How to Choose an Online Marketing Firm

This is one of those posts that got rejected by a client because of "overall writing style". I have no idea what this means. I've posted a comment on the client's profile to see if I can receive additional clarification and information on this rejection reasoning. Hopefully, I'll get a response in a few days (Zerys needs to approve the comment. Once that's done, the client will see it and respond, ideally). How do clients expect people to improve with feedback like this? If you don't like the darn article, just tell me that it sucks. If you didn't like the writing style, then tell me what you would have liked to see, or what you didn't like about the writing style. Since the client rejected the article, it's mine now and I'm going to publish it here. Nearly every business needs help with online marketing to some extent. Since it's hard to get by without engaging in some form of online marketing, there are tons of companies out there ready to offer services and to provide this solution or that solution for your Internet marketing woes. How do you sort through all these companies and pick the one that can best meet your needs and deliver the best results? Here's how to choose an online marketing firm that's right for your business:

Know What You Want to Achieve

Before starting any research, know exactly what you want to achieve with the help of an online marketing firm. Knowing what you want to achieve increases the chances of success. If you don't have set goals that you can communicate to a potential partner, then it will be difficult to determine if they've really helped you or if they are doing what needs to be done to improve your online marketing.

Knowing your goals also makes your research much more purposeful. If you need help with social media, for example, then you want to research online marketing firms who have had success in helping clients with their social media marketing. You also want to find companies who do a good job managing their own social media efforts as well (if they can't keep their own profiles updated, how will they treat yours). It's okay to ask for samples if a company doesn't have them readily available on their website or for download. Sometimes, a company won't want to put too many details about their clients on the web for the entire world (including their competition) to see.

Strong Support

Once you find a couple of online marketing firms that could work for you, contact them and see how long it takes to get back to you. Does the firm engage in an ongoing conversation, or do they just reply to your original email? This is an indicator of the personal service and attention you will receive from the company, and if they are willing to be helpful and to learn about your business. If they go straight for the sale, or if it takes a few days just to get any sort of response, then you know that firm isn't worth your time and money. However, if they offer pointers and explain how certain online marketing tactics would help you achieve your goals, then it's a better fit.

Experience in Your Industry

This isn't crucial for every business, but would be important to those in very niche or technical industries i.e. healthcare, financial services, technology. It also might be a good factor to use to narrow down your list of online marketing firms. Experience in your industry can be incredibly helpful because these agencies can take less time to get things done simply because time isn't needed to do additional research, to source an expert, and to learn about the industry. Their services are more expedient and will reflect a strong understanding of your industry. The company already has the information to execute a campaign and/or to offer services that can reach your target audience.

Don't Be Cheap, and Don't Pick the Cheapest

Sure, you can pay $5 an article or $20 a month for SEO services, but this doesn't necessarily mean that you'll receive the best online marketing services out there. There are too many stories out there of people who took this route, only to get hurt by Google's Panda and Penguin updates and are still struggling to reclaim their former glory. Yes, know your budget and stick to it as much as possible, but also make sure that your budget is competitive. With online marketing, you get what you pay for. If you're not wiling to pay for it, then you risk having the junior staff assigned to account or pushing away quality talent that would be worth those few extra dollars.

Choosing an online marketing firm isn't easy. There are so many to choose from, each offering different services and pitching a different solution to your needs. To choose the one that's best for you, know what you want to achieve and find a firm who's willing to learn what you want to achieve and to provide the solution that does that. If you can find a company that's worked in your industry and has a good price, then all the better.

I am Getting SuperBetter at Eating Healthier

As I was working on my summer reading list and making my way through Citizenville, the author discussed the idea of making government more fun by turning civic duty into some sort of game. The city of Manor, Texas did it by awarding residents a fake currency for submitting an idea on how to fix the idea. If your idea is chosen to be implemented, you got even more of this fake currency, called innobucks. These innobucks could then be redeemed for real life goods, such as being mayor for a day or free appetizers at a local eatery. I'd do more for St. Louis if it meant more Ted Drewes and Kaldi's coffee.

