The Difference between Urgent and Important

In Stephen Covey’s book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” Stephen talks about the difference between Urgent and Important matters, and how dividing our time between these two types of activities or tasks can make us more effective or less effective.
It’s amazing how something that comes up can urgently demands our attention almost always seems to appear important. But is it really? Understanding how to distinguish the two as separate has really been an eye-opening experience for me and has helped me prioritize how I spend my time each day.
Urgent matters demand our immediate attention; we react to them urgently, drop everything now to deal with this matter. It could be something as simple as answering the phone when it ring while we are in the middle of working on and article that requires our focus and concentration.
If you have friends like me I’m sure you have one who’s permanently and constantly in crisis mode, constantly putting out fires, busy, busy, busy running around from one crisis to another. Now, have you noticed, that this person is frequently stuck somewhere falling short of their goals because they never have the time to get to the things they say really matter to them?
Now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that urgent matters are always not important. A true crisis must be given the attention it requires. But a task—something like checking and replying to emails every time one comes in to your inbox-must must wait so you can work on the actual important issues that will get you closer to your goals
Important activities or task are those that help us get closer to the goals we have set for ourselves. Important activities or tasks frequently are things we must do on our own initiative, without some kind outside condition creating a sense of importance. Important things or issues come in all sizes, but usually require planning and great effort, sometimes simply to prevent situations from becoming urgent. For example, taking care of your own finances now is important because it could help you avoid a future consumed by debit brought on my years of careless over spending. (I keep a monthly budget and I regularly track and update my monthly budget since having this epiphany!)
By ignoring these important Activities or tasks early in the day or early in life, they always have a way of escalating into urgent issues.
If you’ve read this far it’s probably become apparent that one thing that’s extremely important is to separate important activities or tasks from the urgent ones and to assign them the appropriate time to deal with them. Once you’ve decided that something is important, it is your responsibility to assign a sense of urgency to it and make sure you get it done. If you’re an entrepreneur like I am, think about all the aspects of your business that are urgent as opposed to important. Consider doing what is did by delegating urgent tasks an assistant. My effectiveness dramatically increased 100 folds because I start spending by far the greatest percentage of my time attending to the important activities or task that did two things, increase profit and grow my business. If you take care of the important activities or task you’ll keep them from becoming urgent and reduce the amount of time dedicated to crisis management in your business and personal life.As a close friend once said to me, time for mortals is finite. In fact, we never really know when we’ll run out of it. To make matters more complicated, there turns out to be truth in the old saying that you never have enough time to do everything you’d like to do. So you really must decide what is important to you, and then take care of business!

Who is Dario Lorenzo

Dario Lorenzo
Streamline Marketing System
Vancouver BC V6Z 3B8
604 688 2521
http://www.streamlinemarketingsystem.com/

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How to Invest in Today's Market

While depressed stock prices present lots of opportunity, your long-term investing strategy shouldn't change with the times.

By Walter Updegrave, Money Magazine senior editor
June 4, 2009: 6:09 AM ET
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NEW YORK (Money) -- Question: I believe that along with a recession comes a great opportunity to invest and make significant long-term gains. I'm under 30, I contribute to my 401(k) plan and I'm willing to take risks. What are my best options in today's market? --Lyle, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Answer: Hey, I'm with you. Although they can be painful, recessions not only wring a lot of the excesses out of the economy and markets, they also set the stage for people who invest in stocks that have been pummeled to potentially earn some impressive gains.

For example, if you had invested in stocks in December, 1974, which was the trough of the severe 1973-1975 recession, you would have earned a 37% return over the next year, a 16% annualized gain over three years and 15% annualized for the five years ending in December, 1979. That's a huge increase over stocks' compound annual return of roughly 10% since the mid-1920s.

That said, I'm not a big believer in trying to exploit the economy's recovery for even bigger gains by targeting your investing toward specific industries, sectors or other niches.

