Herbalife STS Training Blogroll

For interested webmasters, click "read more" to see details of putting a blogroll of all the Herbalife STS websites on your website.

Webmasters, post this list on your website so you'll always have the freshest list of STS websites around the country!

There are a few ways to syndicate this content:

• Javascript formatted Feed:
  Post this code on your site to see the list
  
  <script type="text/javascript" src="http://rpc.blogrolling.com/display.php?r=fd9e7f413ee28645344c33f5c91cce6d"></script>
  


• XML formatted RSS Feed:
  If you know how to display XML feeds on your site, point your server here!


• OPML formatted feed:
  http://rpc.blogrolling.com/opml.php?r=fd9e7f413ee28645344c33f5c91cce6d


• External PHP:
  http://rpc.blogrolling.com/display_raw.php?r=fd9e7f413ee28645344c33f5c91cce6d

Please remember to put a link back to http://point-n-click.blogspot.com/2005/01/herbalife-sts-training-blogroll.html so other webmasters can find this tool like you did!

See an example of the blogroll working at http://www.saltlakests.com/#othercities (along the right side of the page).

It's the business-model, stupid!

This is a good article that keeps it all in perspective:

"Network marketing is just a business model, and it really amounts to 'micro-franchising'. "

"Network marketers who are serious about building a business should be reading and learning about business fundamentals, the latest sales and marketing techniques, strategies for networking and business development, etc., not just swapping tips at your team's weekly or monthly meeting. Act like a small business owner, and people will treat you like one."

Personal Finance Software is Money Magic

I found an article written about how the mvelopes personal budgeting system works, by Kristen Carpenter, an independent writer:

Snippet: "Mvelopes' unique budgeting concept offers a straightforward method to reining in your finances, enabling you to spend less and spend more efficiently while still enjoying what matters most to you in life."By Kristen N. Carpenter

Does your money seem to pull a disappearing act each month? Does your credit card statement continually leave you wondering when and how you could have spent that much? What about that cash you took out from the ATM the other day could you possibly have spent it already?

Let's face it. Managing your personal finances can be a difficult task especially when on a tight budget. Every time you turn around, there's another bill to pay, and before you know it, your entire paycheck has been spent and then some! Soon, you find yourself drowning in the financial demands of everyday life, and the vicious cycle of living paycheck to paycheck or worse yet, living on credit has begun. You ask yourself, "How did this happen to me?"

If you are finding it increasingly difficult to juggle the many different financial aspects of your life, you are not alone. The fact is, in today's modern society, the average consumer is forced to allocate the money from one stream of income to more than 30 different sources! From mortgage payments and health insurance to childcare services and credit cards, it's no
wonder money appears to continually vanish before our eyes. But what if there was a way of reducing the invisibility of your spending? A way of budgeting yourself in a simple, pain-free manner and achieving that so-called state of "financial freedom" once and for all? Thankfully, where there is a will, there is a way.

I found a great personal finance software program called Mvelopes Personal. Mvelopes Personal is the new affordable and easy-to use online budgeting system sweeping the world of personal finance, is the answer to all your budgeting woes. Mvelopes' unique budgeting concept offers a straightforward method to reining in your finances, enabling you to spend less and spend more efficiently while still enjoying what matters most to you in life.

Gone are the days of discovering how much you have spent after it's too late to do anything about it. Instead, Mvelopes enables you to take control of your finances now by tracking the current balances within each of your designated financial software envelopes as you are doing the spending. In this manner, at the click of a button you will know exactly how many of your allocated dollars have been spent from each of your envelopes, thus leaving yourself better equipped to avoid going over your limit.

This real-time money tracking is made possible through a transaction download service, which is just one component of the Mvelopes Personal Budgeting system. Add to that the optional bill pay service, the financial portfolio management service and the outstanding free budget coaching all included in the package as well, and the result is your number one source for assistance in managing your personal budget.

Isn't it about time YOU took control of your finances and embarked upon the path towards financial freedom? To learn more about how Mvelopes can help you to start making better spending decisions, or to sign on right away for your one month free trial offer, visit the Mvelopes homepage at mvelopes.com.

