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This is the third and final in a series about Nido Qubein and his book, Stairway to Success.

Developing a plan for success involves three things:

1. Setting Goals
2. Setting Priorities
3. Developing Strategies

“Good personal planning involves no more than determining how you will get from your present circumstances to the future you have created through your vision.” – Nido Qubein

I tend to set pretty ambitious goals for myself, and I do so by writing or printing them out and hanging them around my office. Up until last week I listed goals on my blog for page views and other meaningless stats. I have since pulled those off because I personally think those are the wrong goals to have because of their small measurable impact. I am instead working on a new set of goals that I might not publicly post for this blog and its growth. Goals are a must and should be taken vary seriously.

“Wisdom ofttimes consists of knowing what to do next.” - Herbert Hoover

Setting priorities gives you a place of reference when you come to a situation in which you are unsure of where to go. Knowing your goals and making them your priority makes day to day decisions easier. Suppose your goal is to save $2,000 and you are buying Christmas gifts for your family and extended family. It is easy to want to splurge on the people you love even if it goes against your goal of saving money. Is there a best way to save money and still buy / create gifts for your family? Of course there is. It might take a little more imagination than cruising the isles of Best Buy, but it can be done.

More important, the issue of saving money vs. buying Christmas presents for your family shouldn’t even be an issue. Nido talks about the different levels of planning and problems. Most problems like the one above can be addressed early and then shouldn’t ever be an issue down the road at Christmas time. If you plan ahead with your goals and set priorities you should be able to navigate your way through most problems fairly easily.

“There usually are half a dozen right answers to “What needs to be done?” Yet unless a [person] makes the risky and controversial choice of only one, he will achieve nothing.” – Peter F. Drucker

Developing your strategies for success in any area of your life is like having a playbook in sports. Could you imagine if a professional sports team just said: “Aw…this week, let’s just wing it and see what happens”? My guess and I am sure yours as well would say they are guaranteed to lose.

Your strategies should meet these criteria:

• They must specify actions to be taken.
• They must specify the person or persons who is to take the actions.
• They must establish a time for beginning the actions.
• They must establish a deadline for completing the actions.
• They must establish criteria for determining when the actions have been satisfactorily completed.

This can be addressed pretty easily by stating what the problem or goal is that you are trying to achieve or overcome. Then developing a plan of action to tackle that issues in a systematic and bit sized way. You need to set an “end game” for that issue when you get to your defined goal or conclusion.

I have brought you through roughly half of the book Stairway to Success by Nido Qubein. If you would like to learn more, I would highly suggest buying it or checking it out of your local library. Although I did not read this book before I started out on my own quest for success in business and life, I have been using many of the same techniques learned by other teachers and writings. I think this book has the plan well laid out and is a solid package of advice for building upon your success in any facet of your life.

Here are the first two parts, Nido Qubein Part 1 and Nido Qubein Part 2

This is the second in a series about Nido Qubein and his book, Stairway to Success.

After writing the first post about Nido Qubein and one of his books, I thought I would take a minute and explain why I am even talking about this to begin with, and why here on a marketing blog.

Boiled down and condensed, Nido Qubein says we are our greatest marketing tool. There is nothing in the world that can replace what each of us knows on any given subject or topic. If you were to put me in a room full of sports enthusiasts, I would be pretty lost. I wouldn’t feel the need to run and hide, but I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the stats, players, teams, so on and so on. But, if you were to put me in a room with economists and monetary theorists I could hold my own.

The greatest thing we as individuals can do is find the things we can do and love and develop those talents to be the best they can be. I didn’t take any marketing classes in high school or college. I didn’t learn theory on marketing and how to persuade people to buy things. I instead picked up some books and started reading from some of the best marketers around. I started following blogs, learned about web marketing and permission based marketing.

What I came to realize is that if I had taken some of those classes and had been taught those more “traditional marketing techniques,” that experience probably would have skewed my perception on marketing. Instead of reading about people in turkey costumes being targets of water balloons, you would be reading about proper banner sizes for your store and approachable vs. unapproachable color combinations.

