Wednesday December 5th, 2007: Issue #867
I’m not really an argumentative sort of man. Honest.
At least, I don’t think of myself like that.
But it seems that my inability to keep my mouth shut when I see something that doesn’t sit right often makes me seem that way.
Take my comments the other day about PayDotCom.
I was upset that on PDC’s site now you are told to enter your credit card details so they can take their fees directly rather than wait for you to pay them.
Allowing a company unrestricted access to take my money goes against the grain and is one reason I don’t often use Google AdWords (they do the same thing).
I expressed my annoyance both here and on the Warriors forum.
Mike Filsaime, the owner of PayDotCom is now quite upset with me.
Here is what PayDotCom’s site says: “PayDotCom has implemented a new automated billing system. All vendors must update their account in order to continue to use PayDotCom.”
Apparently, despite that seeming very clear-cut to me, I am mistaken. It seems that you can continue to pay your fees in the old way by ignoring the credit card details page and clicking a button that says ‘Skip for Now’.
Mike, who I know and respect is annoyed that I didn’t raise this with him privately, and feels that I’m misrepresenting his company by saying that the need to give credit card details is mandatory.
Well, I’m big enough to apologize. I am wrong. You don’t have to give unfettered access to your credit card. And in any case, I never intended to imply that Mike or PayDotCom are untrustworthy in any way.
As to raising the problem in private, I don’t agree. Just because I know Mike personally doesn’t mean that an issue with a publicly operating company shouldn’t be aired. A lot more people than just me are upset by what we thought PDC were doing, and by bringing the concern to public attention, Mike has had the opportunity to explain both our misconception and his rationale for the new policy.
If I don’t have to give my credit card details to PayDotCom, which it now seems that I don’t, I see no reason to stop using them as I suggested on Wednesday.
You can read Mike Filsaime’s clarification and explanation here: http://www.warriorforum.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=203495
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When I first started Internet marketing, one of my daughter’s closest friends got sick. Very sick.
It was hard seeing a bubbly and bright child brought down, first by the cancer she had, and second by the treatment she had to receive. My family and I felt impotent. There really was nothing we could do except hope and pray that things would turn out well.
Thankfully, they did and the girl (now almost a woman) bounced back wonderfully well and is still one of my daughter’s closest friends.
Back then, I pondered what I COULD do and ended up writing a small ebooklet - nowadays we’d call it a special report - about the importance of Mastermind Groups in our lives. The proceeds from sales of that book were - and always have been - set aside to be donated to the Starlight Foundation, an international charity that brings comfort to terminally and critically ill children by, among other things, granting wishes.
I haven’t mentioned my fundraiser for a long time, but through search engine traffic to the sales page, I still get occasional donations coming through.
As it is fast approaching Christmas, it would be very nice to send the Starlight Foundation another donation, so if you haven’t already got a copy of my book ‘How to Build Your Own Mastermind Group to Catapult Your Success’ (I know, dreadful title!) please take a look at the sales page at http://ebooklets.kickstartdaily.com/mastermind.htm
My daughter’s friend got better, but there are way too many kids in hospitals this Christmas who will not.
Let’s do a little to help make the time they have left a tiny bit more bearable.
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December is the season of Christmas and goodwill, mince pies and tinsel, crowded shops and empty bank accounts.
It is also the season of round robin letters.
Delia has two very distant relatives who insist on sending a round robin letter inside their Christmas card each year.
In case you are lucky enough to be unfamiliar with the term, round robin letters are usually long, often photocopied letters that sum up the senders’ year for all to read. They are invariably full of references to people and events that mean a lot to the sender, but mean absolutely nothing to the reader.
Why do people send them? A simple ‘Happy Christmas’ would suffice.
A three or four page, closely typed letter from someone you barely know (and who you probably have no other contact with during the year) telling you about things you don’t care about and don’t understand anyway strikes me as just rude.
Maybe we should play a game. I’ll call it ‘Pass the round robin’. Every time we receive one, hang on to it until the next one comes in and then send it to that person without any note or explanation. Let them wade through the inconsequentialities and try to puzzle out why they are being told stuff about people and event they know nothing about.
Or am I just a miserable old g#t?
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There is no question about it - I really do need to go and put my happy head back on! 
I think I’ll go to the gym for a nice run. Maybe the endorphin rush will restore my bonhomie.
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An Inspirational Thought
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Anyway (Author unknown).
People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self- centered; Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough. Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God; It was never between you and them anyway.
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Who do you know who would love Kickstart Today?
Don’t keep it to yourself - send them to
http://www.kickstartdaily.com today!
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The Quote of the Day
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Joachim Du Bellay said,
“Happy the man who, like Ulysses, has made a fine voyage, or has won the Golden Fleece, and then returns, experienced and knowledgeable, to spend the rest of his life among his family!”
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Today’s Power Thought
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Even the most outwardly motivated of people have days when they really can’t be bothered with anything.
The last few days have been like that for me.
Jetlag, tiredness, illness and general emotional exhaustion after a family crisis left me feeling that I could hardly be bothered to turn my computer on, let alone do any work on it.
Thankfully that feeling has now passed and I’m getting back into the swing. But it left me thinking about what the number one motivator really is.
We all read books and tips about how to maintain your motivation - even how to get some in the first place, but there must be one factor that over-rides all the others.
For me, that factor is caring.
If I don’t care about whatever plan I’m trying to put into action, I know that I will find any excuse, however tenuous, to procrastinate.
And boy, can I procrastinate!
There is a switch inside our brains that has to in the on position before we can achieve anything. That switch only gets turned on when you finally care more about the tasks you have to achieve to complete your plan that the other things that can so easily distract you.
But you do have to look a little deeper than the job in hand.
You may be sitting at your desk at work thinking ‘It isn’t that simple! How can I care about this tedious job I’ve got to do today? How can I stay focused and motivated?’
The answer is to look beyond the job and to consider the benefits to you. Yes, just like good sales copy, you have to learn to ’sell’ the task to yourself.
The job may be boring, but when you start to think about how great it will be when it is done, or how your stock will rise when you are seen to do the tough jobs with a smile on your face, or just how much personal satisfaction you will get from knowing you’ve beaten a personal demon, THEN you can start to care. Not about the job, but about the benefits.
And when you really, truly, honestly start to care, the switch in your brain will flip and your motivation will be free to soar to unbelievable heights.
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Fascinating Facts
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Deadly Nightshade, the poisonous plant of many a historical assassination is also known as Belladonna.
This ‘prettier’ name comes from one of the poison’s attributes - ingestion of small quantities makes the pupils of the eye expand.
In medieval times, women would ingest tiny amounts of the stuff to dilate their eyes and make themselves more attractive to men.
Hence the name, ‘beautiful woman’, Belladonna.