Real Life, Real Purpose!

Did you know that PayPal allows you to add a header or logo to the PayPal checkout process?

So here’s my question- If you’re collecting money via Paypal, why not set up a custom payment page?
If you are like me, I’m sure you’ve purchased many things from PayPal before and seen a company logo above the PayPal form. Just the fact that you saw a logo probably gave you more confidence and you trusted the company a little bit more.
Here’s how to set up your very own Custom Payment Page- It’s as easy as 1-2-3:

1. Login to your Paypal account and click the profile tab.
2. Then click “Custom Payment Pages”
3. Enter the Url for the image.

Actually we’re not quite finished because you’ll be prompted with this message:

Header Image URL - Please specify an image that is a maximum size of 750 pixels wide by 90 pixels high. Larger images will be cut to this size. The image you choose will appear at the top left of the payment page. We recommend providing an image only if it is stored on a secure (https) server.

It’s very important that you have your image hosted on a secure server so that your customers don’t get a unsecure message. So how do you set up the https server part?
You don’t have to pay for a Secure hosting account… There’s a simple solution from the file download site e-junkie.com.
You can create and store a secure image in seconds with SSLpic.com
Just upload your image and SSLpic sends you an email with the secure link. Here’s the image I uploaded for this site.
Now just set up the colors that you want.. Youll probably want the default white, or just enter: ffffff. There is also a handy little color picker for other colors. Just click on the color that you like and it will give you the color code.
That’s it!. Probably in less then 5 minutes. Next time you setup a product in Paypal, you just select your custom payment page from the drop down list in the product setup form…
That’s it.. Custom payment pages and probably slightly higher conversions.

Here is my solution to uploading the video that you will find at the bottom of this page. I first made this video using muvee. Muvee Reveal takes your photos, video and music and automatically creates your own highly polished personal muvee.

Actually we didn’t have a video, we only had pictures of a group who visited us in the remote mountains of Chiapas and performed some construction projects for the Tzotzil Indians near Chenahlo, Chiapas.

We chose to save my movie as an “avi” file in their best quality output. I then uploaded it to Youtube.

Here’s our YouTube video:

After seeing that we lost some of the quality using youtube. We then decided to convert it to a flash movie.

I asked Terry Dean, My personal coach how to convert avi to flash.

Here is his response:

“I have the full Dreamweaver CS3 development package that I use which
includes a Flash video converter that converts basically any video format
over into Flash.  That part is real easy to use while the rest of Dreamweaver
has a long learning curve (it is how I design sites).

I did a quick search for “avi to flash conversion” and found quite
a few potential software programs off the front page of Google.  I’m
not sure which one I could recommend as i have not used them.  Most
I’ll bet have a shareware version to try out.”

Since I use Microsoft Expression (I used to use frontpage) I decided to do a search for a tool to convert the file formats. I used Google as Terry recommended however I wanted to get some more advice. I went to this article at Lifehacker..com

Top 10 Free Video Rippers, Encoders, and Converters

What I found after searching Lifehackers 10 free progrmas was this download:

Any Video Converter (Freeware/Windows only)

Convert almost all video formats including DivX, XviD, MOV, rm, rmvb, MPEG, VOB, DVD, WMV, AVI to MPEG-4 movie format for iPod/PSP or other portable video device, MP4 player or smart phone with Any Video Converter, which also supports user-defined video file formats as the output. Batch process multiple files that AVC saves to a pre-selected directory folder, leaving the original files untouched. (LifeHacker entry)

Using the program was a super easy.

Now to upload my flash video to this blog. Since the video is 16,454 kb in Flash video format I decided that it would not be best to host it on my server.

Terry Dean reccomends AmazonS3 which is a little complicated. There is also a firefox extension called S3fox that lessons the pain of using the online file host.

However, I had problems using all of Amazons solution, probably because I lack the patience to try to learn new programs.

Terry likies the AmazonS3 alternative but I decided to go back and check Lifehacker again.  I found an article on the Gmail Drive.  GMail Drive is a Shell Namespace Extension that creates a virtual filesystem around your Google Mail account, allowing you to use Gmail as a storage medium. Download it here.

