Sitesell $50,000 Challenge – week two

October 18, 2011 by JD · 1 Comment
Filed under: Affiliate Marketing, Events, Site Build It

It’s been over a week since Sitesell, Inc. issued their $50,000 challenge.

Briefly stated, this is the challenge (but see the full challenge and first comment for all the details):

If you can find documented proof that another product, or collection of information and tools (see tools.sitesell.com), delivers everything that SBI! does (or more), at the price of SBI! (or less) AND that product documents success to the depth that SBI! does (see proof.sitesell.com), we will pay you $50,000. See the announcement post here for entry details…

As of a few minutes ago, no challenger has come forth with a better system than SBI.

Click the following link to read the full details of the Sitesell $50,000 challenge.

SBI is not just a webhosting company, although they do that as well as any other hosting service I’ve ever used, and better than most.

SBI is a process that includes all the tools necessary to build a niche-oriented information-rich content site that earns money through a variety of monetization methods.

SBI sites are not cookie-cutter or fill-in-the-blanks sites.

Far from it. We work hard to identify a niche for which we have a passion and then write as much original, quality information as we can about that topic.

People write about things they love, such as cat art, front porches, gardening, cosmetics and skin care, and many thousands of other topics. Some people promote their own offline business and sell products or services, and these include renting villas, vacation sites, dentists, real estate agents, book editors, and more.

SBI sites are owned and developed by individuals who bring their own BAM (brains, attitude, and motivation) and who are willing to spend months and years to build a real business of their own.

SBI is not a scam, a get rich quick scheme, nor a multilevel marketing business. Sitesell is in the business of helping as many people as possible to build their own online businesses and to find the success we want. Perhaps you have heard some of these charges or other urban myths about Sitesell and SBI. They are not true.

Some of us would enjoy getting rich and others are happy with earning a few hundred dollars extra every month, and there are people with other goals in between.

Not everyone succeeds.

There is nothing, anywhere that I know of that guarantees that everyone succeeds. Some people work harder than others. Some have more time than others due to jobs or raising families, or caring for parents. Some have more motivation than others. Some have more skill at identifying a good niche and writing great pages about the topic.

However, I believe that SBI offers the best system for learning how to build an online business and prosper from it than anything else that is available. So does Ken Evoy. That’s why he’s offering $50,000 to anyone who can find a better system that meets the challenge. So far, nobody has taken him up on the challenge.

One of the outstanding benefits of subscribing to SBI is getting access to their proprietary Action Guide, which consists of step-by-step instructions on how to choose your niche, use the tools included with SBI, and build a website that attracts lots of readers. The Action Guide is constantly being re-written and updated to keep up with all the improvements to SBI (at no additional cost) and the changing Internet environment.

And, the folks at Sitesell know that different people learn better with different presentations, so the Action Guide is available in written form and as videos.

All of the SBI tools are integrated into a large database so that they work together. This saves time and money, because everything is bundled for only $299 per year, and some of those tools are worth more than that, individually.

Couple that with unlimited pages, unlimited bandwidth, free support, and a members-only forum where you can help and be helped by thousands of others who are using the same tools and systems you are — at no additional cost!

Unlike managing a website or a blog of your own, all the updates and maintenance releases are done by the highly-trained and very skilled technical staff at Sitesell. They are the technogeeks and propeller-heads who keep things running smoothly so you don’t have to waste your time and energy learning to manage all the technical details that keep you distracted from your work.

SBI costs only a dollar a day (not quite) if you pay monthly at just under $30 per month. If you choose to pay annually, however, the cost is only $299 and that’s like buying 10 months and getting two for free.

You may have heard people disparage SBI or call it a scam. Those people are wrong. I’ve been using SBI since shortly after it was introduced and I’m closing my other sites — which never performed as well nor earned as well — so that I can concentrate on my SBI sites in the future.

I tried, sincerely, for over 5 years to find a better system than SBI for building my sites. I used open-source PHP scripts like PHP-Nuke, Mambo, and a couple of others content management systems for building communities. I wasted a lot of time and effort with them. I built several forums using a variety of methods and tools — they failed. I’ve blogged on most blogging platforms and have several WordPress-powered blogs on my own domains (like this one) — and they never provided much revenue. I’d close them, but I like blogging. I’ve used databases to build websites, including one programmable database that I used for over 10 years before moving away from it last year — even though I spent years customizing and tweaking the code so that it would work exactly as I wanted.

