There comes a time when the amount of information is more than just a couple of posts.  It then becomes necessary to evaluate how that information is being effectively captured and managed.  Ask yourself, three quick questions:

• What is the best solution to capture and archive information?
• How quickly can the information be accessed?
• Is it easily searchable?

One of my favorite social media sites that provides a wide variety of information is Twitter.  The flow is frequent, albeit at times, overwhelming.  The variety is as wide of a net that can be cast into the information stream based on who and what you follow.  The flip side though is that you can’t always be focused on what is being discussed at that given moment.

When a topic of conversation comes into your Twitter stream that is of interest but not what you are currently focusing on, with just a couple of clicks the information is garnered as a Favorite for later digestion.  Over time, you accumulate another long list of Favorites, but what do you do with them?

Here’s a simple procedure to harness that information for later use when you have time to focus.  Add your Twitter Favorites to a feed aggregator such as Google Reader.

From your Twitter Home page - go to your Favorites

Using Firefox - the process is automated:

Capture your Twitter RSS Feed

• Right click on the page
• View Page Information
• Select Feeds
• Scroll to Your Twitter Favorites
• Click Subscribe
• Add to your reader as normal

Using Internet Explorer :

• Capture your Twitter RSS Feed
• Right click on the page
• Select View Source
• Find the link for the feed (i.e. http://twitter.com/favorites/12345678.rss)
• Add subscription manually to your reader

Now your favorite bites of information is at your fingertips - ready to be search and archived.  Later, when you vaguely recall a post that would help complete a project, just search your feed reader and voila - information found and time saved.

The Point

It’s great to have a wealth of information but if you can’t put it to use then there is no value.  By putting in place simple and semi-automated procedure that captures and archives information until it can be utilized, you’re increasing the value on not only the information gathered but more importantly on your time.

Ironically, this segment coincided while developing my business strategy for 2009.   After outlining the goals I wanted to achieve for my business this year, I sat down to carve out a strategy to achieve those goals.  Knowing where I want to end up from where I am at today, I began to map out a plan of necessary actions that would get me from Point A to Point Z.  

As with any new path one chooses to venture, the past must be reviewed.  The announcement of Good Morning America’s segment seemed to resonate with me as I planned for the year.   It became clear that besides identifying the year that changed my life that I had the perfect opportunity to make the right decisions that would indeed make 2009 the year that changed my life and the life of my family. 

We should always look at the past for direction from our triumphs and pitfalls.  With that said, we also need to set our sites forward and carve new paths to voyage armed with the information of our accomplishments and losses.  Look back at the year that was the pivotal point that led you to where you are today, analyze the reasons behind it and the choices made.  Then look at your present and how you can again turn your world on its axis and make 2009 the year that changed your life.  

The Point

You have the choice.  You have the power.  You make the decision.  Vow with me, to make THIS YEAR – 2009 - to be the year that changed the course of your life.   Take a positive step towards success with the proper mindset and make this a remarkable year for yourself both with your business and personally; one that will be fondly remembered and modeled in the years to come.
Photo by Conanil

You’ve invested the time to outline your goals for the coming year.  You have followed through with developing a plan that makes those goals attainable.  Now, it’s time to put words into action.  It is now that you must implement the action so that you can achieve those lofty dreams.

As you proceed through the day, you will find yourself straying from the tasks at hand.  We all do it; tweeting on Twitter, reading blogs, surfing the web. 

Stop and ask yourself one question: 

Is what I’m doing right now consistent with my #1 goal?

Post it on your bulletin board - write it on your dry erase board.  Keep it out in front of you and periodically check-in on yourself. 

The Point

When you feel that you have wondered off the beaten path or just want to keep from straying, ask yourself if what you are doing at that given moment is going to assist you in accomplishing your number one goal.  A quick self-check and you’re back on point.
Photo by yewenyi

Setting goals is more than making a list of items to accomplish. It’s laying out an attainable plan with guidelines, action steps and milestones. Goals should be set at a measure that is above your average performance level in order to heighten your skill set. They should not be based on your best performance nor should they be easily attained.

