Students Of Success

Goals are of vital importance in our lives. Many of us spend our lives without any definite purpose, simply drifting from place to place. Setting goals help us to focus our lives and to advance confidently in a definite direction. Without them, I don’t think our lives can truly be complete.

If you are looking for proof of the importance of goals, you need not look any farther than two pivotal studies on success and goal-setting, one completed by Yale University and the other by Dr. Lewis Terman of Stanford University.

In the first study, Yale University kept track of their graduates during a 20 year period and found that the 3% who set goals were worth more financially than the entire 97% of the students who did not!

In the second study, Dr. Terman of Stanford conducted a study of 1,528 students all with IQ’s above the genius level. His study found that intelligence had nothing to do with success and financial acumen but that goal-setting did!

So now we know that goal-setting is vitally important to our success, but how do we do it? I first recommend that you take a day or two (longer if needed) to spend some time meditating about your passions in life. Start to make a list. Some wise men recommend that you try to write down 100 goals for your life. Lou Holtz, the tremendously successful football coach at Notre Dame and more recently at the University of South Carolina, said that while still in his teens he wrote down over 100 goals for his life (one of which was to coach a college football team to a National Championship - which he did). A few years ago at about the age of 60, Coach Holtz had achieved every single goal he had written down. So he had to write another 100 goals and I’m sure he’ll get those before long too!

I recommend that you try to write 100, write them out and break them out into long-term, mid-term, and short-term goals. You can write your own definition of the time periods involved, but I would recommend that short-term is up to 5 years from now, mid-term is 5 to 15 years from now, and long-term is 15+ years.

Now that you have goals, you need to start taking advantage of them! This is where most would-be goal-setters fail. Anyone can write a goal, but I’d wager that if you asked 10 goal-setters what their short-term goals were after a week of setting those goals, that 9 out of 10 would not be able to answer!

You need goals in your life in order to achieve your dreams and have the success you desire. But just as important is a system for keeping your goals constantly in your mind.
We’re back to using affirmations and mind-imagery!

After you’ve written out your 100 goals, take all of them and write them in the form of 100 affirmations. Example, if your goal is to earn enough money to take your wife on a second honeymoon to the Caribbean, then you could write: “I am enjoying the company of my wife in the Caribbean sun by January 1, 2009 with the money that I gladly save and invest for my benefit!”

Then, follow the advice of Rod Moore of Self Management Systems who said: “Each morning, the first thing you should do is spend 5 - 10 minutes and invest it in programming your mind to go get the goals you have set for yourself. By doing so, you are imprinting or programming your mind each day to focus on what you want. By doing this consistently your sub-conscious mind will begin to manifest your desires into your life.”

What I’ve found works best for me is to review my short-term goals daily, and then once a week review the mid-term and long-term goals making adjustments as necessary to the term of specific goals. I find that this keeps me focused on achieving the goals with the shorter term without forgetting about the goals on the horizon.

I want you to be tremendously successful and I believe that you will be with the techniques and exercises that we’ve discussed. Be a goal-setter, but don’t just set them and walk away. Set them and follow them and achieve the success you deserve! Until next time!

To Your Success,
Joel S. Nelson

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Joel S. Nelson operates Harvest Mind Enterprises, an operation targeted to individuals interested in developing personally by harvesting the power of the subconscious mind. For more articles on the topic, go to http://www.harvestyourmind.com/newsletter.html

About the Author

Joel S. Nelson has spent years studying the power of the subconscious mind and the science behind success. He believes that growing up we were all taught the wrong things about success and personal achievement by our parents, in school, and on T.V. and that society perpetuates those misconceptions. Joel’s goal is to reverse the damage done by bringing the science of achievement to one million people by the year 2020.

If you want to sell something on the internet you might need to write a salesletter. A salesletter is a one page website which tells people about your product, and why they should buy it.

You could study a few books to learn how to write great salesletters, but if you are a beginner you might get confused in this way. It’s a better idea to buy one good book and try first learning from it. Then you might get another book. But it takes time, so in the meantime you can read this article and it should be enough to write a good salesletter. To be successful at internet marketing you need to first learn a little bit, and then take action. You will learn by doing it. It’s the best way to learn. So let’s learn the basic steps of writing salesletters.