The main message Nido Qubein is hitting hard at in his book is that each of us has a choice. That choice is the ability to determine our future, our success, our wealth and much more. According to William Jennings Bryan, “Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.”

Creating a Vision

“Many people go through life unaware that this creative power lies within them. Yet we all have it. You can create the future you want. It’s all a matter of forming a vision, committing yourself to that vision and acting in harmony with the vision.” – Nido Qubein

Here we come back to having that choice again in how we are going to be 2 or 3 years from now. First we have to choose what our life, business, physique or emotional status is going to be. Then you break down those goals into smaller, more manageable pieces. When all of this is done with the commitment of the head and heart it is much more likely to stick around than your last New Year’s resolution.

Crossing your own Rubicon

“Crossing the Rubicon” is a popular idiom meaning to pass a point of no return. It refers to Caesar’s 49 BC crossing of the river, which was considered an act of war. -Wikipedia

I am not saying that you have to start war with anything, but I think the point Nido is trying to make is there needs to be a catalyst. It’s like an alcoholic making the commitment of sobriety after hitting rock bottom, or a morbidly obese person starting recovery after being told life will be cut short otherwise. The event has to be significant and memorable to the effect of when things are tough you can look back to where you have come from since then as a source of encouragement. For me this was when I quit my traditional day job around Christmas of 2007 (almost been a year, WOW!).

I made the choice back then that I would no longer let others determine my fate, but I would pursue the things I enjoyed and learn those things to the best of my ability. I can tell you it was worth every bit of it and I would never take back that choice. I did have my doubts from time to time and ups and downs like anything else, but this is true anywhere and under any circumstance.

To be continued…

You can find the first in the Nido Qubein series part 1 here and part 3 shortly.

Here is an Interview with Turnip of Power | Social Networking marketer on the creation of a new advertising network called CMF ADS. CMF (Changing Marketing Forever) ADS is a widget-based advertising system that allows advertisers to purchase ad space on quality niche blogs on a CPM (cost per thousand views) basis. Currently, there are 20 blogs in the network that have been selectively chosen to participate in the initial launching.

I like discovering new and up and coming products or services and thought CMF ADS would be a great candidate to share with everyone. After you read through the questions below, I encourage you to visit CMF ADS and see what it has to offer. Without further adieu, here you go:

What was your motivation for starting CMF ADS?

My motivation was to implement an idea I had posted several times on both my blog and on the Entrecard Forums. Each time the idea was ignored or given the canned response of “We have limited resources for that.” Then recently I was disappointed with the Performancing Ads Network. Stan from razzball.com approached me and said “Why can’t we do something like that?” That’s how it all started.

What are your short and long-term goals for CMF ADS?

Short term the goal was to get good people involved who wanted to be part of something new. We wanted to test our code, our server, public reaction, and iron out all the little unexpected surprises. Long term we would like to expand our portfolio of blogs and reach out to other social networks. As we are only 3 weeks old today, we are still refining our initial goals. Just yesterday I rewrote the widget code to allow for this expansion.

What is your major selling point for CMF ADS (elevator pitch)?

For publishers: We monetize your social traffic for you. All you have to do is maintain a quality blog. We help promote your blog, help you with your website when help is requested, and at the end of the day provide you with a small paycheck for displaying our widget in previously unused space next to their social networking widget.

For advertisers: We get your message out there on 20 of the best up and coming websites. No need to interact with so many small sites individually. We bundle our members’ page views and sell them to you in a very affordable CPM bundle, providing geotargetting and other advanced features the individual site owner could not easily provide due to a lack of technical expertise.

I could imagine many bloggers will want to utilize your service. Do you have strict quality control admission?

We have quality control on both the publisher and advertiser ends. Nobody wants to advertise on horrible made for adsense splogs. Likewise, no blogger wants scammy ads on their website. We manually approve all blogs and ads, allowing both publisher and advertiser to opt out of any ads or sites they wish. Each blog in our network was discussed in detail before being sent an invitation to join.