Anyway, while reading about this great stuff, the author mentioned the name Jane McGonigal, who had started this really awesome website/online game called SuperBetter. I remembered her from a TED talk I watched a few years ago (it's below if you want to watch it), and I didn't realize that she had started this gaming website "designed to help you build personal resistance." I had to see what it was all about and give it a whirl.

I Haven't Even Started Yet and It's Amazing

SuperBetter is SO FREAKIN' COOL. Once you sign up (which is free), it starts you off with four different exercises about the four different types of resilience: physical, mental, emotional, and social. The exercises are incredibly easy, ranging from taking three steps to looking out a window for a few moments, from thanking someone on social media to snapping your fingers 50 times. Each exercise comes with a short one-minute video about that resilience and some of the science. After you do these four things, called quests, you then move on to choosing your secret identity, choosing your challenge, and choosing a power pack to overcome your challenge (you can even create your own power pack if you want). My business coach should totally incorporate this into her coaching.

I went through this, and chose eating healthier as my challenge. I went vegan after Thanksgiving, and after a few months of keeping that up, it's slipped away. I'm no longer vegan. I'm not even vegetarian. Since I have two things on my life goals list about eating healthier (one is to avoid eating out for an entire month, and another is to be vegan for one year), I decided that this would be a perfect place to start. I've been thinking about eating healthier ever since my diet slipped, but haven't made any movement in the right direction. Now, with the help of power ups, allies, and fighting bad guys, I'm hopeful and excited to have concrete steps to move in the right direction.

I do have to admit, I LOVE the branding. The more colors something has, the better it must be. The rainbow is just phenomenal.

I Will Start Today/Tomorrow

I have downloaded my Power Pack, the Full Plate Diet, and I will start my first quest today/tomorrow. I already know that what I need to do is watch a video, sign up for a free membership, and subscribe to a newsletter. Sounds easy enough! But, of course, when you are just starting, the first step is always the easiest. It's the next 972 steps that are difficult.

In the meantime, if you want to know a little more about this concept of gamification, and whether it really works, then here it from the founder herself. Part of the reason why this TED talk is so cool is that she's a female gamer who's using games to help others better the lives of others as well as their own lives.

[ted id=1501]

OMG bonus talk! I didn't realize that she had TWO TED talks! I just watched the one above for the first time as I was putting this post together, when she referenced her first talk in this second talk. I was really trying to find and to share the one below, which is her first talk. Anyway, they are both long, but both incredibly compelling. After all, she is essentially encouraging us to play more games and to turn more of life into a game. Rock on, right?

[ted id=799]

You Must Play Geoguessr (and Challenge My High Score)

Geoguessr, if you haven't heard of it, is a brand new Google Maps game where you're given a random location in the world and you have to use the clues in the Google Street View photography to figure it out and take a guess. Each game gives you five locations, and you only have one guess for each location. However, you can take as much time as you need and can click around as long as you need to take your guess. It sounds simple, but it's not easy. Even if you know what to look for, it can still be difficult if you get thrown into a rural location where there aren't any roadsides.

I Started Off Well...

The first time I played, I got 11000 and some points. That's about 2100 points per rounds, which is guessing within 1500 kilometers of the actual location each time. That's a really good score. It also helped that three of them were in North America, so it was pretty easy to guess. However, I've played it a few more times and haven't been able to come close since. I suppose I used up all my deduction and geography skills the first time around. I also received harder locations after the first time around. I actually gone one that was just ocean! My clues were the coral, the fish, the three swimmers/tourists/scuba divers looking at the fish, and the bright blue water. How am I supposed to guess my location with clues like that? It didn't help that I started to stress out because I felt like I was underwater and that a shark could get me at any minute.

Hint: Google Street View has only been around the Cape of Good Hope, and that's about it. So, if you get one that looks like Africa, or has something that says, "Africa" you're best bet is to guess somewhere in South Africa or western Botswana.

