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Gather Success Challenge II – It’s All in the Details.

May 12

Posted by Valentina in Miscellaneous | 3 Comments

chess challenge Did I just have a wake up call – I’ve got egg all over my face!


In a game of chess if you don’t pay attention the game will be short.


This is a good news, bad news post.


Good news:  I raised US$55 for the Gather Success Charity Challenge.  THANK YOU.


Bad news:  It apparently did not get counted for the challenge.


WHY?


I think I know.  The screenshot of the receipt from the Red Cross was not published.


Aaaarrrgghhh!!7


Lesson Learned – Pay attention to the details.   Without  getting long winded about the details, for some obscure reason I thought that  the publishing of the screenshot of the receipt from the Red Cross was to have been of the cashed check!  Actually since I do  not have US checks the order for today was to get a US Money Order  and take a screen shot of that and publish it.  Of course!  This morning the “I should’ve had a V8″ moment hit me smack between the eyes!  What was I thinking?


I’ve sent in a request for reconsideration, saying that I would publish the receipt from the Red Cross.  It should be easy – send funds from my PayPal to Red Cross.


The Red Cross does not have a PayPal account.


No worries, give me an email address and it will be done.


Can’t do that it has to be addressed to a specific person and they do not give out those emails.    But … we can help you make the donation by phone if you would like – a credit card and the amount you wish to donate will do it.   Yes an email with a receipt will be sent.


Two hours later – no email,  no receipt.


On the phone to the Red Cross


Sorry for the misunderstanding but it takes anywhere from 24 to 48 hours for an email receipt to be sent out!!!


Whaaaaat?


This is the organization that is first on the scene in times of disaster!  They leap continents in seconds!


OK – I am not a disaster (just feel like one).  Eventually the email with the receipt will arrive.  I will publish it here.  I have asked Alvin to review and have the results count.  I don’t know if he will.  I hope so. The important thing is that a donation has been made to a worthy organization that does a lot of good worldwide.


Challenges have rules.  If you find yourself participating in one do not do as I did, do as I say and that is read the rules thoroughly, not just scan them quickly.


Now on to the challenge III – affiliate marketing/sales.


More on that in a day or two at most.

Gather Success Charity Challenge

May 9

Posted by Valentina in Internet Marketing, Miscellaneous | 2 Comments

Alvin Phang’s Super Blogger Challenge is in full swing. Our 2nd challenge is to raise money for a worthy charity organization: The American Red Cross.


I don’t think Alvin could have picked a more universal charity organization. The Red Cross crosses both geographical and political boundaries. Whenever disaster strikes, Red Cross workers and volunteers are first on the scene, helping out with manpower, supplies, food, medical care, water and doing whatever is necessary to bring the area to as near normalcy as is possible.


Recognized as a universal sign of help and hope the Red Cross is more than just a logo. It’s workers and volunteers put in selfless hours of physical work, often under difficult conditions.



The Red Cross is a confederation of relief societies in different countries acting under the Geneva Convention. In 1863 an international public conference was held at Geneva, Switzerland. Twenty-five nations attended and struck a treaty which was adopted as the Geneva Convention.


“…the treaty provides for the neutrality of all sanitary supplies, ambulances, surgeons, nurses, attendants and sick or wounded men and their safe conduct, when they bear the sign of the organization: the Red Cross.Although the convention was international, the relief societies themselves are national and independent.

It was necessary for recognition and safety and for carrying out the general provisions of the treaty, that a uniform badge should be agreed upon. The Red Cross was chosen out of compliments to the Swiss Republic, where the first convention was held … The Swiss colors being a white cross on a red ground, the badge chosen was these colors reversed.” Excerpted from ‘The History of the Red Cross”


The origins were founded on devastation of war. Today the Red Cross is present not just on battlefields of conflict and at scenes of disaster, but in the humanities of all societies.


In the wake of Haiti, Nashville, Chile, Indonesia … the list of the Red Cross presence is inexhaustible, its funds are not. The objective of the Gather Success Charity Challenge is to raise as much money as possible by May 11. I am taking part in this challenge.


Any contribution is appreciated, every amount, no matter how big or small makes a difference. As a small gesture of my “thank you” to you, I am offering a free PDF of my e.book, The ABCs of Blogging For Money (Value US$47.00). To donate just click on the donate button below



You will be taken to my PayPal. After all the funds are collected I will issue a check made out to the American Red Cross and will publish both the check and the receipt from the Red Cross for the contribution.


