Catching the Next Wave!

It's been a while since my last posting and I am actually embarrassed for my reasoning for not being more responsible to my blogging commitment. It seems that I have been straddling the fence concerning taking action on the myriad of ideas I have for business ventures. So now as I climb down off of my fence I am reminded of what fence sitting is guarunteed to produce. Splinters!!!
I will say that my time has been mostly spent researching the Internet Market and Internet Marketers in a dire attempt to discover the next new, new thing and get out in front of the next big wave that always comes.....always! We all have witnessed those tidal waves that revolutionized an industry or impacted society in a significant way. And we all wondered from time to time what it would be like to be on of the "lucky ones" that were in the right place at the right time so that minimal effort was required to get swept up and spirited away to that place where dreams are fulfilled and success was not just a word.
Well, after much research and good old fashion"paying attention" to everyday trends I believe that my luck has met my preparation and I have stumbled upon the next major wave that will impact Internet Marketing and Marketers in the most significant way.
It's called Web 2.0 which is the buzz word for "social networking anf bookmarking" which people are starting to talk about but few truly understand. Now this is where I begin to get extremely excited about my prospects.
Stay tuned............I will!

AMBITION OVERLOAD

I was warned! I new the pitfalls of falling prey to the Gods of Irresistable Interesting Information and that awareness still did not protect me from their lure.
Anyone who travels on the Information Superhighway knows the temptation to take detours down unknown roads only to realize that they forgot their original destination. It's a trap....and it's delusional to think that we are accomplishing anything or getting any closer to our goals because we are soooo busy and have gathered sooo much very interesting information.
....and then those moment of clarity occur where we can painfully see that we haven't accomplished a god damn thing!
INFORMATION OVERLOAD is an infectious disease for any Entrpreneur and a potential killer of the spirit because of its' potential power to delude.
Hours, days and even months pass by with nothing much to show for it except for a bunch of half finished, very promising projects. Great "could have beens" that probably never will be!

THE NEXT MOMENT - DESCRIBED

Question: How is life like Florida weather?
Answer: If you don't like it then wait.....a moment....as it will definitely change!
I am happy to report that the results of our latest attempt to add members to our Internet Coast Mastermind Group is ALL good! Two new additions introduced themselves at our weekly Mastermind pow-wow a it proved to be extremely interesting and fun. Thankfully they were two very different individuals with unique stories to share thereby adding diversity to an already diverse group.
I just realized that even though we strive to develop intimacy or a level of comfort ability within the group it would be wise for us to beware of complacency as that can be a killer of creativity. It has always been one of my beliefs that moving out of ones' "comfort zone" was necessary to birth new ideas and take massive action on them. So, more succinctly put, "new blood" is not only a good thing but probably vital to a Mastermind Groups' ultimate health and survival.
So welcome Ed and Ron! I hope that you live up to the promise we have for you and that we meet, or dare I say surpass your expectations of what the ICMG can and will do for you.
Stay tuned........

What a Difference a day Makes!!!

What do you think inspired the adage, "It's always darkest before the break of dawn?" Well I would think that anyone that has been struggling with anything before they had an "aha" moment or realized some measure of success would immediately identify with that statement. If you've ever had the presence of mind to reflect on the moments before and after a breakthrough you might see the great contrast of light, attitude and hope. There is an amazing difference between those moments! .....And I use the word "moments because that's exactly what it is in terms of real time. One moment you might be in despair and the phone rings with a life changing offer that affects your "state" of mind and emotion in a significant way! Can you identify? If you think about it I am relatively sure you'll be able to reflect on one of those moments when the lights came on!
I am sharing the above insight because I have just had a series of mini "aha moments" that I sense will grow into a big aha event.
We have been trying to grow our Mastermind group while attempting to adhere to high standards and ideals as written in our Mission Statement. It was appearing to be a daunting task however we never succumbed to lowering our sights just to fill empty seats. I wrote and re-wrote several free ads in our regional newspaper to lure potential prospects and was getting either a menagerie of colorful characters or nothing at all.
Then, then week the newspaper printed the wrong meeting date, I was inundated with a slew of very interesting, gifted individuals that all seemed to be searching for exactly what we were offering. That is, a group of like-minded, highly intelligent. highly motivated, entrepreneurs that needed a venue for the free exchange of money making ideas and enterprises like they needed a drink a water in the desert!
What a score for all parties!
After a drought of potential Mastermind Group candidates we now are swimming in a sea of opportunity. Before receiving that first call I was trudging through the process of seeking out those rare individuals we had set our sights on and I can tell you that it was looking bleak and getting darker by the day. THEN THE DAWN! The phone rang and rang and the lights came on shining brighter and brighter as the calls continued.
So here I sit, enthusiastically reflecting on this transition when the above adage came to mind. One minute I was trudging through the process and now I am dancing, embracing the moment the lights came on.
So I repeat..."why is it darkest before the break of dawn?" I have no idea....it just is! Enjoy it before darkness comes again as it inevitably will.
Until then....dance!

MY BIRTHDAY EVE

As I sit here on the eve of my birthday, I fight the temptation to reflect and and conger up something profound. It is obvious that nothing truly significant happens as the clock hits 12:00am officially adding another year, making me another year older. Technically, as one minute flows into the next I can only age one minute at a time but we still place tremendous significance on the adding of another year to our Driver's License. We celebrate the day, sometimes becoming elated and other times depressed. This seems especially true when we arrive at those so-called "decade" milestones such as 30, 40, 50 and so on! It's almost as if we place far too much importance on the ticking clock as it reaches specific plateaus. All of this is certainly compounded by the commercialization of the birthday event by the selling of cards, candy, flowers and the like. all aimed at making a buck. Actually, lots of bucks are made by that imaginary line that is crossed by us all as the clock passes from 11:59pm to 12:00am every year on the eve of our birth day.
Ironically, the clock did just pass midnight several minutes ago officially transforming me from 52 to 53 years of age and I didn't feel a thing. Hmmm, interesting!