This through me off the first couple of times, because rural Africa doesn't have any road signs, you all you have to guess your location with the shrubbery and the vehicles (which may, or may not help, depending on where you are. License plates are blurred so you can't look at numbers, or colors, or anything). It also throws you off because the signs are in English, so your instinct is to go to Western Australia, but that is not correct.

I Want to Challenge People!

I know I can do better (I can do better tomorrow. I will start again tomorrow. I am in pain with all the clicking and guessing and all the wrong guessing)! Therefore, I will issue a challenge! I'm going to say that my highest score was 11,000 so far, since I know it wasn't bigger than 12,000 but I don't remember the rest. If you can beat that, then let me know! It's harder than you think, even if you've been around the world. It's only after you've played a few times that you learn what to look for, and what indicates what about your location.

Hint 2: When you guess, guess near a road. Obviously, this is Google Street View, so your starting point is always on a road. Whether it's a country road or a city road is a completely different story. Although, my first location for this last round wasn't exactly a road. Fortunately, I followed the stone steps to receive a big clue about my location.

Hint 3: Obviously, if you are in a city, then you want to guess in a city. It's one thing if you know you're in France (of which you might not be, because French Canada is always a possibility). But, if you know you are in a big city in France, then you want to make sure that you don't guess in the middle of nowhere.

I should stop giving away hints! This is supposed to be a challenge where I beat you! From here on out, you'll have to learn the rest on your own!

But, give Geoguessr a whirl. As hard as it can be, it's surprisingly addictive.

Inferno of Productivity: How I Turned My Task List into a Game

One of the biggest lessons I've learned from my business coach is to be specific, but to keep things simple also. My coach noted that I had a tendency to overwhelm myself by making things too complicated, by not focusing on the little steps that need to be taken to achieve the bigger picture. It's very smart advice, and why my business coach is so awesome (and why she should be your business coach too).

As part of this sage advice, one thing that needed simplification was my to-do list. One weekend, I had a very long to-do list and I hardly got any of it done because I'd look at it and feel overwhelmed. I wanted a way to be able to focus on one thing at a time and to pick one thing to do while also being able to visualize the entire day or an entire week's worth of work (it helps for scheduling purposes, and for organizing when to do what). It then occurred to me that index cards would be a good idea. I could write one task per card but have a pile of cards to represent the day, and many piles to represent the other days of the week. A pile of cards is also much less daunting than a long to-do list. It also makes it easy to transfer things to the next day in case I didn't finish everything.

But...

I didn't like the idea of using index cards just once. I didn't like creating so much waste and using up so many index cards just for a single purpose. So, I thought about how I could reuse these index cards and save them for a second or third purpose. One thing led to another and I came up with my awesome game:

Inferno of Productivity!

When I thought about saving the index cards, I thought about saving them to redeem for something, which led me to the point system. Obviously, if you're redeeming something, you are redeeming it either for points or prizes, or maybe both. So, what I've done is I count each task/index card as a point. At the end of each day, I count my points and put them in a plastic food container I bought for $5 at the dollar store across the street. On Sunday, I count up all my points and give myself the chance to redeem them for something. I took the time to come up with a whole bunch of rewards for me to work toward, and I assigned them point values based on dollar value and on how big I considered the reward (i.e. I think clothes shopping is a bigger reward than a new pair of shoes because you get more things with clothes shopping. So, clothes shopping is over three times as many points as a new pair of shoes).

I just had to double the number of points each prize is worth because I want them to take a lot of work to obtain. I've done this for a week already, and after one week, I had enough points for half the list. This meant that my list was too easy. Right now, each task is only worth one point, but I might end up changing that in the future depending on the difficulty or the length of time/number of steps needed to complete the task i.e. laundry could be multiple points depending on the number of loads I have to do.

FYI - "Need of the Week" includes things that I would only buy once, or things that I would buy so irregularly that they don't really merit their own points. For example, a spice rack is one of my "needs of the week" because I really do need a spice rack, but I only need to buy one. Haircuts are also in this category because I don't need a haircut every month, but I also consider haircuts somewhat of a luxury and a reward, so they can be something to work for.

