Reading

Recently I went to one of my favorite restaurants for a quick lunch. I called in an order of Chicken Tortilla soup to-go and went to pick it up. While I was there I observed that the restaurant was not busy. It SHOULD have been busy, being lunchtime. But it wasn't. It was then I asked to see if the owner was there. I wanted to speak with him for his benefit. He came out... Continue Reading

Death. Now there's a way to start a blog entry! It's been said by Steven Covey that we should "begin with the end in mind." Well, it doesn't get any more "end" than death, does it? At least as far as our lives on earth are concerned. We live in a culture that is death-averse. We are fascinated with concepts of the afterlife, but death itself is a horrible thing that we'd rather not look... Continue Reading

It's easy to become married to the work of building your online business, and in one sense, this is as it should be. Building anything from the ground up takes work and dedication, especially if like many fledgling entrepreneurs you are trying to budget your money wisely and do many things yourself. But the impulse can become detrimental. Many times you are so busy working in the trenches that you can't see or don't have... Continue Reading

It's Monday morning and I am thinking about what I should write about today. As I ponder the things happening in my life, I consider my options. The new Twitter is coming. But I haven't seen it on my account yet, so that will have to wait. I'm a week into Project Fit, but I'm feeling kind of under the weather today. I've been invited to speak in Asia. It's exciting, but I don't think... Continue Reading

When was the last time you called your congressman to weigh in on an issue? When was the last time you participated in one of those surveys conducted by the national chain restaurants? You know the ones where they ask you to call in and reward you with a free appetizer or dessert. And when was the last time you left a comment on a blog? The truth is most of us never take the... Continue Reading

I've got a confession to make. I am fat. That's not P-H-A-T as in "cool". That's F-A-T as in chunky, large, and overweight. On top of that, I am not physically fit. It's no surprise. As an online entrepreneur who spends a lot of time in front of a computer, I've become sedentary. It's a fairly common story. Once upon a time I was both slim AND physically fit. In fact, you might be surprised... Continue Reading

The Internet has made life so much easier in so many ways. Think of all the time you save now that you don't have to stand in line at the bank or the post office, or shop in real stores. So what do you do with all of that time that the Internet saves you? Chances are you spend it...on the Internet. Great as the Internet is, it can be quite a time sink. Here... Continue Reading

The press release is a mysterious thing. You may have been told how important it is to write and distribute press releases, but you may not be doing it or you may be doing it for the wrong reasons. Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Chris Harper) I just can't make a video. I don't have a nice camera or any equipment and I certainly can't afford any of that high-end editing software. I'm just too busy and there's not really any time. Besides, I wouldn't know where to begin even if I had the equipment or the time. Continue Reading

It's been said that the only difference between men and boys are the price of their toys. I don't know if that's still true, but I do know that I've always been into gadgets. Raised on video games (I remember when Space Invaders and PacMan showed up next to pinball machines), I've always had a thing for electronics. I owned the first cartridge-based video game system that didn't require overlays on your television screen. This... Continue Reading

This blog gets read by thousands of people each day. Yet only a handful of visitors ever leave comments. Response rates are typically low because most of us are very busy, or we don't feel compelled to share our opinion. I understand because I rarely leave comments on other people's blogs. I just enjoy reading them and moving on. I would like to see a change in that today because I am going to ask... Continue Reading