Take a Chance – The Tree Fell Perfectly

Take a chance in business. Sometimes (many times) you have to do that to make progress.

In baseball, you can say that you miss all the pitches you do not swing at. In football, you miss every possible completion you do not throw. In basketball, you miss all the shots you do not take.

When it comes to business, you miss all the sales you do not ask for. You miss all the opportunities you do not attempt.

Thank you to Son-in-Law Brian Barker for cutting down a hickory tree in our back yard. We have wanted it down for quite a while. We either want to build an add-on dining room, or at least a deck. at some point.

Take a chance. My son-in-law did, and he got a tree to fall perfectly. Your business chances may turn out just as well.

He looked doubtful when he saw where it was located, just three lawn-mower widths away from our kitchen window.

We had noticed the leaves had spots on them, and we wondered if the tree were coming down with some kind of disease. He had asked about cutting down a tree in our woods for firewood. I don’t think he expected for us to suggest a tree in our yard.

He had to land the tree between our house and a pear tree, and it had to miss a pine tree at the edge of the yard.

Brian could have just not attempted to fall the tree. In fact, he suggested I talk to one of our mutual friends to see if he could suggest someone to do it for us. I think Brian was really worried about how we would feel if it went several feet farther south than where we were looking. If it did, it would hit the corner of our house and possibly tear off a gutter. I was able to persuade him that I really hoped he would try it, and we would not hold it against him if it did fall off course a little bit.

Brian said, “When you hear the saw start up, tell the girls (my wife, Rhonda, and his wife, Rachelle (our daughter)) to get out of the kitchen. … I’m serious.”

It fell perfectly!

Take a chance in your business efforts, just like Brian did with the tree. Sometimes, you will fail, but you will learn something. Sometimes, though, a surprising opportunity may come your way. You may be afraid to follow up on it. If you don’t, though, you will never know if it could have been good for you.

Maybe your skills are not good. They will never improve if you don’t try.

Be wise. Do your due diligence, but when the time seems mostly right, take a chance. The results may pleasantly surprise you. Maybe it will fall perfectly!

Would you like to write a book? Every book you do not attempt has no sales. It has no impact on anyone. Have you never done it before? Are you willing to take a chance? Would you like some help from some who have gone through the scary path before you? Would you like some time-management skills to help you in your writing?

You could check out some more writing tips here.

When have you taken a chance in business? How did it help you? Do you have a breakthrough moment, you would like to share with us?

We would love to hear from you in the comments section below.

February 14, 2020February 14, 2020

What Is the Cumulative Effect? Encouragement?

What is the cumulative that causes encouragement. I had accomplished much more than I realized.

I have been involved in a writing project that has taken far longer than I anticipated. I have written snippets, research items, whole paragraphs, and rough-drafted chapters. My discouragement has slowed me down at times. Most of those items have been collected in a writing application known as Scrivener. What is the cumulative effect of all this effort?

Besides items saved in Scrivener, several of the chapters were already saved in a Word document.

I was discouraged because of the difficulty of collaborating with extremely busy co-authors (through nobody’s fault), the struggle with producing “good-enough” writing, and working within my own busy schedule. Finally I came to the end of what some writing coaches call, “the vomit draft.” I decided to print out the whole thing and put it in a notebook.

What is the cumulative effect of scattered writing? Encouragement when it is all put together.

This is not the actual title or cover art for the book.

The encouraging thing that happened when I printed this out is that it came to 450 pages. It is double-spaced, but it would probably be 300-350 pages even single-spaced.

When it comes to writing a rough draft, you just need to keep plugging away. Part of the reason I was discouraged on this project is because I teach on the topic of How to Write a Book in 28 Days or Less – Without Stressing Yourself to Death. I have accomplished that task more than once, but this was a different kind of project.

Since I had the writing scattered in different places, I really didn’t know how much had been accomplished.

By having this volume of material, It will be a matter of tightening the writing. Many editors actually describe editing as cutting out much of the material. That will certainly be necessary here, but it is encouraging to know that I can be ruthless in that cutting process.

