Mike's blog

Is there such a thing as writer's block?

Image: Andy Newson / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Have you suffered from it?

Is it real, or imagined?

How did you get out of it?  read more »

You probably already know that Nathan started his online business while on deployment in Afghanistan - it's one of many things I admire about him.

Bootstrapping is one of those American phrases you hear all the time online. Wikipedia describes it as "A self sustaining process that proceeds without external help." In other words, and relating it to a business start up, it means doing it yourself and not investing lots of money to do so. It's how 95% of bloggers start their businesses.  read more »

I was lucky enough to get two advance review copies of the book and you can hear what I have to say about it in the video below, and also find out how to win my second special copy.

You can find out more about the book at http://www.deliveringhappinessbook.com/ and you can order a copy at http://www.amazon.com/deliveringhappiness

Other Reviews:  read more »

Conventional wisdom tells us we should:

• Create and encourage a vibrant community through blog comments
• Be active in other social media as a way to direct people to your blog
• Build an email subscriber list of really engaged people you can offer product to one day
• Use interesting and inspiring images in your posts
• Break up longer passages of text with headings or bullets
• Encourage people to connect and reach out to you via a contact page
• Have a detailed about page which explains who you are and why we should read your blog

All agreed?  read more »

Before I write a post, I jot down some bullet points to make sure I get the message across. Let's see if you can read a bullet point blog post!

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This is a guest post from Kevin Tea.

Blogging can be a roller coaster of a ride, taking you from elated heights to depressed lows. You run the whole gamut of emotions from joy through frustration to despair - and that can be on a good day! The people who go into blogging expecting to make a quick fortune are rare and I think most are pragmatic enough to realise that it involves hard work and perseverance. That mindset that is ready to accept that blogging can be a slog even though the passion and drive remains, are rarely prepared for the downsides such as seeing months of hard work possibly wiped out due to situations outside of their control. Which is what happened to me.

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This is a short video review of a couple of books I've been enjoying recently. You'll find (non affiliate) links below if you want to get your own copy.

This is where to go to find out more about Passionate Living

And here's the site for How to be Rich and Happy

I also promised to link you back to my full review of the latter and you can find that here: Mike's review of How to be Rich and Happy.

Competition  read more »

If you've been reading my blog, you'll have been following the story of Eben Pagan's upcoming launch. Here's the link to the next video in the series.

But for today, I want to talk about my observation of his launch.

Image: Tom Curtis / FreeDigitalPhotos.net  read more »

It has been a privilege over many years to support our Island's biggest sporting event in some way. Between us, Julie and I have variously commentated on local radio, compiled statistics for listeners, provided safety cover in Kayaks, worked on aid stations, and have generally helped at Ironman in any way we could.

I have always been filled with admiration for the professional athletes in triathlon - they have honed their bodies to the point where they have evolved almost into a new species of endurance "being."

But for me the heroes have always been people like Darren the palm tree man, Manuel the waiter and Paula from Wales. Ordinary people like you and I. People who train for a year, who save as hard as they can to buy a decent bike, and who endure pain you cannot begin to even imagine. Just so they can one day say "I did it!"

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I wrote a post last week about Eben Pagan and how he generated $29 Million turnover from his home office last year. That post linked to the first video from him in a series which will eventually lead to a product launch of some kind. I suggested that it would be a good learning experience for all of us to watch the videos, get onto his launch email list, and see how he manages the whole thing. Apart from anything else, the content in these videos is amazing!

The second one is out now, and you can view it here.  read more »