I don’t know if you were able to attend yesterday’s live Ustream broadcast from the James Hotel, but…

Gabe and Brad spent almost 2 hours with special guest @Huxley – a Social Media Expert from Down Under!

They taught all kinds of cool stuff for free, and now you can see the recording at: http://socialmediaaltitude.com/action/

If you were on the show before they got on, you may be sad to know that I forgot to record my hour of live antics…

Sadly there are no clips of me reading texts from Brad telling me to stop cursing, or removing articles of clothing whenever someone in the audience bought our new course…

But I Guarantee That You’ll Learn Plenty at: http://socialmediaaltitude.com/action/

Keep it real,
Russell

p.s. In case you didn’t get the news, scroll down on the recording page and click Buy Now to check out our insanely affordable new payment plan: http://socialmediaaltitude.com/action/

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There’s a lot of talk out the about “The Secret”, the “Law of Attraction”, and how we can think ourselves into living the life and success we dream about.

For every belief on the subject there as an opposite and equally viable belief, and for every person who believes you can think yourself into success, there is another person who says you can act your way into it.

I’d like to say that neither paradigm is entirely correct, and that there is a actually a deeper, underlying principle in which both thinking and acting take root.

Continue reading →

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I think the #1 most important thing to do when networking is to TAKE A GENUINE AND SINCERE INTEREST IN OTHERS.

So many people run to Networking Events searching for BUSINESS… and then you run around, looking for people to do BUSINESS with, talking about your BUSINESS…

When it’s all said and done, you’ve exhausted every contact at the event, and you’re still stuck wondering why you can’t find more BUSINESS.

I just want to connect with PEOPLE. I get to know people. I smile at people. I let each and every person I meet give me a reason to like him or her and enjoy his or her company.

And at the end of the day, I’m exhausted. I don’t get a break. People are constantly approaching ME – not because I have the greatest business knowledge or systems. But because I’m a good person to be around and brighten the situation.

End result, I’m left with pockets full of business cards and a few new potential clients, usually high-caliber, almost every time. But even more important than that, I’ve made dozens of new friends.

(this blog post was taken by a comment I left on Bradley Will’s facebook status question, “What is #1 thing YOU think everyone should do at networking events?” Connect with Bradley Will here)

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Woah.

It’s 3:22 AM, and I just clicked through to my blog and realized how… dead… it’s gotten in here.

And if you’ve been reading this blog for any prolonged period of time, you know how hot it can get at times…

Let’s face it: we have a great group of readers, and a great community…

Whenever I’M active!

I’ve got to let you know that this isn’t the best place to connect with me right now…

You see, I’m in my last semester of college…

I have many new clients who I’m working with over at http://SocialMediaAltitude.com…

and I’m in the process of launching the world’s largest Personal Development Community…

sound familiar? You may know that this has been my intent since I first started, and now I’ve finally found a way to make it happen….

So, what does this mean?

Yes, I will come back and blog some more… when it’s time.

Yes, this site is pretty much “dead” – when I come back, I will have a much more professional design, a plethora of KILLER new content, and the larger community of supporters that come with it…

…and I hope you’ll still come around then, too…

In the meantime, I might write some more blog posts.

Heck, you might even see one go viral.

Sometimes I get inspired and want to blog… inspiration creates our greatest results… and it’s no wonder why my content sometimes goes viral without me really trying….

But I want you to know that this blog isn’t going to be updated often… that should be obvious if you look at the past posts….

But, you can still connect with me even more so than you EVER could here.

If you don’t know this already, facebook is my “playground”, my kingdom, if you will…

>>>>Connect with me on Facebook at
http://facebook.com/TheSuccessMan

If you send me a friend request on facebook and let me know why you want to be friends, I guarantee that good times and great content will follow.

Also, you can follow me on twitter… just don’t expect the amount (or quality) of content you’ll find on facebook.