By Kristen N. Carpenter

Kristen has a keen interest in personal budgeting and finance and is a marketing
communications specialist.

Filed under: money taxes finances & Software

Happiness

To be a happy person you must find your self. To be happy you must first forgive your heart and then others.

Consists of Steps:

1. Know God! Be thankful.
2. Love yourself! Affirm to everybody you are special.
3. Put into practice who you are everyday.
4. Do not be envious. They achieved their goals. Achieve yours, when you want to, when you are capable you will do it.
5. Do not harbor anger.
6. Don’t steal.
7. Respect and Love everyone.
8. Arise with a smile, be grateful, look at the positive in everyone.

From Lynett

Personal Finance Software Online

Finally! I've been looking for a long time for an online money manager such as Microsoft Money (Compare to Microsoft Money) or Intuit's Quicken (Compare to Quicken).

Neither of those other two programs work online (and both of them eat more memory than the US Olympic Team at a Wheaties convention). Quickbooks Online Edition is sweet, (I use it for my business) but for personal finances, it's too powerful--like brushing your teeth with a broom!

This morning, I thought to try looking once again for an online solution, so I Googled my way into a search-and-resuce mission for my checkregister.

What I found is Mvelopes Personal,an online bugeting and money management system that is simple and elegant, yet powerful. I have just embarked on their 30-day Free Trial, so I will be blogging about my experience as we go.

Things I am loving so far:

• Its online--so I can check it from anywhere.
• Its online--so my spouse and I can keep track together. (instead of the rediculous file-swapping nightmare that ensued whenever one of us wanted to see the bank balances in Microsoft Money)
• It downloads my transactions automatically from my bank--actually both my banks and my credit union, and my credit cards.
• Online BillPay is available--ahh. Point-N-Pay!
• Its online--okay, so it's just cool that its a web app, ok?
• Take their Financial Fitness Quiz
• See their Free Debt Calculator

Day one of 30.... I'll let you know how it goes!

Filed under: money taxes finances & Software

Is A Major AdWords/Adsense Revision In The Works?

Scoop! Google is about to unveil a completely revamped AdWords/AdSense program to counter inroads from competitors such as Kanoodle.

More...

Ma Bell? Can you hear me know?

I'm getting pretty jazzed about the new broadband phone services coming mainstream nowdays. Since my broadband connection is more important than my refrigerator, I am seriously considering my jump from my telco's twisted-pair copper dustiness into packet-switched telephony heaven.

The hook? I was talking to my tech-savvy sister back in Indy and I mentioned Broadband Phone Service. She said, "Yeah, pretty cool idea, huh."

"Sure, but what about the quality of sound?" I asked.

"Well, how well can you hear me?" she answered. "I am on a broadband phone connection here!"

...nuff said.

Are you using Broadband Phone? Comment and let me know your story.

In the mean time, here are some links I've digged up:

• Avoid VoIP Gotchas: "Voice over IP can save you money, if you can avoid the traps." (PC World via About -- Watch for Popups)
  
• Lingo Broadband Phone Service offers unlimited calling $19.95/month. This link offers you 1mo Free! Free calling includes US, Canada, Western Europe.
  
• Vonage has a great package of products, easy-to-read tutorials, and comparative pricing. This link (sent by my sister) should give you a free month for signing up. See Also: Linksys Vonage Adapter
  
• See my Google Search for "Broadband Phone"
  
• Amazon Searches:
  • VoIP
  • voice over ip
  • Linksys Vonage Adapter

Self-Marketing Rules For Successful Introverts

Taps to John Hesch for his link to this interesting and useful article! File this under "things I need to develop for the next (inevitable) career-move."

Snippet:

You don't need to brag to promote yourself. However, by preparing well for encounters in advance, you'll have ready indisputable facts about your accomplishments and what you excel at and enjoy, plus you'll feel comfortable stating them. By listening carefully to your conversation partners, you can adapt your fact-based message and make it relevant to their interests.