Am I More Productive?

I've only been doing this for a week, so the game and my levels of productivity may still change, but I do think it has made me more productive in four ways. First, since I need to complete the task to count it as a point, I do force myself to finish tasks if I start them. This was a problem I had with my old method, as I would check them off if I started the task or even if I planned to do the task. This meant that I didn't always finish tasks and it would my planner and my lists into a big mess. This wasn't good for productivity, and now it's going away.

Second, I don't forget things that I need to do because I can just put it on an index card and place it with the appropriate day. It also means that I don't have to keep things to do in my head because my to-do list was already written and I didn't have room for it. Things are a little less stressful for me as I don't have to worry about forgetting, and it was always the personal things that got forgotten, since I typically filled my to-do list with work and business tasks. Plus, if I do forget, or need a reminder of what needs to be done, I can just go through the pile and see what's left. It's also great that, in case I don't finish everything, I can take what's left and just add it to the next day's pile. No crossing out, or arrows, or any other mess that clogs up my calendar.

Third, with the index cards, I can put notes with any or all of the tasks. For example, if I need to call someone, I can write that I need to call this person as well as what I need to ask about or talk about. This saves time, hence improving productivity, because I then don't have to call the person back or send an extra email because I forgot to ask that question or to bring up something important. This also helps with just keeping everything in one place. If I need to write an article for someone, then I write how many words it needs to be and anything else I need to do to write the article.

Fourth, I'm motivated to do my work and to get something as a reward. Currently, I'm working toward my top prize, an actual home furnishing, because I'd like to get a dresser (I seriously don't have a dresser and am using those plastic drawers for my clothes), or a file cabinet, and/or a bookshelf. It'll take about five weeks of work to have enough points to get that, but I do think that's a fair trade off. In that time, I would have saved the money while having earned enough money as well. Plus, I like looking forward to having more nice things in my apartment. What's also great is that I didn't choose to redeem any of my points from last week because I really need the file cabinet and the dresser, so I'm starting this week with 60 points in container. Yay!

What's Next for the Inferno of Productivity?

Well, I'm going to pilot it for as long as it takes to get that dresser/file cabinet. Once I get to that point, I'll evaluate the point system, or how many points certain tasks are worth, or even if this game is still fun and worth playing. If it just ends up complicating everything, or if the novelty fades away and it doesn't help anymore, then I'll stop doing it. My fiance suggested that I add breaks to the point system, where for five or 10 points I can take the time to watch a movie or to play video games or something. I like this idea because it means that taking a long break isn't just distracting me from the work that I need to do, but that it will also take away from the overall goal and the big picture of productivity. However, these breaks need to happen from time to time, so it's cool to classify them as a reward.

So far today, I have nine points. Now that this blog post is complete, I have 10 points!

I'm Going to Be a Blogger and Write about My Cat

When I interviewed technology evangelist Ramon Ray, he said that the did not identify himself as a blogger. Ray said that bloggers are people who sit in their pajamas and write about their cat. Well, that's exactly what I'm doing tonight. I'm going to be a "blogger", as I will spend this post in my pajamas writing about my kitty (and bother my mother at the same time. She doesn't like cats).

Last time I wrote about the kitty, he didn't have a name and we had just gotten him from Animal House Fund, the really cool no-kill cat shelter in St. Louis. It took us a few days, but we finally came up with a great poker-related name for him: Flop-a-Set Bluffy Cat BigStacks. Or, just Flop-a-Set for short. Cats need to have long names with multiple syllables, and this name suits him perfectly because he flops around a lot and he's a really big kitty.