>>>Follow me on twitter at
http://twitter.com/SuccessMan

You may or may not know me, I don’t care… one thing that you should know is that when I set upon a goal… I see it through to completion.  Regardless of how many setbacks or slight delays come between the start and the completion…

I still plan on changing the world (and I’m doing it more now than ever)…

My passion is still helping others succeed and aiding in the evolution of human kind (it never gets old)….

And, let’s face it (you’ve probably already figured this): I still plan on being the best damn speaker and Personal Development figurehead who’s ever existed.  Bold words, I know, but I have the teachers before me to thank for giving me the knowledge, skills, and confidence necessary to make it happen.

Namaste, to anyone who finds him or herself upon this page, I wish you the best of luck.

To your success, love, health, and good fortune,
Russell

p.s. Add me on Facebook. Really. It’s a lot more fun than this boring old blog.
http://facebook.com/TheSuccessMan

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Facebook, Social Media’s equivalent to “The Empire”, has strucken back.

Over the past 36 hours Facebook has made a series of bold and loud moves, demonstrating that they are not going to stand still while Google and Twitter eat at their market share.

In fact, Facebook’s latest moves show that they want no friendly com

petition whatsoever.
Facebook has made a bold statement and move: they are willing to pull out all stops to crush Twitter, and they are even willing to do battle with the Goliath of the Internet, Google.

About 6 months ago, I predicted that within 5 years Facebook will be off the map and Google Friend Connect will reign king in the original “Social Wars” post.

The next few months will do a large part in determining whether my prediction comes true.

Let’s examine these new changes, and what they mean to the Social Web as a whole:

1) Facebook acquires Friendfeed.  With Friendfeeds widely appreciated API and real-time search capabilities that put Twitter to shame, Facebook is finally becoming more developer and feed-friendly.  This has been a major stumbling point for facebook since the debut of Facebook Connect, as Twitter’s simple API has made it much easier for developers to create smooth, useful applications, hence the abundance in the market.

2) Facebook releases new Real-Time Search Feature.  This is HUGE for everyone in Social Media.  Facebook pages have been far too static for far too long.  A large percentage of the market (including myself) has moved towards Twitter as the preferred social network, and that’s large because of the Real-Time results of Twitter search.  Well, now we can also get real-time search results in Facebook, but it gets even better than this: not only can you search status updates in Real time, you can search comments and descriptions of notes, videos, groups, and the like.  This is like twitter search, if twitter could also search twitpic, 12seconds, and the blogs of all bloggers on twitter. However, it’s only going to get better as facebook integrates technology from FriendFeed (remember, also, that Facebook has acquired some of the talent behind gmail with its acquisition of FriendFeed).

3) Google rolls out upgraded search engine, titled “Caffeine”.  There isn’t MUCH to look at here, but definitely something to keep an eye on.  Can google keep the edge in search?  Are they making the move to real time?  We’ll have to wait and see.

4) And finally, Facebook introduces Facebook Lite.  This is direct competition with Twitter. A lightweight version of Facebook – you keep the same friends lists, except Videos, Notes, and other processor-hogging resources are cut out.  It’s like twitter, except monetized.  Investors, LOOK TO FACEBOOK!  Between Facebook Lite and Google Wave, I realistically do not see Twitter lasting much longer than other passing trends.

So, what does all this mean?  Between Bing/Yahoo and the emerging Facebook search, does this spell trouble for Google?  Will Facebook reign supreme over the internet? What’s in the future of Fail Whale?

Bottom line is that, as always, NEVER GET ATTACHED TO ONE SOCIAL PLATFORM.  Facebook is not going to last forever. Google will even EVENTUALLY be gone.  This technology is rapidly changing, rapidly evolving, and the important thing for you and your business is this: learn to engage.  Learn to connect.  Learn how to make content that people like, and get your stuff going viral.  This way you are not a product of the Social Networks.  Rather, the Social Networks are controlled by you, the ultimate Social Media Master.

Please comment, trackback, share, and ReTweet.  I’d love to hear your thoughts and commentary.