What is the cumulative effect of the scattered writing? The sheer volume means I can be ruthless in editing.

If I had not printed the paper copy, I would not have realized what had been accomplished up to the point.

There is still a ton of work to do, but at least a rough draft is done.

This experience has shown the importance of perseverance in writing.

Have you had similar experiences in hitting roadblocks in writing or in reaching business goals? We would really be glad to hear from you. You could ask a question, or, better yet, give us some helpful tips in the comments section below.

February 2, 2020February 2, 2020

Success When Preparation Meets Opportunity – Our Unplanned Day

Success when preparation meets opportunity can be illustrated when what seems to be luck manifests itself.

Yesterday, Rhonda and I just took a day off. We had plenty of things we could have done, but we just recently came into a position of a little increased cash flow.

We both were in the mood to act on impulse. We had seen TV commercials of steak and lobster deals at a well-known restaurant featuring a country, recently known for outbreaks of fires. We decided to go to that restaurant..

We like where we live, but we would have to drive 60 miles to get to that restaurant for the TV deal.

Our Great Unplanned Day

We just took off.

Working from home and being your own boss is great!

The sky was overcast. We could have taken the fastest route, which would have been Interstate 57 and Interstate 24. We were headed to Paducah, Ky.

We decided, rather, to take the scenic route. In fact we just drove in the general direction of our destination. There is no shortage of deer in Southern Illinois. Speaking of the steakhouse we were going to, we previously visited the country it is known for. That was several years ago, but we were surprised to see that kangaroos were just as plentiful there as the deer are here.

We did see some deer. We saw some parts of our countryside that made us feel a little like Daniel Boone when he said, “No, I was never lost, but I was a might bewildered once for three days.” I kept singing, “Three-hour tour” (If you know about Gilligan’s Island, you will get that.)” Finally, we turned on the GPS and confirmed that we were going to end up on a familiar road again.

We did have some general ideas of what we wanted to accomplish. I needed a new suit, and we remembered a clothing store there where I had bought one abut 20 years ago. We knew it was still there because it had advertised on TV too.

I went there and found one. They held it for us while we went to eat lunch.

Then we went to a couple of home improvement stores and found some new stick-on plank flooring. We are going to use it in our bathroom.

We did have a good meal, but, most of all, we just enjoyed the day together. We checked prices on suits and went to the Kentucky Oaks Mall. We went back and bought that first suit I tried on. We even did something exciting like grocery shopping.

Vacation Unplanned Days

Unplanned days can be really great. In fact, when we go on vacation, we usually try to plan to have an unplanned day. Lot’s of times we end up playing miniature golf, but it is not necessarily planned. Sometimes, many times, those are the highlights of the trip.

I have a friend who tells about the time he and his wife just started driving west. They had a several-day vacation without any planning at all. I’m not sure they recommend that all the time or for everyone, but they said they had a wonderful time on that particular occasion.

One year, when our children were small, I had a trip planned for work. The week before it was supposed to take place, the organizers cancelled the business event. It just happened to be during the spring break for school. The kids were off. I was scheduled to be off. I suddenly turned to Rhonda and said, “Let’s go to Disney World!” Rhonda looked a little surprised, but she agreed. We packed and left. At that time we lived only 8 hours away. It tuned out to be a fabulous vacation.

The Value of Rest

Unplanned days can be great for rest and relaxation. What is the value of working so hard toward your goals (which are extremely important) if you don’t get to enjoy life along the way?

Rest and getting way from stress can also be great rebuilders for increased productivity when you get back in the swing of things.

Success When Preparation Meets Opportunity

Sometimes it looks like “luck” when we obtain success.

Rhonda and I went to the Kentucky Opry two or three years ago. It featured some young musicians. The MC of most of their programs teaches some music, and several of his students were on the stage. He, on more than one occasion, called on some of them to jump in on some of the songs unrehearsed. They did very well. He made the statement, “Success comes when preparation meets opportunity.”

