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How to Engineer Yourself for Peak Performance

A Guest Post by Alik Levin

Why are some cars faster than others? Why do some remote controls switch channels faster than others? Why do some mobile phones dial faster than others? Why do some digital cameras take pictures faster than others?

The answer is simple – some products are engineered with high performance in mind and some are not.

Why are some people less productive then others? We are all “engineered” the same, aren’t we? Fortunately, people can change and continually improve. You are your life’s engineer.

I am a software performance engineer and I’ve adopted J.D. Meier’s Software Performance Frame for my professional life. I am amazed by how this framework maps perfectly to my personal life. Here are a few examples:

Caching

Keeping just enough information at hand is essential to be focused and productive. I manage simple lists of immediate action items with related information. Once done with an action item, it disappears from the list releasing room for more current action items. The trick is keeping the list fresh, not stale. The other trick is having it handy and easily accessible.

Communication

I’ve developed a communication diet. I use email as my primary communication channel, which helps me be mobile and removes the need to be connected to any communication device. Anybody can reach me anytime no matter where I am. If you send me an email, expect a reply within 24 hours. Usually it is much less. If you call my mobile expect to hear “My email is <>, send me an email and I will contact you in 24 hours or less”. This helps me manage action items too.

Concurrency

Few humans can do multiple things simultaneously. Maybe some can, but most of us handle things one-by-one. Once engaged with one thing, I lock on to it. Once completed, I unlock myself for the next thing in the pipeline. I think of myself as a pipeline that processes things one-by-one. That said, I do my best to make sure my calendar does not have overlapping activities in it.

Coupling / Cohesion

How much dependency do you have? How tightly are you coupled to your office, people, devices, or time? The less you are coupled, the less dependent you are and the more productive you will be. Batching related items for processing is a productive technique for me. For example, I batch all office work for Sunday, because I am in the office all day long. That is the principle of high cohesion.

Data Access

What data gets processed? Emails are processed daily and I stopped reading newspapers and listening to radio and TV news. I use more productive techniques like RSS and alerts.

How do you process data? How much time does it take you to find a document, an email, or a contact? Building solid habits for filing and accessing data will save you time.

Algorithms

My productivity habits are like algorithms. Simple algorithms for email processing, meeting management, time allocation, and goal setting.

Mechanical work + streamlined processing = saved time.

For example, I never go to meetings without clear goals and an agenda. During the meeting I stay focused on the agenda and ask others to stick to it. I take notes which become the meeting summary and read them aloud at the end of the meeting, setting each action item for each participant.

Exception Management

Expect problems. There will be exceptions. Anticipating problems reduces stress when they occur. That way it is faster to fix the problem and with less negative emotion. Negative emotion drains energy and productivity.

Resource Management

How do you lock and release your resources? When your resource is locked, it cannot be used by others. Time is a good example. Do you allocate and lock your time proactively for important activities? If not, chances are you will be juggling a multiple activities simultaneously which is not productive. Allocate your time proactively, and increase your focus which reduces errors.

State Management

I manage simple lists of my life projects – customers, family, finances, and few others. Each list item holds its current state. The trick is having it handy and keeping its state updated consistently. It is best if it all sits in one familiar place.

Finally ask yourself?

Am I getting connected to the Matrix?

Or Am I getting disconnected from It?

The Matrix Trailer

My name is Alik Levin and I work for one of the world’s largest software companies, with more to do than there are hours. I like trying out new techniques for self improvement and personal development. I adopt what works and share it on my blog at http://practicethis.com.

January 15th, 2008 - by Charles Heflin

Things are getting very exciting as we get closer and closer to the official launch date of Pay-Per-Play on February 1st, 2008.

Thanks to your help, we have signed up over 24,000 core affiliate partners who were responsible for bringing on over 9,000,000 websites between December 6th and today. In all we anticipate our projected reach to be somewhere over 1 billion ad plays per month as verified by our 3rd party auditing company BPA Worldwide. That’s over 33 million audio ad plays per day. Revenue at $.02 per ad play (modest estimation) will be close to $700,000 USD per day… 35% of that revenue will go to PPP affiliates.

