Spam Filter Blues

Have you ever heard the saying, "A good apple gone bad?"


I think it typically applies to humans but in this case, I'm going to talk about Spam Filters. I know that there are a lot of annoying people out there who create questionable emails and somehow blast it out to the universe expecting someone to go, "Oh, hey I've always wanted to buy vitamins from an unknown resource, I think I'll click through." Or worse yet, "I've always wanted to enlarge my XYZ [you get the picture], maybe I should get this."


Who the heck purchases that stuff anyway? I don't know. But thank goodness our server companies have spent countless hours and millions of dollars trying to prevent that gross stuff from arriving in our inboxes.


But somewhere in our over-zealousness at protection we have gone too far and even the good stuff can't get through! Ay carumba. Here are a couple of ways that our over-zealous spam protection is costing me now:


- My graphic designer couldn't receive emails from ANYONE with a successconnections.com address for 2 weeks. She had no idea we had asked her to start a project and so we were over 2 weeks behind on a critical project. Very painful!


The fix? She had to manually call her server company and "white list" all of our domain names. Even though her server company told her repeatedly that there were no problems this was the only thing that worked.


- My good friend and internet marketing colleague tried repeatedly to email me for weeks. It was about a joint venture we had discussed and she could not get her email out. In desperation, she finally had to have her assistant call me (that was probably about a $40 phone call) and get the message to me.


The fix? We don't know yet. Apparantely they have some spam server issues with their system they are trying to get fixed.


I could go on and on but you get the point. I guess I'm just a bit peeved that these "yahoos" are out there screwing up the system for the rest of us legit businesses.


Here are a couple of pointers though:


Be careful when you report spam. If you use Yahoo, AOL, MSN or any of the free email services and report "spam" email, be sure it isn't something you signed up for and forgot about. It can take months for a internet business to clear their name off a black list. It's better if you just "unsubscribe."


White list preferred email senders. If you sign up for a valuable ezine, online product or even have a friend you want to talk with via email, take 2 minutes and "white list" them as an approved email. Your email provider should have a link or instructions on how to do that.


Follow these steps to identify the real problem. If you can't get an email from someone, isolate the problem. My virtual webmaster, Adam Hommey, put together this trouble shooting process for us:

• Identify the e-mail address they are trying to send to


• Save the "bounceback" message and fax or email to your webmaster or email server company.


• Identify the IP address(es) of the local internet connection of the person (s) having the problem (go to http://www.dnsstuff.com/ and look up the multi-part number displayed along the top of the screen)

Why Successful People Have A Coach

It is a Monday at 8:15 am and I'm half way through my workout. My personal fitness coach, Matt, is kicking my butt (again.) I've just stepped onto a machine that I hate -- it's a pull up machine. Matt is standing next to me saying, "Come on, you can do it. Breathe Melanie, breathe!" Every time Matt putts this machine in my workout I grumble because it is hard, uncomfortable and totally infuriating.

But as I laid down on the mat for another round of abdominal crunches, it dawned on me...my coaches are the reason I accomplish such huge results in my life. I have a coach for my mind and a coach for my body. Both of them challenge me to do and be more than I ever would for myself.

Today, Matt gave me a reward. We did my measurements and body fat. In the last 30 days I've lost 2 lbs of body fat and gone down more than an inch in my waist (that's good progress for me!)

I was ecstatic and pumped so I jumped on the elliptical machine for another 20 minutes of cardio. When we feel like we are accomplishing results, we naturally want to do more!

Why am I telling you this?

Because this is why successful people hire coaches. Coaches challenge you to do more, work harder and accomplish greater results than you ever could on your own.

Now, I'm not someone who likes to work out but the benefits are tremendous. Left to my own devices, I may muster up the stamina for a 15 minute walk around my neighborhood. With my fitness coach, I have accountability, focus and the drive I need to truly accomplish my desired results. With my personal coach, I work on blind spots, challenges and obstacles that I might just as soon not address.

The combined results -- I have more energy and stamina. I am focused and clear on my high payoff activities. I accomplish major results in my life and my business.

On the days I don't want to exercise are the days I'm most grateful for my fitness coach. These are the days I really don't feel like doing what is best for my body. I'd rather cozy up to my computer and just work my buns off all day. But when you have accountability to someone else, you show up, you do the work, and you reap the rewards!

I've also noticed that I will accomplish more with my coach's challenge than I would do on my own. It's quite easy to fall into a comfort trap -- doing just enough to get by. But with my coach challenging me to do a few extra repetitions and pile on another 5 lbs, I catapult my results forward.

One more thing. There have been months that I felt like I couldn't afford my fitness coach (I also have a personal coach too.) In the beginning it was a HUGE stretch to commit to a big monthly "expense." I realized that successful people hire coaches to challenge them to accomplish more. It is not an expense -- it is an investment in my health, sanity and desired results. Without my coaches, I would not be able to perform at the top of my game consistently.

How about you? Do you have a coach that challenges you to achieve more? Share it in the comments.

Do you need a coach? Maybe one of our coaches will be a good fit for you. Visit www.successconnections.com for an overview of our coaching programs.

Michael Gerber's In the Dreaming Room

This last weekend I attended an event with Michael Gerber, author of the E-Myth Revisited. The event is a huge departure from his past ventures of teaching entrepreneurs to systemize and automate their businesses but let me explain why...

A few months ago when my friend Mitch Meyerson and I interviewed Gerber on the "In The Dreaming Room" concept. The interview (which you can access at www.successconnections.com/gerber) really compelled me to rethink my own vision so I signed up for his 2 1/2 day event.


The appeal for me was the focus of "Dreaming" based on Walt Disney's "Dreaming Room" concept. The idea is that to truly create a world of meaning AND profit, we must connect with our most authentic and truthful vision of real success. And most of the time, the current vision we have been creating is just a smoke screen -- something we created based on a limited understanding of who we really are in this world.
So here is my personal experience of the workshop.

1. I met some awesome people.
   
2. Being with business owners who study and implement Gerber's E-Myth model really opened my eyes to a whole new dimension of possiblities.
   
3. My"hot seat" really got me thinking. I was one of the first people to get a hot seat so I had the disadvantage of not really having 2 days of watching others. I shared my vision for wanting to build an entrepreneurial education system for young adults. Gerber challenged me to really think through my business model. Then he went into coaching mode and completely lost me. Not sure I liked that part (nor did most of the people there) but the overall experience was worth every uncomfortable moment. =-)

I'd love to know if you decide to attend...the event is very provacative...very insightful...and very different than anything Gerber has done before. You can find upcoming dates available at www.meetmichaelgerber.com.