Sometimes opportunity presents itself when you don’t really expect it. That is why you need to be ready at all times.

When you learn new techniques, you may not be very good at using them at first, but when you keep trying, you improve. If you continue long enough, you get to where you are actually good at utilizing those techniques.

Rodney Miller and Jann Carl are the co-hosts of a great TV program called, Small Town Big Deal. They tell of going into many meetings trying to gain sponsors or investors. They were turned down many times, but their attitude is, “No meeting is a bad meeting.” They say they always learn something. They learn new ways to pitch their ideas. They get smoother at making their presentations. Every meeting is an opportunity to improve, to prepare more. Eventually, they had more positive results with many of their meetings.

The point is, in your business, you just need to keep preparing. Many successful business coaches have evaluated other businesses. While no one can predict the future, these experienced entrepreneurs observed the failing business, and they were convinced that the failed businesses were very close to success. Because of their own experience of staying with it until things turned around, these evaluators have a reason for thinking others were very close to reaching their goals.

Conclusion

Prepare, and you will be ready when opportunity comes.

On the way to success, though, take some time to enjoy yourself. You can get to the place where you can enjoy some unplanned days.

If you would like know more about some more business tips like these, click here. If you interested in some great training that would help you to be prepared to meet opportunity, check this out.

I would like to know your ideas about this. Have you had some good unplanned days? Have you had unexpected opportunities come your way? Please let me know in the comments section below.

January 26, 2020January 28, 2020

Learning Through Trial and Error – Upwards Basketball and Success

Learning through trial and error is important when entering any new venture.

Today, my wife and I went to see an “Upwards Basketball” game. Our grandson, Jameson, has played for a few years.

You might say that their team, Kindergarten through first or second grade, I think it its, is a “peewee” team. They have varying levels of abilities, but this experience is especially designed for them to have positive experiences while learning the game.

At this level, there is a lot of stopping and picking up the basketball while they are supposed to be dribbling.

When the possession changes, the coaches constantly just tell the teams which direction to go.

They learn to keep their hands up on defense, but they are encouraged not to steal the ball unless it just falls into their possession.

They also are encouraged to shoot when they have the ball. They try to get each one to have a shot at the basket. When a basket is made, there is a lot of cheering from the fans, regardless of whether it is made by their child’s team.

So it is with business sometimes. When you are trying to learn the skills for a new business, sometimes you may feel like some of those players. Sometimes they don’t even know which direction to go. Sometimes they make mistakes, or should I say, lots of times they make mistakes. The coaches keep the action going. They see the value of keeping on until their skills improve.

My daughter tells me that the teams that are much older, look a whole lot more like the competitive basketball we might be used to watching. Still, sportsmanship and positivity is emphasized. I think it is a great program.

In our online businesses, our speaking experiences, and our writing projects, we cannot stress enough the value of continuing.

When you make mistakes, and you often will in those early days, learn from them and go on.

If you don’t know which direction to go, learn from more experienced people, if you can. If that opportunity is not there, sometimes you just have to make a decision and go with it.

Then, keep taking your best shots. Eventually, more of them go through the hoop. In business, eventually you will approach and obtain success. Actually Jameson made several of his shots today.

Learning through trial and error is important in both basketball and business.

It seems like I am on a basketball kick right now. Who knows what a life in the day may bring next?

How have you benefitted from trial and error in your business experiences? Who has been a good coach for you? When has someone with a positive attitude encouraged you to keep going?

A very positive business community can encourage you in your journey to success. One of them is mentioned at the end of this other basketball article.

I would like to hear from you. If you have any questions, please ask them or give your own experiences in the comments below.

Until next time,

Randy

January 22, 2020January 22, 2020

Persistence in Business — Basketball Memories

Basketball Memories Remind Us the Importance of Persistence — It takes persistence to consistently win!

Persistence in business sometimes has some unusual parallels.