Make Your Website Sing

While looking for a way to play MP3 files from a website )without having to download the file), I found WimpyPlayer, a cool web-app you can use to make cool flash buttons, etc, that stream MP3s, AVIs, other video/audio and you can even make a cool MP3 player for your site. See the example:





Wimpy has code for PHP, ASP, and ColdFusion (CF). Learn more at their website:

Herbalife Content & Headlines On Your Website

With more content than just Herbalife News, use the following code to add headlines and content from several Herbalife-related weblogs to your website by dropping in one line of code.

Provided free by NewsGator, this blogroll will constantly refresh with the newest and freshest Herbalife News, success stories, motivational thoughts, shake recipes and more!

Drop in the code:
<script src="http://services.newsgator.com/ngws/headlines.aspx?uid=8947&mid=7"><script>

You may also link to these Herbalife weblogs in these ways:

• OPML file
• JavaScript:
  <script src="http://services.newsgator.com/ngws/Blogroll.aspx?uid=8947&mid=7"></script>

• RSS
• External PHP Code
  

StatsHack: Show your page stats

Use this hack, combined with StatCounter's free website stats application to graphically show your page stats on a website of your choice. See an example on this page.

Using this hack?
Please leave a comment to this post with your website URL

To use:
Copy the following code to your website, editing the first two variables (see comments in the code for details.
Note: Please keep the web friendly--if you use this hack, link back to this post!

Click the "Read More" link, below, to see the code:
<script language="JavaScript">
<!--
//++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ STATS HACK +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
//
// written by Robert Merrill
// http://point-n-click.blogspot.com/2005/01/statshack-show-your-page-stats.html
//
// This code is provided free of charge and without support, warranty, and liability
// Please keep reference intact, pointing users to http://point-n-click.blogspot.com/2005/01/statshack-show-your-page-stats.html
//
// To scroll users to the graph on your page, use the code: <a href="#seeStats">See page statistics</a>
//
//++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ STATS HACK +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
//Step One: What is your STATCOUNTER Project ID Number? Default is '513981', the ProjectID for http://point-n-click.blogspot.com
scProjectId = 513981

//Step Two: How many DAYS of stats do you want to show? Default is 15
scNumDays = 15

//Step Three: Sit back and watch your stats graph appear on the page
ed = new Date();
bd = new Date(ed.getFullYear(),ed.getMonth(),ed.getDate()-scNumDays)
bdStr = bd.getFullYear() + '-' + (bd.getMonth()+ 1) + '-' + bd.getDate();
edStr = ed.getFullYear() + '-' + (ed.getMonth()+ 1) + '-' + ed.getDate();
document.write('<a name="seeStats"></a><span class="siteStatisticsGraph">Our statistics for the last ' + scNumDays + ' days:<br>')
document.write('<a href="http://my.statcounter.com/project/standard/stats.php?project_id=' + scProjectId + '&guest=1">')
document.write('<img border="0" src="http://my.statcounter.com/project/standard/graph_daily_summary.php?hide_page_loads=0&project_id=' + scProjectId + '&startDate=' + bdStr + '&endDate=' + edStr + '&guest=1">')
document.write('</a><br> StatsHack provided by <a href="http://point-n-click.blogspot.com/2005/01/statshack-show-your-page-stats.html">Point-N-Click</a></span>')
//++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ END STATS HACK +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
//-->
</script>



Code conversion powered by SimpleCode

Oingo Boingo: Wireless 'HotSpot' Finder

When it comes to mobile-officing, Boingo really does have their act together. I'm a T-Mobile wireless customer, but Boingo has my HotSpot business hooked up.

Often, with my work, I am in-between appointments, on the run, or trying to squeeze in one more call before my next meeting begins. I definetly subscribe to the Full Engagement philosphy and when my energy level is high, I work hard to get as much accomplished as I can.

That means I can't spend a lot of time finding a place to download my email or check a website. I can't afford the hassle of "sneaking" into a hotel lobby, pretending I belong there, and constantly checking over my shoulder to see if I am about to be asked to leave.

With Boingo, I just pull out my laptop and the simple hotspot directory shows me exactly where to go to chomp my next megabyte--all offline. Also, their free connection app (that anyone can use) sniffs out wireless nets that my Linksys, Netgear and (of course) Windows wireless connection apps consistenly miss.

