All you need is a smart phone, and an application on it to recognize the code and do your typing for you. It’s that simple. With a point and click, that barcode information will be instantly downloaded to the contacts on your phone.

Here, try it on mine. Go to the box in the upper right hand corner, open the application on your phone and click it.

This barcode can be resized to fit on business cards, coffee mugs, billboard signs, T-shirts, and whatever else your imagination can conjure up.

The following easy steps will assist you in developing your own QR code:

1.  Go to goqr.me/ and create your own Vcard.  Enter as much of your information as you want your business contacts to have. There maybe limits on the amount of information you can include for older cell phones.

2.  Save your QR Code to your computer.

3.  Copy the URL to imbed in documents, and the HTML code to add to your website. These codes are available at the bottom of the page once you complete your Vcard information.

4.  On your iphone or Android, download the application (QR Droid for Android). This will take all of 30 seconds, honest!

5.  Return to the application on your phone, tap it, and before you can center the phone over the bar code, all of the information will become available on your phone. It merely needs to be saved. It will then show in your contact list.

Fun, isn’t it?

Let me know if you’ve found a new way to use your own QR code. The advertising possibilities are limitless. Once you start using this code you will see it on a lot of different advertising media. It’s like buying a Honda? You suddenly see all kinds of Honda’s on the road, right?

Explore endless possibilities with this one!

While there are many ways to burrow into your niche on Twitter, I’ve found a free tool that I highly recommend.  Listorious offers some of the following advantages:

• Finding like-minded people
• Steps for creating more interesting tweets
• Lists you have either joined or created
• Advertising your profile and your key tags
• Ability to search over 1,000,000 top Twitter users
• An interview where you can spotlight some of your outstanding Twitter followers
• Ability to ask questions to “the experts”
• Listorious 140 that includes the Top 140: Lists on Twitter, Most Listed People on Twitter, Oldest Accounts on Twitter and Most Followed People on Twitter.

Listorious has honed my Twitter skills. What have you found useful in developing your Twitter communication? Do you have a favorite program, tip or trick that works well for you? Please share your thoughts. I’m always ready to learn a new fun method of tapping into Twitter’s goldmine.

To Our Massive Success,

Dar

He was a college kid who needed to make some money, so Russell and another buddy developed a simple video on how to construct a potato gun that would shoot further than anything else on the market.  Don’t worry, I didn’t know what a potato gun was either.  Unless you live in Idaho, it might just not be your thing!

With a flip cam, in the basement of his house, he created his “how to” video.  It was a far cry from a Hollywood production, but the video was highly informative on the building of a potato gun.

Next he found a forum with 10,000 potato gun aficionados, purchased a banner ad for about $100 a year, set up a simple web site to sell the video and bought Google pay-per-click for 5 cents a click.  Voila!  That simple concept brought him $30,000 a year from potato gun sales.

When Russell Brunson first started Internet work, he had no knowledge of where to begin in the process.  He also had no budget.  That sounds familiar!  He realized that he could not do it all, so he searched for Internet assistance.  A programming company gave him a $5,000 quote to set up his web site.  Thinking that people around the world might offer him a more realistic deal, he posted his project on www.odesk.com.  (He also recommends www.elance.com and www.guru.com).   The project went from $5,000 to $1,000 to $500.  Finally, a young dude in Romania said he could do it in three days for $20.  Guess who got the job!  AND, Russell still works with this guy today.

A life-changing concept that Russell employs is “Opportunity Cost.”  (Stop yawning!)  You know the saying, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.”  So goes life.  Nothing is free.  For example, you get a coupon in the mail for free tacos on Tuesday at Vallarta’s.  While you don’t have to pay for the taco, the opportunity cost is the time it takes you to drive to Vallarta’s and eat the taco.  You’re losing the opportunity of spending that time doing something else.

So with every decision you make, look at the Opportunity Cost.  It is broken down into two simple concepts:

1.    Time Management
2.    The Hedgehog Concept

What is the dollar VALUE you place on your time?  Right now, I’m at least worth $40 per hour.  If there is a project that would take me hours to learn and use effectively, like the ins and outs of html, it is far more efficient to employ a programmer to complete the project.  The alternative is hours wasted where I’ve wanted to tear my hair out.  While engaging in those feelings, I’ve lost sight of the structured plan for the day.

A huge, expensive mistake we make is undervaluing our time!

Focusing on your one core business strength can move you from mediocre to excellent.  In “Good to Great,” an amazing book by Jim Collins, he explains that foxes are good at many things.  They fit into the Jack of All Trades category.  “[H]edgehogs know how to do only one thing really well—roll up to protect themselves.”  When the fox attempts to catch the hedgehog, it can’t.  “The hedgehog always wins by focusing on one core strength.”

It is my goal to follow in the footsteps of a great entrepreneur like Russell Brunson.  To do so, I need to be that hedgehog with laser focus.  I’ve been trying to flit from one thing to the next as a fox.    It hasn’t worked!  It is time to buckle down, focus on my core strength and pass the remaining gazillion tasks on to those who are efficient in their niche.

