I am living my dream!

September 28, 2011 by JD · Comments Off
Filed under: A Year From Now, Act On Your Dream, Dilbeck Marketing, Health, Murphy NC 28906, Musings, Site Build It 

Good morning, Earthlings (and visitors to this quaint little planet)! It’s another gorgeous day in my little slice of paradise. This is why I moved to Murphy. It’s beautiful here.

Happy WoooooHooooo Wednesday! It’s just about an hour until you’re over the hump for the work week.

Lots to do today. To-do lists waiting to be decimated! Websites begging me to write new pages! And some people have the temerity to call this work!

If I were wealthy beyond the dreams of avarice, I would still do what I plan to do today. That’s how I know it’s the right thing for me.

Those of you who know me, know I’m not rich — in finances — but I’m wealthy beyond my dreams in terms of freedom, doing what I love, living where I love, having lots of great friends all around the world, and being part of a loving family.

After staring Death in the face just over a year ago, I have a new appreciation for life and living and enjoying the adventure — including the uncertainty, the high points, the low points, and the unexpected joys over the next hill and around the next curve in my path. I will never — ever — take another day for granted and just go through the motions.

I am grateful beyond my ability to express it that I am steadily recovering, that the neuropathy is fading in my fingers and I can once again type rapidly and accurately, that my thinking is getting clearer and faster, that my memory is working better, and that I have new plans I’m working to rebuild my business, earn my own way, and get off of disability. A year from now, if not sooner, I’ll be standing on my own two feet and making my own way in this beautiful world, once again.

And, when it happens and I’m earning a good living, again, I will never again gripe about writing the check to pay my taxes. (I will fuss and fume about the difficulty of filling out all those dang forms, but I won’t gripe about paying my fair share.)

Without Medicaid, I would be dead now. I’d love to earn enough to be able to pay back to the government all that I received in medical care, medicine, and food stamps. I’m not sure, but it’s about a half-million dollars. Paying that back is one of my top goals. I intend to do all I can to make it happen.

Make no mistake about it. Cancer and chemotherapy are difficult to endure, but it was worth everything I went through to make it out the other side and enjoy watching the sun rise through the trees on a morning like this. The ordeal was made much easier by the support and love I received from so many people.

If you’re going through a difficult time, hang in there. Don’t give up. Life is worth the struggle. Smile through the pain and laugh for the sheer joy of being alive. Fight with everything you can to overcome.

And, knowing that all of us eventually lose to the Grim Reaper, make your last day memorable by looking him right in the eye socket and laughing so loud that it’ll push the hood right off his skull as he drags you away from us!

In a couple of minutes, I’m going to get another cup of coffee and go to work. I can’t pay that money back if I don’t work to earn it, first.

I have a marketing business to rebuild and expand. There is so much to do and I intend to enjoy every single step of the process. This is going to be a fantabulous journey.

I am very happy that I ran across Dr. Ken Evoy back at the end of the 20th Century and learned how to build websites that sell. It changed my life — for the better. And not just mine, thousands of us are happy we found him. You can see that nearly 40,000 of us like Sitesell’s Facebook page, and I’ll be spending the rest of the day using the tools in SBI to work on my online marketing business.

(I still can’t believe that Sitesell provides all the tools I need and all the training and support to help me build my online business for only $30 a month, or just $300 per year. I spend more than that on coffee. And you know that $30? It’s not an expense, it’s an investment. I earn a profit every month, and now that I’m recovering from the last two years, I intend to earn a much larger profit from my work. Some days I have to pinch myself to believe I’m not dreaming. I’m acting on my dream — I’m living my dream.)

(But, don’t mind me. I’m just a geezer working at home and being grateful for my good fortune. After the last couple of years, I take time to think about all the people and things for which I’m grateful — every single morning and evening. Today, it just spilled out from my mind, through my fingers, and onto this page.)

All my friends who use SBI to build their online businesses know what I’m talking about. Don’t you? I’m grateful that Ken believes in helping as many people as he can and that he works so hard leading the team that continues to add new tools we can use to improve the quality of our businesses — without raising the price. Some days, I really do feel like I’m dreaming. It’s a wonderful thing to know you’re awake, loving life, and acting on your dream — all at the same time!

