Webpage updates

Have been working on the pages for Dog Potentials. The official launch is Sunday, Jan. 29th and every time I get one right, it isn't. lol AOL isn't helping much, either, since it seems to think I need to see the cached page rather than the actual page. I've gotten the index page, the articles page and the articles pages done and posted to the site. Now, I need to change the picture of RX on the site pages and I don't do css. Gah! One thing, this html seems a lot easier to use than Fortran 77 that I took in college. lol

I've written up several articles in the past few days and tried to post one to Ezine Articles the other night, but it wouldn't work. Not sure why. It would get me to the preview page, then, when I clicked the "agree" box that you have to click showing that it's YOUR article and you agree to their terms and then the submit link, it would tell me I needed to fill in the text fields. Gave up on it after a bit. I'll try them again today, since I want to get the articles out there.

I have a new affiliate link that I'm using on the pages for DP. It's PetsMart and since I worked there and trust their products, I think it's neat that I could get on their affiliate program.




Well, all this page building is certainly teaching me html, though. lol Slowly, I'm learning stuff about where to put things and how to do the tags and all.

Oh, one of the folks at eBay helped me get my About Me page looking like the pages at Dog Potentials. You can see it here. I'll be adding listings for my eBook that is about teaching your dog the Dead Dog trick this weekend.

And what does all this have to do with eDragon Marketing? It's the marketing aspect of it that is being learned. What I've learned from eDragon is that you have to pay attention to some of the fine details and optimize your pages for searches and adsense, which I have done on DP. Plus, it's great practice so I can eventually learn to edit that .php page on eDragon. lol

Once I get DP settled, I can go back and work on eDragon and get that one straightened out. Brian has been a huge help on DP, so I've learned a lot about how to fix eDragon.

Anyway, I'll be posting the launch announcement here Sunday, too. Watch for it. Ta, Chris

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That's one of the neatest sites for getting a MESS of neat products--ebooks and software you'll ever see. Need to hurry, though, it won't be around forever.

Still working with my friend Brian on the Dog Potentials site. It's coming along, but slowly. I have three more pages to add about ready, but many, many more to add after that. Wears me out to do webpages--too intense.

Well, wanted to make sure you got a chance to get in on the gifts. I've downloaded some and they are terrific! Oh, the time to use all of them. lol

Later, Chris

Feed Your Passion

Do you remember when you were a child and had decided (several times) what you were going to be when you grew up? How many times did you change your mind? But, eventually, there really was ONE thing (possibly two or three) that you became passionate about. You studied all you could about it. Your aim in High School was to become this person doing that thing. College would lead you to your dream job and the world would be perfect.

What happened?

Are you doing what you were passionate about?

If not, why not? Did life interfere? Did those around you scoff enough to lead you away from YOUR dream and aim you toward theirs? Or, have you achieved your passion?

A huge majority of people are not living the passion of their youth. Perhaps family obligations interfered, college was not "in the cards," a youthful error led you down another path. Whatever the reason, the time is now to feed your passion.

When I was young, I wanted desperately to become a horse vet. Horses were the greatest passion of my life at that time. I wanted one of my own from the time I was old enough to know what they were. I was thirty-eight before I got one. By that time, my vet dreams had fallen by the wayside. I failed Zoology in High School and decided that I'd never make it in Vet School that way. So, I let that dream die, sort of.

Another of my passions way back when was art. I drew constantly (horses, of course) and wanted to go to college to get into graphic art (since the vet dream was dead, why not art?). My parents refused to help me get into college for that. Father said there was no money in it. I have to laugh about it now, because it's everywhere! Who knew then what the graphic arts would lead to? Not only magazine advertisements, TV ads, newspaper ads, but the Internet--look at all the graphics on there.

I actually had three passions when I was young. The third was writing. I wanted to write stories. Fantasy fiction. Romantic fantasies where the fairy princess met the prince and they lived happily ever after.

So, why am I telling you all this? Because passions don't really die. They crop up in unusual ways sometimes.

I don't see myself going to college at this late date for Vet School, but that particular passion has transferred to dog showing and training. It has become, actually, a family thing. My sister, my niece, my mother, my daughters, me...we all show dogs. We have a variety of breeds between us--St. Bernards, Border Terriers, Vizslas, a Jack Russell Terrier, even mixed breeds that are in training for search and rescue work (that's my eldest daughter).

For two years, I taught obedience work at PetsMart. I still write articles about training and, while I don't consider myself an expert, I do think I comprehend the dog's mind as well as many other trainers and better than some. That particular passion is manifesting, with the help of a friend, as a website that will be about dogs. Training them, having fun with them, doing useful work with them. Keep an eye out for www.dogpotentials.com to see how I do.

I had a horse, in fact, I had two. One is dead now. She had a genetic fault that lead to seizures. I didn't know it when I sold her to one of the women I boarded with. The other has also been sold, but she has managed to be the horse of dreams for a couple of other girls. One rode her in three-day eventing for a year or so and did well. But this mare was not the ultimate horse for her dreams.