Getting Started:

• First, ahem, it helps to have a laptop, PDA or other wireless-capable device.
• Next, get a Wireless Card for your laptop. My favorite brand is Netgear.
• Third, visit Boingo. Check their directory and be sure you'll be able to use the service in your area, or in areas you travel to frequently.
• Next, if the service is in your area, register for their wireless hotspot service.
• Follow their easy instructions for download and installation.
• Get out there, knowing when a crucial download is needed, you'll have directions, instructions, and even a toll-free customer support number if anything goes wrong!

Good Move!

To me, Boingo is as fun as war chalking--even without the black cat suit, utility belt, and Mission Impossible theme music.

A Declaration of Dependence

"I decided that, while my kids are young, to make a career move that will let me learn the things my resume is missing. Rather than start something from scratch, I want the opportunity to learn from an established, winning company. So, I put out some feelers.

It's been an invigorating experience. I've met a lot of new people over the past few months. I've learned an immense amount about the technology that runs a lot of other companies. And very fortunately, I've had the opportunity to choose from multiple offers to find the right position for me -- not just for the employer."

Optimize Your Site for Lead Generation

"Does your site persuade leads to contact you?"

A Vitamin For Your Soul

"Our spirits long for us to remember the truth about who we are, because the way we see ourselves-or our sense of identity-affects everything we do."
—Sheri Dew
Ye Shall Bear Record of Me

Put Google Search On Your Site

You can use the following code to search Google from your own site. If you like, copy this into a text file, say notepad, and then save it to your desktop with a ".htm" extension and you can open that to search Google right away.

Or, set a bookmark or your homepage to this post and just search like that!

<center><form action="http://www.google.com/custom" method="get" target="_top"><table bgcolor="#ffffff"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" align="left" height="32" nowrap><a href="http://www.google.com/"><img alt="Google" src="http://www.google.com/logos/Logo_25wht.gif" align="middle" border="0" /></img></a><input maxlength="255" size="31" name="q"></input><input type="submit" value="Search" name="sa"></input><input type="hidden" value="pub-0050098160454033" name="client"></input><input type="hidden" value="1" name="forid"></input><input type="hidden" value="7866743218" name="channel"></input><br /><br /><br /><input type="hidden" value="ISO-8859-1" name="ie"></input><input type="hidden" value="ISO-8859-1" name="oe"></input><input type="hidden" value="GALT:#008000;GL:1;DIV:#336699;VLC:663399;AH:center;BGC:FFFFFF;LBGC:336699;ALC:0000FF;LC:0000FF;T:000000;GFNT:0000FF;GIMP:0000FF;FORID:1;" name="cof"></input><input type="hidden" value="en" name="hl"></input></td></tr></tbody></table></form></center><br /><br />

P.S. I used SimpleCode to post this.

Ahh, New Template Feels Like New Clothes

Doesn't a new template on this site feel nice? Comments?

SimpleCode

Enter normal (X)HTML in the markup box, press "Process" and it will spit out entity-encoded markup suitable for <code> examples. Use spaces in increments of two for nesting indents.

Take Checks Over the Phone for FREE

CheckMan lets you process checking transactions over the phone, by fax, mail or even the Internet. The program is easy enough for anyone to use, and will safely keep your check information for future use.

Cheaper (its free) and faster than EFT or ACH transactions, in my opinion, CheckMan frees you up to worry about your business, not how you're going to get your money!

I've been using CheckMan for 3 years in our business and the possibilities it opens for us are great! Some ways I have used CheckMan so far:

• Check-by-phone sales or reorders.
• Automatically process recurring payments.
• Free bank-to-bank money transfers.
• Almost eliminate the need to pay high credit card merchant fees, CheckMan is free to use!
• I get my money almost immediately, as soon as the CheckMan check clears my bank!

I am sure the possibilities are limitless! But, if you're in a business dealing with a lot of relatively small transactions, let CheckMan do the work for you! It saves the information so you just point, click, and print the next payment and take all your checks to the bank!