Here’s another online storage medium. Box.net

Box.net is the most secure, easy to use solution for managing and sharing files online. Learn more

You can also connect your gmail account to box.net which makes this a great alternative for online stoarge.

I am very happy with the new version of Firefox. Firefox is a very good alternative to the traditional internet explorer. Anyone serious about internet marketing should be using Firefox in my opinion. The add-ons are numerous and makes working on the internet a whole lot easier. The browser is absolutely free-

Aweber is the very best auto-reponder service availble on the internet today. All the top marketers use the service. AWeber’s automated unlimited autoresponder follow up increases sales, lowers costs, builds lasting customer relationships, and increases your profits!
Find out how with Unlimited Autoresponders.

Aweber also has a blog broadcast feature.

If you are like me you are wondering which rss feed address is the best to use when setting up a blog broadcast with aweber. Is it the feed broadcast that  ends in “rss” or  “atom?”
Is it this one?:
http://wwwreallifepurpose.com/blog/feed/rss/

or this one?:
http://www.reallifepurpose.com/blog/feed/atom/

Well, I asked aWebers customer service and this is the answer i got:

“Those both seem to be valid RSS feeds. I would recommend using:

http://www.reallifepurpose.com/blog/feed/rss/

as this seems to have a wider compatibility range. I checked this
using Feed Validator:

http://feedvalidator.org/”

Aweber had been very good about giving me excellent customer service.

You can sign up for Aweber’s service here

So the correct answer is that bot work but the bess is the address that ends in “RSS”

Since I now know the correct way to enter the RSS feed in the blog broadcast feature of aWeber. I now have set up the blog broadcast feature for Real Life Purpose.com and all my entries are set to automatically arrive in your inbox if you are a subscriber to my email list.

If you haven’t subscribed to my mailing list yet, why not try it out today. Besides the free products that I give away you will get some valuable information that will help you as you pursue your lifes purpose on the internet.

Enter your name and email address below to subscribe:

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Here is a list of interesting reading. I haven’t read all of these books however the first on the list is a must for anyone who is serious about marketing. You can get it for free by subscribing to this blog.
Advertising & Marketing

Scientific advertising Claude Hopkins
My life in advertising Claude Hopkins
Reality in advertising Rosser Reeves
Reason why advertising John E Kennedy
Intensive advertising John E Kennedy
The Lasker story Albert Lasker
Taken At The Flood (Albert Lasker Biograhy) John Gunther
My first 65 years in advertising Maxwell Sackheim
Power direct marketing Ray Jutkins
Communicating or just making pretty shapes Colin Wheildon
Type & Layout Colin Wheildon
Power of one to one Ian Kennedy & Bryce Courternay
How to write, speak and think more effectively Rudolf Flesch
The psychology of persuasion Robert Cialdini
Tested advertising methods John Caples
How to make your advertising make money John Caples
How to write a good advertisement Victor O Schwab
Or your money back Alvin Eicoff
Positioning Al Ries and Jack Trout
The 22 Immutable law of marketing Al Ries and Jack Trout
The new maximarketing Stan Rapp and Thomas Collins
Beyond maximarketing Stan Rapp and Thomas Collins
Direct marketing Edward Nash
Write language Allan Pease and Paul Dunn
Your marketing genius at work Jay Abraham
The Jay Abraham hot line transcripts Jay Abraham
The Jay day impact marketing material Jay Abraham
How to increase your profits in any economic climate Peter Sun
How to get rich in mail order Melvin Powers
Complex marketing made simple Bob Pritchard
Six step to FREE Publicity Marcia Yudkin
Persuading on paper Marcia Yudkin
How to Develop & Promote Successful Seminars & Workshops Howard Shenson
Direct Marketing Made Easy Malcolm Auld
Marketing with video Hal Landen
Endless Referrals Bob Burg
How to license, protect and promote your new product idea Judy Ryder
Confessions of an advertising man David Ogilvy
Ogilvy on advertising David Ogilvy
How to become an advertising man James Webb Young
The diary of an ad man James Webb Young
The art of writing advertising Dennis Higgins
How to get that “Just Right” headline James Gaw
The newspaper as an advertising medium James Gaw
A guide to successful newspaper advertising The Newspaper Advertising Bureau Of Australia
How to create and evaluate advertising that sells The Newspaper Advertising Bureau Of Australia
How to make the most of your advertising dollar The Newspaper Advertising Bureau Of Australia
Madison Avenue USA Martin Mayer
How to start and operate a mail order business Julian Simon
Mail order moonlighting Cecil Hoge
Great print advertising Tony Antin
The visual display of quantitative information Edward R Tufte
The complete guide to consulting success Howard Shenson & Ted Nicholas
How to write and speak better Readers Digest
Being direct – making advertising pay Lester Wunderman
The Lazy man’s way to riches Joe Karbo