I am taking part in Alvin Phang’s “Gather Success Charity Challenge“ if you wish to take part please click here to find out more.

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What Do Citizen Journalism and Blogging Have In Common?

May 4

Posted by Valentina in Internet Marketing, Miscellaneous | 3 Comments

What is Citizen Journalism and what does it have in common with blogging?


Everything!


Citizen journalism IS blogging.


I was reading an article on the success of an early stage company , NowPublic. After four years in the making it sold for a reported $25M to media chain, Media Clarity.

What does NowPublic do and how did it command that kind of coin?


NowPublic is a news aggregator.


When you log on to its home page, NowPublic  appears no different than any other news aggregator:  MSN, Yahoo, AOL and the list goes on.   Its masthead says that it is crowd powered media.  But as you begin to read you notice a difference and that is that some of the articles are well …  rather amateurish.  Content is good but it sometimes comes with all the warts and blemishes of a teenager and has about as much polish.


NowPublic is the brainchild of Leonard Brody.  What caught his attention was the way that self-published blogs were overturning traditional media.  He and his partners saw the opportunity to funnel the eyes and ears of the average Joes and Janes, people who happened to be at the right place at the right time and witnessed a happening worth writing about and did -  on their blogs.  He saw this as the next generation in news publishing.


The term citizen journalism took hold.


The very successful and popular Mashable is an example of a similar idea – it is an aggregator of news in the world of the internet – a little more specific and niched than NowPublic which covers pretty much everything under the sun.


I recently met with the CEO of a company that seems to be running on parallel lines with NowPublic but instead of text content it is latching on to video content in much the same way.  Citizen videographers … ground breaking news caught on phone video and flashed around the world.  Think about the Mumbai bombing incident when the first videos out were from amateurs who were on the scene, pointing, clicking and submitting to You Tube.


Add crowd sourcing to your list of new terms.


So what does all of this have to do with you?  Read on.


The article is title The Prime of Mister Brody Its a good piece of writing and an interesting read.


Tony Wanless, the author of the piece interviewed experts in the field of journalism and media for this article … to quote

“  … crowd sourced news movement has supplemented traditional newsgathering …  so down the road we may see a ‘pro-am’ model where professionals work with amateur journalists…”
attributed to: Kirk LaPointe, UBC Graduate School of Journalism & Managing Editor of the Vancouver Sun


“… media outlets that are prepared to adjust to change will likely partner in the future with citizen journalism sites and other online content delivery systems …”
attributed to SFU communications professor Richard Smith, who concentrates on online communities and technology.


I have visited many a blog that was well written, interesting and worthy in my view of publishing in print media.  Now it may be an easier, you can be a citizen journalist and  have your piece in an online publications, such as an aggretator of your topic, or, you just might get featured in NowPublic.


Welcome to the world of citizen journalism!

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Collecting Experiences vs Things

May 3

Posted by Valentina in Miscellaneous | 9 Comments

Is it the canoe or the thrill of paddles dipping in still waters on a late summer’s eve that plays on your heartstrings?


Intuitively the answer would be the paddles dipping in still waters.  The image lingers on as if I had just experienced it yesterday, as if an artist had taken a brush and forever etched the memory into my subconscious mind, to be recalled at will upon my pleasure.  It was magical.  Just the two of us in one canoe on a lake hidden away in the Rockies.   The sun warmed the treetops for just a few  minutes before dropping out of sight, the sudden darkening of the skies and the feeling of the forest closing in, shivers up my spine as  from the distance came the distinctive came call of the loon thus breaking the silence of the approaching darkness.


I love it. This experience.  It is both magical and mystical.


That boy Carlos is at it again.  On this week’s Sunday Shorts he talks about living a life of collecting experiences not things and threw out a challenge to his readers to write about some of their experiences and the feelings that go with those experiences.  I decided to step up to the challenge and scribble a post here on Blog Income.


I didn’t have to think long to recall that moment and the thrill of experiencing it.


The older you get the more such experiences you have – I have a vault of them.


The first time I was awarded a medal for scholastic achievement.  The mother superior pinning the medal on my uniform.  The pride in my parent’s eyes that evening.  The photo for posterity.