Last night, my granddaughter invited me to take her to our local high-school men’s basketball game.

I had one student in particular I wanted to watch play. His grandfather and I were in the same class at this local high-school.

This student is a freshman; however, I remembered seeing him play last year at the junior-high games. I thought I might get to see him play in both games. When I got there, though, about a minute after the JV game started, he was not on the floor. Then I spotted him in dress clothes sitting behind our bench.

Finally, I realized he was not playing for the JV game because he was a starter for the varsity.

Last year, our school had a nearly undefeated season. They lost one game in a winter tournament, and then they lost again, having advanced to the regional tournament.

At least four regular players from that team were seniors, so the makeup of this year’s team is quite different. They had a senior and another boy who was either a junior or a senior. I don’t remember what grade the middle starter was in. Then they had two freshmen.

To make matters worse, we played a school that happened to be our arch rivals when my friend and I were in high school. We lost quite handily, although I did get to see the freshman I came to watch make some very good plays.

When we were in high school, we always wanted to beat this rival team. Many times we would get close, but we just never could get over the hump … Except … One time we played them on their home court. It was their homecoming game, and on that particular night, we did win — by one point!

Persistence does pay off. Even when an athlete does not play on a team with a winning season, he or she often learns the importance of integrity, fair play, good exercise, coordination, and contributing to the work of a team.

I even joked to a college coach with whom I became good friends. I told him a joke I often used. I said, “I was one of the ones who made the first five great!” meaning that I was faithful in practice, but I was never one of the starters on the team.

I thought he would get a kick out of that. Instead, he very seriously replied, “A good practice player is worth his weight in gold.”

Persistence in business pays off. You may not hit the top of the sales in your particular niche. Yet, you may do well enough that you reach the point to where you can quit your “day job.” You may reach the point to where you have freedom of schedule. You will still work hard as you work for yourself, but it will be a very rewarding journey.

Let’s just remember that persistence pays off. Who knows, by the time my friend’s grandson is a senior, they may have an almost undefeated season again.

Persistence in home-based businesses coupled with good information pays off greatly. A program called “Wealthy Affiliate” is one of the best places I know to get the good information and training a person would need to succeed in an online business.

January 13, 2020January 13, 2020

Overcoming Obstacles to Success – Reflections on the Way to a Speaking Engagement

Overcoming obstacles to success came to my mind on the way to, and following, a speaking engagement.

Occasionally, I meet with a group of pastors for breakfast. Those are always great times of fellowship.

Overcoming Obstacles to Success - Reflections on the Way to a Speaking Engagement — Water Across the Road: A Major Obstacle

A couple of months ago, Harlen Johnson, the moderator of the East Central District Quarterly Meeting asked me If I had plans for Saturday, January 11. He then asked if I would speak on the day of their quarterly meeting. I checked my calendar, and I was glad to accept.

We reconfirmed the next time we ate breakfast together. Then he said he got a text from one of the men in his church saying that it looked a little like the weather might be dicy that day. So, he asked if I would also be able to come the following Saturday if they had to cancel that day. I said I could, so I penciled in the next Saturday, hoping that it would become available when I got to keep the first date.

Two days before the event, we confirmed we were having it on the original date. The weather was not predicted to be the best, but it was mainly going to be a rain event and not one of ice and snow.

Oak Valley church is just a little over 60 miles north. It could take any from somewhere between an hour and an hour and-a-half to get there, depending which route I took. I had directions for a safer route, but I opted for the shorter route that was listed on the GPS program.

I knew that could be dangerous. The road could be blocked at some point because of the abundance of rain we had the night before. It was not storming, but the rain was still gently coming down too.

Would I make it? Would I have to call and tell them I would be late? Would I have a cell-phone signal if I had to make that call?

It turns out that there was only one spot where water was coming across the road. The weather forecasters always tell us not to drive through water because even as little as four inches can sweep a car across the road. I had to take a calculated risk. It really was not much of a risk at all. I could that there were no strong currents, and the water appeared to only be about a half-inch deep, if that. I made it fine.

