Pastor Bobby’s Blog

The Wikipedia defines Social Networking as: “A social network service focused on building online communities of people who share interests and activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others.” Many people have dismissed this as a waste of time. It may seem trivial to some that connecting with friends is a viable marketing technique. Maybe this article will peek the interest of those who are truly interested in the value of a social network.

When we consider services like Delicious or Twitter or Plaxo or other social networks, we see that it is very easy to grow a network of friends and potential friends. Anyone who is interested in Internet Marketing can see that as a list of friends grows, credibility grows. Let’s face it, credibility is one of the most effective marketing tools that any marketer worth his salt can acquire. It all boils down to one’s ability to get others to listen to what he has to say.

One fascinating effect of social networks and services that offer this platform it the ease with which someone can grow a circle of friends. Let’s explore a service like Twitter. In recent months Twitter has gorwn exponintially. Personally I have met many new friends through this service. It feels really nice to get an email notice that someone, previously unknown, has begun to follow my Twitter posts. May of these have begun to follow me because someone else in their circle is following my Twitter posts.

This is the same effect that occurs on all of the social network communities that I have joined. In a relatively short period of time several people, whom I may never have had the opportunity to know, are now in my circle of friends. This works in both directions. When I begin to follow someone on Twitter or add someone as a friend on blogcatalog or Godlinked, their friends see me listed in their friends list of friends. This is called a ‘viral’ effect.

Most social network services are web based and provide a variety of ways for users to interact, such as e-mail and instant messaging services, sharing blog posts, video, pictures or comments.

Social networking has created new ways to communicate and share information. Social networking websites are being used regularly by millions of people, and it now seems that social networking will be an enduring part of everyday life.

There are several types of social networking websites or services available. The main types of social networking services are those which contain directories of some categories (such as former classmates, colleagues), means to connect with friends (usually with self-description pages), and recommender systems linked to trust. Popular methods now combine many of these, with MySpace and Facebook being the most widely used in North America; Nexopia (mostly in Canada); Bebo, Facebook, Hi5, MySpace, Tagged, Xing; and Skyrock in parts of Europe; Orkut and Hi5 in South America and Central America; and Friendster, Orkut, Xiaonei and Cyworld in Asia and the Pacific Islands.

What does all this have to do with building a business? My first response to a question like that is to roll my eyes and slap myself on the forehead. However, all that would do is irritate you and give me a headache. So, here we go. The most effective long term method to build a business on the Internet (and off line as well) is to elevate your level of visibility and credibility. The larger your network of friends and followers, the more recognition you get. Consider everyone with whom you connect a potential voice to let others know who you are. Give useful information, not sales copy. Help people understand why you are interested in the ‘niche’ that you chose to research. Become a trusted friend. This sets you up as wise counsel for others.

One of the pluses is that you get to meet some very interesting people and potential JV (joint venture) partners as well as customers. Everyone has something to say. Let your voice be heard.

Most people, the vast majority, do not realize that there is no separation between the spiritual world and the physical world. The only difference that might seem to be is our perception of either. People go to great lengths to convince themselves that there is only the physical world or that there is a huge gulf between the physical and the spiritual worlds. The fact is that this world is a physical manifestation of the spiritual world. Almighty God (The Supreme Spiritual Being) created everything that is. Refer to Genesis, Chapter 1 beginning with verse 1 and The Gospel according to John, Chapter 1 beginning with verse 1. Everything that exists in this physical world was manifested by God from the spiritual to the physical. Our enemy, God’s enemy, wants us to believe that all that is in the physical world is separate and unrelated to the spiritual world. Here is the misconception that has fooled too many. The worse part of this is that good Christian ministers perpetrate this false information without realizing it.