Personal Development

Seven strategies for wealth and happiness Jim Rohn
Unlimited power Anthony Robbins
The giant within Anthony Robbins
Think and grow rich Napoleon Hill
The power of positive thinking Norman Vincent Peal
Enthusiasm makes the difference Norman Vincent Peal
How to win friends and influence people Dale Carnegie
Super Self Charles Givens
The essence of success Earl Nightingale
Born Rich Bob Proctor
The ultimate secret to getting absolutely everthing you want Mike Hernacki
Acres of diamonds Russell Conwell
As a man thinketh James Allen
Thick face – black heart Chin-ning Chu
You can have it all Mary Kay

Sales

How to win and keep customer Michael LeBoeuf
Ziglar on selling Zig Ziglar
Break the rules in selling Micheal Beer
The joy of winning Michael Beer
The guide to greatness in sales Tom Hopkins
The official guide to success Tom Hopkins
How to close every sale Joe Girard
How to sell yourself Joe Girard
The art of hard sell Robert L Shook
Sell to VITO (Very Important Top Officer) Anthony Parinello
How I raised myself from failure to success in selling Frank Bettger
How I multiplied my income and happiness in selling Frank Bettger
What they don’t teach you in sales 101 Steven Drozdeck
Sales Magic Kerry L Johnson
The ultimate sales letter Daniel Kennedy
Sales Secrets Harry Mills

Business and Business Management

A passion for excellence Tom Peters
The new economics W.Edwards Deming
Out of the crisis W Edwards Deming
Presentations PLUS David A Peoples
If it ain’t broke… Break it Robert Kriegel
Grinding it out Ray Kroc
Made in America Sam Walton
The autobiography of Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie
The Nordstrom Way Robert Spector
The world on time – FedEx James C Wetherbe
The Disney Touch Rod Grover
Unlimited Wealth – The theory and practice of economic alchemy Paul Zane Pilzer
God wants you to be rich Paul Zane Pilzer
Inside the tornado Geoffrey A Moore
Hardrive -Bill Gates Biography Part 1 James Wallace
Overdrive – Bill Gates Biography Part 2 James Wallace
Trump – The art of the deal Donald Trump
Rupert Murdoch Jerome Tuccille
Only the paranoid survive Andrew S Grove
The road ahead Bill Gates
You can negotiate anything Herb Cohen
Iacocca – An autobiography Lee Iacocca
Paradigms – The business of discovering the future Joel Arthur Barker
How to be rich J. Paul Getty
Be my guest Conrad Hilton
Awaken your business creativity Cyndi Kaplan
The E Myth revisited Michael Gerber
The start-up entrepreneur James R Cook
The rise and rise of Kerry Packer Paul Barry
Manage your time, manage your work, and manage yourself Merrill Douglas
Father Son & Co – My life at IBM Thomas J Watson JR
Goal Guts and Greatness Mark O Haroldson
McDonald’s - Behind the arches John Love
My year at General Motors Alfred Sloan
You will be satisfied Bob Tasca
Focus – The future of your company depends on it Al Ries
Winning through intimidation Robert Ringer
Common stocks and uncommon profits Philip Fisher
The intelligent investor Benjamin Graham