I was speaking on Jeremiah 14, and one of the things mentioned in that passage was that of natural disasters.

I was reminded that earlier this year, just south of where I live, there were communities devastated by floods–natural disasters.

Reflecting on this for the business world, when a natural disaster hits a business, there are two options. First, you can rebuild. Secondly, you can regroup and move on.

Unfortunately, there is a third option, and that is to quit altogether.

Among others, there are three major obstacle to success in business. One of the major ones is to quit. Many times, if we could have seen the future, we would have realized that success was just around the corner. It does take a while for the cumulative effect of your efforts to see fruit. Though none of can see the future. Many successful people have the opinion that others quit too easily or too quickly.

Another obstacle is that of fear. I could have allowed the fear of driving through the water keep me from getting to my destination on time. I am grateful that it was easy to see, in this case, that my fear was groundless. How many people are there who miss their dreams because of fear of failure?

A final obstacle is the perception that I don’t have time to pursue my dreams. That can be a tricky one, depending on how many present commitments you have. However, the way to overcome this is to establish whether your dream is a priority in your life. If it is, you will find things to let go in order to carve out time for new things in your life, such as that dream business. Most of us can also benefit from time-management techniques.

I run across many people who would like to write books. In fact, surveys have shown that over 80% of the poplulation would like to write a book. Yet, far less than 10% ever accomplish that goal.

Would you like “Time Management Tips for Writers”? Just tell me where to send it below:

Happy day! Happy life! Happy Business!

Plough through your obstacles!

Until next time,

Randy

P.S. I listed three obstacles to success. What are some that you see? Please comment below.

January 8, 2020January 8, 2020

Life Is Short – Time Management Techniques and Strategies for Writers

I have three friends who have reminded me that time is short – even when it might seem long. Each reminded me of the need for making the most of the time we have. Since I am a writer and some of you are writers, this concept reinforces even more the need for time management techniques and strategies for writers.

First, my friend, Roger, with whom I have gone on several missions trips for the ministry of which he was director, had a heart catheterization a couple of days ago. The doctors said his heart is strong, but there were some other issues that would continue to give him some problems. He is still with us, and he even said, “I’ll probably see you Thursday.”

Thursday is when we meet together with a prayer- and Bible-study group. Then after that, I always say, “is when we have the real meeting.” Several of us follow up by eating breakfast together.

Then I had another friend, Jim, who had some heart problems last year, received word later in the year that certain tests showed a high likelihood of cancer. He went back for another test, and the indicators were not as great. So, the doctors then wanted him to have an MRI that would be very specific to their suspicions.

When Jim met with the doctor for the results, the doctor said, “I don’t know how to explain it, but the results are zero.” Jim said he knew how to explain it because many people, and especially his wife, had been praying for him!

Last Sunday we went to the memorial service for Aunt Dorothy, my wife’s aunt who passed away. You see Aunt Dorothy was able to stay in her own home until she passed away. In a couple of weeks, she would have been 100. She said, after a visit to the doctor, “No one knows how much time they have.”

None of us know how much time we have, so we should make the best of the days we do have.

In order to beat the enemy of procrastination, writers have to set up deadlines. If they don’t have those, they may never get done. They can be self imposed or they can be put in place by a publisher.

I would like to give you a free gift, “Time Management for Writers.” Get it quickly because I am going to have to shorten the report. Many of my friends tell me that I have “given away the farm” with this report. In fact one friend put the info in place and finished his book. That is great, but, really I am offering a coaching program that will walk others through the process of getting their dream books done. Some will get this report and still want the extra benefits of coaching, but, like I say, there is enough here to help you get your book done. Just fill out the info below to sign up.

Now, if you wait till the report is revised, you will still get a great value. It’s just that I probably won’t give away the farm completely forever.

Go here to check out some more about writing your book.

January 6, 2020January 6, 2020

Avery’s Money Pizza

Would You Like to Have Money So Plentiful That Getting More Would be Like Picking up a Pizza?