First, read some other salesletters about similar products as yours. Of course, don’t copy or plagiarize, but you get some good ideas and get inspired.

Second, write an interesting headline. The headline is very important. If the headline doesn’t catch people’s interest, they won’t read your salesletter, however interesting it is.

Write the headline in red, black or blue and use bigger font than for the rest of the page.

Third, tell a story. Tell about some problems people have in your niche. Then tell them how the thing you are selling can solve their problems.
Fourth, using bullet points or lists, tell people about all the benefits of your product. Write about as many benefits as you can.

Fifth, finish your newsletter calling for action. It means that you need to tell people to “buy now”. You need to tell them also why they should “buy now” Try to find some good reasons why they should act now. Otherwise people will procrastinate.

You can also make your salesletter better if you use the word “you” often. Use it more often than “I”, “we” or “us” combined.

Make your salesletter simple. The background should be white. Most of the text should be black. Use other colors to emphasize certain phrases.

Use a lot of “buzz phrases”, in proper context, that are important to your niche. Make these words more visible by highlighting or underlining them, or make them bold, italic, etc. But don’t overemphasize. Be selective. Emphasize the most important phrases only.

Don’t use caps too much. Don’t use too many images either. Better none, than too many.

Offer money back guarantee. It will increase your sales conversion.
To make people “act now” offer some bonuses.
Be honest; don’t over-exaggerate the benefits of your product.

Don’t try to make your salesletter perfect at first. Just write it, and then you can work on improving your salesletter.

To learn more about INTERNET MARKETING go to http://www.internetgoldmethod.com You will get a FREE e-book “Perpetual Profits” and an access to a lot of internet marketing educational resources.

The author is a currency trader and an internet marketer. His website: http://www.internetgoldmethod.com

Why practice Catch and Release fishing? The fish population, and the size of the fish caught, have been on a steady decline for a number of years. This is due to the advancement of ice fishing technologies. Gadgets and advancements to other ice fishing equipment are making it much easier to catch fish in everyday ice fishing spots. However, we are seeing more and more anglers returning the majority of their catch to the water. While no one can deny the fact that a nice hot fish dinner after an ice fishing trip is very rewarding, most fishers are enjoying fishing for the sport, not for the food.

Another common practice used in combination with catch and release is called ‘selective harvest.’ This is the practice of minimizing the waste of fish, and providing a diverse opportunity for fishing while preserving fish conservation. The easiest way to do this is to practice catch and release. Only keep what you will definitely use. While catching and keeping the fish as a prize can bring you great joy, so can the release of the fish. This ensures that there will be fish for you to catch in the future. Releasing smaller fish also helps ensure there will be large fish in the water for spawning. Using the catch and release techniques means the fish will be in peak physical condition, and size, when you decide to keep a catch for food in the future.

All fishermen should keep the conservation of fish at the tops of their minds. Whether you fish for food, pure recreation, or for sport, when the fish are gone, there’s no more fishing. And with an increasing number of anglers reaching both highly accessible and more remote areas, conservation is becoming increasingly important.

There are also some more exact reasons to practice catch and release. Many water bodies now require you to catch and release. Also, as mentioned, physical conditions of the fish caught play a role. There is no reason to keep small fish, as these fish will grow, and ultimately produce more fish. There are also regulations in place for catch limits, zero catch limits and season restrictions which demand the use of catch and release.

Catch and release, and selective harvesting of fish guarantees the continued growth of fish populations and your continued enjoyment of fishing.

Find fishing information on a wide variety of subjects at Fishing-Source.net, including; habitats, fish spec sheets, fishing equipment and more.

How Aromatherapy Works!

It is through your nervous system, the body’s electrical pathways for sending and receiving signals or currents of energy, that consciousness of all your body parts, systems, functions, and patterns of movement is coordinated.

Communication within the body is conducted through your nervous system.