Process and Plan

As you think through the goals you want to achieve, ask yourself following questions so that you focus not only on the end result of the goal but the path needed to accomplish the goal.

• What do I specifically want to achieve?
• What resources are needed?
• Do I have the skill set needed or is there a learning curve to factor?
• Do I have the data and knowledge needed?
• Do I need assistance or collaboration with a colleague?
• What obstacles could block progress?
• What contributing factors are beyond my control?
• Is there more than one way of accomplishing goal?
• What does the desired outcome of the goal look like?
• Why do I want to achieve this goal?
• What is a realistic timeline for achievement?

Record and Review

After you have developed your goals and the action steps necessary to achieve them, write them down in a notebook and review them regularly. Jack Canfield suggests reviewing your goals daily and visualizing what accomplished goals look like.

The Point

Goals should be more than a laundry list of lofty ideas. Developing a plan to accomplish your goals lends itself as a huge contributing factor to successfully accomplishing them. Schedule quiet time to plan your path for the 2009 and achieve your dreams.

Photo by krisgriffon

Photo by federico.soffici

In order to set achievable goals for 2009, evaluating those that were set for 2008 is a necessity.  Taking an honest look at the accomplishments and failures is not always easy but much can be learned.

Reviewing the goals that were set for 2008 and evaluating the outcome provides valuable information as you plan for the coming year.  The following questions will help you to explore your goals and achievements.

9 Questions - Reviewing Annual Goals

•    Did you review your goals regularly throughout the year?

•    Did you plan steps to take in order to achieve your goals?

•    Where your goals measurable – could you clearly define when the outcome was reached?

•    Did you accomplish each goal set?

•    Was the result what you envisioned?

•    What role did you have in the outcome of each goal?

•    If a goal was not accomplished, was the contributing factor within your control?

•    If you had to define the same goal would you expect the same results?

•    How would you approach an unachieved goal differently?

The Point

By evaluating The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, we set-up ourselves up to achieve more and obtain a more rewarding outcome.  We not only learn from our successes and our achievements, we learn from our failures.  Reviewing the year at the close provides an honest overview and the necessary information to be more successful in the coming year.

Photo by luschei

From the time I was a little girl I had dreamed of being a Mom.  It was something that nestled deep inside me and something that always seemed just out of reach.  In June 2005, after just being married for a couple of months, Sean and I found out that conceiving a child would not be possible.  Having close friends that had twice adopted internationally, we didn’t even hesitate with starting our own adoption journey.  We knew it would be a long process and that it wasn’t going to be easy.  However, we weren’t prepared for the emotional rollercoaster we were about to ride.  Certain that we wanted to adopt a baby boy, our research lead us to international adoption in Guatemala. 

After an exhaustive research of adoption agencies, we signed with For This Child in Texas in January 2006.  On Mother’s Day of that year, we received our referral of a beautiful baby boy, Gabriel.  He was so tiny at only 4 lbs 6 oz.  The next several months were full of highs and a lot of lows.  Sean and I held our child for the first time when he was just two months old and spent a glorious week with him in Guatemala.  Our hearts broke into millions of pieces when we had to leave him with his foster mother.  Only being comforted by her amazing bond with him, we knew she loved our son and would keep him safe.

We watched from afar as he gain weight and flourished in his environment; reaching milestones that we could only observe in pictures and read about in reports.  Our agency was very pro-active in keeping us informed.  Each month we received reports on Gabe’s doctor’s appointments and home visit reports along with 30 – 40 pictures.  We endured the struggles of the Guatemalan court systems.  The political unrest and continual security issues that would crop up overnight without warning made the end result seem far away and at times doubtful.

Initially, it was thought Gabe would be home by the end of August, then it was September and then by Halloween.  The month of October was fully of major instability in the Guatemalan adoption process.  Presidential mandates by the Guatemalan President to shut down adoptions were instituted and then rescinded. 

On November 2, 2006, while shopping in Target I received a call from our agency’s director.  She had an early birthday present for me which was just two days away.   We had exited the final court system with approval, Gabe’s new birth certificate was being issued and we should start to prepare for our trip to Guatemala to pick up our son. 