He Tricked Us at the Shelter

He really did! We thought he was mellow, friendly cat. We thought he had taken his chill pills and wasn't too energetic. Boy, we were wrong! Flop-a-Set makes lots and lots of noise, especially around dinner time and particularly after I get up in the morning and open the bedroom door (and sometimes when I wake up in the middle of the night and open the door. He loves me greatly.) He's mellow if my fiance and I are mellow, just working on our computers or watching a movie or something. But, we spend any significant amount of time doing something, say walking back and forth between the kitchen, or cleaning up, or getting ready in the morning, then he gets ramped up and runs back and forth throughout the apartment. He loves to play (especially with ANYTHING that dangles. This includes belts, drawstrings, and iPod ear buds).

We probably should have suspected something at the shelter, anyway. He caught our attention because I put my purse down to get to know the cats, and he came over and started playing with my purse. Then, four other cats came over and had to see what was up, and had to play with the purse too. After that, Flop-a-Set (named Murray at the shelter. It's a stupid name, so we changed it.) wasn't interested in the purse anymore and walked away. We also thought he was softer than his brother, and that he would need a little less grooming attention than his brother also (his brother was full of tangles. We weren't sure if he easily tangled, or if he hadn't been brushed recently since the shelter has over 200 cats and can't brush each of them every single day).

We Love Our Kitty!

Here's curled up behind me to take a nap. I really don't like when he does that because I'm always afraid I'm going to forget he's there and run over him with my chair. He would sleep in one of the camping chairs, but I had to put those  away to make room for my new desk and to move out the old desk. So, now he has nowhere to sleep except the floor, although he still did that from time to time when the camping chairs were up. He's never been one for the couch, the bed, or the love seat. Because he makes a lot of noise, one thing that I like to do, when he's sleeping, is see how close I can get to him before he makes noise. It's kind of mean since he wakes up with my face right in his face, and no one appreciates that, but I do it out of love and affection.

This is Who I Am

I came across a really cool Tumblr called, ... And That's Who I Am. It's essentially a microblog of pictures with fun phrases and sentences to describe who you are. Well, most of them are fun, but some of them are not positive or awesome at all, so I don't know why anyone would want to pin those or download them or use them to proclaim who they are. Unfortunately, I can't find anything about who runs this blog, or why s/he started it, because some of these "that's who I ams" aren't things you should be proud of at all and that you should hope or try to change, such as this one:

See, this is not awesome (and for the record, I do not have a people comparison problem). This is not something anyone should be saying as if it's "who they are" and that it's unchangeable. There shouldn't be any pride in a habit or statement like this. It's a practice that should be stopped and changed because it can stop. I don't know if the person who runs this blog wants to use the proclamation as the first step toward changing it, like finally admitting it's a problem and a part of you. I wonder this also because there are a few that could go either way, such as this one:

This one can be seen as either a positive or a negative, as it would depend on who you are today and who you thought you would be today 10 years ago (for me it's positive because I certainly didn't see myself in St. Louis, or engaged, or as a business owner, or even all that involved in human rights and activism. I thought I would be writing poetry and fiction all day.) It's statements like these among the first two that really make me wonder how this popular blog got started, why was it started, and what the founder wanted to achieve. However, some of the statements on here are just plain silly and fun:

I am TOTALLY a unicorn. As the saying goes, "You should always be yourself. Unless you can be a unicorn. Then, be a unicorn." I mean, who wouldn't want to be a unicorn? Unicorns are very powerful creatures with blood that can give you life.

Of course, there are also those statements that are factual, but are very much a part of who you are and how you perceive the world, like these two:

There's no denying that I am really short, and that I am an Aquarius (well, maybe you could because there was the whole thing several years ago, where all the star alignments were wrong and that your astrological sign wasn't really what you thought it was. However, I am definitely an Aquarius). Sometimes, it's the things that you can't change about yourself that you learn to embrace the most. I can't change when I was born or my height (well, to some extent. There's always heels!)