Here’s a link to Sitesell’s Facebook page so you can see for yourself, if you’re interested.

Thanks, Ken!

Now let’s go play Build My Business.

I love my life. I sure hope that you love yours!

It’s a wonderful day — Let’s go enjoy it!

Act on your dream!

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-09-25

September 25, 2011 by JD · Comments Off
Filed under: Twitter 
  • I love listening to crickets and frogs instead of trucks, cars, and airplanes every night! #ReasonsRuralRocks #
  • New discussion on MurphyConnections.com – Autumn in Haywood County, NC http://t.co/kAMeyzfK #
  • New discussion on MurphyConnections.com: Henn Theatre showing The Help – http://t.co/HTId0bKi #
  • Murphy Gold News: Sep 22, Henn Theatre – The Help – September 23, 2011: It's going to be a big weekend… http://t.co/I5AXNxNm #MurphyNC #
  • Good morning, friends and neighbors! Happy Autumn! It was a long, hot summer and I'm enjoying these cooler days! #

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Goals are stepping stones to success

September 19, 2011 by JD · 2 Comments
Filed under: Act On Your Dream, Simple Truth, Success and Failure 

Have you ever spent much time out in the country, where there are no roads?

I have. As far back as I can remember, I liked seeing what was over the next hill or around the next bend in the river. So, I used to spend a lot of time exploring.

It wasn’t like I was in the Lewis and Clark expedition. I was always within a day’s hike of civilization (usually in the mountains of Georgia or North Carolina), so it wasn’t a wilderness, but it was unknown to me.

Sometimes, I’d wander hither and yon

When I was younger, I did a lot of hiking and exploring, frequently all by myself, with no set schedule, and no pre-conceived itinerary. I would set off walking and not know ahead of time where I would go, what I would see, or exactly when I would return.

I liked doing that.

It was a great time to get to know myself, to enjoy the beauty of nature, and just to be. Sometimes, I would stumble across a beautiful vista where I could see for miles. I would sit there and enjoy the view, think about whatever came to mind, and just exist in the moment.

I wasn’t actively doing anything, I was just being me.

I still do that, even though I can’t hike like I used to.

Other times, I’d set out with a destination in mind. I’d know ahead of time where I wanted to go and the trail I would follow to reach it.

It was quite a different experience when I just followed my nose, over mountains, across rivers and streams, in whichever direction interested me at that particular moment.

I enjoyed some great experiences. Some of them involved not knowing where I was or exactly how to get back. That was part of the adventure.

It was a long time before cell phones and GPS. I was experienced with navigating using maps and a compass, and I always carried a topographical map of the area I was exploring. I didn’t use it on the way out, but it was frequently helpful in finding my way back.

I always made it back, but sometimes it wasn’t easy.

Sometimes, I wanted to reach a particular destination

Other times, however, I had a plan for where I was going, how I was going to get there, what I was going to do, and how I’d get back home.

For example, I enjoyed hiking the Appalachian Trail and I’ve walked parts of it from the southern end in Georgia, through Tennessee and North Carolina, and on into Virginia. That was not a single trip. I’ve never been a thru-hiker, but I did enjoy walking sections of it and enjoying the views, the solitude, and the time to think.

Frequently, I would plan on how I would get back home, first. I’d make arrangements to drop my truck off at my destination, and then have someone give me a ride to where I would start hiking.

From that point, it was simply a matter of putting one foot in front of the other and following the trail. Sometimes the trail was obvious and well-marked. Other times it was just a little paint on a rock. But, if I walked from one marking to the next and the next and the next, and kept doing it, I would always arrive at my destination.

What does hiking have to do with success?

There are two approaches to life. Well, there are probably many more than that, but I’m going to mention two that pertain to what I’m writing about, today.

Some people drift from place to place, from job to job, from paycheck to paycheck, with no real plan for what they are going to do next. I’ve done some of that.

It’s like hiking with no plan, just experiencing life and going wherever it leads.