Going horseback riding in the mountains over loose gravel trails with hundred foot drop-offs praying like I’ve never prayed before asking for the horse to be more sure footed than its stumbles then looking back to see how my friend was faring and seeing her face with eyes tightly shut! Another horse ride, this time galloping on the sands of an open beach.   Same animal, different experience.


The birth of each of my children – the boy so beautiful, the girl so lusty of voice.  Tears of joy and sometimes sorrow in sharing their own growing up experiences,  now that is an experience in progress ..lol..


Freezing and knowing what it is to feel the blood run cold as I gingerly  stepped from one set of straight up stairs to another – no platform to aid the manoeuvre –  and inadvertently looked down to the waters hundreds of feet below the Sydney Harbor Bridge.  The momentary hardening of my grip on the handrail and the slight delay before steeling my nerves and continuing the climb to the top of the bridge.


Australia again.  A flock of emus, about twenty of them grazing in a meadow just feet away from the road suddenly taking flight as we emerged from the car.  The sight was majestic.  These seemingly ungainly birds pranced away with such grace, their feathers flouncing like that of a ballerina’s costume,; indeed it was a dance choreographed in the wilds by mother nature herself.


Scores of others.  Captaining the basketball team to a championship trophy, watching a black bear cross a patch of clearing just feet away from where we were seated on a mountain ledge, seeing the Folies Bergere in Vegas and the girls perform at the Lido Caberet in Paris – now that’s enough to make any girl feel envious!


But back to the canoe.  That is a thing.  But for as long as I had it, I loved it.  And there are other things that I will never part with, the handmade Christmas decorations that my children made in grade school, photos, a small wood Ainu carving of a bear that my best friend gave me, a pearl necklace from my parents and lots of other “things.”  And I’ve always wanted a Mercedes SL550 (used to be SL 500) which I have yet to get, but when I do, it too will give me pleasure.


So it really does depend.  Precious things can be as pleasurable as experiences.  But the exercise really got me thinking.  The things that are precious to us are those that are associated with pleasant experiences.  Experiences often cost money.  I recently read that as boomeers are approaching retirement the things that they look for are experiences, travel is not so much a week or two on the beach but more likely visiting places that are off the beaten track, such as visiting the Antartic, booking the Tsar’s  New Year’s Eve Ball in St. Petersburg, Russia; cycling tours, hiking in the Patagonias, and so on.  Still others are going back to school – doing their masters or PHDs, or taking up painting.  Some take up blogging for money!


The thing is that no matter what your age,  live life to its fullest.  Each day cannot be an adventure but it can be a life lived well.

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Sunday Morn Musings: Create Your Own Economy

May 2

Posted by Valentina in Making Money, Sunday Morn Musings | 1 Comment

Welcome to Sunday Morn Musings.  This is my weekly free fall – writing about whatever it is that occupies the mind on a Sunday Morn.  The idea of a “no topic” posting is the stepchild to a blog I used to write:  Four O’Clock Thursdays which is still up there if you want to check it out – more likely, I will repurpose and republish some of those posts here over time.  On Sunday Morn Musings the topic may be about blogging but just as likely it may not.


Last night I was listening to a radio talk show – a money talk show.  I like to tune into this show as a way of keeping myself somewhat current with what is happening in the world of finance.  This is a show that is targeted to the average person, people like you and me; not bankers, not economists.  Tuning into this show does not make me an expert but at least I get a good layman’s perspective on the world economy and how that impacts my country on a larger scale of things and me on a minute scale of things –  I also get some good tips on how to manage money.  It’s my way of improving my financial IQ.


On yesterday’s show the host challenged us to create our own economy.


Create my own economy?


As I listened I realized how powerful that challenge was.


I also realized that without knowing it I was already creating my own economy and could do a lot more to make it a much healthier one.


The more I listened, the more the idea of a personal economy appealed to me.  The imagery is far more powerful than the one that comes to mind when you say budget.


But an economy is more than just a budget.


Creating your own economy is just another term for personal finances which includes income, budget, asset growth, net worth, wealth preservation and that most sought after position of all:  the cashflow. Cashflow is the money you have left over after the bills are paid.


The talk show host went on to say that in your economy, everything you own should cashflow.


Well, there it was.  Pure and simple.  That is why my net worth suffers from anemia.  Most everything I own drains and costs rather than contributes and that it seems, is also the main problem with the world economy right now, but there are bright spots, countries like Brazil and China are enjoying good economies compared to most other countries; he posited these two countries vs what is now being termed as the Greek Tragedy.