If you're really interested in building a nest egg over the course of your career that will sustain you in retirement, I think the best course is to adhere pretty much to the same investing strategy today that you would (or should) employ at any other time -- that is, maintain a broadly diversified blend of different types of stocks or stock funds, and throw in some bonds or bond funds for stability.

I realize that this puts me at odds with much of the investing world -- both financial firms and the investment "punditocracy" that espouses its views in articles, blogs and cable TV appearances. Much of what you hear or read nowadays consists of people trying to predict what sorts of stocks or funds might deliver outsize gains as we emerge from recession.

Indeed, recent research from Wasatch Funds makes the case that small-cap stocks are the place to be when the economy is coming out of recession. The report notes that small-caps have outperformed large-caps by almost a two-to-one margin (34% vs. 18%) in the year following the last nine recessions.

And a new study by Russell Investments says that value stocks typically beat growth shares in the early periods of an economic expansion, and that this tendency is strongest in small-caps.

I have no reason to doubt the information in either report. But having read them, I'm not going to run out and load up on small company stocks, value shares or, in an attempt to get the best of both worlds, small-company value stocks.

Why? Well, it's easy when you're looking backward to know when you should have gotten into small-caps or any other sector. After all, with the benefit of hindsight you know exactly when past recessions ended. But we don't know when this recession will end (or, for that matter, whether it already has). So when, exactly, do you move into small caps? Now? A month from now? Two months? Get in too early -- or too late -- and the extra gains might be smaller or might not materialize at all.

Besides, it's not as if all economic and market cycles play out exactly the same. In fact, the Russell report notes that the 2001 recession was an anomaly compared to the other three it examined, and thus resulted in a very different pattern of small-cap growth vs. value returns.

Given the stock market's strong rebound (so far at least) from its March lows, it's understandable that many people are beginning to regain a bit of confidence about investing in stocks. In general, that's a good thing.

But let's not get overly exuberant here. If anything, the events of the past year or so have shown that we're not exactly savants when it comes to predicting short-term investment performance.

So while I'm still confident in stocks' ability to deliver robust gains over the long-term -- especially when you buy them at depressed levels in the wake of a crash -- I'm not inclined to make big bets that a particular sector of the market will outperform another over a relatively short period of time. I'm just not convinced that investors -- pros or regular Joes -- are prescient enough to make such calls and nimble enough to get in and out at the right time.

Bottom line: If you want to capitalize on this recession to boost the eventual value of your 401(k), contribute as much as you can and maintain a diversified mix of stocks and bonds that's appropriate for your age and risk tolerance.

Given your age, that will probably mean investing between 80% and 90% of your 401(k)'s assets in stocks. Believe me, that's plenty enough risk. You don't need to compound it by engaging in a guessing game about which segment of the market might deliver the biggest gains in the next year or two.

Want a Money Makeover? E-mail us at makeover@moneymail.com.


Who is Dario Lorenzo http://www.squidoo.com/dario-lorenzo


Dario Lorenzo
Streamline Marketing System
Vancouver BC V6Z 3B8
604 688 2521
www.streamlinemarketingsystem.com
http://www.myspace.com/473417936

Why "Carbon Copy Pro Requires an Application

Jeff Learner is my coach and mentor and he will explain why you need to go through the Application Process.

To complete your Application click here.

We simply can't work with everyone. Remember, for things to change for you, YOU have to change. And you'll have to do so ASAP. Jeff and I help you. No worries. Jeff has helped and coached many already...and the numbers are growing daily...It's your turn.

Remember, included with your Application Kit is the breakthrough "Inside Out" DVD (a $149 stand alone value). This was filmed to show you the "insider secrets" to making a five-figure monthly income ($10k or more per month) from home in the 21st Century by industry legends Jay Kubassek and Mike Dillard "Inside Out" Preview .

To complete your Application click here.

Remember your application fee is 100% refundable and you still get to keep the DVD and work book.

Dedicated To Your Success!

Dario Lorenzo

BIB Consultants

Carbon Copy Pro

Dario’s Phone: (604) 688 2521

Who is Dario Lorenzo

P.S. If you're ready for a business with 80% profit margins,no employees, no inventory, no overhead, and a proven marketing system then apply right now to join my exclusive marketing team at Streamline Marketing System.