If a blog is interested in joining what will be the minimum requirements for joining?

Initially we invited only WordPress blogs. Since then we have allowed blogs using other content management platforms to join. The main requirements are your own domain name, a minimum of a 250 pixel wide sidebar, and maintaining a high-quality blog. Sometimes we work around the sidebar issue in special cases, but generally adhere to these rules.

How does the advertising widget effect the speed and efficiency of a site?

Our widget opens in an i-frame, so won’t ever slow down the rest of a site from loading. In addition, we host the bottom image locally, further speeding up the process.

What has been the overall perception of the widget so far?

Reception has been great. The first day we announced our network we sold 25,000 impressions as well as numerous high-quality blogs looking to join the network. Many curious bloggers have taken notice, along with a few advertisers.

Do you see yourself in competition to Entrecard or merely using some of their ideas to create a stand along advertising network?

We don’t see ourselves in competition with Entrecard or using their ideas. We took twenty well-respected blogs and made an ad network out of them. Now because we are active in the Entrecard community it was only natural that these twenty blogs were discovered through Entrecard. One blog has since left Entrecard and we welcome that, as well. A good blog is a good blog, Entrecard or not.

What measures are you establishing to provide the smoothest growth possible?

To ensure smooth growth, we are only letting in a fraction of the blogs asking to join. Each step of the way we have checked to make sure all issues were addressed before moving on to the next phase.

Conclusion:

I think this network has some great potential to develop into a full service advertising network. I don’t know how often they will be accepting new publishers, but I would make admission highly selective, more on the prestigious side. Say it only has enrollment every two weeks and only X number of new publishers will be allowed in during the beta stage, kind of like Gmail was invite only for the longest time. This would help in the beginning to have controlled growth of all the system resources preserving the quality of the network and service by not having a bunch of down time.

I really enjoy when people go out on their own by mixing and matching various different ideas to produce a worthwhile product. Time will tell how things play out, but I would again encourage you to head over to CMF ADS and check it out for yourself.

One of the coolest things about being a blogger and having an audience is the wiliness of others to offer free things for reviews and exposure. I like books and try and read them whenever I get a chance. If anyone knew me when I was a kid they would probably laugh as I never used to read. One of the most recent books I received was Scratch Beginnings by Adam Shepard.

I probably finished Scratch Beginnings in about 3-4 sit down sessions of reading, so it was a quick and very enjoyable read. Adam set out shortly after graduating college on a social experiment to achieve the “American Dream.” The intro informs us that he was to ride a train to a southern city with $25 in his pocket, the clothes on his back and a duffel bag. In one year time his goal was to have $2,500 saved, a furnished apartment, running car and be in a position to continue his upward movement.

Being roughly the same age as Adam and battling some of the same life choices in the pursuit of a career, lifestyle and calling, I can relate to him a lot. I believe that his experience throughout the book can be just about anyone’s experience. To make the experiment more convincing Adam chose not to use his personal credit, college education or contacts to his benefit.

The first 60 days he admits were the hardest and yet the most rewarding. Most of that time was spent in a homeless shelter looking for steady work while trying to stay fed and in good health and spirits. I would say 1/3 of the book was just about his first few days of his quest for the American Dream and really shows what the process is like to start all over with nothing. This could ultimately be a situation anybody could find themselves in due to any variety of circumstances.With a goal, determination and some support it really shows how far and how quickly someone can pull themselves back up again.

I would recommend purchasing the book and it can be found on Amazon for about $14, more than reasonable. If you want to find out even more about Adam Shepard and Scratch Beginnings head over to his site scratchbeginnings.com.I had a chance to ask Adam some more questions about his time during and since his experiment. Here they are:

Josh: On pg. 188 you talk about the journey, process, setting goals, finding passion and giving it your all. How much do you believe surrounding yourself with successful people helped you in your journey like Derrick (someone who helped you)?