Christ and the apostles told us so many times that Christ lives in His believers. We are told that His Holy Spirit lives in us and guides us. When we look at this we can understand that the Creator lives in us, not far above us in some untouchable spiritual realm. The Presence of the Holy Creator of the universe resides in us. The power that created every physical thing that exists is living inside of each believer, not in a far off place called Heaven. Think about that. The POWER that created the world is inside of you, the believer. The Creation force, God’s Presence, is inside of each believer.

We must ponder the question, “Am I a physical being who occasionally has a spiritual experience?” or “Am I a spiritual being who is now having a physical experience?” In the first chapter of the Book of Jeremiah, God tells the prophet that He knew him before he entered his mother’s womb. When we realize that we are first spiritual beings (conceived in the mind of Almighty God), we are living now as physical beings and that one day we will exist again strictly as spiritual being, there is a different perception given us of the relationship of the spiritual world and the physical world. When we realize that we are primarily spiritual beings living inside a physical body in the company of the Holy Presence that was in Christ Jesus, we should see in ourselves the greatest manifestation to have ever taken place, God’s pure, unshakable and never ending love for us.

The Apostle Paul tells us in his Epistle to the Romans that the spirit and the flesh are constantly battling each other. The physical world and the one who usurped the dominion of the physical world from God’s creation, mankind, is desperate for us to forsake the idea that we are first spirit. His job is to alienate us from our true being, thereby stealing us from our Creator. We are told by Jesus Christ that the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. He comes to steal us from God, kill our spiritual consciousness and destroy our hope. It is the intention of the enemy of mankind to make us believe that we are powerless and impotent in spiritual matters. How absurd is that? Yet, the majority of people, especially believers, have fallen for that lie. How can we have the power of creation, the Presence of God, living in us and be powerless to cause change? Jesus told us that all we needed was the smallest degree of ‘faith’ (faith the size of a mustard seed) and we could move mountains. Yet there are poor Christians, sick Christians, defeated Christians and worse, deluded Christians who have fallen for the enemy’s lies.

The very first step to attracting everything that we could ever want or need is to change our minds, our mindset. Stop believing the enemy’s lies that you are powerless and that you must accept what he or the world throws at you. Start believing what God has told us. Start believing that He wants us to prosper as our souls prosper. Start believing that the Power of the Creator of ALL THAT IS lives inside of you. He has given to each believer a measure of faith. It is up to us to study His Holy Word, His Wisdom, to understand that that seed of faith, planted in our hearts, can be nurtured and can grow. As we learn the process of ‘growing’ our faith, we begin to feel the presence of the Creator in us. As we understand the principles that God has given us in His Holy Word, we begin to see a change in our lives.

Believers have been under the impression that to be pious they must be poor. It is not wealth that creates evil. It is man’s desire for wealth. This does not mean that you should not want to be wealthy. This means that you should understand that wealth is a tool that God gives us to accomplish His will. Wealth in and of itself is useless. It will not produce happiness. It will not produce health. It will not produce love. These things are gifts from God Almighty. As Jesus Christ instructed us in the 6^th chapter of Matthew, we are to seek first the Kingdom of Heaven. When our focus is on God, He will grant us stewardship over His possessions. When we prove ourselves to be worthy of using His wealth for His Glory, He will give us increase.

Lets take a little recap of the information in the first three articles in this series. We have learned:

1.) Article writing is a great foundation  for building ‘Name Recognotion’ for you

2.) Blogging gives you a platform for offering good information

3.) eNewsletters help build a list of people interested in what you have to say

4.) eBooks are a super viral technique for getting your name and work ‘out there’ on the Internet

There are many other techniques for building trust. Using these methods will open doors that you did not even know where there. Now we need to discuss a great and relatively new phenomenon on the Internet - Social Networking.

Social Networking offers you a sure fire way for develop a following that otherwise would take years. There are numerous website communities that will help you become a ‘recognized’ authority on your chosen subject. Some of these are Facebook, Twitter, Plaxo, Delicious, Squidoo, etc.