This is not MLM or any other Mickey Mouse business model. This is the same system I use to generate over $4,000 in the month of May. Visit Streamline Marketing System right away for more info.

Discovering how working from home will give you freedom

The future of the workplace is certainly changing. There are a lot of new rules that are changing where and when we work.
Social media sites like twitter, facebook and MySpace are changing the way we interact in life with our friends and business. Searching for “the conversation” on twitter, and with tools like google trends, are transforming the old rules of marketing.
There seems to be a new trend in the way people and businesses are work. I see more and more people discovering passive income and how pointless it is to trade time for money. Then again, it makes much more sense to evaluate the difference of value by way of results. For a few years now Best Buy has been transforming the work place with it’s “results-only work environment.”
More companies and managers are discovering it doesn’t make much sense to pay and employee for their presence. The value the employee provides is the real measurement of worth and this employee does not need to be in a cubicle in an office.
Whether it’s through self-employment or being employed there are a many benefits to cutting ties with at work cubicle nation.
Work anywhere. This is the most obvious one. If you’re liberated from your “assigned station,” you’re free to work anywhere with WiFi. Some of the managers at Best Buy often work in the middle of a fishing trip or from a secluded cabin the middle of a ski resort. It’s not that their work is cutting into their personal time, it’s giving employees the ability to take these trips and choose where they work.
Complete control of the design of your workspace. While I’ve never worked anywhere that rules about the Do’s and Don’ts for cubicle or office decor, I know there are some unspoken and understood rules. If wanted a giant exotic car poster with a sexy blond in a bikini, that probably wouldn’t be acceptable. If you wanted to work in your underwear or listen to Howard Stern, that probably wouldn’t be allowed either. If you work from home, anything goes. It’s not like the absence of beige or fluorescent lighting will make you sad. (If it does, I recommend you seek help form a mental health professional.)
Less distractions. This might sound kind of odd, because when you first think about it, you might think there would be more distractions at home, not less. But once you start working form home the opposite is true, at least for me. No more co-worker drivebys, impromptu meetings, and annoying cubicle mates who like to yell to everyone from across the office are constant distractions and interruptions. At home you might have temptations to watch TV, but at least you have control total control over these distractions.
Flexible time. You decide when you start and finish work. You decide when its play time. You’re liberated from the clock and you set your schedule. You may have certain projects, meeting or deadlines you must attend to, but you have total flexibility as to when you work on them.
More focus on results, not presence. When you’re focused on results, you have a tendency to care more about quality of your work. When you’re focused on presence, you have a tendency to resent the work you’re doing. You’re focused on being there but not on what you’re doing. More energy is spent thinking about when your next break, or lunch is, or when you get to go home.
6. Time with loves ones. This is the number one reason why people start a business. Whatever day it is it's the only day you'll ever get to spend with them. So spend this day close to the people you love!
Workout at your desk. How many times have you wanted to take a break and go for a quick workout but you are not able because your gym is a 15 minute drive or more form work? I can’t count how many times I’ve wanted to take a break and workout during work. Since I work from home I just do push-ups, sit-ups, or whatever. You can easily solve this problem by Working from home?
8. No Commute. Actually, you might have a commute - from your bedroom to your home office (which may even be in your bedroom!). The average working person wastes just about 10% of their week getting to and from work. What could you do with that extra time? Spend time with your kids, make a life long dream come true, exercise, learn a new language….what would you do?
Choose your own hours. Work at a time that makes sense to you and there is actually work that has to be done, not just because of what a boss says. Imagine a work environment where you can go to work, knock out your day’s workload, and leave once you are done! How many hours do you spend at your job trying to look busy? Deliberately dragging out projects so you won't get bored in the downtime and your boss thinks you are working hard? What a ridiculous way to live but try telling your boss that you are finished with all your work load so you'd like to take a half day off to go to the beach...What would happen if you did this every day?