Adam: More than “helped”, I think it defined the success of my journey. Maybe I could have succeeded on my own, maybe not. But in the end, that wasn’t the point. The point is that WE made it, together. And by choosing to surround myself with positive people that have my same focus, made this so much easier. I was so much more inspired that I wasn’t the only one fighting for the American Dream.

Josh: You also mention having a long-term, 5-year plan and the importance of having a goal even if it changes. I love goals and find them extremely valuable. How has your goal changed since embarking on your experiment, where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Adam: Certainly, my goals — more specifically — have changed since this book came out simply because I see that there is a market for me to talk about the issues surrounding the American Dream, but the fundamentals for my 5 year plan are the same. There still isn’t a quick fix to what I want to do…I still have to build a little bit every year. Actually, to be quite honest, achieving my goals is more difficult now, because now there are more opportunities for me to lose focus. It’s easy to shoot for the top when you’re broke…hell, there’s nowhere to go but up. But, when you’ve got a little money, a little success, it’s easy to steer off course and buy things you don’t need or do things that aren’t productive.

So, my goals have gotten bigger and more profound, but so have the obstacles, so it’s even more important to stay focused and grounded as I enjoy more success.

Josh: In the country with the highest rate of consumption and desire for “things” you resisted splurging on the non-essentials but rarely. Have the changes you made in your spending and thriftiness continued even through the present? Do you still shop at discount stores and supermarkets?

Adam: Oh, absolutely. And that’s what’s so important. Now, I’ve got a little bit of money in the bank and I could go out and buy “things” or I can be smart and I can really set some things up (investment-wise, for example) for myself. When you’re broke, it’s easy to be thrifty. Hell, you’re broke! But when you have money to spend, keeping it in your pocket is a challenge.

If you go to Amazon.com, you can watch a two-minute clip (or it’s on youtube; search my name) and you can see the car I drive now (cost me $400) that I’m doing pretty well.
I definitely still shop at discount stores and supermarkets. I just made a trip to Target for clothes (first in 5 years, actually, where I stocked up my wardrobe) and I splurged big time. I spent $300 and I’m not sure when I’ll have to go back.

Josh: It seems that once you have gone from something to nothing and back again possessions take on a new meaning. Having starting from scratch, did the “things” you acquire seem to not matter as much as you once believed, could you lose it all again and not really care?

Adam: Of course, and I think that’s the irony in this entire project. I was aspiring for “things” ($2500, a car, an apartment), but in the end, I discovered that the foundation of the American Spirit is built on character: integrity, work ethic, friendship, compassion for others. Things are things. And absolutely, I could lose it all today and start over again, because it’s an attitude. So, things aren’t as important as how I treat others, for example. (Now, don’t get me wrong. I would love to drive around in a BMW, and perhaps one day I will. But, that’s only after I’ve built a happy life on top of a strong character.)

These are the responses to the first Ask Josh round of questions. I opened up the floor for people to ask whatever they felt like asking. I don’t think there will be any perfect answers, but you asked for my opinion, so I’m giving it . Here we go:

BigPappa asks: What it the air speed velocity of an unladen African Swallow? There has been significant discussion but I don’t remember an answer being reached.

Josh: 10 meters per second. Thank you for providing the answer in a follow-up comment http://www.style.org/unladenswallow/.

Sherry asks: Just a question, are you wearing the hat always?

Josh: Sort answer is Yes, I usually wear a hat.

chris asks: I’m tossing up whether to personalize my blog about employment issues, or leave as an anonymous site (which it currently is). So I wanted to ask what difference it makes, marketing wise, on having a personal ‘this is me’ blog vs. an anonymous blog.

Josh: I would personalize the blog. Personalizing helps to enable discussion and communication from visitors. When a site or page is anonymous, it is perceived as a static website. The element of a real-life human being behind the helm goes a long way. People like to relate to a real person.

What type of ‘low cost’ ways can I compete with likes of Monster.com on marketing? Or should I not try?