Okay, part of the reason why I did this is because I am super tired today taking an hour-long road trip to way-out-yonder Missouri to pick up a desk I bought. It's a great desk, but that's two hours in the car and all the time it took to move everything else around in the apartment, get the desk where I want it, and then put everything back on top of my new desk. It's been an exhausting day. I didn't want to write anything, but I didn't want to skip a day of blogging either. Besides, this works out because for this post, it's about the pictures, not the words. Here's the rest of who I am:

I am Thankful I Don't Have Student Debt

I managed to do something that's unthinkable, and maybe nearly impossible, in this day in age: graduate college without a dime of student debt. On top of that, I graduated from Saint Louis University, which cost about $35,000 a year. If I remember correctly, during my four years at SLU, tuition increase by about 10%. I do believe it actually increased at least three out of those four years.

We Can Actually Thank SLU Financial Aid for This One

On more than one occasion, my father asked me to go to financial services and to ask about a student loan. "Tell them you need a loan," he said. I did that during my freshman year, and I never went back again, despite repeated requests.

When I visited my freshman year, all the counselor did was tell me that I needed to talk to a bank instead. He (at least I think it was a he. It's been six or seven years now.) printed a list of banks out and said that one of the six or seven banks on the list would be a good option. He didn't tell me how to approach these banks, or where branches were located, or even ask how much money I really needed. I expected this to be a 20 or 30-minute meeting, having a discussion and going through how this process works. I actually thought I would be getting some paperwork on an actual loan. Silly me, as all this means work for financial services. I don't think the meeting even lasted five minutes.

I'm from Hawai'i, and I'm attending school in St. Louis. I don't recognize any of these banks. There's no American Savings Bank or Bank of Hawaii on the list. Wells Fargo only sounds familiar, but it's not a brand I really know anything about. Did they really expect to forge such a huge financial relationship with a company I barely heard of? I suppose this isn't much of a dilemma for most people since they probably get the loan before starting college or the next semester.

So, I never got a student loan. I was always able to avoid it because the financial services department was so unhelpful. It wasn't that I didn't want a loan, but it's hard for my parents to help me when they are 4000 miles away and they're not even on the same land mass.

How College Did Get Paid For

About a quarter of my total college tuition (for all four years) came from the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship, which is awarded to SLU freshmen who show a commitment to diversity and who demonstrate leadership. I am grateful for this scholarship and when I can, I interview incoming freshmen for scholarship selection when that weekend rolls around in February or March.

For the first two or three years, my great aunt helped a lot. She had a lot of money, but didn't do much with it in her ripe old age. When she passed on, I believe the money she left for me was used for college as well. I think after she passed, my parents covered the rest of the tuition.

Without Student Loans, I Can Have a Business

More than 38 million Americans have student loan debt, totaling nearly $1 trillion. Student loan debt now surpasses credit card and auto loan debt in this country. Those numbers are staggering, and even though I do have credit card debt (most of which I've accrued after I started the business), there's no way I could have a business if I had student debt. That would have been an additional cost that I would have had to account for in the beginning, making it harder to generate enough income and to be able to put something back into the business. With a ton of debt right after graduation, there would have also been a lot of pressure to find a steady career, instead of taking the chance to venture on my own. I am very grateful that I do not have the debt to weigh me down and to narrow my options for wealth and career.

There's No Lenovo Support Center in St. Louis

At least, I couldn't find one when I needed it. About two weeks ago, when I broke my laptop by spilling water on it, I contacted a computer repair service that came up on Google. They suggested that I find a Lenovo Support Center to help me, and that I find it by typing "Lenovo Support Center St. Louis" into Google and going with one of the top results. A support center would already have the part and could do the job right away, while they would have to order the part first in order to do the job.

I thought this was an excellent idea. I didn't know these "support centers" existed, and the possibility of fixing my computer was an incredible one. I could get back to work right away and not have to use my fiance's computer. I wouldn't have to buy a wireless keyboard. But, I was wrong. Below is the summary of the listings on the first Google result for "Lenovo Support Center St. Louis" and my experience:

CompuCom Systems, Inc. 9849 Manchester Rd Saint Louis, MO, 63119-1200 Tel: 888-737-6333 Distanza: 9 Miles

I HATE 888 numbers. I hate automated menus and dial by names and what not. It stems from my short stint of cold calling back in 2010. I once had a dial by name directory tell me I sucked at dial by name directories and it hung up on me. I tried the number, punched in a few buttons to try to get somewhere, but then I gave up. I just want my laptop keyboard repaired. It shouldn't be this difficult.