You can’t do much to make a difference to the world economy, but you can to make a difference in your own.


To create a healthy personal economy you have to turn the tables and start thinking differently.


Whether you are employed or are in business for yourself, how much of your money do you put to work for you?  For that matter how much do you pay yourself?  You see it appears that most of us don’t do a good job of our income and outgo.  We get the money and pay bills.  We may contribute to some sort of a retirement plan and perhaps put a few dollars into a savings account.  The reality is that most of us don’t even do these bare minimums, let alone grow our net worth.  Even high earners are up to debt in their alligators.  Now according to the talk show host, debt does not necessarily have to be a bad four letter word, there is such a thing as good debt, and that is when the debt incurred actually produces cashflow. Most personal debt produces outgo.


That got me thinking.  The concept is not new to me and I am sure it is not to you.  But it got me knoodling.


I wrote out my financials.


Not a pretty picture.


Too much red ink.


Now in my case a lot of the red ink is tax deductable.  Items such as communication, transportation, insurances, accommodation and utilities are partially if not completely tax deductable as my businesses are  run from my home office and each qualifies as a home based business.   Still, when examined with microscopic attention the economy on the home front needs a lot of restructuring.


The biggest gaping hole was that the “economy” was not set up for preservation of capital.   That according to the talk show host should be job one because preserved capital grows, and as it grows it can be put to better and higher use so that the resulting cashflow is passive rather than linear.


Aha!  But isn`t that what you and are trying to do with internet marketing?


Yup!

We’re on the right track.


But don’t you just love the concept of creating your own economy?


Somehow the sound of  “creating your own economy” has a much more powerful ring to it than budgeting


Are you ready to set out and create your own economy?  A buoyant one?  Let’s go for it.

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Super Blogger Reality Show Starts Tonight!

Apr 30

Posted by Valentina in Miscellaneous | No Comments

Alvin Phang’s Blogger Reality Show starts tonight!  Three months of no holds barred blogging for the utlimate prize:  work one on one with Alvin on his new product, promotion of your blog by Alvin and, gosh, win or not, you’re sure to finish as a far more savvy blogger than you are now!  I just checked and the registration is still open so if you want to roll up your sleeves and kick butt blogging – or learn how to – it’s not too late to add your chop to the list of contestants.  Just watching the video is enough to get the adrenaline going.

I will be participating as Blog Income.  Haven’t the foggiest as to what we will have to do – there will be different tasks assigned every week and you earn points every week – so if you see some strange shenanigans happening here, it’s all in the spirit of winning the Challenge.  Over 100 bloggers have affixed their chops!


Will this be the Ultimate Extreme Blogging of the year?  Bloodied monitors and splayed keyboards floating aimlessly in cyberspace?  Lonely posts languishing on the ropes.  Bloggers scouring the blogosphere for commenters?  Content schmontent!  No holds barred – and tonight John Chow helps open the show … no, apparently he is not a contestant, would he be one of the judges?


Bring it on!

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Sunday Morn Musings: Screw It, Let’s Do It!

Apr 25

Posted by Valentina in Sunday Morn Musings | 7 Comments

Welcome to Sunday Morn Musings.  This is my weekly free fall – writing about whatever it is that occupies the mind on a Sunday Morn.  The idea of a “no topic” posting is the stepchild to a blog I used to write:  Four O’Clock Thursdays which is still up there if you want to check it out – more likely, I will repurpose and republish some of those posts here over time.  On Sunday Morn Musings the topic may be about blogging but just as likely it may not.

I am a toastmaster. Recently I gave a speech and the opening line was “Screw It, Let’s Do It”. If you know anything about Toastmasters this would ordinarily be one of those out of bounds moments and I would have been cited for this sort of unacceptable language. But the club I belong to is not your ordinary run of the mill club, noooooo… we are an irreverent bunch, we call our club Politically Speaking and pride ourselves on banishing political correctness into the doldrums where it belongs – well you get the idea, so they thought that  I was merely swearing!

