Thanks to Chris over at Lifestyle Project for reminding me of this video from Lev Yilmaz.

I don’t think I’m not the only one with days like these. Hope it brightens your day!

It’s raining and gray in Montreal today, with a forecast of rain through the weekend. Perfect weather to curl up with a cup of tea and a good book. And I have just the one!

I know, I know… you’re saying “No, not another book! I still have 3 others on my desk, just begging to get read!” (I feel your pain. My desk has 2 semi-read books and 5 more to crack open. Oh yeah, and one on my night stand.)

Just indulge me, OK? You can thank me later.

I LOVE everything Mitchell Lewis Ditkoff and his company, Idea Champions, comes up with (in case you hadn’t noticed, I’m a stalker). His book Awake at the Wheel: Getting Your Great Ideas Rolling, is no exception.

It’s a story about inspiration, ideas, taking action and applying the lessons in your life. Don’t fear — it’s not about systems,  processes, lists and all that boring stuff. No one tells a story quite like Ditkoff. He takes you through the life of Og the caveman, as Og follows his instincts, leading him to invent the wheel. It’s fictional, of course, and that’s what makes it so awesome.

That’s all I’m going to say, ’cause I don’t want to ruin it for you.

It’s a small book — perfect for a quick, powerful and inspiring read over the weekend. Ditkoff’s clever and witty style will have you wishing for more. You can easily read it in 3 hours, depending on how many kids are running around (my general formula is to add 1-2 hours per child).

Read it; I promise you won’t be disappointed. In fact, I’ll read it (again) with you this weekend.

Let’s talk about it on Monday!

Here are some of my stalker links (I’ll add more as I do more cyber-prowling):

• Awake at the Wheel (official book website with a bunch of extras)
• The Heart of Innovation (Idea Champions blog)
• Small Business Big Ideas Podcast (Lissa Boles from True Callings interviews Mitchell Lewis Ditkoff)

I recently sent a fun email to family and close friends, asking them to describe me in one word. The answers I got were intriguing, to say the least.

The most surprising responses were from my parents. My Mom’s answer (loyal) surprised me because she demonstrated, yet again, that she knows me too well. As for my step-dad (he used the word special), well that word just doesn’t sit right with me.

Close friends used words like impressive, competitive, competent, strong, searching and enthusiastic. It’s interesting, because, as nice as these words are, none of them resonated with me.

Then, there’s my ever-thoughtful husband. The word he chose to describe me was… get this… pregers. UGH! I could strangle him sometimes!! (I was half-expecting someone to say something along the lines of fertile, just not from him!)

Finally, the person who knows me better than I know myself most times, my best friend Eve hit the nail on the head when she replied intense. That word never even popped in my head, yet she’s absolutely dead on. (Which is why I love these exercises!)

I can’t help but wonder: Am I revealing that part of my personality in my marketing or am I restraining myself to remain innocuous? (Does that even make sense?) Should I include it in my strategy? Am I thinking too hard about this?

While I wouldn’t send this type of question to clients and business contacts, it’s fun to imagine what they would reply. Would the words be a fair representation of my personality? It’s hard to say, but it certainly would be fascinating to find out how I’m perceived by others.

If you surveyed clients and business contacts, what words would they use to describe you? What word(s) do you wish they would say? Would the responses from family and close friends resemble the responses of your business contacts? Are these words in close relation to your brand?

More tough questions are: Is who you really are getting across to your audience? Are you hiding parts of yourself? Does your audience feel like you’re hiding something (intentionally or purposefully)?

Things that make you (or maybe just me) go hmmmmm.

I’d love to get your insights on this topic.

It’s way too late and I really should be in bed by now, but I just had to share this fun link.

If you’re looking for fresh ideas on a slogan or tagline, try The Advertising Slogan Generator.

WARNING: This site is addictive; don’t blame me if you spend hours generating useless slogans.

Here are some of my favorites:

I could go on, but it’s bedtime. Share with us the slogans you come up with!!

How addicted to blogging are you? Take this little test to find out.

Here are my results:

75%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?Meet Texas Singles

I’m keeping it light for this Anti-Procrastination Month piece. Today’s assignment is: Relax! That’s right. It’s Saturday and you deserve to take a break, decompress and re energize.

Oh yeah, here’s a little procrastination humor I found to start your weekend!

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

Can you imagine? I’ve been tagged again. This time by Denise Willms of WAHM-Articles.com, where I’m resident Coaching Expert and author.

I like this tag, because I get to share 5 links. They can be business links, favorite sites, affiliate links, whatever…

However, instead of using this as a post for a few shameless plugs, as most others have, I’m using this opportunity to share super-useful links to sites I think you’ll love (well, I do).