I do think I should have seen the word, "distanza", as a red flag for this page. I should have also been more curious about the nine miles. Nine miles from what?

CompuCom Systems, Inc. 4227 Earth City Expy Earth City, MO, 63045-1308 Tel: 314-344-3332 Distanza: 17 Miles

This number was a bad number. I don't recommend calling it.

Anders, Minkler & Diehl, LLP 705 Olive, 10th Floor St. Louis, MO, 63101 Tel: 314 655 5500 Distanza: 0 Miles

This listing is actually an accounting firm, so I have no idea why they're on this list. I know this because I've actually been to their offices before, and they helped me with my taxes. I called them anyway, and the person who answered had no idea what I was talking about. She offered to forward me to someone who might know what I'm talking about. She did that, and I got a voicemail. I didn't leave a message. I don't really need some guy calling me back only to tell me he doesn't know what I'm talking about either, or to tell me that they weren't one at all. If the secretary had no idea about being a Lenovo Support Center, and whether they were one and what that means, then they probably aren't one.

Lazerware Inc. 2929 Gravois Ave St. Louis, MO, 63118 Distanza: 3 Miles

Fortunately, someone answered the phone and knew what I was talking about when I asked if they were a Lenovo Support Center. Unfortunately, they weren't taking new clients at this time. Really? I just want my laptop keyboard replaced. It should take an hour. It's an easy $100. What do you mean you can't take me in?

Hawk iSolutions Group, Inc.6349 Plymouth Ave St. Louis, MO, 63133 Tel: 6362567534

First of all, the number listed on the Lenovo Support Center website (the one listed here) and the number the company lists for itself on its website, are two different numbers. They don't even have the same area code. Second, the only number listed on the company's website that has the same area code is their fax number. I decided not to call any number and just fill out the form and see what happens. I didn't get any response. Why don't you respond? I want to give you money! I am a lead! You should want leads and follow-up with them diligently!

When double checking this, I also realized that the business has two different addresses listed too.

Talk to Mike

My ultimate conclusion is that if you need your Lenovo laptop repaired, talk about Mike about his computer repair services. You might have to order a part or two first, but he has been the most helpful throughout this whole thing. It was his idea to check out a Lenovo Support Center in the first place, which was great because he didn't automatically take the business for himself. He knew of a faster, perhaps cheaper, way to help me with my problem and offered that first. It's kind of worked out since he was so helpful, since it looks like he's now the best thing ought there.

As of now, I dub him and his company the Lenovo Support Center of St. Louis.

There Should Be Live Feeds for Every Single Legislative Session

It's after midnight, so the Texas special session should be over. But, the live feed is still rolling and 160,000+ people watching are wondering what's going on here. We're all wondering why people are still moving around, why the tape is still going, and why people aren't just walking away and going home. The latest from AP is that the Republicans were able to pass the restrictions, although it's unknown if it stands because the vote started before midnight but it did not finish. Even though the session was supposed to end at midnight, it's technically still open until it is closed by the chair, so now it's a lot of procedural arguing or who knows what. I'm actually sad that I didn't watch more of this thing.

As what's going on is getting figured out and settled, I think there should be a live feed for every single legislative session, no matter what's on the table, whether or not there's a filibuster, and whether or not it's a special session or just a good 'ole normal session.

What a Way to See what Our Elected Representatives are Doing

Yes, these things are open to the public and we can just sit in and listen, but most of us can't do that. We have jobs to go to, children to raise, and errands to us. Many of us can't take the time out of our day to drive down to a legislative session and to hear what's going on. However, with a live feed provided by news organizations, video bloggers, and even non-profits, more people would be able to listen and to hear what our elected representatives are voting on. We would be able to hear what these people are saying and hold them accountable to their votes and to their constituents. We could watch or listen passively while we're at work, or be able to catch bits and pieces in between things.