My goal is to simply highlight the options that often go unnoticed or untapped. I think the best solution is to find a balance between your work life and your personal life while becoming as efficient and productive as one can.

I recommend you real The Four Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss

Working from home is not for everyone and there are pitfalls to being self employed and telecommuting. Creating barriers between work-time and personal-time, and a lack of social interaction, are a couple that come to mind.

I work from home and I love it. I am only presenting you with options. I would say that where we often think there are no options we later find the existence of tremendous field of possibilities, if we have the courage to challenge our beliefs.

Where we often only see walls, there are no walls at all. They are simply opportunities for us to grow.
As to how to convince your boss to let you work from home, just ask to do a trial of one day a week for four weeks to see how it goes. If your productivity improves on those days, it will be leverage for you and an incentive to your boss to continue your experiment. You may have to show up some days for mandatory meetings or for a need to be in the office, but working from home one or two days a week can make a big difference.

For more information go to http://www.streamlinemarketingsystem.com/


Dario Lorenzo
Streamline Marketing System
Vancouver BC V6Z 3B8
604 688 2521
http://www.streamlinemarketingsystem.com/
http://www.myspace.com/473417936
http://www.facebook.com/business/dashboard/?ref=sb#/pages/Streamline-Marketing-System/95158043456
http://twitter.com/dariolorenzo
http://www.squidoo.com/dario-lorenzo

Ideas and Action

Anyone can have a great idea, lots of them: million dollar ideas; ideas that will change their life; ideas that will change other people’s lives; ideas that will change the world. But any idea that stays on the chalkboard is worth only the chalk it’s written with.

What’s missing for most people is decisive action and disciplined follow-through to take their ideas from concept to reality. Here is how I have turned a lot of my “million dollar ideas” into millions of dollars.

Take some form of productive action daily.It could be something as simple as googling a phone number or doing some basic research–something that takes you closer to your goal. Be careful though, being “busy” does not necessarily mean you are taking action; action takes you measurably closer to your goal. When a task, idea, or goal is so big or challenging that you can’t move on it, break it down into small steps that you can take action on daily. Ideas don’t count as building blocks, only actions do. Considering this, how is the construction on your house of dreams coming?

Be scrappy, resourceful and do it yourself.No one is going to have the same passion that you have for your idea and no one will be willing to invest as much time, energy and passion in making it happen as you. If you have to, make your action steps smaller, but do not quit or allow yourself to stall when tough circumstances appear. Persistence and patience are key to solving your entrepreneurial puzzles. I have no formal education on business or marketing yet almost very major accomplishment and entrepreneurial success I have had in the last five years came by figuring it out and doing it myself. All you do-it-yourselfers know there is no substitute for the school of hard knocks.

Don’t wait to take action until you have the perfect conditions.Circumstances, conditions and timing are seldom perfect. That’s why all of the successful entrepreneurs that I know create their own circumstances as they need them. Just like with travel, the quickest way to get to your destination is the most direct route. If that means figuring it out and doing it yourself sometimes, so be it.

Seek guidance from people who already have the results you want.I personally have about a dozen people I look up to in all different areas of life and business. People that have the results that I want to achieve whom I look to emulate as closely as possible. These people don’t even know that are on my imaginary board of directors. Leveraging other people’s knowledge and experience will help you cut down on mistakes and accelerate the process.

Put productivity over procedure.People can take months batting ideas around, preparing a business plan, consulting accountants and attorneys, getting a business entity set up, etc. I see people stuck in the “getting-ready-to-get-ready” mode all the time. (I made my first million before I actually had an accountant or business entity set up. Not recommended.) But hey, I made my first million, and my last million by taking action on my ideas. You should try it.

By Jay Kubassek

Dario Lorenzo

Streamline Marketing System

Vancouver BC V6Z 3B8

604 688 2521

http://www.streamlinemarketingsystem.com/

http://www.myspace.com/473417936

http://www.facebook.com/business/dashboard/?ref=sb#/pages/Streamline-Marketing-System/95158043456

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Jobs: Is Working Online At Home The Way to Financial Freedom?