Barna Technology Study:
Social Networking, Online Entertainment and Church Podcasts

May 26, 2008

(Ventura, CA) When the Internet clicked into the public consciousness more than a decade ago, experts debated its usefulness and staying power. Now, few would argue that mobile devices and online technology have become deeply embedded in society. Millions of Americans have become dependent upon the new digital conveniences that provide them with entertainment, information, products, and content. The impact of these technologies on interpersonal relationships - a domain often called social networking - has begun to rewire the way people meet, express themselves, and stay connected.

A new study from The Barna Group explores social networking as well as how Americans use digital technology to get the products, services, and content they desire. The research identifies the mainstream - as well as emerging - platforms and practices. Additionally, the Barna study also examines how the Christian community engages with such technologies, including the use of church podcasts.

Electronic Communication

A cultural novelty a mere 15 years ago, email has become an essential part of culture and commerce. Currently, nearly four out of five Americans (78%) who access a computer have sent an email in the past week. As proof of its mainstream status, computer users over the age of 50 are just as likely as younger adults to use email.

By contrast, text messaging and instant messaging (IM) are used by smaller, though devoted segments of the population. One-third of computer users (33%) have used IM in the past week, while 30% of Americans have sent someone a text message via a mobile telephone. One of the reasons younger adults email rates are merely “average” compared to older residents is the younger set’s heavy reliance on IM’ing and texting to stay connected.

Facebook, MySpace and the Blogosphere

The Internet helps individuals express themselves. Millions of Americans have taken advantage of this, launching personal websites and blogs (short for “weblogs”). While these personal venues for self-expression have become a significant feature of the online landscape, most Americans remain on the digital sidelines: just one-quarter of computer users (23%) has a personal webpage or home page on a social networking site (such as Facebook or MySpace).

Even fewer adults have a personal blog where they communicate their ideas and experiences (10% of Americans with regular access to a computer). Interestingly, an even higher proportion of computer users (14%) had posted a comment on another person’s blog in the last week.

Blogging has not reached the “tipping point” towards becoming a mainstream activity (an emerging technology is often thought to “tip” toward majority use when the penetration reaches 20% or more of the population). Still, there are an estimated 16 million American adults who use their blog as a pulpit to broadcast their voice to the world. Blogs are most common among single adults, Northeast residents, homosexuals, those not registered to vote, and atheists and agnostics.

One other insight related to blogs is the sheer devotion many bloggers find in the pursuit, rarely letting their online journals grow dark. More than seven out of 10 people who have a blog update the online journal at least once a week.

Finding Information, Content and Entertainment

Not surprisingly, the promise of the Internet - instant access to ubiquitous information - is not lost on Americans. Searching for information or content is easily the most common online activity of the 15 assessed in the study. In all, more than eight out of 10 computer users had snapped up information via the Web in the last week (84%).

Compared to online search habits, a less common activity is online purchasing. Still, the Internet has become a viable and widely used retail channel, tallying one-quarter of computer users (27%) who have completed an online purchase in the last week.

With more people than ever using high-speed connections, watching online videos has also become an important feature of the inter-connected digital world. Overall, one-quarter of computer users (26%) reported watching a video via the Internet in the previous seven days. This was twice as common as downloading music in the past week (13% of users).

Two of the activities examined were rarely undertaken by Americans. As yet, downloading movies is still a limited activity among computer users (just 2% in the past week). Also, just 4% of adults admitted to viewing pornography or adult content in the last week.

The Socially Networked Church

People within the Christian community are just as immersed in (and dependent upon) digital technologies and social networks as are those outside of it. Both evangelical Christians and other born again Christians emerged as statistically on par with national norms when it came to each of the 15 different areas that were studied. In other words, matters of faith played very little role in differentiating people’s technological habits.