If you were in the Charleston Target that evening and saw a woman breaking down in the middle of the store – well that was me.  I started crying – I couldn’t speak.  I don’t remember how we ended the conversation – I really don’t remember the rest of the conversation. 

I realized that I couldn’t share our news with anyone.  Sean was teaching that evening and wouldn’t be out of class until 10 p.m.  He had to be the first one that I told and I wanted to tell him in person and not on the phone.  I don’t know how I got through those next few hours.  Well, I did shop for more baby things.  I bought a bunch of It’s a boy balloons and decorated the living room for when Sean arrived home. 

After two more long weeks, we finally got our travel dates to go to Guatemala the weekend before Thanksgiving.  We were booked to return on Wednesday (the day before Thanksgiving).  We knew that our return trip date would be dependent on the process in Guatemala and that we may end up spending the holidays there. 

It was such a joyous occasion to be reunited with Gabe.  I smiled so much my jaw hurt.  It was also heartbreaking to see his foster mother say goodbye. He didn’t miss a beat when he was placed in my arms.  It was if we had never been separated.   We had a few days to relax and reconnect and then complete the last steps necessary to bring our son home.

The end process was hectic but we somehow got it all achieved without a glitch and boarded our return flight home at noon on Wednesday; scheduled to arrive around 7:30 p.m. in Charleston.  Well like most travel plans on the day before Thanksgiving, they didn’t go as planned.  We arrived in Atlanta on time and hustled through the immigration process necessary to bring Gabe into the States.  We even participated in a swearing in ceremony for Gabe as a U.S. Citizen. 

We were quickly running out of time and raced to our gate that was at the opposite end of the airport only to find out that the gate listings were wrong.  We ran to our correct gate to then find out that our flight was delayed.  Through this entire day of travel, Gabe was an absolute angel.  He never cried or fussed.  A great relief to his new parents.

After several hours of waiting we board our final flight from Atlanta to Charleston at 11 p.m. to only be delayed again.  Sitting on the tarmac due to a generator failure in a tiny plane with cranky passengers, Gabe lay on my chest sleeping.  Finally, they get the plane running and we’re up in the air. 

Just a few minutes after midnight, in the early hours of Thanksgiving morning, we land in Charleston.  To finally be home in West Virginia with our son was such a huge relief; I finally could exhale! Our son was home at last and we would all rest well tonight being under one roof.

We are met by our family and friends who waited long hours for our arrival and to get an up-close look at our newest addition to the family. Our adoption journey finally came to a fruitful end and gave reason for a true Thanksgiving celebration! 

Thanksgiving will always be a day for us to celebrate our family.  Our Forever Family Day - for this we give thanks.

Now there’s a one stop shop to create your Black Friday shopping list at Black Friday Info.  Deals are grouped into categories.  And if your favorite store hasn’t released its ad then sign-up for email notification

The Point

Save time and browse the ads on-line at Black Friday Info.  Then select your choice buys and create your shopping list.  No more fumbling through ads to find what you want when you’re still half asleep.

As a business owner, it is vital that you establish a blog for your business that relates specifically to your target audience. Your blog should identify you as the authority for the subject that you are discussing and that is of interest to your potential clients. Provide quality information related to your subject in the form of tips, resources, and courses of actions.

The mechanics of setting up a blog are honestly not that difficult. A resource was shared with me in the SSWT Elite membership forum that contains video tutorials. 

The video series by the 10-minute Expert shows how to set-up a Wordpress blog The tutorials are comprised of 10 videos. Topics are:

• How to Create a MySQL Database Using HostGator.com
• How to Download and Install WordPress
• How to Configure WordPress Options Part 1
• How to Configure WordPress Options Part 2
• How to Add a Post or Static Page to WordPress
• How To Manage Blog Posts in WordPress
• How to Manage Comments In WordPress
• How to Manage The Blogroll in Wordpress
• How To Change, Edit, or Install a Wordpress Theme
• How to Configure WordPress Plugins

The Point

It couldn’t be made any easier. Simple step-by-step instructions on how to set-up a Wordpress blog provided in short segments that are easy to digest. Makes it as easy as pumpkin pie.