There are Five Rules:

1. MUST be clean. No R rated sites.
2. Only FIVE links.
3. MUST tell 5 people.
4. A link back to the person who tagged you
5. Lara’s Place is the meme originator

So, here are my 5 links:

1. Advanced Marketing Institute: Headline Analyzer — This is such a cool tool and I use it almost daily. I use this site to create titles for blog posts and articles. Oh yeah, and it’s free.
2. I’m InTouch (aff): Remote support software — When running my VA business, I used I’m InTouch en masse to access my home office PC when working on site. Easy to install and use. Their customer service is amazing. Try the fully functioning free trial and you’ll see why I think it’s so great. If you like it, it’s $135/year or $13.50/month.
3. Project Honey Pot: Avoid Spambots — This links you directly to a page showing you how to avoid email harvesting. What’s best is that all the info and tools are free.
4. Visual Thesaurus: Interactive dictionary and thesaurus — Warning: This program is highly addictive. To try it once is to be hooked for life!! This is the coolest program ever. I use it MANY times a day to help me brainstorm and generate new words when writing. This is a paid service, but it’s well worth the $20/year. Go to the Home page to test it out.
5. HitTail: Discover search hits and keywords — HitTail reveals, in real time, which keywords people use to find your website. I use the Basic plan (it’s free) for my blog. It’s so neat to see what keywords people use to find my blog.

Alright, it’s my turn to tag (I hope they don’t hate me for this):

1. A.C. Riley, my fave copywriter
2. Linda Dessau, awesome editor
3. Alicia M. Forest, the no-nonsense and super-friendly info products guru
4. Jenn Givler, my inspiration and biggest blog fan
5. Matt Huggins, internet entrepreneur and blogger whom I highly resonate with

Whew! That was a lot of work, but I had fun. I hope it was worth it, and you find these links to be helpful.

What link did you like best? Had you been tagged, what would you have put as your 5 links? Do you participate in tags? Why/Why not?

I just got back from another week-long mini-vacation yesterday, and I’m still in vacation mode! So I’m keeping it light today by posting a link to a comical documentary about spiders (turn your speakers on and click here to see it). Enjoy!

Thanks, Davide, for the link!

Another game of blog tag has been created by Ben Yoskovitz of Instigator Blog and I’ve been tagged by Janet Barclay. It’s actually a cool concept, broken down in 5 steps (copied directly from IB):

1. Write a post on your best productivity tips.
2. Include links to other people that have written posts, or include their tips in your post with proper attribution.
3. If you use Technorati Tags then tag your post “ultimate guide to productivity”.
4. Tag others in your post to spread the meme. Tag as many people as you like!
5. If you link back to Instigator Blog and email Ben he’ll be sure to include at least 2 links back to you.

Many of you will relate to my situation:

I have a VERY energetic, independent and adventurous toddler to run after, a needy and capricious newborn to care for, 2 lazy felines and a husband who works very hard to provide for our family. All this and I’m trying to run my business, lose the baby fat, keep our home clean, and hold on to what’s left of my sanity… The LAST thing I need is to wake up each morning wondering “What do I make for supper?” (and if I’m thinking about it that morning, it’s already too late, because I didn’t take any meat out of the freezer the night before). Personally, it’s been a thorn in my side for 11 years. I love to cook, but who has the time???!!! Well, I do — FINALLY!

Here’s my ultimate productivity tip:

My love/hate relationship with the kitchen ended when I started planning meals. Usually done on the weekend, with pen and paper in hand, I sit at the kitchen table with my recipe books (or use Recipezaar — I swear, it’s saved my marriage on numerous occasions) and plan all my meals for the week ahead. From that, I make my grocery list and go shopping. Not only does this save time, it also saves money and prevents the frustration of going through the aisles and not really knowing what to buy.

It’s a simple one, I know, but it’s been a lifesaver. I no longer wake up thinking about supper for that day, we eat healthier, I can, once again, say I love cooking, and it frees my mind to concentrate on my 2 passions: my kids and my business.

I’ve also applied this concept to marketing my business. Read about it here: “How Meal Planning Saved My Marketing“.

I’m tagging the following people:

Gillian Hood-Gabrielson, Jeanne Fuller, Sharon Williams, Heidi Richards, Rima MacDonald, Becky McCray, Sean D’Souza, Alicia M. Forest, Julie Fleming Brown, Jennifer Koretsky, Eva Gregory

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I was visiting Joe Vitale’s blog today, and noticed he signs off each of his posts this way:

If you like the free articles on this blog, let Joe know by buying him his all-time favorite gift – an Amazon gift certificate. His email is joe@mrfire.com Click Here!

I’m wondering how much this strategy works and how much he actually gets on a monthly basis. I, for one, think it sounds a little pretentious, but if it works… why not?

What are your thoughts? Have you ever sent this type of “gift” before? Do you ask for gifts? How do you ask and much do you receive?

Oh, and by the way, if you like what you read on my blog, let me know by buying me MY all-time favorite gift — a Chapters/Indigo gift certificate or pick something from my Wish List! Sorry, couldn’t help it!!