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I recently received an email from someone on my mailing list…
I’ve removed his name for the sake of privacy, but this was his response to my question of, “How are you?”

Not that good, can’t manifest the things I need when I want it. And trust me I got Bob Doyle, Bob Proctor, Joe Vitale, Mike Dooley and Hicks & Abraham. (not to mention the classics Nevelle, et all). Yet despite my careful study of the material and working to remove all blocks I still can’t manifest more then a few dollars at a time. Now trust me I am grateful for the things I have manifested, but damn I am behind after accounting for all I’ve spent to learn. Seems like everyday there’s a new course (from the same people) that’s better and covers the “missing secret (s)”, and yet I’ve not seen anything new in all of it.

Here’s my advice (it comes from experience):

When we learn about manifesting, Law of Attraction, etc… it’s easy to get caught up on trying to change our way of thinking. We can see there are problems and negative beliefs, so we try harder, and harder, and harder…

Well really all we’re doing then is reinforcing these negative thought patterns. We’re trying to “make up” for what we don’t have, rather than being, doing, and expressing gratitude for what we do have.

What ends up happening (if you’re lucky) is that eventually you tailspin into depression, nearly incapacitated and incapable of taking the action that will actually get youresults. It’s like we tell ourselves that we’re not ready to move forward (and it’s true), but we keep ourselves there by thinking that.

The unlucky ones just quit and accept a life of misery.

Now, here’s the trick. The whole deal about this manifesting, LOA, etc. stuff is that you’re supposed to FEEL good… you’re supposed to feel as if you already have all the money you desire… etc.

What makes you feel that way? What are you absolutely PASSIONATE about? What would you do all day, every day, if nobody ever found out and you never got paid for it… but you did simply because you enjoyed it with PASSION?

Start doing that! A big misconception with The Law of Attraction is that there’s no hard word involved, and that the teachers are on some other level than us, just sitting back and manifesting what they want.

This is only true to a degree.

They are able to channel their thoughts to attain what they want… but the BIG secret is that when you are doing something you love, you know the end result (because you’ve set an attainable goal and can see the steps line up in front of you), and you just continue doing, doing, doing… absolutely LOSING yourself in the action… that’s when it really happens.

Successful people often don’t realize that it’s considered “absurd” to work for 20 hours straight, and often never even realize they’re doing it themselves, because they are so lost in love and passion for the act!

You may feel ripped off… like, “So you mean, I learned all that, just to learn that the real secret is hard work?”.

This isn’t true. You see, to the outside perspective, it might SEEM like hard work… but when you are so lost in the doing, in the action, in the MOMENT at all times while working towards your goal… it never FEELS like work! It feels like passion, fun, excitement, enthusiasm, you name it…

I cannot tell you how many 18+ hour days I’ve worked over the past two months. But I feel like I’ve been partying and having the time of my life! Not only will you feel great about work when you are taking proper action… time will basically stop (in terms of your perception), as you totally lose yourself in the act of doing, and YOU BECOME THE MANIFESTATION YOU SEEK.

And then, when you’re done allowing the manifest to happen through you, you can look back, smile at your accomplishments…. go have fun, party, sail on a yacht, go to space, whatever it is… until curiosity and passion bring you to your next project, which is when you very well may find yourself locked in the basement, working away, again… for the benefit of all whom you touch.

As Warren Buffet said, “the important thing is to find some wet snow and a big hill”. Find something which you can do NOW, an act in which you can totally lose yourself. Not something you wish to do, but can’t yet… not something you have to learn how to do (unless it’s the learning which excites you)… just something which you know, absolutely, you can do now… and let it take you somewhere you desire.

Hope this helps.

Love,
Russell

p.s. Yes, in my belief, it is possible to manifest things on an entirely spiritual level, with no action necessary. However, if you find yourself stuck and unable to move forward towards what you want, a little action will always jump start you towards success. Sometimes it takes physical work to move us to an emotional state where life really does become effortless… and even when you’re there, there is NOTHING more exciting than losing yourself in the manifestation of something you are passionate about.