One exception was access to spiritual content via podcasting, which not surprisingly found a more eager audience among Christians than non-Christians. The study found that 38% of evangelicals and 31% of other born again Christians had listened to a sermon or church teaching via digital recordings available on the Internet (often called a “podcast”), compared with 17% of other adults. In macro-terms, an enormous audience of roughly 45 million Americans reports going digital to acquire church sermon and teaching content. In all, one out of every four adults - 23% - said they downloaded a church podcast in the past week.

The profile of people who had listened to sermon podcasts cut across generational lines, with older adults just as likely as young residents to listen in. Residents of the South (31%) were twice as likely as those in the Northeast (14%) to access church podcasts. Similarly, Protestants (32%) were more intrigued by such content than were Catholics (18%) and the same held true for non-mainline attenders (38%) compared to mainline Protestants (16%). African-Americans (50%) were very loyal listeners, especially when contrasted with Asians (14%). Furthermore, those who are economically downscale (35%) were more likely to listen to church podcasts than were upscale adults (10%).

Subgroup Insights

The analysis of differing demographic and psychographic groups provided several intriguing patterns:

# Political liberals were among the most active users of technologies. They were more likely than the norm to have a personal homepage, to maintain a blog, to post comments on other people’s blogs, and to watch online videos as well as above average in their use of search, texting, and email.

# Generally, never-married adults were more likely than married adults to rely on social network technologies. However, the one exception to this pattern was among parents of children under 18. The tech gap between parents and singles was much narrower when it came to use of texting, downloading music, and IM’ing. Perhaps parents pursue these areas more aggressively to keep up with their technologically hyper-active children.

# The technology gaps by generation were impressive. The researchers categorized “mainstream” technology as those used by 50% or more of the population, while “emerging” technology represented penetration of 20% to less than half. Among Elders (ages 62+), two out of the 15 areas were deemed mainstream (email and search), while another two domains were emerging (IM and online purchases). Boomers (ages 43 to 61) had two mainstream categories and four emerging areas. Busters (ages 24 to 42) had four mainstream and four emerging technologies. The nation’s youngest adults, Mosaics who are 23 and under, were easily the furthest along in their adoption of these technologies. Mosaics had eight mainstream categories and another three deemed to be emerging. In other words, out of the 15 areas of technology assessed in the research, Elders widely embraced or were becoming comfortable with four, Boomers with six, Busters with eight, and Mosaics with 11.

Technology Influence?

The research was given context by David Kinnaman, the lead researcher on the project. “Church leaders have to strike the delicate balance between the spiritual and cultural potential of tech tools without surrendering to the false promise of these tools. Having the means of reaching the masses - for instance, through podcasting - is a good thing. Yet, nothing matches the potency of life-on-life discipleship. In this respect, social networking and blogs can be effective tools to intimately connect with a small, natural network of relationships. The key is using the technology to in a way that is consistent with your calling and purpose, not just an addictive self-indulgence.”

Kinnaman, the president of The Barna Group, also pointed out the need for a more intentional and broad discussion within the Church about how technology shapes its users. “One recent study we completed among teenagers showed that just 9% of church-going teens had learned something helpful about technology in their church during the past year. As each new generation becomes increasingly enmeshed with technology, these discussions and choices cannot be left to chance. Control, image, relevance, immediacy, transparency, purity, truth, stewardship, and escapism are some of the many issues that technology brings to the surface, not always with benign consequences.

“On the positive side, however, technology can empower and engage people, across generations, socio-economic segments, and physical boundaries. Young people, for instance, think of themselves as creators of content, not merely consumers of it. Technology, in essence, gives them a voice and fuels their search for calling. Whether or not you welcome it, technology creates an entirely new calculus of influence and independence. The stewardship of technology as a force for good in culture is an important role for technologists, entrepreneurs, educators, and Christian leaders.”

About the Research

This report is based upon two nationwide telephone surveys conducted by The Barna Group with random samples of adults, age 18 and older. These surveys were conducted in July-August 2007 and December 2007. The August survey involved interviews with 1000 adults; the December survey included 1005 adults. The maximum margin of sampling error associated with the aggregate sample for each of those surveys is ±3.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. Statistical weighting was used to calibrate the sample to known population percentages in relation to demographic variables.