I’m a technogeek and I’m fluent in a number of programming languages, including PHP and Perl. I have a working knowledge of javascript.

I know how to use all these things and I’ve tested them and they don’t work for me, even though I’ve done better than most people who use them.

My SBI sites take the least work and earn the most of all the systems I’ve tried.

So, since I can’t find anything better, it makes perfect sense to me to concentrate all my effort in the future on the best system I have found, and that’s SBI.

If I had a better system or knew of one, I’d enter the Sitesell $50,000 Challenge, myself. Not only would I enter the challenge, I’d be using and testing that system, myself.

Believe me, or not. Your choice.

I’m putting my money, effort, and time where my mouth is. I’m fully embracing SBI.

If you come back here a year from now, this blog may be gone and the domain name redirected to one of my SBI sites. There is about a 90% chance that I will do that, even though it is an established blog that quite a few people visit.

Why?

One simple reason: I earn more from my SBI sites.

Other supporting reasons: It’s easier, and takes less time and effort.

If you know another system that can beat SBI, there are less than 3 weeks before the Sitesell $50,000 Challenge expires.

Act on your dream!

PS. I am very proud to have been chosen as the Sitesell Featured Fan this week. I’ve been a very happy customer and affiliate with Sitesell for over a decade and intend to work closely with them for many years more.

This is a real honor for me and I am touched deeply by it. I’m just one of over 42,000 people who have liked Sitesell’s Facebook page and more are joining us every day. You can go there and read what they say about Sitesell and SBI. You can’t fake the reactions and enthusiasm of thousands of people who subscribe to, and use, SBI.

Tags: challenge, Ken Evoy, SBI, Sitesell

Family or work – which is most important to you?

June 26, 2011 by JD · 3 Comments
Filed under: Events, Family, Musings, Success and Failure

There are two things you should know about me, if you have any hope at all in trying to understand me.

1. I love my work.
2. I love my family.

I love my work

For the great majority of my life, those two things were most important to me.

Instead of “I love my work,” you could just as well say, “I love telling computers what to do.”

I’ve spent most of my adult life learning all I can about computers and I think I’ve done fairly well, if I do say so. Since I am less concerned with stuff, and more interested in accomplishment, I’ve plowed a great deal of my earnings right back into more computers (Macs, of course), software, and books, and used it to learn even more about the topics that most interested me.

But, you know what?

Looking back over the last 30 years, I have a handful of photos showing me working. In most of them, I’m so involved in what I was doing that I was oblivious to someone taking the picture.

I have one photo showing me standing in front of a white board and lecturing to a class.

I have one photo showing my co-author and me at a little party celebrating the publication of our book.

I have memories of being frustrated when something wouldn’t work — and then spending hours, days, or weeks working on it until I solved it. I rarely quit working on a problem before solving it. Now and then, but not often.

During all those years, I worked most of the time, and spent the remainder with my family.

I love my family

If you had asked me at the time if I loved my family, I would have said, “Yes!”

With no hesitation or doubt.

But, looking back, I would have been wrong.

Family definitely came second. Looking back over the years, it’s hard for me to believe and accept, but it’s the truth.

My life-and-death struggle with cancer the last couple of years forced me to look intensely at myself and to question everything I believed about my life.

I was as close to being on my death bed as I want to get for a long time, and what I was observing wasn’t pleasant.

I was a selfish loner

I was a loner who was selfishly focused on doing what I wanted to do and that was more important than anything else.

That started to change a few years ago, when I brought Mom home from a hospital following her battle with cancer and became her sole caretaker. I gave up a lot of things I enjoyed doing and focused primarily on caring for her.

That came with its own problems, however, because I wasn’t free to get out and see friends and other family members, and I grew more isolated and less connected with all the other people who were important to me.

Then, after Mom died, I fought my own battle with cancer.

Cancer sucks! Let’s kick cancer’s butt!

When I got too weak to get out of bed, I had to face a decision. Would I go to the hospital and seek medical help — even though I had no money and no insurance — or would I let the cancer beat me and die in my bed?

More afraid of debt than death

I went through bankruptcy and divorce about 20 years ago and both were traumatic. I’m not sure that I’ve completely recovered from either of them, but I’m better than I was for a few years afterward.

Since then, I have been completely debt free and don’t even have a single credit card. No loans. No debt.

The thought of going hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt scared me much more than the thought of dying. The thought that I’d never be able to work my way out of that hole scared me even more.