When wires are jammed or blocked transmission of signals is impaired. Essential oils are natural chemical messengers your body readily responds to for bringing it into harmony and balance.

Essential oils travel through the nervous system to the brain to nourish and balance both the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system, enhancing brain chemistry.

I. The Neuro-chemical delivery pathways for your Nervous and Hormonal systems - the Vapors from the essential oils enter through your nose and immediately stimulate your Olfactory nerves which then signal your Limbic system (the control mechanism in your brain for emotions and memory).

Through your Limbic system (emotional brain), the Amygdala (your emotional control center) and Hippocampus (center for Memory recall, Learning and Emotional control) are stimulated.

Your Limbic System also sends a neuro-chemical signal to your Cortex (center for contol of Intellectual processes) and your Hypothalamus gland, located at the base of your brain, the Reptilian or Old Brain (regulates many body functions, including appetite, thirst, temperature, sleep and mood).

The Hypothalamus is a KEY PLAYER as it orchestrates the interplay between your nervous and endocrine systems. It is thus at the juncture of your Hypothalmus that a signal is sent to your Pituitary gland (Master controller of your entire Endocrine system).

This neuro-chemical signal and response mechanism culminates at your Adrenal glands (your fight or flight, response to stress mechanism which controls aggression and sexual response).

II. The Neuro-chemical Delivery pathways for your Organs and other systems - the Vapors entering through your nose go immediately into your Lungs where they enter your Bloodstream.

Through your Bloodstream the oils are delivered to your Heart, as well as all your Body tissues and Organs, the Liver and Pancreas, your Reproductive organs, Skin, Kidney and Bladder. The oils then circulate back to your Lungs where they are excreted.

Research shows that through inhalation essential oils will remain for a longer period in your cell tissues ( 4-6 hours) than through any other means of application.

More and more case studies are being recorded, proving the effectiveness of aromatherapy for therapeutic use.

Virtually everything used today in modern drugs can be traced back to a botanical extract. Hippocrates said that there is a remedy for everything to be found in Nature.

To administer essential oils for inhalation simply dispense 1-3 drops of oil into the palm of your hand, rub your hands together vigorously, and then breathe in their aroma for 30-60 seconds.

Therapeutic-Grade Essential Oils are highly concentrated, a drop or two can produce significant results. There are many cheap chemical copies of essential oils available, but these are not recommended for therapeutic use.

You may also make an aromatic mist using essential oils, or an aroma diffuser to dispense the lighter more fluid essential oils scent into a room. Essential oils, when diffused, provide a high quality air filtration system.

Surely we all prefer a natural, effective treatment that causes no added stress to our systems. For those who wish to be directly involved with their own self help, who prefer a remedy that treats the whole system rather than just the symptoms, aromatherapy provides a safe, natural treatment, one that can produce surprising results where other methods of treatment have failed.

Aromatherapy is a natural and holistic healing therapy proven effective and safe for improving your physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

KG Stiles is a certified aromatherapist practicing in Ashland, OR USA PurePlant Essentials is her line of pure organic and ethically wild crafted essential oils. KG formulates aromatic oils for: colds and flu, insomnia, stress, anxiety, depression, menopause, anti-aging, skin care and more. KG’s DVD & book, “Your Aromatic Signature ~ How to Formulate Blends that Heal,” are scheduled for release in 2006. To learn more visit: PurePlant Essentials You may contact KG through her website for a personal reply KGStiles.com. KG invites you to Subscribe to Health Mastery Ezine to WIN FREE Aromatherapy Products. To learn more visit: Subscribe To Win KG Stiles Springhill Wellness Center, 2520 Springhill Drive Ashland, OR USA (541) 941-7315

Want a fast way to get creative? Stop thinking! Most of what we call “thinking” is simply labeling. We’re repeating old tapes in our head. This type of thinking is not creative, and there’s no way to access our true creativity from this mindset.

Like most adults, you probably lost the skill of dropping into a creative mindset at around eight years old. It’s time to reclaim this skill. Here’s how to access your innate creativity.