Actually “Screw It, Let’s Do It” is a book. The author is Richard Branson my favorite billionaire.  Sir Richard lives life writ large and in this autobiographical book he does not disappoint as he treats us to an insider’s view to his many obstacles, his adventures, and to his ultimate success. His life is a magic brew worthy of Harry Potter and his cohorts. What keeps this brew from turning rancid is Branson’s innate desire to make something worthwhile happen, that is to look for a way to make the seemingly impossible, possible.

Fourteen chapters in all. Each chapter a life lesson. I loved each one but if I had to pick a favorite then it would be chapter 2: Have fun for Life is too short to be unhappy. That got me thinking. How is it or why is it that so many are content to live a life below the greatness of this gift that we were given? People complain. They complain about the lousy job they have, the rotten boss they work for, the crooked politicians they never vote for; the weather is too hot, too cold, too dry, too wet. They had an unhappy childhood and their adult life isn’t any better, wouldn’t you know it but then what else can one expect when the universe conspires against everything they do!

STOP IT! Life is too short and no one said it was going to be fair.

No matter what your disposition is make a point of having some fun – every day, little bits of fun type of fun. Indulge in a little bit of decadence. Go have an ice cream cone, double scoop it – oh hey! make that a triple scoop and in a waffle cone, please. Visit your city. Huh! Yes. Play tourist, I mean really play tourist. Go to all the tourist attractions and find out what it is about them that makes them an attraction – why is the park famous, why was that statue erected, watch the martial arts students practice on the green and if there is a horse drawn carriage where you live, take a spin around the block or two and tip the horse driver handsomely. You’ll feel good.

Is there something you’ve always wanted to do and just never got off your keester? Fencing? Rowing? Dancing? Get a bunch of your friends together … not the moaners and groaners, but the ones who always seem to have a smile on their face, speak with energy in their voice, have a sense of curiosity, yeah, get together with them and go do something that will make you laugh, something silly. Isn’t that what you did when you were kids? And if you don’t have these types of friends go out and make some.

Sure the problems will still be there, maybe even some new ones, its life get over it. But having fun lifts your spirits and builds your inner strength muscles and soon – and this is a guarantee – soon you’ll be able to meet those problems head on, you’ll find a way to tackle them, you’ll go through them, around them or over them. This you will do for sure – you will live through it, come out stronger, and the world will look like a much better place than you thought it was. When you were born you were given the greatest gift of all – LIFE. Live it, love it – screw it, just do it!

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Wonder Wheel – Great Tool for Cluster Blog Posting

Apr 20

Posted by Valentina in Making Money, Plan Development | 11 Comments

Writing a series of related posts is a great way to market your blog.  Sometimes it’s a bit of a stretch to get the content all lined up so that it flows and stays on target.

At last night’s InternetMasterMind meeting, we were introduced to a really neat Google tool:  the Wonder Wheel.  It was presented as  another tool to your  keyword research arsenal but I looked at it and thought that it is an excellent tool for scoping out  and planning out your post series on a specific topic.

To show you what I mean, below are the screencasts for Blog Income:

1.  Just above the number one spot, there is a plus sign and a “show options” button.  Click that on.

2.  The resulting drop down will look like this:


3.   Click on the Wonder Wheel – this is the result I get for Blog Income.  See all the possible related topics that are an expansion of “blog income?”  To go even further, you can click on one of the “spokes” and generate another wonder wheel to expand on that topic.

How you can apply this to your own blog is to search the keyword of your blog and go through this process.  What I really like about this is that you can do this for every keyword and come up with a lot of different “series” … and that should keep you busy for some time to come.

I think this is an excellent way to make progress on your own blog and to cluster series on a given niche within your topic.

To Your Awesome Blog Income Life!


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Sunday Morn Musings: Living the Life of Riley

Apr 18

Posted by Valentina in Sunday Morn Musings | No Comments

Welcome to Sunday Morn Musings.  This is my weekly free fall – writing about whatever it is that occupies the mind on a Sunday Morn.  The idea of a “no topic” posting is the stepchild to a blog I used to write:  Four O’Clock Thursdays which is still up there if you want to check it out – more likely, I will repurpose and republish some of those posts here over time.  On Sunday Morn Musings the topic may be about blogging but just as likely it may not.

Who was Riley and why do we want to live like him?

In yesterday’s post, What Does a Blog Income Life Look Like I alluded to living the life of Riley which means an easy and pleasant life.  We use the term loosely as a life desired or envied.

It got me thinking.

How did the term take hold?

What was its origin?