My family decides for me

But, I reached a point when I was too weak to make the decision and Stacey and Dakota (my son-in-law and grandson) grabbed me by both arms, pulled me out of bed, more-or-less carried me to their car, and they and Dena took me to the hospital.

I barely remember it, but I do remember a strange mixture of happiness that they cared enough to help, fear of going into debt, and shame that I wasn’t strong enough to decide for myself what I wanted to do.

No fear of death

I don’t remember any fear of death or dying. I recognized that it was a strong possibility — perhaps a probability — but that just didn’t matter.

I’ve never been afraid of death. I’ve read hundreds of books related to religion and philosophy and decided a long time ago that nobody knows what they’re talking about when it comes to death and what may — or may not — lie in wait, afterward.

So, I quit thinking about it. I know that one of these days I’ll make that transition and then, perhaps, I’ll know what lies beyond, if anything.

I’m not going to go into the long story of my diagnosis, treatments, surgeries, and so forth. They were important at the time, but not so important now. They kept me on this side of the crematorium and I’m happy about that.

Diagnosis: Colon cancer

When I got the diagnosis of late-stage colon cancer, I could tell by the reaction of my friend and surgeon that it was very serious and my probability of survival was very low.

He was honest with me about the situation and what he thought should be done.

When I asked what my prognosis was, he didn’t answer. That was an answer, in itself.

So, why am I talking about all this, today?

Hold on to your horses, pardner. I’m getting to it.

Dena and I went back to her house after learning the diagnosis. I’m sure we talked on the way back, but I don’t remember it.

In fact, I was so weak that I don’t remember very much from last year — just bits and pieces here and there.

What do I remember? Getting high-speed broadband to connect to the Internet, instead of slow dial-up, and the fun of watching videos and movies on my computer. A Memorial Day cookout. A day in a boat on the lake. A bonfire birthday party with Courtnie. A wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends. A beautiful white Christmas. Lots of laughing. Lots of smiles. Being determined to kick cancer’s butt. Wanting to live long enough to spend more time with my friends and family. Wanting to do things, but being too tired, weak, or sick to do them. Being frustrated. Enjoying the support I received from my friends and family — largely through the help of Facebook.

About fear…

I don’t remember much fear. I was afraid that I’d never pay off my medical debts. I was afraid that my voice would never recover from the chemo so that I could sing loud and clear, again. I was afraid that I would not be around to hug my friends.

I continued to be afraid of small pretty women, but that’s nothing new. I believe that it is wrong to give in to fear and we should strive to recognize and overcome fear in its many manifestations. My fear of small pretty women continues and I am willing to wrestle with this fear, whenever the opportunity arises. (wink)

I was never afraid of death. I was never afraid that cancer would win the battle.

Re-evaluating my priorities and making preparations

You see, when Dena and I went home after getting the diagnosis, I spent some time to myself. Perhaps a day or two, I don’t remember for sure.

I thought about what was important to me. I took care of some important things: a new will, a living will, a power of attorney, prepaid cremation, bought a travel trailer to live in (named it Castle Dragon), and put the castle and the car in both my and Dena’s names.

(I could never have done any of those things by myself and I appreciate each of the people who helped me prepare and get settled in for the long fight. You know who you are. Thank you.)

If I were going to die, I didn’t want to make it any harder than it had to be on anyone else. I had just gone through over a year of settling Mom’s estate and learned some lessons from that experience.

With preparations for dying out of the way, I started thinking about living.

(I’m not sure if the timeline is right. I don’t remember if I thought about living and prepared for dying, or vice versa.)

I clearly remember a discussion with Dena about whether I was going to go through the surgeries and treatments recommended by my surgeon, or if I were too far gone and would rather die in peace.

The moment of decision – clarity, focus, and intention

It was while looking into her face and getting lost, once again, in her beautiful blue eyes that I made my decision. I remember the exact moment.

I would go through all of it, knowing it would be difficult, painful, and scary, because I was not ready to tell her goodbye.

(I never once cried when I thought I might die, but I have tears in my eyes, right now.)

I wanted to live and be a better dad.

I wanted to spend more time with Dena and Stacey. I wanted to watch my grandkids grow and develop into adults and maybe have kids of their own.

I wanted to sing and laugh with my friends. I wanted to go skinny dipping in the lake. I wanted to hug beautiful women. I wanted to flirt with pretty nurses. I wanted to play music and sing. I wanted to dance for the sheer joy of being alive.

I decided right then and there that I intended to kick cancer’s butt

I would live and do lots of things that were very important to me.