=> Daydream

When you want to become creative, your first step is slow down. Relax. Play some calming music, or simply close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and daydream for a few minutes.

Don’t try to rush this initial slowing down. You’re aiming to drop out of the world of your usual concerns. Fantasize. Imagine you’re living on tropical island, where your every wish is catered for. Make this daydreaming scenario as real as you can. Hear the waves, let the sand sift through your fingers, and feel the warmth of the sun on your skin.

=> Control anxiety

While you’re daydreaming, beware of ruminating about your everyday problems and concerns. If you find yourself worrying about your job, finances or relationships, switch back to fun-fantasy mode. Take a couple of deep breaths, close your eyes, and build up your tropical island (or other) fantasy in your mind once again.

If you feel guilty because you think you’re wasting time when you take a few minutes to daydream, your own experience will show you that you’re NOT wasting time when you daydream, you’re increasing your productivity. Our rush-rush lifestyle chokes off creativity. Only relaxation will allow your creativity to bubble up and will get you into a true creative state. (Note: such a state is also called a “peak experience” or “flow state”.)

=> Brainstorm

When you feel completely peaceful and relaxed, you can start working at your creative task. Do some brainstorming.

One of the cardinal rules of brainstorming is — ACCEPT ANYTHING, DON’T JUDGE.

This is because you can do things with your ideas once they’re on paper or the computer screen. You can reverse them, combine them with three other ideas, and grow further ideas from the seed of one idea.

Unless you accept junk ideas, you can’t make the creative leap which gives you a brilliant idea. So never discard anything when you brainstorm.

Try brainstorming in different locations to see whether it makes it easier to come up with ideas. I love my little Palm PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) because I can write anywhere — in a computer checkout line, when I go for a walk, in the library.

Often, when you try to brainstorm in the place you associate with “serious” work, like your office, it’s hard to stay in a creative mood.

So try brainstorming in bed, in the living room, in the mall — anywhere you happen to be.

=> Create personal symbols, and manipulate them

One of the secrets of creativity is the use of symbols. This is because our right brain thinks in images. Our right brain isn’t verbal, language is a function of our left brain. If you remember to use symbols while you’re working at a creative task, you’ll be using both sides of your brain.

How does this work?

Let’s say that you have a ferocious inner editor. Whenever you try to work at a creative task, your editor pops up and tells you you’re doing it wrong, your work isn’t any good, you’re wasting time, you don’t know enough, and on and on.

Close your eyes for a moment and allow an image to form of your inner editor. Mine looks like a buzzing mosquito. Yours may look like your mother, a high school teacher, or a yapping small dog.

Whatever your inner editor looks like, it’s time to shut it up. You can do this by locking your editor in a room or a box (throw away the key), asking it to pack its bags and leave, by spraying it with bug spray, or by whatever inventive scenario you develop. Unfortunately, you aren’t destroying your editor for good. It will pop up again, and you’ll need to go through the process again. However, it does get rid of the editor long enough for you to complete your creative task in freedom.

You can develop a symbol for anything. One of the most useful is for your current creative task. Let’s say you’re writing a book. Close your eyes, and allow a symbol to come to you. Maybe it’s a paperback or hardback, with the title and your name as the author on the cover. Whatever symbol pops up, accept it, even if it makes no sense. For example, your symbol might be an ice cube, a fire engine, or a Disney character. You can work with whatever symbol comes to you.

You work with the symbol in whatever way you please. You can dialogue with the symbol, for example. Ask it questions, and write down the answers. If you’ve ever done any dream work, this is a similar process.

It’s often enough to simply be aware of the symbol, to imagine it. The symbol is part of your creative right brain, and being aware of it triggers your right brain into action. You’ll find that the symbol is especially useful if you’re not in the mood to work on your creative task. Just play some music, bring your symbol to mind, and daydream. You’ll find that your mood changes, and you begin to work without effort.

Think of your symbol as a key to your creative self.

=> Allow yourself to be creative

Finally, it’s important to acknowledge to yourself that you can’t force creativity. You can only allow it. Daydreaming, brainstorming, and the creation of symbols are all ways of giving yourself permission to be creative.