Yesterday, we went to my grandson’s, Avery’s, seventeenth birthday party. Here is a picture of him with Rhonda and me. He has passed both of us in height!

Avery with Randy and Rhonda — He Doesn’t Even Have His Shoes On!

We wanted to give some money for a gift, but Rhonda got a little creative after seeing a post on Facebook or Pinterest.

She had been in Marion for a ladies’ seminar planning meeting, and on the way home she went through the drive-through of a local pizza place. She told the girl helping her what she was planning because she had asked if she could jut buy a box with nothing in it. After she told the young lady what she was going to do, the girl grinned and blurted out,

“Oh, Will you be my Grandma!”

Here is a picture of the present we gave Avery.

Admittedly, they were just all $1 bills, but I think he liked it very much.

Wouldn’t it be great if making money were as easy as investing 65 cents in a pizza box and then receiving 15 times that in return.

In our case, the love of family is greater than finances, but finances do help!

Several years ago, I started experimenting with making money online through internet marketing. One of the ways to do that is through affiliate marketing, and the best place I found to learn how to do that is a site called, “Wealthy Affiliate.”

I started taking the training and working with the program. Before long, I had enough coming in from affiliates to cover the cost of my program.

I was still working my “Day Jobs” and doing my other ventures of writing books and doing some public speaking. I also continued as a bivocational minister. Each time the revenue from those online ventures increased, my “day jobs” picked up. For instance I started as a part-time adjunct professor at the start of a new college and moved through the ranks to become the provost before I left. Those claims on my time caused me to be work less on my online ventures, but I kept learning.

Since I “retired,” I am getting back into the swing of things and am enjoying it vary much. During that time with the college, I finished books nine and ten of my writing projects, and am currently working on a collaborative book.

I am offering coaching for those who would like to be writers, and in the next few weeks, I will be offering a course on writing. For those of you interested in the personal coaching options, you can click here.

My your days be prosperous and your times with family filled with joy.

Wishing you the best in 2020,

Randy

December 16, 2018December 18, 2018

Small Town Big Deal – The Book

Wow, what an opportunity.

My wife, Rhonda, and I recently made a trip to Ocilla, Georgia, to meet with Rodney Miller, the president and Co-host of the TV Show, Small Town Big Deal.

We finalized our plans to begin a wonderful writing project, telling the story behind the show.

We really enjoyed the trip, as we used to live in Georgia. The first place we lived while there, and where our oldest daughter was born, is just about an hour and-a-half north of Ocilla, and the second place we lived, where the other three children were born, is just about an hour and-a-half north of there. So, we truly got to combine business with pleasure.

It was great to see old friends and to get a start on this project. It will be a collaborative work. I will serve as the coordinating author. The co-hosts, Rodney Miller, and Jann Carl will serve as collaborative authors.

America’s TV Program

The first program aired in 2012 on RFD Network. It still airs there, but it also appears in many major markets as a syndicated program. It is one of the fovorite things for us to record on our DVR through our satellite provider.

Since many of America’s small towns or rural communities are often overlooked by the main-stream media outlets, Small Town Big Deal focuses on the small communities that sometimes house some of America’s best-kept secrets. Many outlets focus on the huge metropolitan areas like New York and Los Angeles, and that is OK, but we have here the stories from many areas that are sometimes referred to as “the forgotten America.”

As such, this truly has been dubbed, “America’s TV Program.”

Rodney started working on the program in 2010 by shooting a pilot with a proposed co-host. After a while, the arrangement did not work out, and he had to shoot another one by himself.

He started the first season as just the single host, but something unusual happened on the day they aired their first episode of that season in Septemeber of 2012. They received an email from a former Entertainment Tonight weekend anchor expressing interest in the show.

That is where Jann Carl came in. Roger, Rodney’s friend from church who later became the executive producer, read the email first. He thought it might be a prank, but then he showed it to Rodney.

