I’ll be doing a webinar March 9th at 9 PM Eastern with Mark Roth of Offervault called SUPER Affiliate Strategies for Sustainable Businesses.

During the webinar I will discuss my strategies for earning hefty six-figure incomes every year since becoming an affiliate in 1998.

Topics include:

• Developing the right mind-set for long-term success
• Site-building strategies Less work, more reward – how to choose the
• best offers
• How to build mountains of free traffic
• And more…

Note: This webinar is available only to Offervault members. Join now.

Although I’ve really wanted one, I haven’t had a dog of my own since I was in my early teens. My excuses included being single,  constantly on the road and in hotels… yada, yada, yada.

Well, no more excuses.

I’m getting a Chocolate Labrador retriever puppy in 5 weeks and I can barely contain my enthusiasm! Granted, that should be ‘we’ as my friend Ed will be co-parenting, but I’ll be its adopted mommy, primary cuddler / walker / trainer and companion.

Shown right is a pic taken today of one of the pups from the litter, at just 24 days old.

Now here’s the problem. We can’t decide on a name.

Some of those proposed include:

• Mojo (after its dad)
• Marley
• Moccha
• Radar
• Webber
• Riley
• Bob

Got any better ideas? I’m asking for help because the 3 dogs I had as a kid were named Lucky, Snoopy and Rover — and I don’t want to make a similar mistake.

Although I was much too busy working on my new affiliate blogger training program over the past 17 days to take in much of the Olympics, I did watch enough coverage (opening ceremonies, skating, snowboard cross, grand slaloms, hockey games and the closing ceremonies) to not only be amazed by the stunning athletic feats but to be somewhat shocked by the number of flag-waving Canadians.

Whoa! That is so unlike us.

Yes, we love our country and its people – deeply.

But goodness knows that the best we can usually muster in times of national success is “YAY Canada!” immediately followed by an “I’m Sorry” for having been so forward as to proclaim our pride out loud – lest we offend the sensibilities of those who finished 300’s of a second later (and are still winners in every sense of the word).

And although I’m happy that more of my country folks will be sporting the red & white more proudly now, what really made the whole Vancouver Olympic event truly Canadian for me was the truly “Canadian” portion of show during the closing ceremonies.

They started by mocking the awkward malfunction that delayed the lighting of the indoor cauldron at the opening ceremony. A mime dressed as Mr. Fixit went through the motions of pulling the fourth arm of the massive cauldron from the floor of BC Place so that Catriona Le May Doa finally got her chance a chance to set the mechanical arm ablaze.

Now picture Michael Buble in a Mountie uniform with a typically Canadian backdrop of a log cabin and the Rocky Mountains singing “The Maple Leaf Forever”.

The scene then opened to typically Canadian clichés — giant inflated beavers, flying moose, Mounties, table-hockey players, Voyageur canoes pulled by lumberjacks, and dancing maple leaves.

It was SO Canadian – so self-deprecating and funny that I almost needed Pampers.

I dunno, maybe you have to be Canadian to understand it, but THAT’s what I love best about this country’s people — always on the ready to make fun of ourselves, even on the international stage.

It’s a beautiful thing.

Having said that, I say “YAY Canada” with no apology.

The Olympic ceremonies have just concluded and as much as I was thrilled to see Wayne Gretzky light the final torch, the most moving moments occurred for me during the reading of this poem by Shane Koyczan.

Click more to get the words to Shane’s poem.

We Are More

When defining Canada

you might list some statistics

you might mention our tallest building

or biggest lake

you might shake a tree in the fall

and call a red leaf Canada

you might rattle off some celebrities

might mention Buffy Sainte-Marie

might even mention the fact that we’ve got a few

Barenaked Ladies

or that we made these crazy things

like zippers

electric cars

and washing machines

when defining Canada

it seems the world’s anthem has been

” been there done that”

and maybe that’s where we used to be at

it’s true

we’ve done and we’ve been

we’ve seen

all the great themes get swallowed up by the machine

and turned into theme parks

but when defining Canada

don’t forget to mention that we have set sparks

we are not just fishing stories

about the one that got away

we do more than sit around and say “eh?”