Social Networking service is defined by Wikipedia as:
A social network service focuses on building on-line communities of people who share interests and activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others. Most social network services are web based and provide a variety of ways for users to interact, such as e-mail and instant messaging services.

Social networking has created new ways to communicate and share information. Social networking websites are being used regularly by millions of people, and it now seems that social networking will be an enduring part of everyday life. The main types of social networking services are those which contain directories of some categories (such as former classmates), means to connect with friends (usually with self-description pages), and recommender systems linked to trust. Popular methods now combine many of these, with MySpace and Facebook being the most widely used in North America;[1] Nexopia (mostly in Canada);[2] Bebo,[3] Facebook, Hi5, MySpace, Tagged, Xing;[4] and Skyrock in parts of Europe;[5] Orkut and Hi5 in South America and Central America;[6] and Friendster, Orkut, Xiaonei and Cyworld in Asia and the Pacific Islands.

The Social Network Seevices have offered an immense opportunity for each aspiring Affiliate Marketer to garner followers who are really interested in what they have to say. There are some ‘Internet Gurus’ who have spent literally 10 years or more slowly building a following. When you look closely at these ‘Internet Personalities’ you’ll see that they are in constant communication with their ‘list’ and they are always offering something ‘gratis’ that leads into a sale of a larger product. They spend a lot of time trying to earn ‘trust’ in what they say.

Some of the email newsletter distribution companies have now begun to give you the option of notifying other social networking communities when you publish your newsletter. This is an added advantage because it cuts out some of the work for you.

To say the least, Social Network marketing is on the rise and, if you use them wisely, can give your ‘trust building’ and ‘name recognition’ campaigns a boost. The secret is using them to your best advantage without trying to ‘Spam” them with overt offers to sell. Remember, build trust first. After building trust, which does take time and effort, people will come to you when they are looking for a ‘particular’ niche product with which they know you are familiar.

Building a firm foundation of trust and knowledge will build you a successful business. My best advice is to start yesterday. If you put off begining your ‘campaign’ until next month, you’ll be a month behind those who start today.

We have discussed in previous articles the value in writing articles. This is an important first step. This gives you practice in researching information about ‘particular’ subjects, those that are relevant to your ‘niche.’ Article writing also gives you material that you can use for your other projects, enewsletters, blog posts, website content, eBooks,etc.

There is loads of information and instructions and software on the Internet at your disposal that will facilitate your creation of enewsletters and eBooks and websites. This only takes a little research and comparison on your part to decide which software or service suits your taste and budget. There are some costs involved (there is no free lunch) in these services. There are also some extraordinary benefits. You’re objective with all of this is first to build a ‘trusted name’ and to build a substantial list of potential customers. With things as they are on the Internet, mainly the surge in ‘Spam’ that fills your email inbox, it is extremely important, virtually crucial, that you use an opt-in system for your subscriptions. This gives you more credibility as a ‘trusted’ voice.

Enewsletters are great because you have people who want to hear what you have to say. Remember to give information, not just advertisements. This is also true with creating eBooks.

You have, up to this point, done a great deal of research and writing about your chosen subject(s). You have amassed information and written about something that is of interest to you and to your ‘audience’ of readers. Why not take that information, arrange it into one cohesive body of work, and create an eBook. eBooks are, according to the Wikipedia:

“An e-book (for electronic book: also ebook) is the digital media equivalent of a conventional printed book. Such documents are usually read on personal computers, or on dedicated hardware devices known as e-book readers or e-book devices. Many cell phones can also be used to read ebooks.

Early e-books were generally written for specialty areas and a limited audience, meant to be read only by small and devoted interest groups. The scope of the subject matter of these e-books included technical manuals for hardware, manufacturing techniques, and other subjects.