They gave the mare to a program for kids that were "challenged," but the mare was too peppy for that program. Now, she's helping another girl learn about living a dream of having a horse.

That passion was passed down to my other daughter. She rides when she can, she owns a horse (has had two, as well), and she has even gone to Spain to take lessons on Andalusian horses there. Because of her skill, she was selected early in that program to ride some of the stallions at that training school. An honor reserved for few, from what I understand. She has trained with the Army's riding program and has done very well in horse work.

The artwork, well, I don't draw much, anymore, but I have translated that into photographs and I'm slowly learning about creating graphics on my computer. Not only that, but I have been creating graphics for items I sell in two Cafe Press stores I have (Keeping to the Borders and The Wright Gifts).

All three of my children are artistic, although, my son doesn't think he is. I have seen his work and he is very good. I wish they could all do something with their art.

And the writing? Well, I do write stories and have been published on the internet and in books. And, you see it here. Not only am I blogging about things, I have a newsletter I put out about living the abundant life of a dragon. I am writing the majority of the words on the website(s) and will be helping another friend with a course about writing. In these ways, I am feeding my passions.

How can you feed your passion(s)? Is there another tack you can take that will allow you to do what you've always dreamed of now? Perhaps a slightly different aspect that will be just as satisfying as your original plan?

For just a moment, think back to that youthful passion. Feel it in your heart, see it in your mind. How can you become that person you wanted to be, oh so long ago? What changes would you need to make in your life to achieve it? What education would it take? With all the information on the internet, it should not be difficult to find a way to learn what you need to to fuel that passion.

Making time to do what you want is often a stopper. Can you carve out an hour after the children are in bed to study/practice? Perhaps rising a little earlier? Can you study on your lunch break? Write then? Do things then?

Suppressed passions can lead to bitterness, overweight (trust me on that one--I lost 20 pounds within two months of owning my first horse and couldn't even ride her to start with because she wasn't trained yet), and other problems in life. Have trouble getting along with people at your workplace? Could it be because of suppressed passions?

Give yourself permission to pursue your passion, even if it's in another form. Allow yourself to learn what you need to, feed it a little at a time, let it blossom.

Oh, yes, I hear the excuses. Don't have time, too old, too...whatever. Let me ask you, WHO is responsible for your life? In the end of it all, who will you be?

In our youthful innocence, we knew truth in our souls. What we were meant to be and do in this life. Make this the time that you will feel that truth again and feed your passion.
***
If you'd like to use this article in your own newsletter or on your website, feel free. Just don't change it and include the following information:

C. Rogers Upson is a multi-published author both on the internet and in books and has a website at www.edragonmarketing.com and another at www.dogpotentials.com.

Dog Training...can't even train the humans

Well, at this moment, there are three (yes THREE) versions of the Dog Potentials page floating around. Okay, they're not "floating," per se, but there are three versions--my original version, the version a friend created (seo optimized, he says, and I have no reason to doubt it) and the "mixed" version I created. Gotta admit, the original was a little "over the top" in that it had a background picture of my boy, RX, and such, but I think I'm going to like the mixed version better even than Brian's version. Yeah, his might be optimized for the search engines, but it looks soooo...well, business-like. I want the site to be visitor friendly and business-like, so, I think the mixed version does the trick, but still waiting on his opinion on it.

Well, just checked my emails (looking for the link to his version) and my friend registered the Dog Potentials domain for me! Is that nice or what??? Thank you, Brian!!

In other news, I'm really anxious to get some folks signed up for the Affiliate Classroom because it can really help with building a business. Even if you go for the affiliate aspects to begin with, it's helpful in all aspects of starting an ebiz. Check it out:
***
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Completely revolutionary training system.
We need a few dedicated students ready to learn from those who have done it.
Read more here...
Affiliate Classroom
***
Also, my Empowerism downline has been added to. So, that should start paying at some point, too. Now, if the SFI would get me back into the EA mode, like I should be, then I could get more of my affiliates there going.

Poor ole eDragon hasn't gotten it's facelift yet, either. It just takes me friggin' forever to do up webpages. Maybe when I get better at them--if I do them enough--it will go faster. I think I have figured out something, though, I think I can actually edit those pages online and save them directly to the directory. I'll have to give it a shot and see how it goes. If that IS the case, I can edit and then save the edited version back to my computer. Would sure save a heck of a lot of time on the uploads and all. That is such a process!!! Guess I'd better give it a shot on one of the other pages and see what happens. Then, I might be able to do the main page and get it all fixed up like I want it.

Well, it's been an exciting almost-a-month since I got fired, that's for sure. Gotta get the call for articles up for DP and see what I can get for that. More later. Ta, Chris

I have another site "up"

Been working on the Dog Potentials site today. Starting to get it into shape, but there are several pages yet to be written and put up. Have the main page up and the Conformation page, the Articles page and the articles to go with it. Still lots to do, though. Rally, Agility, Obedience and all.