We anticipate our reach to continue to grow. Remember, as a core affiliate you can continue to sign up new affiliates under you forever. Tell your people to get in now before the doors slam shut on the opportunity. The opportunity to sign up as a core partner will extend beyond February 1st but one we reach critical mass we will close the opportunity. Those who are in, stay in and continue earning off the people in their downline forever.

We have gained national media attention and are on target to begin playing audio ads in the PPP network beginning February 1st. Some of our advertisers include the biggest advertising names in the industry. We have also gained attention by the 2008 presidential campaigners.

Right now is the time to refer as many website owners as possible (without spamming). Each time you refer a new website you are building a new piece of residual income.

Things are so busy around here that we are having to prioritize things. Our first priority is, of course, getting the PPP system running smoothly and flawlessly for affiliates. Training materials are almost complete. Banners have been put on the side burner for just a moment so feel free to create your own and submit them to CharlesHeflin [at] Gmail [dot] com for approval.

If you are sitting on the fence waiting for PPP to launch before recruiting website owners then you are giving your share of the pie away to someone else. I urge you to claim your piece of the pie while there is still opportunity to do so. There are over 180 million websites out there and we have only claimed 9 million of them. We still have a long way to go!

Good News…

NetAudioAds V2P (aka. Pay-Per-Play) was recently discussed in the Wall Street Journal after an interview. With Mike Knox (founder of V2P):

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120036638439890355.html

Kelly K. Spors of the Wall Street Journal visited with Mike Knox for over 30 minutes to discuss PPP. This means that collectively we are shaking things up. The WSJ wouldn’t have even nopticed us if we weren’t making such a large wake in the IM community. Best of all the WSJ came to us, we didn’t seek them.

A big thank you to all of you who are supporting PPP and actively bringing on new affiliates and websites. Without you PPP would not be possible.

First there was Pay Per Click advertising which pays you on the small percentage of website visitors that actually click on an advertisement.

Now there is “Pay Per Play” advertising that will pay you on 100% of your website traffic… NO CLICKS NECESSARY!

Get paid on 100% of your website traffic, no clicks necessary with Pay Per Play! Is this possible?
CLICK HERE

- Charles Heflin

Here we go again - another Guru kills the small guy. Fight back now !

http://www.dfildes.com

Resort Vacations Available Around The World

For about 20 years, Global Network Resort sold vacation packages for between $8,000 and $12,000 without any opportunity make any money. This meant that people were buying into the resort vacation club to take vacations, expecting nothing in return but a great vacation. They have recently merged to form a second company that is offering a business opportunity to those who want to experience a new lifestyle.

They also dropped the price of their vacation packages, making them more affordable to a wider range of people and sell them in a global market. Their members are not limited by geography and the member hotels and resorts have far fewer black out dates than many other plans. Meaning, there is more flexibility in planning a vacation around your schedule instead of planning it around available accommodations.

Additionally, people who want to earn a residual income can join a team that can make as much as $1,000 on every qualified sale of a product that has been sold for considerably more money. Additionally, they can earn money with a commission from other successful sellers of vacation memberships that they recruit into the company. With many internet marketing opportunities there is what is called a two-up rule, meaning the commission on the first two sales go to the person who recruited you into the business, eliminating your first two commission checks.

Other companies may also require annual or monthly maintenance fees but with membership at Global Network Resort there is only the initial charge, not other fees to pay to the company…ever. Compared to some vacation clubs that can charge an annual fee of up to $900 this is a significant savings.

Discounts available are not limited to resort hotels as they can be used on cruise and at ski reports. Some of the savings may include seven-night stays are four and five-star resorts for between $300 and $700, depending on the time of year. There are also special weeks where the hotels offer even bigger discounts to Global Network members.

The biggest advantage is having access to a global market of resorts and the pay plan for those choosing to participate in the selling aspect can allow the to receive commission on their sales and well as commissions on the sales of those they recruit for what the company call in perpetuity. This cannot only provide a steady and improved level of income but it can also provide future income for better financial security.

While the pay plan is centered on driving new business by recruiting new sales associates, the primary goal is to sell vacation packages through the companies web site as well as through personal contact. Many participants believe it is the best way for potential customers to learn about all the benefits of the packages as well as being able to get instant answers to any questions they may have.