As part of our ongoing series: "Jobs and the Recession: What you need to know" we examine an industry that, despite the recession, seems to be booming

Many websites highlight people making up to $500 per day working online from home on their computer.
By John B. Guiseman
Published: Monday, May 18 2009
Are online jobs the next big thing? As the U.S. economy continues to free-fall, millions of American are finding themselves without jobs, sufficient retirement or paychecks coming in. In March alone the number of unemployed increased by 694,000 to 13.2 million. Throughout history those on the cutting edge have adapted and prospered by knowing how to adapt to current economic climates, and this trend may once again be taking place on the internet.
With more time on their hands, many Floridians (And people around the country and world) are getting creative and turning to the online world for help.
For years we've all heard the stories of people making internet millions and now, it appears you don't have to be a technology guru at all to quickly get started making a decent income online. It's called Easy Google Profit and it's taking the internet and business communities alike by storm.
While researching the online-job phenomenon for this article I found countless stories of every day people making between $250 - $1000 a day from their homes. They explain that they're posting links on websites using hugely popular text advertising applications like Google Adwords, Yahoo Search Marketing and MSN Adcenter.
Below is an excerpt from one site.
"Basically I actually make around $5,500 to $7,000 a month from Google. Not a ton of money. But, very solid and good. I was able to replace my previous job's income, working less than 10 hours a week on my computer at home." - Kevin H.
Now we've all heard of countless 'get rich' schemes and scams and I'm sure that by now most of us have received at least one email promising us multi-million dollar fortunes if we'd only assist some displaced member of the "Nigerian Royal Family." However Easy Google Profit does not appear to get caught up in the 'hype,' instead focusing on a steady stream of results over a period of time driven by individual effort and not the promise of revealing some 'special sauce.'
This new online opportunity doesn't give you an unrealistic 'pitch' at all. In fact this may be the only online opportunity that promises that you won't instantly make millions online, a stark contrast to websites featuring "Get Rich Quick Schemes" and pictures of Yachts and Luxury Homes and Automobiles. Most users share stories of moderate but steady incomes of between $50,000 - $90,000 a year. But as with most jobs the more you put in the more you get out.
"To cut to the chase within a month I had generated over $4,800 in income at home. This was unbelievable to me. I had seen all sorts of scams promising you could make millions of dollars a month or live in a giant mansion if you tried their ’system’ and of course never believed this. When this product advertised a legitimate way to make some pretty decent monthly income with no far-fetched ’scheme’ but instead simple illustrations of how to take advantage of Google like countless other people around the world already were I was sold, and the results to me speak for themselves!" - Steve
The idea of working from home sounds good to most of us who have to deal with varying lengths of unpleasant commutes to and from work, and in this digital age the number of people telecommuting continues to rise- saving time and money spent on fuel and allowing more time to be spent with family.
If you're struggling in the current economic debacle and the idea of working from home interests you, Easy Google Profit may be a viable option for you to try. The website states that there is a trial period available with every enrollment. Users pay only about $2.00 to have the kit shipped and the site states that "Satisfaction is 100% Guaranteed."


Dario Lorenzo
Streamline Marketing System
Vancouver BC V6Z 3B8
604 688 2521
www.streamlinemarketingsystem.com
http://www.myspace.com/473417936
http://www.facebook.com/business/dashboard/?ref=sb#/pages/Streamline-Marketing-System/95158043456
http://twitter.com/dariolorenzo
http://www.squidoo.com/dario-lorenzo