Jann loved the idea of the show. She said that she “always wanted to be Charles Kuralt.” You may remember some of his segments entitle “On the Road with Charles Kuralt.” She also said, “I promise you I am not a stalker.”

Rodney contacted her and, after several conversations, she became the co-host and part owner of the program.

Rodney says this brought instant credibility and helped a great deal with the attempt to gain sponsors for the show.

Rhonda and I were able to meet with Jann when she visited her family in the St. Louis area in early December. We were able to talk for a couple of hours.

Rhonda’s complement was: “Jann is just as sweet as she appears to be on TV.

Though we don’t have a picture, we were able to meet her mother too.

Many of you will remember Jann’s 14 years with Entertainment Tonight where she became the weekend anchor for the show.

Not to be outdone, I really want to get my picture in here too.

The book shares about both Rodney’s and Jann’s pre-Small Town Big Deal life.

I consider it a great privilege to work with both Jann and Rodney, and I look forward to meeting some of the members of the production team.

From Despair to Success

While the show enjoys a good deal of success today, getting there was not always easy. After all, if it were easy, everybody would be doing it.

Rodney shares his setbacks and times of despair. He especially recalls a time, after show had been in production for a few years. The show seemingly was about to go under. Either they were going to have to raise more money or get the show in the black on their own. They had to make some hard decisions, and to inform all those involved in production of those decisions. Fortunately many stuck with the project, and they weathered through the storm. Then the program became profitable on its own.

The Dreams

Rodney’s company asked him to do a TV commercial when he was CEO. He was reluctant to do that. In fact, he tells of how he was really shy as a young boy and how one of the happiest days of his life came when his high-school guidance counselor told him that speech was no longer required for him to graduate. Yet, he agreed to do the commercial. He said he fell in love with the camera.

Then a few years later, he had the idea for a TV show. Not knowing anything about TV, he really didn’t think anything would come of. Then one day at church he found out that his friend, Roger, had great experience and knew very much about TV production.

They started talking and finally decided they could try such a venture. Rodney wanted programming that was family friendly and that could highlight the great strengths of small-town and rural life.

The Incredible Journey, Beating Overwhelming Odds

As mentioned earlier, there were many ups and downs, and there were many times they could have quit and thrown in the towel. There were many discouragements. The great thing about the team came in the timing of the discouragements. They were never all down at the same time. They and members of their families encouraged each other.

Jann’s friend told her they “had created a unicorn.” Small Town Big Deal is a one of a kind almost mythical and legendary creature like a unicorn.

Most TV programs are owned by big production companies with a lot of financial backing before the projects get started. Jann, Rodney, and their investors own the program.

One sponsor turned them down for a sponsorship, but they would not let them leave either because they were intrigued by their business model

There came some turning points where they could have gone under, but they remember the red-letter day when they could cover all costs with their present capital and sponsorships.

Conclusion

Many people dream, but, more often than not, many never see their dreams become reality. Small Town Big Deal is the story of the dreams of a farm-boy turned CEO, and a girl from Carthage Missouri turned movie star who says she always wanted to be “Charles Kuralt.” As you follow their incredible journey to beat overwhelming odds to produce a successful TV show, you will be inspired to go for your dreams. You’ll learn to have a dream, to be open to opportunities when they present themselves, to be creative and to regroup when necessary. Most of all, though, you will see the value of hard work and perseverance. Enjoy this great story, and then create one of your own!

August 2, 2018August 3, 2018

Business Writing Tools – Creating Great Images and Graphics

When you are involved in writing on the internet, you want to have quality content, and you want to be as efficient as possible when you create it. I am going to give you an example in this post for one of the best business writing tools – creating great images and graphics is entirely possible with this WordPress plugin.

The image above, highlighting my writing, speaking and coaching business was created right in the WordPress document.

I liked it very much.

Business-writing tools are very important for any business. First of all, you are likely to have a website, and you will have to have content on your website.

