“I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.”
Bill Cosby (Comedian, Actor and Author)
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Mind mapping and flow charting are great ways to brainstorm and get thoughts down on paper quickly and easily and are a fantastic resource for success in small business.
Many people may not realise that there are several web applications that allow you to create mind maps and flow charts for free. Check out these seven top mind mapping and flow chart programs:
- Bubbl.us – Bubbl.us can make some great looking charts. It’s a good tool for creating charts that you plan to print and distribute. Using it is not exactly intuitive, however with a bit of playing around it’s not too hard to figure out.
- Lovely Charts – This free site can make some very attractive charts, too. It has colorful graphics and is very easy to use. It also allows you to make some really cool organisational charts. Their 90 second tutorial will explain how to get started.
- Mindmeister – This is another online mapping tool that’s very easy to use. I like that it integrates with Twitter and iPhone.
- Xmind – This application is also quite straight-forward to use. You don’t actually use it online, however. Instead, it’s downloaded to your computer. The basic version is free, or you can buy a one year subscription to the professional version for $49 (US).
- Freemind – This is another downloadable software tool that helps with mind mapping and general organisation of thoughts and tasks. It is a finalist for the 2009 Community Choice Award in the category “Most likely to change the way you do everything”!
- Gliffy – Gliffy is a great tool that is user friendly and intuitive. You don’t even have to sign up to try it out. And, in addition to creating flow charts and mind maps, you can draw floor plans, create Venn diagrams and do all sorts of other cool stuff.
- Mindomo – This program is completely online, and is a great mind mapping tool. I wasn’t sure whether to include this in the list as the free version limits you to seven private maps. However you can purchase a paid subscription for $6-$9 a month. So while the ‘free’ component is limited, I decided to include this in the list anyway as it’s definitely worth considering.
My suggestion is that you try out all these free mind mapping and charting tools and compare them for yourself. You’re sure to find one that you feel comfortable with and may be surprised by how much this can help you with all your business and personal plans and projects.
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Having a website for your business is one thing, but getting traffic to it – the right kind of traffic – is something that many small business owners find daunting.
If you’re keen to discover new ways to get all the traffic you can handle to your website then the World Traffic Summit is worth getting along to.
This 3-day seminar will focus solely on traffic generation for your website(s) or online business, with some of the best-of-the-best from around the world traveling to Australia to share their tips and personal traffic strategies.
When: Friday August 27 – Sunday August 29, 2010
Where: Gold Coast, Australia
For more information and to register – World Traffic Summit
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Have you ever wondered why it is that some people follow through and achieve success with something while others either don’t follow through – e.g. they buy a coaching program or book and never use it – or they follow through but don’t seem to achieve positive results?
I have. Many times. And it’s really frustrating because if someone buys my product I truly want them to use it and to achieve results from it.
I know it’s not just me because I’ve had many discussions about this topic with several colleagues in the last couple of years.
Thankfully, John Reese and Frank Kern, two well-known and highly respected internet business professionals, wanted to know the answer to the very same question. So they asked one man who was sure to be able to explain this … Anthony Robbins. Better still, they recorded this interview so we can all benefit from it.
Click on the link below to watch this recording:
Tony Robbins Interview With John Reese And Frank Kern
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I’m not sure who wrote the following poem … I’ve been attempting to track its origins and author but with no success. All the same, I think it’s very well written and worth remembering, after all, ‘habit’ is something that can make or break your success in small business and, in fact, in all areas of your life.
The Habit Poem
I am your constant companion.
I am your greatest helper or heaviest burden.
I will push you onward or drag you down to failure.
I am completely at your command.
Half of the things you do you might as well turn
over to me and I will do them – quickly and correctly.
I am easily managed – you must be firm with me.
Show me exactly how you want something done
and after a few lessons, I will do it automatically.
I am the servant of great people,
and alas, of all failures as well.
Those who are great, I have made great.
Those who are failures, I have made failures.
I am not a machine though
I work with the precision of a machine
plus the intelligence of a person.
You may run me for profit or run me for ruin -
it makes no difference to me.
Take me, train me, be firm with me, and
I will place the world at your feet.
Be easy with me and I will destroy you.
Who am I? I am Habit.
After reading that poem, take 5 minutes to think about your habits … which ones are pushing you onwards? And which ones are dragging you down? Most importantly, what are you going to do about it?
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