Numerous e-book formats emerged and proliferated, some supported by major software companies such as Adobe’s PDF format, and others supported by independent and open-source programmers. Multiple readers naturally followed multiple formats, most of them specializing in only one format, and thereby fragmenting the e-book market even more. Due to exclusiveness and limited readerships of e-books, the fractured market of independents and specialty authors lacked consensus regarding a standard for packaging and selling e-books. E-books continued to gain in their own underground markets. Many e-book publishers began distributing books that were in the public domain. At the same time, authors with books that were not accepted by publishers offered their works online so they could be seen by others. Unofficial (and occasionally unauthorized) catalogs of books became available over the web, and sites devoted to e-books began disseminating information about e-books to the public.”

We can see from this information that one of the greatest ‘viral’ marketing campaigns can be attributed to eBooks. You have a choice here. You can either create an eBook as a product to sell or you can create an eBook with great information and links to your affiliate offers and give them away. You would be amazed at how quickly eBooks that offer good information at no cost can be distributed and redistributed to thousands of hungry information seekers.

Giving an eBook filled with useful information as a reward for an action on the part of your reader is a great incentive for them to look for more information fromyou. Each resource of information that you give build trust and your list of readers.

The next article (Part 4 of this series) is very useful for building ‘name recognition’ for you. Name recognition, trust, and your willingness to offer your followers good information will place you much closer to the 3% group of winners in affiliate marketing.

In the first part of this series we talked about getting started with Affiliate marketing. In every start up business we need to consider both effectiveness and expense. Let’s begin where we left off.

Article writing is a great way, although not the quickest way, to get your name associated with the ‘niche’ that you have chosen. If you spend 15 minutes reading articles about your ‘niche’ and 15 minutes per day writing an article about your subject, in 6 days you can submit 6 articles. That will soon add up to 24 articles per month and 288 articles in one year. You can increase this as you get more comfortable and knowledgeable about your ‘niche.’

You’ve created a nice blog and populated it with articles about your ‘niche.’ Good start! Blogs are great because of the freedom that you have to write your opinion. Be aware though that the objective is to get people reading what you write. Give information, information, information. Do not fill your blog with ‘ad copy’ for posts. Build trust first by giving useful information. The more that you give, the more your posts and articles will be accepted and even anticipated.

We mentioned the Search Engine spiders in Part one of this series. These are the clever little software programs that rush out onto the ‘net’ and look for ‘content.’ Content is the information that you post on your blog and in your articles. This is spider food.

Now another little secret. You started a blog on WordPress.org. It looks good and you’ve posted several articles. You’re off and running. Why not go to another Blog Community (Blogger, etc) and start another blog and simply spend a few minutes each day posting the articles (maybe with a little modification) that you have posted on your first blog and submitted to the Article Databases. Remember that our objective is not to simply sell a product but to sell your name as a trusted source of information. You are moving closer to the 3% winners circle.

After you have a little blogging time under your bely, now is the time to go out and search for Blog Directories where you can submit your blog(s) for listing in their directory. This also gives added exposure to your blog.

While we are on the subject of blogging, let’s look at another aspect of blogging that will also get us noticed. Commenting. As you search through the blog directories and Search Engines to find information to fuel you article writing and blog posting, leave positive comments on the blogs that you encounter in the same or similar ‘niches.’ Most blog owners want you to comment. It adds substance to their blog. Again, most blog owners do not mind your leaving an URL to your blog as long as it is NOT an overt attempt to ’spam’ their blog with ad copy. They like for you to actually read their posts and make relevant comments. This also gives you an opportunity to have a one-way link back to your blog (another tasty tidbit for the SE spiders.)

After doing this, you should consider starting an enewsletter and letting people sign up for your newsletter on your blog. As your traffic increases, your readership increases. Visitors (potential customers) begin anticipating the ‘information’ that you give them. I would suggest that you use a verified opt in service for distributing your enewsletter. Get permission to send them your information.

eNewsletters are great and you can even sell advertising space after you have built a good list. We’ll begin discussing eNewsletters in another article. The important things to remember here are:

1.) research
2.) write
3.) post
4.) comment on other blogs.