“Born again Christians” are defined as people who said they have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today and who also indicated they believe that when they die they will go to Heaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. Respondents are not asked to describe themselves as “born again.”

“Evangelicals” meet the born again criteria (described above) plus seven other conditions. Those include saying their faith is very important in their life today; believing they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with non-Christians; believing that Satan exists; believing that eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works; believing that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; asserting that the Bible is accurate in all that it teaches; and describing God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today. Being classified as an evangelical is not dependent upon church attendance or the denominational affiliation of the church attended. Respondents were not asked to describe themselves as “evangelical.”

“Downscale” adults were defined as those who did not attend college and whose annual, pre-tax household income is $20,000 or less.

“Upscale” adults are people who have completed a four-year degree and whose annual, pre-tax income exceeds $60,000.

The Barna Group, Ltd. (which includes its research division, The Barna Research Group) conducts primary research, produces media resources pertaining to spiritual development, and facilitates the healthy spiritual growth of leaders, children, families and Christian ministries. Located in Ventura, California, Barna has been conducting and analyzing primary research to understand cultural trends related to values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors since 1984. If you would like to receive free e-mail notification of the release of each new, bi-monthly update on the latest research findings from The Barna Group, you may subscribe to this free service at the Barna website www.barna.org.

Google has recently improved their web site service and the best thing about it is that it is free.

Here’s Google’s description:

Google Sites makes it easy for anyone to create and manage simple, secure group websites. You can create and publish new pages with the click of a button, edit web pages like documents, and move content and pages around as you please. Information is stored securely online, and you decide who can edit or view the site. Google Sites is powerful enough for a company intranet, yet simple enough for a family website.

This is an easy option for making your own web page and it is also fun.

I made a page over a year ago, the service has greatly improved since then.

Go to Google Sites.

As I said, here’s what you can do:

If you are already a Google member, then creating your first Google Site will be quick and easy to get your free website.

Here is what you can do:

• Single-click page creation
• No HTML required
• Customizable look and feel
• Settings for accessing and sharing information
• And it’s free!

You can also get their whole Google Apps tool set.

Google Apps gives everyone at your organization a custom email address, tools for word processing, spreadsheets and presentations, a shared calendaring system and access to a flexible intranet system. Standalone security and compliance services are also available.

Hope you have a great time with it!

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Dear Friend,

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Believe me, there ARE things you should know because up till now, the majority of trainers try to train every dog the same…but they’re not exactly the same. They have different personalities. What works for one may not be the best choice for another breed. Since most Golden Retriever owners are completely unaware of these differences, I want to make sure I don’t leave anything out. And that’s why I’m offering you a Special Deal for your help.

Click Here to Receive Your Free eBook Just For Participating in My Survey

This is a limited offer and is only available for the first 100 participants and then the survey link will be removed

I’m putting together an ebook on how to train Golden Retrievers specifically and I want to make sure I answer your most difficult questions. As a thank you for participating in this survey, you’ll receive a FREE copy of the book when finished, no strings attached. The value of this training course is $49, but you will receive your copy at no cost for completing this survey.

Here’s a small sample of what you’ll receive:

• Discover how to house train your Golden Retriever in just a few days.

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• Train your dog to do tricks- My Golden Retriever sits, shakes hands, rolls over, crawls, sneezes on command, Understands 3 languages(?) and kills over dead when I say “Bang!”

• Maximize your Golden Retrievers natural obedience qualities to walk beside you without a lease, stay until called no matter the situation, and never jumping on people!

• You’ll also discover how to avoid embarrassing situations with visitors. Put a stop to licking, humping or even smelling crotches!

Click here to participate in my survey and receive your Free eBook

The report will be delivered to you in an electronic format, so please make sure I have your correct email address

Thanks so very much for your input, I really appreciate it!

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P.S. And as soon as the course is finished I will send your Free Copy!

Click here to participate in my survey and receive your Free eBook