If you use affirmations, try this: “I allow myself to be creative”. Relax, and allow your creativity to bubble up.

Try the above processes whenever you want to be creative. They’re easy, and they work. Remember to switch off your thinking mind, and you’ll be as effortlessly creative, and as happy, as a small child making mud pies or building sandcastles.

Wouldn’t you like to clone yourself as a writer, or have someone do your writing tasks for you? Contact Angela Booth at http://www.angelabooth.com now because Angela expertly ghost-writes articles, proposals, marketing communications, Web copy, and books. Yes, you’re the author of the words Angela writes for you. Angela is fast, reliable and professional, and works with individuals and small businesses as well as large companies.

You don’t have to be Mexican to enjoy Cinco de Mayo and it’s wonderful customs. The 5th of May commemorates the victory of the Mexican Army over the French at the battle of Puebla, and that makes it a great day to plan your Cinco de Mayo party! Follow these Cinco de Mayo party tips and ideas, and planning your Fiesta will be easy.

Adorn your party space with a few simple Cinco de Mayo decorations. Choose your colors from the flag of Mexico – green, red and white. These colors allow for a creative recycling of party supplies from previous holidays. If you still have some unused red plates from Valentine’s Day and some green plates from St. Patrick’s Day, mix them up with a fresh stack of white plates and voila!

No Cinco de Mayo party could be complete without a Pinata. They are easy to find at your local party store, or even easier to buy online. Use small piñatas as centerpieces for your tables. Be sure to pick colors that match your décor and if you do decide to hang one, make sure it is in a place that is conducive to blindfolded lunatics swinging sticks. If you have a patio or deck, this would be the better option.

Dining with your family and friends is an important part of the Cinco de Mayo celebration. Treat your guests right by serving up delicious Mexican favorites like a Burrito Bar, Chips and Dips (Guacamole, Salsa) Mexican Flan Dessert and of coarse, Margaritas. Instead of using a table cloth for your Burrito Bar, lay out a Mexican blanket to cover the food table. Liven up the buffet by turning upside down a sombrero to hold the chips. Margarita glasses are also a good idea for holding your dips.

Music is an integral part of any celebration, and your song choices should really make the party come alive. For Cinco de Mayo the best choice is any Latin pop song. Shakira, Mark Anthony, Selena, Los Lobos and Ricky Martin are all lively party music choices. Another easy idea for party music is to tune your television to MTV Latin ( if your cable provider has it).

Richie Anderson writes North Coast Events, a professional event decor studio located in Cleveland, Ohio. He also operates NCE Party Supplies, an online party store featuring Cinco de Mayo decorations and party supplies for a Fiesta Theme Party.

Picture this scene, an adolescent boy walks into a barber shop
and says to the barber, “Don’t touch me, I’m only here because
my mom forced me.” Search engine optimizers are sometimes put
into the position of the barber. They are knowledgeable and
willing to work on their client’s site, but the client doesn’t
want any modifications done to the text that is visible on her
web pages. This kind of dilemma occurs due to general
misconceptions about search engine optimization. Let’s look at
these misconceptions.

1. SEO only involves writing meta tags and working on
“invisible” code

Many people want to get a high ranking for various keywords or
keyword phrases, but if you look at the text on their web pages
you can hardly find these vital words. They come to a search
engine optimizer and think that he or she will sprinkle these
words into the meta tags and it will work like magic. This is a
major misunderstanding.

It is true that your main keywords and key phrases should be in
your title tag and your description meta tag, and even in the
keywords meta tag, but they must also appear on the page itself
and they must appear in some strategic places on that page. Some
clients say, “But I like the way it looks now.” You may like the
way it looks, but the search engines will not recognize that
your page is truly about Electronic Widgets unless these words
appear in headlines on the page, in the opening paragraph, in
the file or domain name in link text and in the body text of
your page.