You are on your way to building a good, substantial business. These are foundational steps. Every good business must be built on a sturdy foundation.

Every affiliate marketer needs to look for and use the most effective and the least expensive methods to generate traffic to his or her affiliate website. The concept of affiliate marketing is really profound when you take a close look. Someone offers a product or products for sale. The most cost effective advertising for a merchant is to seek affiliates to offer his or her products on their website. The affiliates earn money when a prospective customer visits his affiliate website and makes a purchase.

This is truly a unique opportunity for the average individual to create a successful business, selling other merchants’ products. There is no stock to maintain, no overhead (except for the cost of a website.) An smart affiliate can make a good living simply advertising the products of merchants who offer an affiliate program. Genius!

There is one major catch to this whole thing. An affiliate has to be able to generate traffic (a steady flow of interested customers) to his affiliate offerings. Unfortunately, statistics say that 97% of affiliate marketers earn little to no money. The reason is a simple one, when you take a close

objective look at what the majority of affiliate programs offer their affiliates as far as training goes. Most affiliate programs offer several overused email or ezine ads or give advice that is old and not affective in today’s Internet. This is why you see the same ads repeated thousands of times in emails, ezines and newsletters.

What is that secret ingredient that is missing? What is it that results in 97% failure? The better question is to look at the 3% who are racking in the dough. What does this 3% of affiliate marketers have that the other 97% are missing. You can sum it up in one little word – ‘TRUST.’ The successful Internet Marketer has worked diligently to build a list of people who trust their opinion. “How do they do that?” you ask. Well, I am so glad you asked.

There are quite a number of ways to do this, if you want to make serious money selling products. The very first thing that you need to do is change your mind. The biggest problem is that there are so many scam programs on the Internet that appeal to the lazy ‘sluggard’ who wants to join a program (because the ad copy is so appealing) and sit on his couch at home, do absolutely nothing and earn thousands of dollars every day. No matter what they promise, no matter how easy they make it sound, if you are not willing to put forth the effort to become a successful Internet Affiliate Marketer, you’ll soon join the ranks of the 97% of failures. The secret is to forget about just selling a product. There are thousands of others who are trying to sell the same product or service.

To become truly successful is going to take time and effort and a willingness to listen to wise counsel (those who have been there and done that.) There are ways to ‘build’ yourself a good business (the operative word is ‘build’) and ‘create’ a sustaining income.

The successful Internet Affiliate Marketer builds trust in his opinion. This takes time but the rewards speak for themselves. No matter what ‘they’ say, the product doesn’t sell itself. If this were true then the thousands of people selling the same product would all be rolling in money. Think of it
this way. If a total stranger tells you that the product he is offering you is the very best and you need to buy it from him within the next few minutes, would you believe him? If a trusted ‘expert’ that you have been following because they give you loads of information and have built a relationship with you offers you a product he endorses and tells you that you really need to get it, would you?

How do you build trust? Well, you need to purchase a really expensive website, pay a ton of money to have it hosted and spend a gazillion dollars advertising. NOT! The best advice I can give is:

1.) to pick a ‘niche’ (some area of interest that you really like),
2.) learn what you can, research it
3.) read as many articles about it that you can find
4.) begin to write about it, write articles (go to article directories and learn their article writing guidelines)
5.) Submit your articles to as many directories as possible.
6.) Sign up with one of the ‘blog’ communities (Blogger, Bogspot, WordPress, etc) and post the same articles that you submit to the directories in your own blog.
7.) Write, write , read, write, post, post, post, etc.
8.) Join Social Networks (facebook, twitter, etc.)

So far none of the above has cost you a penny (only your time). I’ll let you in on a little secret about blog. The Search Engines love ‘em. They are indexed quickly and revisited every time you post. When you make a post, the blog software sends a ‘ping’ (notice) to the SE spiders that diner is on the table.