More People Would Be Engaged in Government

Senator Wendy Davis, who started the filibuster, announced that she was going to do this only the day before. LOOK  AT THE TURNOUT AND THE BUZZ! Not only was the gallery filled the entire time, but thousands upon thousands of people watched the live feed from all over the world. Imagine what kind of engagement we would have if legislative sessions were available in this format all the time, where representatives could announce what they were doing to rally support or people could come together if they new certain issues were going to be introduced. If this was accomplished in a matter of hours on the issue of abortion, then throngs of people could also show up for other issues as well. Even if it just opens up one additional way for people to know what our local representatives are doing, and what kind of legislation they are working on, that's a huge step forward for us when so few us vote or pay attention to what these people are doing in the first place.

It Helps When Crap Like This Happens

Reports are currently conflicting, as the Republicans say the voting started before midnight, but Democrats and reporters are saying it started after midnight. Many people are confused, as it was thought the last roll call vote was on ending the filibuster, not about voting on the bill. However, it looks like the bill passed, according to news reports from several organizations. Although, this is probably not the end of this, as legislators and the people will protest this bill and the shaky circumstances in which it was passed.

Well, the live feed is over now. I think I'm going to go to bed.

My Empowering Beliefs About Money

"You say it long enough and it starts to be a part of you." - Rita Pierson It's not that I thought this idea was "a bunch of hooey", it's just that I've never seen it in action. I've never seen it, or heard about it taking place, or experienced it taking place. I just wasn't sure about the viability of simply saying something out loud Until now.

Below is the speech where the line came from, in case you were curious. It's actually a great speech that's worth watching.

[ted id=1728]

The Challenge

During one of our sessions, my business coach asked me about the energy of money. I still don't quite understand the "energy of money", but what she wanted me to do was to examined what I believed about money and where I stood with money. She wanted me to create a value system for money, something that outlined what it meant to me personally, what value money had in my life, and why I want money.

My ultimate homework was to come up with my empowering beliefs about money and to say them daily. I took the time to create that value system. I wrote them down and repeated them daily, although instead of saying it out loud I wrote them down. I learn better through reading and writing. I really wasn't sure if this would work, or how, but my business coach said to do it so I did it. I knew she was going to ask about it in our next session, and I didn't want to lie to her. I also figured that this couldn't possibly hurt or ruin my life, so there wasn't any harm in trying it.

My Empowering Beliefs about Money

This is what I've been writing down and repeating for almost three months now (new research shows that it takes 66 days to form a new habit, more than twice as long as the 21 days in conventional thinking). The smiley faces are the most crucial part of the whole thing.

• I, hereby, delete these negative beliefs from my system at the source. Now, I can replace them with empowering beliefs about money. :)
• As long as I am in a positive state of mind and am grateful for what I have, there will always be enough money and there will always be sources of money.
• I buy things that I enjoy and I am confident in the things that I purchase.
• I respect and value my money and I spend and invest it wisely! :)
• My money, and how I earn it, will merit respect. It will be used to accomplish good things, to tell the truth, and to inspire others to tell the truth.
• I like money. Money can’t buy happiness, but it can make me very happy.

Empowering Beliefs about Myself

My empowering beliefs about money are very much a part of me. Those thoughts go me through the past few months when money was tight, when my business wasn't making as much and I needed to make some changes. Even though my coach doesn't ask about them anymore, I still do them because I think they are important to do and to reinforce. Now, I think the next step is to come up with some empowering beliefs about myself. I remember the process for coming up for the money beliefs, so doing these beliefs shouldn't be much of a problem.

I suppose the only hiccup is that nearly everyone else has come up with these "empowering beliefs", or those "victory declarations" or those inspirational sayings about what to think when others are being haters and stuff. I suppose the big difference is cementing your own empowering beliefs about yourself and doing more than just applying someone else's to yourself or borrowing someone else's. It's certainly much easier to agree or to find something that supports your own beliefs. But, what makes this exercise really cool is that you're starting from scratch with yourself.