So, by all means if you already have copy that works, that can
convert visitors into buyers or otherwise accomplish the
purposes of your site, keep it. But you should also be ready to
listen to what the optimizer has to say about modifications that
will enable search engines to select your site when a potential
buyer makes a query for your key words or phrases.

2. Search Engine Optimization is Tricking the Search Engines

Some clients say, “Don’t touch the visible copy but put in the
modifications invisibly.” Using invisible text is something that
can get you banned from a search engine. The main purpose of
search engine optimization is to give your website the best
possible chance to come up in good positions when someone makes
a query for your keywords or key phrases. The key to doing this
is to design web pages and write copy that is intelligible to
search engines, without sacrificing the experience and
understanding of your end-users, the people who visit your site.
So, don’t ask your SEO professional to try to trick the search
engines, but work with him or her to present your website in the
best possible way. 3. Search Engine Optimization deals mainly
with onsite modifications

Even if your website is well designed, has proper meta tags and
has keyword-rich text, this alone does not guarantee that your
site will rank high in competitive queries. All of these
factors, design, meta tags, and copy, are on-site factors.
Search engines certainly take them into consideration, but they
also value off-site factors such as how many high quality or
authoritative websites link to you. This means that hand-in-hand
with your on-site optimization you and your promotion team will
have to embark on a campaign to get links to your websites
coming from websites that are already highly regarded by the
search engines and by the public in general.

4. Search Engine Optimization works instantly

Don’t expect to get a flood of traffic right after your site has
been optimized. Some search engines work in a fairly rapid
manner, but the main search engine at the present moment,
Google, is believed to have deliberately put an aging delay into
its algorithm. This means that it may take several months before
your site makes it into the top results for your particular
category, especially if it is a newly created site. During this
initial period you will also have to consider using other
promotional methods such as pay per click advertising, article
marketing, joint ventures, paid advertising in ezines and
offline advertising.

So, the next time you work with a search engine optimizer, let
him or her go about the task of making your website both user
friendly and search engine friendly.

Stop smoking. Not only will this help keep your blood pressure in line, you’ll also diminish your risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Smoking is main risk factor for atherosclerosis.Smoking injures blood vessel walls and speeds up the process of hardening of the arteries. So even though it does not cause high blood pressure, smoking is bad for anyone, especially those with high blood pressure. If you smoke, quit. If you don’t smoke, don’t start. Once you quit, your risk of having a heart attack is reduced after the first year. So you have a lot to gain by quitting.

Weight Reduction. Obese patients should lose weight.There’s a direct link between being overweight and having high blood pressure. The more overweight you are, the greater the risk. Start by making small changes. Cut 200 to 300 calories from your diet each day — about the equivalent of saying “no” to two chocolate chip cookies.

Decrease salt intake. High salt intake is linked to high blood pressure. You should consume no more than 2,000 milligrams of sodium per day (about one teaspoon of salt). The average American consumes twice that, often through canned soups, frozen dinners, soy sauce, pickles, olives and processed cheeses, which are loaded with sodium. Read food labels and select reduced-sodium products. Try to select food with low salt.

Add more fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products to your plate. Eat one additional fruit or vegetable with every meal. Shrink the size of your daily meat intake to six ounces, and designate at least two dinners a week as meat-free. Fatty diets do not directly affect blood pressure. However, saturated fats and cholesterol in foods raise blood cholesterol, which increases the risk for heart disease. Foods high in fats also are high in calories, which must be reduced if you need to lose weight. Like smoking high cholestrol is also a major risk factor for atherosclerosis.

Limit alcohol consumption. Drink no more than one 12-ounce beer, one 5-ounce glass of wine or one swallow (1.5 ounces) of 80-proof whiskey if you’re a woman. Men can double these amounts. Anything more elevates blood pressure. You can reduce your blood pressure by 5-10 mmHg by just restricting Alcohol intake.

Exercise. First, get the green light from your physician. Then, slowly introduce aerobic exercise into your life, increasing the time and intensity at a pace that feels right, aiming for at least a 30-minute workout most days of the week. Young people should jog for 30 minutes three times per week and elderly patients should walk longer distances than usual.