And who was Riley anyway?

Well with a name like that he’s got to be Irish.

So this morning I did a little bit of research.  There is no definitive answer.  As with most words and phrases there is no one thing or incident that embedded the term into the English language but the rabbit trail is interesting.

It begins in 1890.  A song about Mr. Reilly, or Riley as the spelling seems to be interchangeable, became popular.  Reilly was a hotel keep.  The words speak of wellbeing:

Well, if that’s Mr. Riley
They speak of so highly.
Why, faith, Mr Riley,
You’re looking quite well.

During WWI the Syracuse Herald published an article with excerpts from letters written by Private Walter J. Kennedy:

“This is surely one great life.” writes Kennedy. “We call it the life of Riley. We are having fine eats, are in a great detachment and the experience one gets is fine.”

But there is a much earlier reference to Reilly and money – a historical one and this one has deep Irish roots.  It seems that in the 15th century the Reilly clan consolidated its hold on County Cavan.  They began to mint their own coin which was accepted even in England.  The coin came to be known as the Reilly and held considerable sway in value, thus a man who had Reillys was considered to be a monied or prosperous man.

Somehow easy life, Riley and money combined.

Interesting but not captivating.

How about throwing in swashbuckling, intrigue, a life of derring do, of being in her majesty`s service, having nerves of steel a license to kill and killer looks to boot?  In short a spy and why not none other than James Bond.

How does James Bond factor with Riley?

Aha!  This is far more captivating at least in my mind.

There was a real life spy, one Sidney Reilly.  His life and exploits are credited with providing Ian Fleming with the model for the James Bond character that we have come to know and  love so well.

Sidney Reilly`s life as a spy was well documented in the 1983 TV drama series “Reilly, Ace of Spies” which in turn was based on Robin Bruce Lockhart`s book of the same name published in 1967.  The series, starring Sam Neill as the most famous English spy of all time has become a classic.

Reilly was a spy in his majesty King George V`s service.  He had it all.  The looks.  The women.  The adventure. The drama. The intrigue.  He lived precariously balanced on the edge of life and death playing hard, working harder.

Doesn’t that rev up your imagination?

Perhaps we can inject a bit of Reilly when we think about living the life of Riley.  Spice it up with a bit of spy theatrics.  What would living the life of Riley be like if into the mix of easy life and money we threw in

Exotic.
Fine.
Adventure.
Thrilling
Experiential

Hmmm … notice “dangerous” and other life threatening adjectives have been left out  … but hey, wouldn’t it be a lot more fun?  Maybe we can put a whole new spin to the meaning of  “Living the Life of Riley” … what do you think?

Sunday Morn Musings: On Overused Words.

Apr 11

Posted by Valentina in Sunday Morn Musings | 5 Comments

Welcome to Sunday Morn Musings.  This is my weekly free fall – writing about whatever it is that occupies the mind on a Sunday Morn.  The idea of a “no topic” posting is the stepchild to a blog I used to write:  Four O’Clock Thursdays which is still up there if you want to check it out – more likely, I will repurpose and republish some of those posts here over time.  On Sunday Morn Musings the topic may be about blogging but just as likely it may not.

It’s time to retire certain words and phrases from the English language – or at least, give them a rest, a long rest.  Perfectly good, honest,  strong and hard working words that have become hackneyed through overuse, often spoken by well meaning people who really don’t understand the full meaning of those words, or, who having some acquaintance with the word and now liberally sprinkle their speech with it  in the same manner an apprentice  chef might make use of the salt shaker.  The result is the same: too much of a good thing and the effect is spoiled.

In no particular order I submit a list of candidates.

LAW OF ATTRACTION

Ever since The Secret hit the mainstream, even those who have neither watched nor read The Secret or any of its preceding books or essays are now expert on the Law of Attraction.  Have you ever had this experience?   You are in conversation with someone, the topic is irrelevant and whether it is a conversation between just you and one other or in a group setting, suddenly you hear:

“… well, you know, it’s all about the law of attraction, put it out there and the universe will deliver ….”

I don’t know which rankles me more, the use of the term “law of attraction” or, “put it out there and the universe will deliver.”  I know!  What rankles me most is that the speaker has no bloody idea what the hell he is talking about ­– he thinks he does and has fallen into the trap of mainstream speak.

Equally annoying is the pregnant pause followed by “… you have seen The Secret?  Right?”