They all revolved around family and friends.

Work wasn’t even part of the thought process. It had faded into no importance at all.

Realistically, I knew then (and now) that I have to work to earn money to live, but it lost most of its importance to me.

At that moment, if I were to write a list of things that are important to me, it would be a longer list than the one I wrote at the top of this message/post/article/document/diatribe/or whatever it is.

My new list of priorities

While not necessarily in the correct order by importance, it would go something like this:

1. Dena
2. Stacey
3. Courtnie, Dakota and Katie.
4. All my closest friends and family
5. My online friends
6. Singing, laughing, dancing, enjoying thunderboomers, skinny dipping, sharing massages, and more laughing.
7. Other things I can’t think of right now
8. Work
9. Paying bills
10. Everything else…

That may not be exactly the right order (and there may, in fact, be no correct order), because things change all the time. Some things are more important now, less important later, and maybe more important even later.

The one thing I am crystal clear on, however, is that numbers 1-6 are the most important to me.

That’s where I intend to live most of the time. It’s what I intend to do, observe, enjoy, celebrate, and care about.

I still enjoy working, but I have a lot more photographs of family and friends than I do of working. I have lots more wonderful memories of friends than I do of solving a problem, creating an elegant algorithm, or implementing a new system.

Thankfully, I’m no longer on my death bed. I’ve finished all the treatments. I’m getting stronger.

Cats have nine lives. I wonder how many I have

If I were a cat, I think I used up a couple of my lives last year, and I’m going to be very careful about what I do with the lives that still remain. I don’t know how many there are. I’m pretty sure I used a couple of them on the edge of the Grand Canyon and another of them during the early morning hours in downtown Atlanta. I may have used one while driving in Chattanooga, and another one when an 18-wheeler came around a blind curve and was almost totally in my lane. I’m pretty sure that I’ve used seven or eight of my allotted lives. If cats and JD have nine lives, I may have only one or two left.

I’m going to use them to celebrate my family and friends and to enjoy every minute I can spend with them.

During the rest of the time, I’m going to pour myself into working to do the best I can for my clients, but I have to tell them this: You definitely are not first in my life. I’ll do what I promise, but some of it may take a bit longer, because I’m going to enjoy any lives I still have.

People are most important

Now, let me share a couple of glimpses of the people who are important in my life:

Dena and Stacey Howard and family, 2011.

We enjoyed spending a couple of hours with a wonderful group of people at the reunion.

This week, I’ve been working hard to update websites, plan some strategies for promoting local businesses, learning new skills, and trying to get back to earning a living and paying my own way through the world.

A few years ago, I would not have interrupted my work. I was “in the flow” and really accomplishing something.

But, this is a different life, one that is much better aligned with the things and people that are important to me.

Two days ago, on Friday, I was working hard and the alarm on my iPod went off. I stopped what I was doing and went to enjoy and celebrate something much more important.

Dena and Stacey were married twenty years ago. To celebrate, they decided to throw a big shindig and renew their marriage vows. 20 years ago, they were hitched. So, I’m saying that this year, they tightened the hitch. Not that it needed tightening. I hope they have a lifetime of happiness together.

Dena and Stacey Howard, renewing their wedding vows.

I am a better person

Over the years, I may not have been the best friend, husband, or dad, but I’ve recognized the error of my ways and I’m going to do my best to enjoy and celebrate your accomplishments and victories, do what I can to help you in your struggles, and hug more often.

JD and Dena

I will say something (much more often) that has always been very hard for me to say…

I love you.

What about you?

I’m not saying that my way is the only way or even the best way. It’s right for me, but you may have other thoughts, goals, and priorities.

So, which is most important to you?

Is there something besides family and work that is important?

Act on your dream!

Tags: cancer, Dena Howard, Family, important, intention, Stacey Howard, work

Arts and Crafts Show Now Taking Applications – Ninth Annual Heritage Walk and Festival

June 19, 2009 by JD · Comments Off
Filed under: Appalachian Heritage, Arts and Crafts, Events, Murphy NC 28906, Murphy North Carolina

On Saturday, September 5, 2009, Heritage Partners of Cherokee County will host the Ninth Annual Heritage Walk and Festival in Konehete Part, Murphy, NC.

Local area artists and crafters are invited to visit the Heritage Walk and Festival website and download an application form in PDF format. (See the left column right next to “Arts & Crafts Show” for the link.)