This is just an introduction. There is a lot more coming in this series of articles. If you are serious about becoming successful and earning a good income, get started today.

We are entering times of uncertainty. We have witnessed the dawn of a new era in Politics and Social Structure for our Nation. What should we do and what should we expect? We must, as Christians, realize that in every endeavor, marriage, parenting, finances, friendships and even politics, we must continue to pray.

Some are upset and worried about the outcome of the recent Presidential election. Some are elated by the outcome and the challenges that it offers. No matter what your personal view of the election, there is something that we must all do. Pray for our leaders, unceasingly.
Whether we agree with his political views or not, we have been set upon a course and we must actively seek God’s guidance. We must pray that not only will God lead our new President but that our new President will seek to follow God’s leading.

Above all, we must not let ourselves be swallowed up with political rhetoric. We must not simply sit idly by and accept what comes without doing what God has instructed us. Let’s take a look at Jeremiah 17:5-8 to reposition ourselves, our mindset.

Thus says the LORD,
“Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes flesh his strength,
And whose heart turns away from the LORD.
6″For he will be like a bush in the desert
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A land of salt without inhabitant.
7″Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD
And whose trust is the LORD.
8″For he will be like a tree planted by the water,
That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought
Nor cease to yield fruit.

No matter who is President or Governor or Senator, we must NOT put our trust solely in what they tell us. Each of them is a man or woman who has his or her own agenda. Each of them has a particular ideology and has the ‘charismatic’ ability to lead others to agree with them.

Unfortunately, the majority of our fellow citizens have no true moral compass. Most are duped by human secularism and disdain the mention of God. They put their trust in man and depend on the ‘flesh’ for their strength. As stated by the prophet Jeremiah, they are cursed.

There is no need for us, as Christian believers, to follow blindly. We need to put our trust where it will work. We need to keep our focus on Christ and fervently pray for our leaders. We cannot just ignore what they do; we must take a biblical, proactive role. We must keep our focus on the only source of strength and abundance, Christ. Pray for our leaders. No matter who they are, they need Christ.

Let’s suppose that you were at a large meeting, 50 to 100 people. What do you think the response would be if you asked for everyone who enjoyed criticism to raise his or her hand? From my own experience I would say that no one would respond to that question with a raised hand. You would probably hear a whole lot of mumbling and grumbling. What if you were to ask those in the meeting who hated criticism to raise his or her hand? There would probably be a loud whoosh sound from the raising of hands. Criticism, as we perceive it, is nothing more than an attack on our ideas and abilities. Most people think of criticism as the act of passing severe judgment. They see it as nothing more than censure or faultfinding. If you were to think back to your childhood, could you remember an instance where someone criticized you? I would venture to say that almost everyone can remember getting a severe rebuke or criticism that has left an indelible mark on them. I surely can remember several instances that happened years ago that had a strong negative impact on me.

I would do everything that I could to avoid criticism. This often limited my interaction with people, especially with those who I knew would be quick to point out things that I did not want to hear. Often when criticism was unavoidable, I simply counterattacked and defended my position. I was a master at rationalizing everything that I did or said. I could make excuses or, as often as possible, shift the blame to others.

After beginning my study of Solomon’s Proverbs, I began to understand that my position on criticism was faulty and needed some consideration. When I meditated on Proverbs 15:32 (The Amplified Bible) “He who refuses and ignores instruction and correction despises himself, but he who heeds reproof gets understanding,” I began to form a different opinion about criticism. I could see that ‘instruction’, ‘correction’ and ‘reproof’ all pointed to the same thing - criticism. The American Heritage Dictionary comments that Critique has been used as a verb meaning “to review or discuss critically” since the 18th century, but lately this usage has gained much wider currency, in part because the verb criticize, once neutral between praise and censure, is now mainly used in a negative sense.