This phrase is often accompanied with a look of disdain; an unmistakable implication that you are a social plebe.  Clearly you’ve missed the latest personal growth trend train and haven’t picked up the lingo of that which separates those balancing on the enlightened self actualization high beam from the rest who are merely still entrenched in the troughs of basic human needs.

Give it a rest already!

PASSION/PASSIONATE

The indiscriminate use of passion or passionate – often used interchangeably – has the nails on a chalkboard effect on me.

Save me from the newly converted who have found passion and now march in the passion parade.  They are legions.  Most wouldn’t know passion if they tripped over it.

Passion is an extremely strong and evocative word and few are the mortals who live their lives in this most rare state of being.  At some point or another, every human, I hope, experiences some form of unbridled passion.  It is both heady and seductive and can be emotionally draining yet satiating.   Passion at best drives a vision, at the least is a fleeting moment of heat and lest your mind instantly jumps to sex, the heat can be any strong emotional feeling including hate, rage, contempt and yes, sexual.  It is by  interpretation an intense emotion.

Intensity cannot be sustained for long.  It would leave you limp as a ragged doll unable to function in the dull day to day minutia of the living of  life.

To the leaders of the passion parade that shout  “Find your passion and the money will follow”  I say Bullshit!   Shame on you!  You are doing a great disservice.

I recently spoke with an enlightened teacher.  She is a career counselor at the high school where she is employed.  She told me that when she sits down with her students she helps them discover their passion and then points them in the right direction.

Excuse me.

You don’t help someone “discover” their passion.  They either have it or they don’t.   Given, a good mentor can help  fans the flames into a roaring fire but the spark needed for the flame is internal and deep down one already knows it, feels it.  Those who know it must also “have” it, that is they have to have something in their being that drives them to achieve in the face of adversity – and trust me, all the greats have faced adversity that would have crushed the merely talented.

Passion isn’t injected.

Passion isn’t developed.

Passion isn’t imbued or fired up by some external force or person … I have another word for those who succumb to the charms and beguilements of a Svengali and it has nothing to do with passion.

I would have been happier had the teacher said that she helped students uncover their latent talents – what are they naturally good at, what are they pre-disposed to do well in.  A dormant talent uncovered may eventually lead to a passionate relationship with a career thus chosen but I’ll place my bet on not.

This teacher was merely parroting what is in vogue – a passionate career.

AGGRESSIVE vs ASSERTIVE.

Social engineers have been hard at work here and it is not so much for the retirement of either aggressive or assertive that I am setting a case for, but for re-instituting the word aggressive to be used in proper context.   A recent exchange went something like this:

First Person (FP):  Business in Toronto is different from how it’s done here in Vancouver

Second Person(SP):  Yes.  Toronto is far more aggressive in approach

FP:  Well no, relationship building is more important

SP:  True.  But in Toronto there is an unspoken understanding that we are both busy, so lets stop with the kissy face and get down to brass tacks.  In Vancouver the tendency is to first dance before sitting down to earnest business discussions.  So in that context I would say that Toronto is more aggressive.

FP:  Well maybe more assertive/

SP: Assertive?  Let me ask you:  do you run assertive or aggressive marketing campaigns?

FP:  Well, which would you rather be perceived as, aggressive or assertive?

HUH!

(let’s leave the exchange here … it got ugly)

Liberal social engineers have labelled aggressive as a word that should be struck from our language, it is associated with warlike activities and we, after all, love peace and not war, therefore, much like smoking in public, it has become socially inept and unacceptable to be aggressive.

Corporations bowing to changing social mores, traipse out the travelling dog and pony shows for hire and unleash them on their unsuspecting employees to ensure that all are properly briefed on what is and what is not acceptable verbiage in the workplace.

The word assertive isn’t exactly a pussycat either and may even be interpreted as being more sinister.  I would say that aggressive and assertive are two words that are just a different shade of pale and interestingly enough are listed as synonyms in the dictionary.  Just as you would apply the proper shade of paint for a particular ambience you want to achieve in a room so too you should use the proper “shade” of word to denote your true meaning.

Are there words that you would like to add to this list?  Words you would like to send off on a hiatus to be returned years or even decades later so that once again they can be given the due respect they deserve?   The list is not exhaustive.  What words bug you and why.  It would be interesting to have a discussion here.

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