and yes

we are the home of the Rocket and the Great One

who inspired little number nines

and little number ninety-nines

but we’re more than just hockey and fishing lines

off of the rocky coast of the Maritimes

and some say what defines us

is something as simple as please and thank you

and as for you’re welcome

well we say that too

but we are more

than genteel or civilized

we are an idea in the process

of being realized

we are young

we are cultures strung together

then woven into a tapestry

and the design

is what makes us more

than the sum total of our history

we are an experiment going right for a change

with influences that range from a to zed

and yes we say zed instead of zee

we are the colours of Chinatown and the coffee of Little Italy

we dream so big that there are those

who would call our ambition an industry

because we are more than sticky maple syrup and clean snow

we do more than grow wheat and brew beer

we are vineyards of good year after good year

we reforest what we clear

because we believe in generations beyond our own

knowing now that so many of us

have grown past what used to be

we can stand here today

filled with all the hope people have

when they say things like “someday”

someday we’ll be great

someday we’ll be this

or that

someday we’ll be at a point

when someday was yesterday

and all of our aspirations will pay the way

for those who on that day

look towards tomorrow

and still they say someday

we will reach the goals we set

and we will get interest on our inspiration

because we are more than a nation of whale watchers and lumberjacks

more than backpacks and hiking trails

we are hammers and nails building bridges

towards those who are willing to walk across

we are the lost-and-found for all those who might find themselves at a loss

we are not the see-through gloss or glamour

of those who clamour for the failings of others

we are fathers brothers sisters and mothers

uncles and nephews aunts and nieces

we are cousins

we are found missing puzzle pieces

we are families with room at the table for newcomers

we are more than summers and winters

more than on and off seasons

we are the reasons people have for wanting to stay

because we are more than what we say or do

we live to get past what we go through

and learn who we are

we are students

students who study the studiousness of studying

so we know what as well as why

we don’t have all the answers

but we try

and the effort is what makes us more

we don’t all know what it is in life we’re looking for

so keep exploring

go far and wide

or go inside but go deep

go deep

as if James Cameron was filming a sequel to The Abyss

and suddenly there was this location scout

trying to figure some way out

to get inside you

because you’ve been through hell and high water

and you went deep

keep exploring

because we are more

than a laundry list of things to do and places to see

we are more than hills to ski

or countryside ponds to skate

we are the abandoned hesitation of all those who can’t wait

we are first-rate greasy-spoon diners and healthy-living cafes

a country that is all the ways you choose to live

a land that can give you variety

because we are choices

we are millions upon millions of voices shouting

” keep exploring… we are more”

we are the surprise the world has in store for you

it’s true

Canada is the “what” in “what’s new?”

so don’t say “been there done that”

unless you’ve sat on the sidewalk

while chalk artists draw still lifes

on the concrete of a kid in the street

beatboxing to Neil Young for fun

don’t say you’ve been there done that

unless you’ve been here doing it

let this country be your first-aid kit

for all the times you get sick of the same old same old

let us be the story told to your friends

and when that story ends

leave chapters for the next time you’ll come back

next time pack for all the things

you didn’t pack for the first time

but don’t let your luggage define your travels

each life unravels differently

and experiences are what make up

the colours of our tapestry

we are the true north

strong and free

and what’s more

is that we didn’t just say it

we made it be.

From Ros: True north strong and truly free.. through our diversity and our collective compassion. Very proud to be Canadian on this day.

I just got back from a 19-day trip to Hawaii, during which I spent a grand total of 2 hours online — not by choice, or, at least not initially.

The first place at which we stayed, a vacation rental by owner on Kauai, had advertised the accomodation as having an Internet connection.

They lied.

UGH!!! I was mortified.

Since the trip happened hot on the heels of Affiliate Summit, when email correspondence typically increases due to plans and new connections made, I had planned to check my email every day while there.

So, I weighed my options.

I could either spend at least 2 hours a day driving to and from the Starbucks in Kapa’a to check my email or NOT check my email for 10 days.

I opted for the latter.

Why?

I was on vacation with friends, ‘vacation’ being the operative word.

Why waste fun, sun, sand and surf time doing business?

Any product that ‘can’t wait’ to be promoted isn’t a product in which I’m interested in promoting anyway. I like stuff that stands the test of time – things will be here today, tomorrow and in 5 or 10 years.

They can wait.

Time and living on the other hand don’t wait.

So why waste it doing business when you’re in a place where the sun is shining, the surf is churning and/or you’ve got an excellent book or 3 to read on your Kindle.

I had way more fun playing with my friends, hiking, picking oranges on the Plantation, boogy-boarding, watching whales breech and crabs chase stuff I tossed to them than I ever would have had writing a blog post… except maybe for this one.

Follow the rule — Work to live.