My business is retail/wholesale sales, so this is perfect for me. Others I know who use CheckMan successfully are:

• Catalog or Mail-Order
• Landlords / Property-Management
• Landscaping companies
• Web Stores (accept checks over the Internet!)
• Book sellers
• Resellers of any kind
• Anybody with either recurring or long-distance business. If you have recurring business that is also long-distance, this is the ticket for you!

CheckMan is a Check by phone, FAX machine, or Internet Check processing program. It is easy to use and will pay for itself in only a few uses. Your reduction in headaches alone will make the program worth it!

See CheckMan's website for more details, to purchase and download immediately.

My Recommendations:
If you forsee yourself doing a lot of recurring transactions, payments or other things (like, if you are a landlord or property owner), I strongly recommend the PRO version. Otherwise, the basic one will work perfectly for you. Get the box of checks! There are three-checks to a sheet, so it will last you a long time.

Google Sitesearch

I've also added Google SiteSearch along the side of the site so you can search my pages.

Where Are You From? Where Are You Going?

I'm using StatCounter to check stats on the site and throughout some other projects. It's free, and they have good reports. See my most-popular pages so far

What If Your Customers Found You?

In one of my marketing classes in school, I read a quote I love:

Marketing is not about making products easier to sell,
it's making them easier to buy.

As long as your product or service provides real value, if you present it to enough people, in the right places, consistently enough, your target market will appear, and your business will generate revenue (sell stuff).

The key is getting enough people, who genuinely care about your service or product, to look. Jim Rohn is famous for saying, "I don't want you to buy; I don't want you to join; I only want you to look." There's a goldmine in that level of thinking!

Here are some resources I love for targeting your marketing dollars toward people more likely than average to be interested in your products.

Resolution: Lose Weight

Many of you know I have already won an incredible battle with weight loss. After years of being overweight, I succeeded in losing more than 125 pounds and I have kept that weight off for more than 2 years!

Its a success I attribute directly to the incredible nutritional programs of Herbalife (NYSE: HLF), one of the top nutrition and health companies in the world.

Here is a promotional email I recently sent to prospective customers I'm making it available here for any of you looking to lose a few pounds for the New Year. Read it for promotional details, deadlines, etc. This is only good through this weekend, and it really is an incredible deal!
~Rob

Resolution: Keep In Touch

Social Networking tools like LinkedIn may prove that you know more than you think you do--at least more people, anyway.

One of the first things you will notice in any struggling company (or family, for that matter) is that they are not effectively using the resources they already have.

I have a friend who is such a whiz it's often said she has forgotten more than most people know! It's funny, but a little frightening, too. What things do you already have access to that, if you maximized their potential, might make all the difference at a crucial point in the future for you? John Maxwell and others remind us that "Opportunity lies at the intersection of preperation and action." (other quotes by Maxwell) . The bottom-line? If you're not already maximizing your personal network, the time will come when you will need their resources, but they will not be there for you!

It's Not What You Know, It's WHO You Know
One of the keys in the New Economy is personal networking. It has always been important, but since you will never expect to work with the same company more than 5-10 years max anymore, you need to stay connected to the people you know.

However, it has always been a struggle for me, personally, to keep in touch with colleagues, friends, aquaintances and even more casual contacts which may, in the long-run, make a huge difference in your future.

--Maximize Your Personal Network
There are many ways to keep in touch with people, however, one of the most incredible (and free) ways I have seen to do this simply is through LinkedIn.

I have been working with LinkedIn since Serial Entrepreneur Paul Allen (see his blog linked in my "blogs I read" section) recommended it to me and my Entrepreneurial Skills class a few semesters ago in the Center for Entrepreneurship at Brigham Young University.

With people like Paul Allen and Kelly Perdew (The Apprentice) recommending LinkedIn as such an important tool, why not use it to keep in touch with your circle of influence and circle of concern! [See this example of how LinkedIn works]

With that, if you're someone I know, get LinkedIn and then drop me a request to add you! I would love to stay in touch through the system and, potentially, be able to introduce you to people I know. If you have an entrepreneurial, technological or new-economy bent, I know a lot of people you should know!

Get LinkedIn--You never know who I might know!