My latest project is helping people turn their passions into profits through Social Media! To learn more, check out our facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=247481285523 or our 7-Video FREE training course at http://SocialMediaAltitude.com

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Hey everybody,

I just finished recording the 4th video in our free 7-part video series, and the topic got me SO FIRED UP that I had to continue my dialog in a blog entry for everyone else to read!

People enter Social Media thinking ABUNDANTLY. They know that pretty much EVERYONE is on it, and it looks like a goldmine to the unsuccessful marketer – they think to themselves, “Wow! I no longer have to struggle with having such a small list!”

So, they get on these sites… facebook, twitter, youtube, etc… and they start adding hoards and hoards of friends! Once they have some friends, they do what they’ve always done: try to sell stuff.

Almost immediately, this wannabe marketer finds himself where he’s always been: broke, and unable to make a dollar online.

Why is it? Why can some live comfortably with a list of 1,000, while others build up lists of 30,000 and still have to scrape up change for a Big Mac?

The answer is simple: it’s all about the quality of the relationships.

I’ve got thousands and thousands of friends on Social Networks. And, I’ve tried to sell them stuff, too. Did it work? Yes and no. I’ve made money through Social Media, even before I knew what I was doing. But the truth is, I only made money at first because I was lucky! Even then, my success boiled down to the quality of relationships I had: I only made money because well-respected and popular people found me (due to my own efforts) and openly conversed with and promoted me.

And here’s the funny thing: as time passed, the people who I made sales off of immediately kind of dropped off the radar. I never had a consistent relationship with them, and they NEVER became repeat customers OR friends!

Even thought I was posting links, and promoting my own products/services, that was NEVER what made me money. The only thing which has ever made me money through Social Media is the quality of relationships I’ve built with others. No ifs, ands, or buts about it – building relationships is your key to success in Social Media, and any more time you spend trying to build a huge network or send out persuasive sales messages is time wasted.

I hope this message finds you at a time when you need it, and helps you to achieve the amount of real, effortless, and joyful success you deserve. Please comment and share this blog post and let me know what you think.

For more free tips on how to use Social Media the RIGHT way, check out http://SocialMediaAltitude.com

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Consider this a “Soft Press Release”.

For some time now, I’ve been looking for a solid business partner.  Someone with high energy, a similar vision, and, most importantly, an incredible knowledge of Social Media coupled with a strong desire to continue learning.  Last week, a friend from Facebook who I’ve known for some time, Bradley Will, messaged me saying he had a JV idea.  We compared our current projects, saw a perfect fit, and now it’s official.  The two 20-something year old studs from Facebook are here to make some noise

But that’s not why I’m here.  I don’t care to build up buzz, or have people congratulate me.  This has been a long time in the coming, and I’m still the same guy, working hard to innovate and stay ahead of the game, while still constantly keeping in touch with clients and fans through Social Media.  I would, however, like to give some props to Bradley Will:

I had the pleasure of working with Brad to help him put together a powerpoint presentation for a Social Media seminar he spoke at yesterday.  I saw his presentation as he first began working on it, and then watched him proceed to stay up all night, in order to give the most value possible to those attending the seminar (did I say he’s a good business partner?).  End of story, Brad absolutely LIT UP the event – in fact, with four stages going simultaneously and an impressive lineup of speakers, Brad had some of the best feedback at the entire seminar.  He’s a natural – great energy, nice hair, great body… (ok, Brad made me put that last part in).

Bottom line is, Brad’s presentation was so POWERFUL, that at the end of his presentation, a group of people rushed to talk to Brad, creating business and nearly DELAYING the rest of the event!