I'm not very speedy at putting up pages. I forget from one session to the next how to do it all. lol One of these days, I might even learn to do the cascading style sheets (css), where, as I understand it, you change the main page and all the changes follow through all the other pages. Not sure I really comprehend how that happens, but it sounds cool, eh? I would assume that the main page holds all the "styles" and the other pages just "call the styles" from there. Sorta like the rss feed readers "calling" the feed to display??

Anyway, I have to build them, put them up, look at them, tweak them, look at them, tweak again (and, of course, have to do the SAME tweak to ALL of them at this stage--phew!), and get them right that way. Check the links, make sure they actually GO somewhere, and verify they go the right place.... One one hand, it's very wearing, yet, when you see them up there on the internet, it's a proud moment for me, still. lol Those folks that do this for a living probably think, "yeah, right, wait till you've done a 1,000 of them." (or more) Well, to you I say, no doubt you're right. The 1,000th page won't be nearly as exciting, I'm sure.

Put lots of links on the pages--mainly to the other pages, but also to the AKC, show entry sites and a couple other sites of interest, like the Freestyle people. Now, there's a sight to behold. Folks dancing with their dogs. That's obedience taken beyond the basics in a big way.

When Mother and I went to Crufts in England a couple of years back, there was a woman that was dancing with her Border Collie. I think it was to a Glenn Miller song, but can't recall for sure. Anyway, they were marvelous to watch. The dog would back between her legs and do all sorts of amazing behaviors (or, behaviours, as the English would put it). Then, toward the end of the routine, another Border Collie joined them. She took first place, needless to say. It was awe inspiring to watch them. If you ever get a chance to see such a thing, take advantage of the opportunity. You'll enjoy it immensely.

I've sold a couple more items in Keeping to the Borders, which I really appreciate. I'm thinking that it's nearly time to expand that one to a paid subscription shop and then I'll be able to put more than one version of any item in there. That's one of the goals for this year, I think. To develop a business plan for it and go all out in promoting it. Fortunately, I'll be able to import some of the items from the free version, so that will let me get things in there quickly.

Learning a lot more about doing graphics on the Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0. Had to totally revamp the Dog Potentials logo, so it can now be used as a shirt design in the Borders shop, since my Border Terrier, RX, is on it. Might want to add the email addy to the bottom, so folks can get in touch if they want to know where to get more of them. lol

I've made a friend in the Affiliate Classroom that is helping me learn more about monetizing the websites. His name is Brian (hi, Brian) and he does websites for a living. He's also well versed in spas, so you might check out his "baby" at www.sparesources.com. I think that's the one. Not only has he been a help to me, but he has put up some really good posts on the forums at AC and they're quite insightful. You might want to join for the trial of 14 days for $1, and check 'em out.

Well, this is getting to book length. Gotta go clear out the email inbox again. Had it under 100 and it's way up again. lol

Ta,
Chris

Your Comfort Zone is Choking you to Death

Another re-post from my defunct blog. It was formerly named Fears To Funds, but I decided that was a little bit scary. Anyway, just some thoughts on fear and how it can "mold" your life, if you let it. Feel free to publish it, just keep the resource box at the bottom.
***
You know, the largest fear everyone seems to have is the fear of change. Family and friends don't help, either, as they really don't want you to be different from them. They want you in your "comfortable little spot" in their universe, so THEY don't have to make any changes.

But, as the saying goes, "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten." So, the question is, are you happy with how your life is at this point?

If you answered "no," then, you need to decide what changes you'll make to change your situation. You don't even have to start with a huge change. Even just becoming grateful for the things and people in your life is a beginning. You'll be amazed at what that simple little change can do for you.

Another major fear is failure. First you have to define "failure." What do you consider failure to mean? Does it mean that something didn't work? Does it mean that you didn't get what you wanted?

Instead of looking at such a situation as a failure, look at it as an advancement of your knowledge. That specific event, method, whatever, didn't do what you wanted it to, so you know not to try that again.

Many years ago, I worked for researchers in the Endocrinology field. Most of them were doing diabetic research. Even the "failures" told them something. They eventually came to the conclusion that lipids (fat cells) could block insulin from getting into normal cells, thus causing too much glucose in the bloodstream and not enough in the cells for them to use. I think I have that all right, since I'm not a medical doctor and only typed the articles and reports. LOL

But, the point is, they had to do many experiments and had many that didn't work. Were they really failures? No, because each time, a wrong conclusion was eliminated until they came to the right conclusion.

Even Thomas Edison is credited with claiming 1,000 failures to create a light bulb were not really failures, they were just processes he could eliminate as not being the way to do it.

So, instead, define success for yourself--as the opposite tack to take. Then, make changes in small steps. It will help you adjust to making the changes, help you overcome fear of change (yours and others') and just be grateful you have what you have and can do what you can do.
***
C. Rogers Upson is a published author in several venues. She has a website at http://www.edragonmarketing.com that deals with self-help and draconic wisdom, a blog at http://edragonmarketing.blogspot.com that deals with growing a business, and a blog at http://dogpotentials.blogspot.com that deals with her love of dogs and training them.