I can definitely see that Solomon used the word ‘instruct’ and ‘instruction’ in the true essence of their meaning. In the Hebrew language ‘to instruct’ and ‘to discipline’ are interchangeable. Though it grated against my ego, I had to accept the fact that even negative ‘criticism’ could hold some positive information that I could use. I began to understand that my reaction to criticism was more damaging than the criticism itself.

As I progressed in my study of Solomon’s wisdom, I discovered Proverb 27:5, which literally revolutionized my concept of criticism. Proverbs 27:5 (NLT) “An open rebuke is better than hidden love!” When I began to wrap my mind around those words, I began a new episode in my ongoing journey to a successful life.

Do you remember when you first fell in love? Do you remember the sweetness of hearing the object of your affections whisper in your ear? Do you remember neatly folding the first note that you got from your first love and placing it in a safe place? I placed that note in my Bible and cherished it as though it were a priceless work of literary genius. Do you remember the first time that he or she leaned over and gave you your first kiss? These are all good memories of a first and secret love. I found it hard to believe that the wisest man who ever lived could say that an open rebuke could be better than those warm fuzzy feelings that I got from my first love encounter.

The more I considered Solomon’s Proverb, the clearer it became. I began to listen, without retaliation, to the criticism of others. This was not an easy thing to do considering the size and depth to which my ego had grown. I really had to force myself to listen and bite my tongue. As I listened to (not just heard) the criticisms of others, I began to see things about myself that were rather hard to face. I knew that, if this was not going to be an exercise in futility, I would have to not only listen but embrace the comments of others. I realized that they were telling me how I appeared to others. I saw the flaws in my ideas and opinions, which caused me to appreciate the criticism.

When I realized that by excluding my egotistical reactions, this criticism was actually helpful. When I trained myself to listen and not simply to retaliate from anger, I began to benefit from the view that others had of me. When I stopped allowing my feelings to be damaged every time that someone pointed out something that needed to be changed, instead of defended, I saw the change in my perception of myself. I liked it. This was giving me a different perspective and an enhanced view of ‘me.’

I began to consider all the time that I had spent trying to avoid criticism. What a lot of time I had wasted. We must all understand that Solomon’s concept of ‘criticism’ was different from the modern day concept. In the Hebrew of Solomon’s day, the word for reproof or criticism meant ‘disciplinary instruction.’ Today we have tried to soften the general concept of ‘criticism’ by referring to it as ‘constructive criticism.’

Solomon stated in Proverbs 1:29-33 a severe warning to those who refuse to listen to reproof or criticism. Proverbs 1:29-33(NKJV)”Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD, they would have none of my counsel and despised my every rebuke. Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled to the full with their own fancies. For the turning away of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil.” What this boils down to is that those who refuse counsel and criticism will have their own way, but without a doubt their way will be their downfall.

These days we hear a lot about ‘The Law of Attraction.’ I have read and re-read tons of informational websites, blog posts and testimonials for this ‘Wealth’ system. I agree with the majority of these principles, BUT, they have left out the PRIME ingredient. The essence of this Law of Attraction is attributed to ‘The Universe’. The only problem that I have with this is that, when ascribing to this principle, we are looking to a creation and not to the Creator.

At Jack Canfield’s website, it is stated “The Law of Attraction reveals The Secret to Everything you’ve ever wanted… Ever since the world found out about the Law of Attraction through the phenomenon of the movie, people from every corner of the globe have been asking Bob Proctor for more.” Unfortunately, this is not exactly accurate. Jesus Christ told us and Paul reiterated the basis for this principle many times.

He (Canfield) also has a quote from Vivekananda (1863 - 1902) “All the Powers of the Universe are Already Ours, It is We Who Have Put Our Hands Before Our Eyes and Cry that it is Dark!” This is such a very true statement. Even those who believe that they have been enlightened are still in the dark. They only imagine the light or simply ‘deny’ there state of darkness.