Support by the company is available should any problems crop up while on a trip and someone will be available to help straighten out any kinks in the travel plans.

If you would like to learn more about Global Resorts Network, please visit:
http://www.global-travel-4-less.com

Michael Cheney Talks Traffic - Interview With A Traffic Expert

Michael Cheney, one of the most-respected names in Internet marketing, has been online since 1995 and is the man behind the 6-Figure launches of AdSense Videos and 11 Days To List Profits. He has unveiled a new videos product - “Michael’s Traffic Videos” which covers everything to do with traffic and comes with 100,000 instant ad credits and a tailored Fast-Track To Traffic Action Plan.

We managed to grab some time with him recently and quiz him on his favorite topic - traffic.

You’ll get a lot out of this interview including a killer 40-page E-book on traffic that Michael has written to help you avoid the Top 20 Traffic Disasters!

So let’s get started.

Q. Firstly Michael, thank you for joining us today in your busy schedule.

A. Hey no problem. Good to be here.

Q. We all know that traffic is important but could you just explain a bit about traffic for the beginners out there?

A. Sure. Traffic is the lifeblood of any business online. Without it you just die. We all know that. But what a lot of us don’t realize is that just like everything else on the Internet traffic changes very quickly. That is, the methods of getting traffic are changing all the time and that’s where people get caught out.

Q. What do you mean by “caught out”?

A. Well people fall into the trap of thinking that just because they know one or two traffic generation methods that they are some sort of traffic master. In reality just because you know how to start a pay per click campaign or a little bit about search engines doesn’t make you anywhere near a traffic expert. I’m trying to spread the word that there is a massive array of traffic tactics that most people aren’t even aware of, let alone using or mastering.

Q. Can you give us some examples?

A. Sure. Offline for example. You might immediately think that getting traffic is a purely online activity but the truth of the matter is that there are lots of things you can be doing offline to get people into your website. And it’s usually these sorts of areas that are being under-utilized and therefore there is less competition for that traffic as well.

Q. So by offline you mean advertising offline?

A. Not necessarily. That is one method, yes, but I’m thinking of more creative ways to get people into your website. It all comes down to the fact that having asked people on my list it came as no surprise that most people want to know about free rather than paid traffic sources. I’ve had to become an expert in free ways of getting traffic in my time online.

Q. What do you mean - I thought you were running a successful online business with lots of cash flow?

A. I am. But it’s not always been this way. When I first started out in 1995 I had nothing. No money to play with. Just my own initiative and imagination.

Q. So are you saying you’re against paying for traffic online?

A. No. No I’m not saying that at all. What I’m saying is that, especially when you first start out, you always want to focus on the free methods. You get the traffic in for free, make some sales and then you can reinvest some of that money into paid methods of getting traffic. This speeds up the process.

Q. So what particular offline methods are you referring to - can you give us some examples?

A. There’s one tactic I used that costs nothing to implement, is relatively quick and ended up getting me thousands and thousands of targeted visitors into my websites. When I’ve shared this tactic with other marketers at seminars they’ve started laughing and slapping their foreheads when they saw how easy it was. They were also embarrassed that they had failed to use this tactic. It was quite amusing.

Q. So are you going to tell us what this method is?

A. No! (laughs) It’s in my course! I truly believe in rewarding those people that are most eager to learn so instead of giving away all my traffic tactics in interviews like this I’ve put some of them in an E-Book I’ve written. It is free though if people want to get it.

Q. So how can people get hold of it?

A. It’s called “How To Avoid The Top 20 Traffic Disasters” and you can get it by going to Michael’s Traffic Videos - you’ll see it mentioned on that page.

Q. What’s in it?

A. Well I really wanted to raise the bar on a free E-Book so I spent a lot of time creating it. It’s 40 pages long and stuffed with juicy content on what NOT to do when it comes to traffic. As far as I’m concerned too many people out there tell you what you should do but not what you shouldn’t do. That’s where this E-Book comes in.

Q. Okay. I think we’re about done is there anything else you want to tell everyone?

A. Just that if they are serious about getting more traffic into their website they need to goto Michael’s Traffic Videos and get that free E-Book.

Q. Cool. Well thanks for your time Michael and speak to you soon.

A. My pleasure. Speak soon.