EXPECTATIONS

You would think by know that I should have learned my lesson concerning having expectations when it involves other people. I still combat daily those expectations that I have regarding myself and fail miserably every know and then. Add other people to the equation and I tend to be let down even as I continually lower my expectations again and again.
I usually have the same inner conversation stating the there must be other people that are sincere and willing to behave accordingly. This conversation also contains the commitment to perservere in my search for those apparently rare individuals who are worthy of my trust and respect.
The above revelation comes as a result of the unexplained disappearances of a couple of my Mastermind Group members. I say "unexplained" because they just opted to not show up, not call and not callback concerning our weekly scheduled meetings. I can easily digest people having changes of mind but what I cannot and will not stomach is the discourtesy of not conveying their intentions.
IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?
I THINK NOT!!!
My resolve is to continue my search and shake off the bitterness that haunts me form the past. For if I did bring the cancer of past resentments to my future relationships then I will surely fail before I even begin.
Wish me luck!

MAINTAINING EXCELLENCE

I'm proud to report that our Mastermind Group is slowly growing, developing into something that just might stand the test of time. But is that enough? Is not dying the same as living a life of excellence? I think not!
Now having formed the nucleus of our Mastermind Group we are entrusted with not only its survival but whether it will flourish magnificently or settle into mediocrity. I sometimes fear that my zeal alone will not carry the load long enough until others also champion the cause. I always wondered what it would really be like if one person's unwaivering belief in excellence could be cloned several times thereby growing geometrically. More simply put, what if every one of my fellow Masterminders matched my enthusiasm and passion beat for beat. I can only imagine the things we could accomplish and collective power we could realize.
Right now we stand at a crossroads with our Group's future in our hands to be molded like soft clay into whatever truth we wish to create. We could be destined for greatness and something that will not only stand the test of time but maintain excellence limited only by our lack of vision and belief that it can be so.
The responsibility is now ours with no one else to blame for the outcome.

MASTERMIND FIELD TRIP - NAP of the AMERICAS

Last night 5 members of our newly formed Mastermind Group took a quick trip to Miami to attend an event at the amazing NAP of the Americas. I perosnally haven't been there for several years and was quite impressed with how well it has developed staying on the leading edge of technology. I was on the original Information Technology Task Force committee charged with making the NAP a reality. It was a different time (1999-2000) when all thing seemed possible until the infamous "Tech Bubble" burst killing many dreams and stalling many professional lives. The NAP, however, emerged from the rubble managing to navigate the pitfalls that befell many other enterprising projects.
Anyway, our group had a great time first sitting in on an eForensics Roundtable which was both interesting and humorous at times. The highlight of the evening was the tour we took of the facility which was met with a lot of "oohs and aahs" as we traveled from room to room staring starry eyed at the beauty of this technological marvel we were witnessing. I must admit that I did feel a tinge of pride as I reflected on the many meeting we had with the "tech retards" we were challenged to educate on the what a NAP was and why should one be built in South Florida. Whatever adversity we met with was very much worth it as I now stood within its walls.
The secondary benefit of the evening was that I got to bond and share this experience with my fellow Masterminders who were now rapidly becoming my friends. During a few quiet moments on the way home I felt a renewed sense of purpose and vowed to myself to continue to fight for recruiting the best and brightest minds I can find to add to the Group. In addition I also felt even more responsible for not letting our present members slip on their initial commitment they made when joining the Group for my experience has taught me that if they do they then become a cancer that must be removed. Sometimes I need to look upon these responsibilities as "tough love" as it is that rationale that allows me to be OK with making hard choices which sometime makes me the bad guy.
All that aside, I had a great time and look forward to more like it!

MASTERMIND GROUP UPDATE

Another great Mastermind meeting today. Syeve brought Jack and Nick, 2 new potential members who have agreed to join. It is becoming increasingly clearer to me that we must be very careful who we recruit and ultimately let join as it has a direct and significant effect on the group dynamics and the direction it will self adjust to. We did all agree that the ultimate acid test is what can one "contribute" to not just how they can "benefit" from!
We will meet at a new location as a test and most of us are going on a field trip to a holiday event at the NAP of the Americas this Wednesday.
I'm tires so it's short tomight.
Until nest time....

MASTERMIND GROUP UPDATE

We had our 2nd meeting of the Internet Coast Mastermind Group (ICMG) today and I am still extremely excited about how it is evolving. Alberto Rodriguez, a recent addition to our group was referred by Steve Crass who couldn't attend as he was away for the holiday weekend. Alberto is from Ecquador and is a Web Designer and appears to be very sharp. Exactly the ideal candidate for our growing group. We all agreed to assist each other in our respective projects, each adding our individual specialties. I will contribute my writing and marketing...Carlos will add his Marketing, SEO and Web work while Alberto will add is web design/SEO skills. We will wait to determine what Steve wishes to contribute.
In the interim, Carlos agreed to build our ICMG site keeping it simple with a cover page and form for interested prospects for membership. Sounds Great!
We will meet again next Saturday and agreed to attend the I-Coast Luncheon on Friday.
Things are looking up!