Decrease Stress and Anxiety: Yes stress and anxiety also play role in high blood presure.If You want your blood pressure with in normal limits, try your self to get happy all times. Try extra curricular activities to make your mind stress free. Stress can make blood pressure go up for a while, and it has been thought to contribute to high blood pressure. But the long-term effects of stress are as yet unclear. Stress management techniques do not seem to prevent high blood pressure. However, such techniques may have other benefits, such as making you feel better or helping you to control over-eating.

Caffeine and Blood Pressure: Caffeine in coffee as well as in other drinks, such as tea and sodas, only raises blood pressure temporarily. So you should be able to continue to have drinks that contain caffeine, unless you are sensitive to it or have heart disease and your doctor tells you not to have any.

Eat adequate amounts of potassium-rich foods. Potassium, another mineral essential to good health, works in concert with sodium to regulate blood pressure. Studies have shown that people who consume more potassium have lower blood pressures than those who consume less. Rich sources of potassium include many fruits, such as cantaloupe, bananas, watermelon, oranges and orange juice, as well as potatoes, spinach, and zucchini. (Important note: if taking medication for high blood pressure, such as diuretics, consult a doctor before using salt substitutes that contain high amounts of potassium.

If you want to know more about Lowering High Blood Pressure naturally Visit our website.

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High Blood Pressure Symptoms Causes Diet Treatment

How does this eBook writing process actually work for an individual? It is truly a unique experience for all of us. I will share with you some personal thoughts about my process.

The start of the process is the idea. That’s never been a problem for me. I consider myself an “idea” man; a person who can brainstorm both real and fanciful ideas that I hope others will recognize as important and ‘run with them’. I don’t have the time or energy to pursue all the ideas myself nor would I want to. Most people have marvellous ideas for eBooks. We’ve all said to ourselves, “Some day I would like to write a book about _____________.”

Assuming you have the idea for an eBook, what happens next? Ignoring the formatting and research and gathering of resources and all those myriad of other things you must physically do to write the eBook, what is the process really like? I keep an expandable file folder for ideas. My optimism says it must be expandable! I also keep small notepads or scraps of paper handy at all times to record my wonderful ideas! One thing I’ve learned is to put enough detail into these notes so they make sense several days, weeks or months later. Too often I’ve re-read my jottings only to find out they don’t make any sense at all and I wonder why I even bothered to make a note in the first place. Or I frustrate myself because that gem of an idea is gone!

Certain activities are more conducive than others for getting those little brain waves. I find driving the car or riding my bicycle on long rides produce most of my ideas. Waiting in doctor’s offices is inspirational. Talking to others about the topic also elicits good ideas which I promptly write down and thank the person to whom I am speaking for providing me with a good idea. So does going to bed and reading a magazine. I think it’s the nodding off that does it!

I also like to play around with titles for my eBook. It’s great fun and gives your more creative side of the brain a chance to do something useful. Let you imagination loose on the job of a title. The more of these you write the more you are also painting that ‘big picture’ of envisioning your eBook in print. Think also about what graphics or pictures may appear on the cover. You will have many options when the time comes to choose a title. Enjoy the process.

Everyone has some specific time of the day when she/he is at her/his best to write. Ideas may come at any time but writing and organizing thoughts require a special time for most people. My most productive time is early morning especially if I wake up early (even 4:30 a.m.!) and my brain has ideas flowing! I get up and write. If I have little time I will jot down ideas in point form under a heading so I have enough details to flush it out later. Whatever your time, you will probably, like myself, need some quiet time. Quiet makes me more productive and since I only write when I am ready to do so, I don’t want to waste any time. I let my ideas flow during these sessions. I handwrite my notes using short cuts for words. I also keep an outline of topics handy to jot down ideas under the appropriate topic so I don’t forget them.

I use the computer and word processing software to produce the draft copies from my handwritten notes. I do this ‘translation’ of my notes to the keyboard ones during those times when I am not at my creative best like late afternoon or early evening. I still keep note pads handy for any ‘flashes of brilliance’ that may come my way.