However, the event was in Chicago and you probably couldn’t have made it, so we decided that we might as well give the presentation to you, our friends from Social Media, too.  The attendees of the event paid $259 to hear his presentation, titled “Purpose Driven Social Media”, but all you have to do is give your name and preferred email address below, and I’ll send you the link to Brad’s presentation.  This is the kind of stuff that’s so powerful, they usually ask you to pay for it.

Want a copy of Brad’s presentation? Just give me your
name and email address below and I’ll send you a link.

Sincerely,
Russell

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(Continue reading for a FREE Social Media Coaching session – $147 value)

I just got done reading (and raving about) my friend Bradley Will’s new blog post How to Find Your Business “Sweet Spot” In 15 Minutes (or less) and was inspired to do what I should be doing every day – write my own piece of value-driven content.

You see, Brad hit it head-on with his latest piece, and, as a fellow young entrepreneur, I realized how important it is for us to be supporting eachother (and other entrepreneurs who are getting on their feet)… and I realized that I need to spend less time coaching and working on products, and more time putting valuable content out there for free. Especially now that the “Social Media Goldrush” is in full-force, and everyone is claiming that they can monetize Social Media.  I’ve learned from experience that listening to any of these “old-school” marketers will move you two steps back, while you think (and often, even they think) you’re moving one step forward.

After listening to Perry Belcher’s teleseminar last night, I realized that the single most important thing which others have failed to teach – and I’ve always been teaching – is still being left out of the highest-paid Social Media Marketing courses in existence.  You see, almost any talented marketer can build a huge list with Social Media.  Here’s the formula for building a huge following on twitter: Follow 300 people every day, and, if after 3 days, they don’t follow you back, unfollow them.  As your following grows, you can follow more and more people on a daily basis.  You can even use Twollo to automatically follow people based on keywords.

Now, that’s all fine and dandy, until you start trying to monetize this list.  I’m telling you from experience that if your followers don’t LIKE you – they’re pretty much WORTHLESS to your marketing efforts.  I guarantee that some of my followers DON’T like me – and that’s because I used to listen to these old-school marketers, and I thought I was “building a list”.  Your empty list of followers is worthless, and if you don’t get this through your head, you are doomed to fail in Social Media.

What matters, however, is the number of RELATIONSHIPS you have. How many people in your following actually KNOW, LIKE, and TRUST you?  This is the most important thing, because not only will these people want to buy from you – they’ll also retweet (or otherwise share) your stuff, blog about you, and build your following for you. Personal references are the best way to gain solid new fans & followers, and I’ve added thousands of people to my twitter following through personal references and retweets – not by going out and following them.

So, when you’re deciding on how you want to use Social Media, or what your Purpose is, ask yourself, “Why do people like me?”  How can you deliver value?  What would you talk about even if you weren’t being paid to talk about it?  These are the things you should be talking about – and if you’re in a business that you’re NOT passionate about, get out now before you go down with the economy.  There’s always value in passion, and there’s more gold in your heart than any job you dislike or money-motivated business can get you.

It’s true that Social Media is like a party, and, just like at a party, you have a personality which attracts people to you. Some people try to impress and make friends with everybody, and some are pretty good at it, too.  Others are content with just being themselves and not caring what others think about them.  What’s your strategy?  Are you marketing to the masses, or a very small, niche group which resonates with your personal interests?  Choose your Social Media strategy correctly from the get-go, and save yourself time and frustration in the future.

I have time available this weekend, and as I stated earlier, I’ve re-focused on providing as much value as I can for free. For that reason, I am giving a free 30-minute coaching consultation to the first 5 people who comment on this blog post – but you MUST be serious about using Social Media to bring your business (and life) to new heights.

Sincerely,

Russell

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“If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build, end up building us.” Unknown

This is from Michael Fletcher’s “Neworld Quote of the Day Program” (which I’m a HUGE fan of!) To sign up for FREE, go to http://neworldcoaching.com

Love,
Russell

(edit: Michael just told me that the signup form isn’t on his new webpage yet, so if you want to subscribe, just email his assistant at dawn@neworldcoaching.com)

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