Original artwork, hand-made items only. No imports or commercial goods will be approved.

No electrical service will be provided.

$25 application fee.

Your completed application form and check must be received by the August 8, 2009 deadline.

Tags: application, arts, crafts, show

Admission Is Free To September 4 Heritage Walk and Festival in Murphy, NC

September 3, 2004 by JD · Comments Off
Filed under: Appalachian Heritage, Arts and Crafts, Events, Holidays, Murphy North Carolina, Musings, Nonprofits

Admission Is Free To September 4 Heritage Walk and Festival in Murphy, NC

Historic Murphy, North Carolina

What began in 2001 with fewer than 100 souls braving the pouring rain to take a “heritage walk” through historic Murphy has blossomed into a 4th annual series of events coming Saturday, September 4, 2004.

Last year over 3,000 people turned out for a day long celebration of traditional mountain music, arts and crafts, blue ribbon memories of the county fair, and the heritage walking tours with characters from times past. Produced by Heritage Partners of Cherokee County in collaboration with a host of volunteers and sponsoring organizations, this year’s Heritage Walk and Festival features:

The Heritage Walk — historic trade and commerce tours departing at 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m.; pyramid tours departing at 1:00 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. from the Old LandN Depot
The Cherokee County Heritage Fair — blue ribbon competitions in the traditional home survival skills, special events and community exhibits on display at the Old L and N Depot and outdoor county fair tent (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.)
The Appalachian Heritage Crafters Show — area artists and crafters on the Railroad Street festival grounds, behind the Old LandN Depot and Hackney Warehouse (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.)
Mountain Song — all day live stage performances feature traditional bluegrass, old-time and more on the Railroad Street festival grounds, behind the Old Hackney Warehouse (10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.)
Becky and the Robber of Buckhorn Ridge — one act play performances by the Murphy High drama students, based on Jean Bravick’s story of pioneer life in Cherokee County’s 1840 Valleytown (First United Methodist Church at 11:00 a.m., 12:00 noon, and 1:00 p.m.)
Cherokee County Historical Museum’s Heritage Day — a celebration of pioneering history and Cherokee Indian culture, on Peachtree Street
Farmers Market
Food Vendors
Pocket Parks Collectibles Fair
rides and activities for children
and more.

And, it’s all free.

The public is invited to come out, and all festival guests are encouraged to park in town and walk to all events. Visit heritagepartners.org for more information.

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4th Annual Heritage Walk & Festival — Murphy, NC — Sept. 4, 2004

July 31, 2004 by JD · Comments Off
Filed under: Appalachian Heritage, Arts and Crafts, Events, Holidays, Murphy North Carolina

The one day event will be held on Saturday, September 4 from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm at the Old L&N Depot, Railroad Street Park and the Pocket Parks in the historic town center of Murphy.

Produced by Heritage Partners of Cherokee County, the annual event began in 2001 with the Heritage Walk and a group of 100 enthusiastic walking tour guests. Last year’s festival events drew more than 3,000 people and organizers are gearing up for an even larger crowd on September 4.

More information is available online at:

http://www.heritagepartners.org/hwf.htm

and in Murphy at the Appalachian Heritage Crafters shop on Hwy 64 West, the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce on Hwy 64 West, and The Pickled Parrot in town on Valley River Avenue.

For more information, artists and crafters may contact Claire Groff at 828-837-9636 or by email at clairepg@aol.com; all other vendors and exhibitors may contact Barbara Darling at 828-837-9636 or by email at daraff@dnet.net

“Our volunteers and sponsors are looking forward to the big day. We hope everyone will come out and enjoy this celebration of our local history and heritage of music, artistry, craftsmanship and traditional home survival skills,” said event director and Heritage Partners president Barbara Hughes.

Community clubs and individuals interested in entering the products of their home canning, baking, quilting, vegetable and flower gardening skills in this year’s Heritage County Fair blue ribbon competitions and exhibits may contact Jessica Roberson at the Cherokee County Cooperative Extension Service at 828-837-2210 or by email at jessica_roberson@ncsu.edu for more information and registration details.

This year’s Heritage Walk & Festival includes the Heritage Walk tours, the Appalachian Heritage Crafters Show, the Heritage Music Festival, the Heritage County Fair, produce and plant growers, food vendors, and special fun for children.

Admission to all events remains free of charge and open to the public.

Heritage Partners is an all volunteer, nonprofit organization building on the heritage of Cherokee County — North Carolina’s first, last, and finest place to be.

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