Once I’ve got the draft copy done I print it off with double or triple spacing and in a print quality as low as I can get to preserve my cartridge. The spacing is for corrections and changes which I do in red. If someone else is also going to proof your material he/she can write their suggestions in a different colour on the same draft copy. I also do this same thing using a red font directly on the document on the computer. I sometimes make a duplicate of the document and use the duplicate for editing.

I also produce a “data sheet” for longer documents or projects that outlines what technical information I may require another time. The data sheet includes font types, sizes, colours for diagrams, special formatting used, tab settings, margin sizes, types of borders, location of graphics I used, … This is particularly a good idea if you plan writing a sequel to the material and is also much easier than going back to the original document to get the information. I store this information with the finished document in the same folder for easier reference. Something to think about!

I usually read the draft document after I’ve printed it and carry it around with me for several days or weeks. Any opportunity I have to read it I can do so and make changes or add ideas. This is also a way to subconsciously be working on the document just by reminding myself it exists every time I look at it. The subconscious does good work! Make sure you jot down what the subconscious tells you, though, because this part of the brain isn’t too good at memory! I have a theory that you should only try to remember those things that are absolutely essential. Everything else should be written down for reference. If something is important to remember that with continual or repeated use it will make its way to your permanent memory. I marvel at ‘trivia’ experts but can’t figure out why they would keep so much stuff in their brain when so little of it is of much use. In any case, it is important that you leave the document alone for a while so you can move on to other things and return to it when the mood strikes or the deadline looms! Being ready to do the re-writing process is important. This necessitates something else in terms of planning. You can’t leave things to the last minute. You must write early, let the ideas percolate in the brain, write, re-write and edit then publish well before it needs to be ready.

As soon as I know I must write something or have a deadline for completion of a project I immediately write out a “skeleton” of the finished product. You almost invariably have ideas come immediately to mind or have questions you need answered. Write something down. This may include a fanciful title and possible topics or chapter titles. This again facilitates the subconscious brain working on the project in the background of your busy day. I also jot down any ideas that may be worth exploring, any people who readily come to mind who could help me, and any past experiences I’ve had or material I’m aware of that would help with the finished project. These initial notes I find the most helpful of all. The real value comes when I finally get back to being serious about working on the project. I’ve got that ‘kick-start’. I’m not starting with a blank slate but with something already written. A blank piece of paper or blank computer screen can be intimidating. It is so much easier to begin the writing with something already done.

I also tend to work in spurts. I have a long period of time when the writing stage is paramount in importance. I “feel” like writing. I don’t want to work on the computer. Then I have a time when my brain just doesn’t cooperate and the creative writing isn’t coming. That’s when I do the technical stuff or transcribe my scribbled jottings on to the computer monitor. I work hard for a few days, get bored or tired, leave it for a while then come back to it with enthusiasm. That’s probably why I like to set an artificial targeted completion date well before the actual one. That gives me time to stop and start or start and stop whichever way you want to look at it!

Much of what I’ve said here isn’t earth-shattering stuff. In fact, none of it is! But understanding how you operate best is important. Teaching others to understand how they operate is important too. There is no magic formula for doing work and accomplishing tasks. I work best in spurts. I do the thinking when I am ready to do it. I do the creative writing and jotting of ideas when I’m ready. I do the formal writing when my creative juices aren’t flowing but I have some energy. I do the editing and re-writing when I’ve had plenty of time to leave the project for a while and return to it, sometimes several times, when my mind is fresh or when I’ve had input from others. It works for me.

What’s your personal story about producing written work? I’d be interested in hearing it.

Know what works best for you and keep repeating it, refining it, massaging it…
Perfection in your own mind! There is no better feeling than a job well done.

© 2005 Paul Jackson

Paul Jackson is a published eBook author who has worked with hundreds of eBook authors helping them reach their dream of writing a book. His experiences with writing eBooks, conducting Book Camps, hosting teleseminars, doing workshops and coaching wannabe and published authors means eBook Authoring Services at http://www.ebookwritingandpublishing.com
is a good source of information for all eBook authors.