Are you a fox or a hedgehog?  Stop and look at your activities from just today, and if you dare, answer the question honestly below

To Our Laser-Focused Success,

Dar

For years I have maintained an Excel spreadsheet with my log in and password information.  When I’d forget something the spreadsheet would be my handy reference guide.  There have been times, however, when I’ve downloaded a new program and failed to update the spreadsheet.  What a hassle it was to locate the info, then change or rearrange that log in.  It left me sputtering …

My IT guru suggested installing RoboForm.  I’ve used it for the last five months and I highly recommend it to you.    It is easy to set up, user friendly and will save you many headaches in the long run.

There is a paid version (if you want to sync it with additional computers), but the free version works  fine for one computer.

For someone like myself who frequents many websites during the day,  it’s a  time saver extraordinaire!

I apologize for not going through each step of the setup process, but mine was already set up months ago.  If you have installation questions please give me a holler.

What time-saving tricks do you use? I’m anxious to learn them!

Here’s to Saving Valuable Time,

Shorthand uses the phonetic sound of the speaker, meaning that you are recording the sounds of the speaker, not the English.  Silent letters are omitted.  Phrases are combined and over a period of time you learn to develop your own characters, phrases and shortcuts.

With all the new technology it boggles my mind that a 30-year-old would consider such an arcane way of writing.  But wait, on second thought, there are enormous advantages to writing as fast as someone else talks (without the skills of a court reporter), quickly committing thoughts to paper, and having almost complete privacy on anything you’ve written in Shorthand.

In the last two years I’ve taken multiple Internet courses (Webinars).  Taking notes has never been an issue, no matter how fast the instructor spoke.  In addition, I find that listening and writing at the same time increases the memory curve by at least sixty percent.

Generally you write on only the left hand side of the paper, leaving the right side for additions, thoughts or corrections.

As a lefty, I often turn the legal pads upside down so the spine won’t interfere with my writing.

If you’re looking for a quick, practical method for taking accurate, efficient notes, consider Shorthand.  It will be a handy skill you can carry with you!

(Deciphered)  I hope that this post has given you some valuable information to consider using in the future.

To Our Massive Success,

Dar

Amazon’s Kindle has so many advantages, as we previously discussed in Should I Invest In A Kindle? As with all technology, they are constantly updating what’s available.  Here are a few of the new features:

• Over 400,000 books available online (they have added 38,864 in the past two months)

• Global Wireless coverage

• Native PDF Support

• Text-to-Speech

• Blogs

• Rotating Display

Of all these advances, the one that’s captivating me is the ability to download blogs.  Because this is at the cutting edge of technology, each blog must be subscribed to individually.  They range from $.99 to $1.99 a month.  As blogs become the norm the price will decrease.

I just ordered The Kindle Reader’s Blog on a 14-day free trial, after which I’ll pay $.99 a month to continue the subscription.   The blogger, Jan Zlendich, recommended The Year of No Money in Tokyo by Wayne Lionel Aponte.  It’s the travel memoir of a black man who is jobless in a foreign country in the midst of our economic crisis.  And here’s the super cool part—it is Text-to-Speech enabled, which means that if I’m tired of reading, it will read to ME.  I’ll keep you posted on that experience (I’d rather read than listen to an audio book).

After taking half an hour to scroll through Jan’s Blog (I had originally set aside 15 minutes), a whole world of possibilities opened.  Looks like I’ll be following The Kindle Reader on a daily basis.

And what’s the advantage over just reading it on your laptop?  The Kindle fits in my purse.  It’s a constant companion, and whenever there’s a wait, I read!  Yesterday during a downpour I was in a l-o-n-g line at the grocery store.  It was late in the day and shoppers were antsy to get home.  I pulled out the Kindle and had 13 minutes of good reading time.

Kindle lovers have expressed the desire to delve into areas they’ve never thought of reading before—different hobbies, sci-fi, sports, personal development—an endless list.

If this article has inspired you just a tad to read more and perhaps push beyond the margins of your current library preferences, please share your comments and ideas below.  If you’ve thought of doing more research on  a Kindle and have some questions give me a shout out!  I’ll be happy to help  you.

To Our Reading Enjoyment,
Dar

P.S.  If this review has sparked your interest in purchasing a Kindle, my link is Dar’s Kindle Store where you can check out the new, the used (at bargain prices), and grab one that fits your needs.

Warning:  This is NOT an unbiased report !

Are you an avid reader?  Is your suitcase or back pack often loaded with cumbersome books or magazines?  Do you trek outside each morning for the newspaper?

Amazon has created an electronic book that has revolutionized the way we read.  For around the same price as a dinner for two at an elegant restaurant, you can carry your books, newspapers and blogs with you. The Kindle weighs less than one pound.  It is an easy read, and here are some of  Kindle’s qualities that I enjoy the most:

• Look up words as you read

• Lighten your travel load – I often carry it in my purse

• Books usually cost $9.99 – a major savings factor

• Carry your entire library with you

• Order and receive a book or magazine in less than a minute

• Take notes (bookmarks) for future reference

• Change font size when your eyes are tired

• Save paper – Go Green

• Speed read with equal clarity

Amazon reports that currently there are 367,136 books online, 58 newspapers, 37 magazines and 7,328 blogs.  These numbers are growing everyday.

Okay.  Enough raving.  Any downside?  The single one I have found is sharing a book with a friend.  The only solution is to either order or go to a bookstore and buy it for them.

Having used the Kindle for a year and a half, I’ve forgotten what life was like before I had it.  It is part of my daily routine that would be hard to live without!