Links about LinkedIn:

• Dialogue with The Apprentice: Kelly Perdew Shares His Thoughts on Leadership
• The socially selective networker
• Social Software: Finding Beauty in Walled Gardens
• Your Assistance Requested!

Resolution: Keep My Computer Virus Free

Easilly my greatest bummer to being online is when you start getting emails from people saying, "Stop sending me viruses!" (They get nastier when they come from your Internet company rambling something about bandwidth, yadda, yadda... Sheesh, its not like I am downloading music... illegally...) Anyway, its nice to know you're safe when you're online. If your computer is infected with a virus, its usually simple to clean, if you're vigilant about it. Ignorance is bliss, sure, until all your files and your computer are wiped out thanks to funny email you opened six months ago that contained a hidden virus or trojan. I have tried other Anti-Virus programs, but of course, the best are Norton Antivirus and McAfee VirusScan 2005. They've been around the longest and they're the most user-friendly (in my opinion). Personally, Norton is my virus-killer of choice. Make a New Year's resolution to keep the Internet clean. Get or update your virus program and scan your computer at least weekly. I did a brief search of the web and posted some links here for you. On Amazon, you can get McAfee for less than a pizza--sweet! Also, copies of Norton run pretty cheap and can even be sent to you free with Super Saver Shipping. I also recommend you check the following websites in case they have better deals than Amazon (not likely, but possible): Wal-Mart -- Clearance at Walmart.com: Electronics, Home, Toys and More Buy.com -- $10 OFF in Buy.com's Computer Store!New Customers Only! Expires 1-31 eBay!

BYU Center For Entrepreneurship News

Click here to read the feed or, subscribe this url into your favorite feed reader:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/byucfe
feed://feeds.feedburner.com/byucfe

Resolution: Remember My Passwords!

If there's two things I hate doing online, they are:

1. Having to "make up" secure passwords I will remember at every website I visit... the cable company, the bank, blogger... etc, etc.
2. Inevitably using the SAME username/password combination at all my sites, just so I can remember them all.

I mean, for a while there, if everyone knew what my favorite cheese sport was, they would instantly know all the passwords to everything I have. Millions Thousands Hundreds of dollars would be in jeapordy if that knowledge fell into the wrong hands! (Or, someone might pay my phone bill...)

Enter RoboForm:

Learn More Download Now (Free!)

About 6 months ago, I found RoboForm, which I have used, literally, every day since then, and which I absolutely love! Thanks, to my friend Tom who suggested Gator for this job initially, but the ads and the popups scared me a little. Plus, Gator was easilly fooled by more complicated websites. Compared to Gator, RoboForm wins, hands down!

Thank you, RoboForm, for helping me remember and secure my online life!

I have never needed to remember another password or username since I found this amazing tool. It literally remembers passcodes and everything you need for all your websites. I use it to remember all those secret codes for my billpay sites, my utility companies, my online banking, etc, etc... its great... and, it encrypts everything so even if someone was to open your computer, they can't get to your sensitive information!

Download a Free Trial or Go to RoboForm's website to learn more

Roboform is recommended by:

"Easy to use and without any hidden spyware... Innovative, lean, useful product." WallSt Journal
"It Knows All Your Passwords (But Promises Not to Tell)". NY Times
"My favourite password manager... Easy to use, does not pop up ads in my face or grab information from me. Most importantly, it simply works well." FT
"The Best of 2003 -- Most Practical Program. I highly recommend it." CNET
"Best of all, this program simply works well. We have yet to see a Web-based form stump it." PC Magazine
"Best Web Enhancement of 2004. As voted by the public." SIC / SIA
"Siber Systems is a member of Better Business Bureau and it abides by BBB Code of Online Business Practices." Better Busness Bureau

Learn More Download Now (Free!)

One Day

Amazing to me how New Year's Day can make you literally think differently. I never feel like I am being affected by the New Year hype, then, inevitably, while watching The Ball Drop, I think, "Man, I am a real slug--I should be celebrating more!"

Then, all those New Yearsy things start creeping up on you, such as "be more organized", for example. Today, I almost bought organizing shelves from the grocery store--2 for $7. They almost got me.