The Universe, in and of itself, only has the power that comes from the presence of the Creator of the Universe. The Creator, Jehovah God, created the Universe, applied the Law of Attraction and then gave the key that unlocks the power to those who love Him.

Christians have been taught to be subjective and to be victims of the enemy of mankind. Inadvertently, well meaning Christians in their attempt at piety, have crippled Christians and denied them the true source of the Law, any and all Law.

Through Christ we have been given dominion over all that is. We have been given, by Christs love and sacrificial offering, the power to literally ‘move mountains.’

2000 years ago Jesus stated (as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 6) that we should not worry about what we have to eat, what we have to wear or where we have to live. He told us to seek first the Kingdom of Heaven and then all of these will be added. He was telling us the true ’secret’ to the real Law of attraction. We need first to seek God and to learn everything that we can about Him. He even gave us a manual to do this, the Holy Bible.

When we seek Him first, we increase our faith in His desire to prosper us. His love and the wisdom that we seek will ‘attract’ His blessings. As far as I can discern, the Law of attraction churns into effect when we seek Him. When we become diligent students of His(the Creator of the Universe) Holy Wisdom, we will begin to attract His blessings and He will make us stewarde of His possessions (everything that exists.)

If you want to attract wealth, health and happiness, concentrate on the Creator and NOT the creation. You will win!

What should you be aware of when you look for God’s blessings in your life? Often, when a Christian tries going into busiess for himself, he hits wall after wall. When a Christian gets interested in affiliate marketing, he can expect difficulties. There are many factors in play and I want to make you aware of several things that you can expect.

One of the obsticles that needs to be overcome is the fear to begin. All of the statistics say that 97% of people who get into affiliate marketing or any Internet business will fail. Unfortunately, this is true. The biggest reason is the fact that most Internt Companies do not train their affiliate in effective marketing strategies. Most of these companies, even the legitimate ones simply do not offer the proper training. Some simply put old rehashed techniques that do not work. We discuss more of this at a later time.

I want to offer you some biblical advice. I want to reference the New Testament Book of Acts (The Acts of the Apostles.) In chapter 16 you will see the story of Paul and Silas as they try travel through Phillipi. There was a young girl, possessed by the spirit of divination, following them and proclaiming them to be representatives of the God Most High. They were on their way to a place of Worship and praise (the synagogue.) You see, the devil will meet you on your way to God’s worship and praise. He will intecept you on your way to your blessings and do everything he can to distract you and interupt you.

He will use everything he can to discourage you from reaching your destination (your success.) Do exactly what Paul did! Speak to that evil that is trying to discourage you. The devil will use family,
friends, your finances or any ‘familar’ thing that he can to keep you from pressing on. He will try to discourage you or to divert you on your path to God, your ultimate success. Speak to the evil, not to the person delivering the message. Press on. Make your mind up that, by the grace of God, you will succeed. Just don’t give up. Learn everything you can and press on!

I am convinced that those ‘experts’ and ‘gurus’ on the Internet have established themselves as ‘experts’ and ‘gurus’ by the amount and the quality of information that they offer. Those who garner the greatest success are those who are constantly ‘giving’ information, useful information, to their readers.

One principle of marketing that many fail to realize is the ‘trust’ principle. It does not matter how many wonderful products that one chooses to offer, success is a matter of trust. When you see successful products on the Internet, you see that there are hundreds or even thousands who are trying to flog the same product. The biggest problem, that problem that blocks success for so many, is the inane and useless marketing tactics that are pushed off onto the unsuspecting affiliates. You see the same ad copy and emails from those who are trying to advertise the same products that thousands of others are pushing.

I have found that those who are successful are those who have built a list of followers who ‘trust’ their opinion. They built their list of followers by many hours of writing articles and offering ‘expert’ advice. This takes time but, if you have the desire to have a successful Internet business, you need to start building a firm foundation now. One of the surest ways is to write as many ‘good’ information packed articles, and get them distributed, as you can.