Josh: From what I can tell looking from at your site, the best angle to go about helping people with their resumes would be to personally ensure success with your service. I like the testimonials and think there should be more of them throughout the blog. If you can guarantee and deliver the promise of the best personal resume service out there, people will naturally talk about it. The lowest cost way to promote your service is to make it the best service possible. As demand grows, so can your pricing structure. Maybe throw in a simple resume editing service or a two-tied slow / fast service.

Metroknow asks: Hey there Josh, my apologies if you’ve answered this before, but I was curious about your thoughts on the benefits of Entrecard. I still use it a little, but I have felt that the time trade off to build credits is not worth the return (very few clickthroughs, for example). What are your thoughts on Entrecard?

Josh: Personally, I see value in Entrecard (EC) or else I would have removed it from my blog. I think you can get out what you put into it at the cost of time. I rarely drop Entrecards anymore because I do not have the time. I do keep EC because I do get a trickle of visitors, comments and subscribers from it. I don’t recommend spending time dropping cards. Spend that 20-40 minutes a day building better content, making comments, building links to your blog and whatever it takes to increase your exposure. Dropping cards on people so they will drop cards back won’t help increase your readership or make more money. But putting the widget into your blog and leaving it there doesn’t cost a thing.

Susie Kleiner asks: As an “unconventional marketer” what are your thoughts on exhibiting at trade shows? With many companies cutting back their marketing budgets, do you feel this is area will be affected or do you foresee people continuing to push product/service through trade show marketing?

Josh: I think trade shows are invaluable simply because of the networking factor. I do believe these shows will and are taking a big hit right now with current economic circumstances. I believe people will start to get more creative with how they market at trade shows. Just this year there were numerous non-tech businesses at the Blog World Expo in Las Vegas. They went there because they knew that is where the talkers are. Believe it or not, bloggers talked about them, go figure.

A new marketing idea that some are starting to run are free workshops. Free workshops aren’t new. But running them for the sole purpose of helping others in order to get them to use your services is a new idea. What if people started opening up free courses on starting a business blog? Do you think businesses would show up? Do you think they might solicit your services after realizing it is something they need but don’t have the capacity to see through? I think so.

Matt Urdan asks: What’s the best way to monetize your blog without it becoming overrun with ad banners with designs you can’t control?

Josh: Use your blog to promote yourself and establish yourself as an authority on a subject. Unless you are receiving 300+ unique visitors a day, I wouldn’t mess with ads. They will only dilute your message. Selling unadvertised paid reviews or links can be another way to monetize your blog. I think having something people want and using your blog to promote that is the best way to monetize it.

You can create a thousand different sites that will produce good income all on their own. If your blog is your flagship site, I would leave it alone and use it as a funnel to recommend products or services to others occasionally but more as a free and open resource tool. The better idea would be if the products or services you recommend were your own.

Matt Richling asks: I see at the bottom of your blog, on the right side, you have some quick monthly goals. I was wondering what some of your more long term goals for the blog are? Or maybe your vision for where you see your blog in the future!?

I started posting goals on my blog about the second month into blogging. I thought they would be a great way to track progress and forward movement. I don’t give them too much thought anymore, just kind of fun to have. I don’t blog because of money. I blog because I like to network and share my passion for marketing in lighthearted, open discussions.

I would like to see this site develop into a community where more than one person posts frequently about the subject at hand. I want people to come, visit and walk away with something of value for free. As this site grows and more people visit it, I hope they get more and more value. I used to think that being an A-list blogger was the way to be and how to make money online. I now know it is better to network and give from your blog than to take. Anything I make from the blog I put back into the blog. I make money through different means online.

So to answer your question in numbers:

• RSS goal for the next year: 3,000+
• Newsletter subscribers for the next year 1,500+
• Frequent posters 3+

If you didn’t get your question is this time, thats ok. I am sure I have have another soon. I had a lot of fun answering these questions and hope that they showed you a little bit more about myself and other readers on the Unconventional Marketing Blog.