Some people plan their lives. They set goals and then work to achieve them, over time.

Why are goals important?

Here is a short movie about why it is important to set goals. When you click the image, it will show the movie in a new window.

Some people set long-term goals, others set short-term goals.

I don’t think I’ve ever set a five-year goal that has actually been achieved. Usually, along the way, I choose another direction that I prefer traveling.

Others, some of whom I know, set plans for 10 years and even longer, and achieve those plans.

Each of us is different and each of us approaches life as we choose. If we don’t choose, it means that we’ve chosen to drift and let the tides and circumstances propel us wherever they do.

Let’s think about success for a moment.

Most people want to be successful at something. I know I do.

Some people depend on luck to achieve the success they want.

Others really study what they want to achieve. They determine what needs to be done to bring it to fruition. Sometimes they want to achieve something that is difficult and complex, so that takes more study. Other times, we want to achieve something that is easier and simpler. That takes less study.

You already know all this, right?

So, now I’ll get to the point.

I have found that analyzing what I want to accomplish always leads to a set of tasks that must be performed. Sometimes there is a distinct order in which the tasks must be done. Other times it’s just a matter of doing all of them, in no particular order.

As an analogy, let’s say that we are standing on the edge of a swamp and we want to get to the other side as simply and as easily as possible. It is much harder to wade through the muck than it is to walk across stones that are conveniently placed to make it easy.

I consider each of those metaphorical stepping stones to be the goals that we must accomplish to achieve the results we want.

When I really learned about goal setting and planning my life — at least to a point — I was able to accomplish a lot more than I was when I just drifted along. And, since I enjoyed what I wanted to do, it was more enjoyable when I was making steady progress and getting ever closer to my goal.

I have a number of goals I intend to accomplish in the coming weeks and years. I have plans in place for many of them, even if I’m not quite sure how I’m going to eventually reach the final goals.

But, I know this…

If I have accurately analyzed what I want to do, and if I’ve properly identified the tasks that must be accomplished, then I now have a trail to follow — and that makes it much more likely that I will reach the destination I want. It does not guarantee my success, but it does increase the odds in my favor.

Now, I have multiple to-do lists, checklists, goals, and deadlines, and most of them I set for myself. I don’t know whether I’ll successfully complete all of them, but I do know that I’ll work steadily at each task, in the order I think is best, and I get a real feeling of satisfaction every time I cross something off one of my to-do lists, or place a checkmark next to an item on a checklist.

Some days I feel like I accomplish a lot and other days I feel like I’m getting nowhere, but if I can accomplish at least one task on my list, I’m making progress, and I like that feeling.

Some days, I don’t want to work, so I play or just do whatever I feel like doing, at that moment. Other days, I focus on a task and work until it’s completed.

If I focus and work on achieving my goals — most days — I have a much better likelihood of following those stepping stones that lead to success.

What about you?

Do you set goals? Do you have to-do lists?

Or, do you wing it?

Act on your dream!

JD

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-09-18

September 18, 2011 by JD · Comments Off
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The Power of Kindness

September 12, 2011 by JD · 2 Comments
Filed under: Inspirational, Simple Truth 

We live in a world where people profit from discord and arguments.

It’s all around us.

We can choose to participate in that, or we can walk a different pathway.

I choose kindness.

Even though I spend most of my time working at home and sometimes don’t leave for several days at a time, I witness many acts of kindness and caring every day. I see it all the time on Facebook where people choose to offer a word of encouragement, a virtual hug, or a compliment.

I see people lending an ear while a friend or relative expresses what is bothering them.

I see people sharing music and humor all the time.

It’s just as easy to join the crowd that sows discord and adds to the hard-heartedness epidemic.

I applaud each of you who chooses to spread kindness, love, and support, instead. Good for you.

Here’s a short, relaxing movie you may enjoy…

I like to sit back, relax for a few minutes and watch one or two of these Simple Truths movies. They almost always inspire me to try a little harder to be a better person.

All the best,

JD

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-09-11

September 11, 2011 by JD · Comments Off
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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-09-04

September 4, 2011 by JD · Comments Off
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