Then, you don’t want it to be just any content. Rather, you will want to have useful content. In order for the useful content to have a hearing, though, it will need to be appealing.

One of the things that adds value to any webpage, blog, or article is an image. Having several relevant images is even better.

Aside from a website or a blog, you are likely also to produce other types of written content. You may write an ebook (or a print book, for that matter). Images add value to that medium.

In this article, we will look at three aspects of image creation for our websites. First we will see what some of the options are. Second, we will see a new option that has become available as I write this. Third, we will discuss the likability factor of these types of image creation.

The Old Standards – Previous Options

You can get a really good program – one that is an old standard. The problem with it at present is that for some of who are beginners, it may “cost us an arm and a leg!”

Fortunately, there is a similar open-source option that has been available for a while too. Many think it is almost as good as the more expensive option.

We bring these up because they are really good programs. They have even become know as the old standards in the image-creation field.

That first one is known as Photoshop (Notice that Adobe Photoshop has registered trademarks for both terms–Adobe and Photoshop). It is an excellent program. One of the things that add such value to it is the ability to work with images in layers.

Actually, many of us think that the price for such a great program is very reasonable, but for the person starting out, it may seem a little pricy.

The open-source program is very similar to Photoshop, but it is free. It is called, GIMP. GIMP stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It, like Photoshop, allows you work with layers.

Both programs have features that let you filter the images and adjust the color and transparency of each layered image, as well as many advanced features.

Are there any other options?

What Else Can We Do? – A New Option

We have discussed these two good programs. However, if you are using a website builder, you will likely have a box called a content editor where you put in your words, and of course you can input your pictures too.

WordPress is one such website builder with which many of us are familiar. In fact, I am writing this post using that platform.

Using both GIMP and Photoshop, you have to go outside of the content editor and work on your photos or other images. You can crop the photos or resize them. Sometimes you can flip the horizontal or vertical direction of the photo, as well as doing many other things. Once you have your image edited to your satisfaction, you can save it to a file.

Then you can go to your content editor and input the image. Usually, the editor will give you the option to import the image from the file where you stored it.

That is all good, but wouldn’t if be great if you could work with editing the image right in the content box instead of having to go outside the website builder?

Well, there is good news.

There is a newer option. It is called DesignLike Pro. You can start with your images right inside the content editor in WordPress. Then you can click on a button to edit right there.

I am trying it right now.

I just took a screen shot on my MacBook Pro.

Those of you who use WordPress will recognize the content editor. Notice that at the very top, there is an option to “Insert Design.” Since I have already installed the Plugin, it took me right to a screen where I could begin working on images.

Notice the blue background. That started out as an image similar to a business card or a larger image like a website header. Since it allows me to work with layers, I just kept clicking on the text and pictures and deleting those items.

Then I added an image. I was able to go to my desktop and get the screen shot. Now that I have already done that, it shows up in my image gallery, and it will be even easier to insert if I want to use it again.

Let me try some more examples:

I am going to “Insert Design.”

I clicked on the image to enjoy Lifestyle, Then I saved and inserted it here.

Now if I want to edit this image, I just click on it, and the orange pencil icon appears. I can click on that right here in Word Press. Then I can start deleting or adding to layers.

Let’s delete some.

Notice that it deleted the word, “Lifestyle.”

Then I deleted the layers that had the Facebook icon, and the words, “Come to join our facebook page.”

You get the idea. I can do all of this within the word press editor.

Will I like It? – Advantages of the New Option

I guess I can only answer for myself, and I have only had it for two days, but, “Yes! I do like it.”

It is not free, but it is much less than photoshop, and I really like being able to work with the layers (and it has some other editing features too) without having to go outside of what I am already doing.

Conclusion

So, yes, we have three great options. They all have their advantages. I do like the DesignLike Pro.

If you would like more writing tips, you may go to DrRandyCarney.com where you could download a free gift of “Time Management for Writers.”

I wonder if any of you have used this program.

What do you think about the idea of having something like this as a plugin for WordPress?