Is Twitter To Facebook As Google Is To Yahoo? by Aaron Goldman

This analogy came to me at the recent Search Insider Summit during the Day 2 keynote conversation moderated by Gord Hotchkiss with Gian Fulgoni and Jordan Rohan. As always, these SIS-staples delivered many provocative thought-starters -- but I perked up when they started discussing the opportunity for richer brand experiences on the search engines.
History LessonJordan said that what made Google so popular at first was its sparse page with just a search box and textlinks during a period when the trend was towards meta-cluttered portals. Over time, Google evolved its search results pages to include images, video thumbnails, maps, etc., but stopped short of overtly promoting brands beyond text ads. Jordan argued that incorporating any richer ad unit on the SERP would likely cause consumer backlash.I quickly wrote up a post for the MediaPost Raw Blog titled, " It Ain't the Blue Links," suggesting that what made Google so popular wasn't its clean white page with simple blue links but its incredible algorithm and relevancy. I closed with this thought: "The lesson learned from Google is not just simplicity, it's automation, crowdsourcing and, above all, relevance."Lesson Learned?Google was not the first to do search. That honor goes to Archie. And many other search engines came and went before Google. But Google was the first to take the idea of relevance beyond mere on-page factors, incorporating an element of crowdsourcing by giving weight to inbounds links.
Today, all the major engines take link-juice into account to some extent. However, the 2 biggest contenders for search share after Google -- Yahoo and Microsoft -- still look at search as an add-on to their core offerings. Now, let's look at the social networking space. MySpace was the first to reach critical mass (Friendster was close but never tipped) before eventually giving way to Facebook, which came along with what was considered a cleaner UI -- read: less graphics, images, audio and other junk -- and more relevancy -- read: less garage bands, porn, and sexual predators.But what was it that everyone really liked about Facebook? It was the ability not just to connect with people you actually knew -- it was that you could know what they were doing at all times. The status updates were the golden goose.Over time, though, Facebook began to become more portal-like. It added more tabs, boxes, apps and pages for brands to market themselves. It rolled out advertising programs that, at best, cluttered news feeds and, at worst, offended people. Oh yeah, and then there was that whole Beacon thing.Paying Attention?So, along came Twitter, taking the best of Facebook and stripping out the rest. As @ev and @biz told the hosts on "The View," the idea for Twitter was hatched as (and I'm paraphrasing here) "a collection of IM away messages."
But they didn't stop there. Just like Google took what some were doing already and made it better, Twitter put a twist on the idea of status updates by positioning its platform as "micro-blogging." In turn, rather than just sharing what inane activity they were doing at the time, the Twitterati use their 140 characters to share ideas, POVs, quotes, tips, even RFPs. As our collective attention span gets shorter and shorter and ADD is hard-wired into our DNA, people will lose tolerance for platforms like Facebook that require multiple clicks to get to the goods. Navigating Facebook is the epitome of Scott Brinker's Golden Sprinkle.
Heck, people are even losing tolerance for blogs, with the average post seeming like a novel compared to a tweet. Case in point -- with this column closing in on 1000 words, I'm sure many of you are thinking you could've just gotten the gist by reading the headline and moving on.Again, there are parallels here back to the search world. In the late 90s it became clear that people no longer wanted to rely on hunting and pecking around a portal assembled by human editors to find interesting information, they just wanted to search for it and have the algo point them in the right direction.
By stripping out all the superfluous features of Facebook, Twitter is more simple and more relevant. DemeritsSo will Twitter do to Facebook what Google did to Yahoo?
Twitter certainly has momentum. Over the past two months, its traffic has quadrupled. And it has become pop culture fodder, what with all the celebs on Twitter, Ashton reaching 1 million followers, and Oprah getting onboard. And did I mention the founders were on "The View"?There's one major hang-up, though. While it may have taken the best feature of Facebook and built a company around it, Twitter missed one key point: You have to own the audience.Twitter does not own its audience. Applications like TweetDeck and Twhirl do. And while those app providers are beholden to the Twitter API to power their tools, they're not affiliated with Twitter, nor do they share revenue with it.The fact is, very few people go to Twitter.com. Sure, it may have 17 million monthly visits, per comScore -- but I'd bet there are well over 50 million active Twitter accounts. (Note: as far as I know, Twitter does not release this number.)Before Google could build out its syndication network and put its toolbar on every browser and desktop, it first got people hooked on Google.com. That afforded it the luxury of dictating terms to third parties that wanted to build on top of it, either by licensing its search results or embedding its ads onto their sites.Sure, Twitter could just turn off its API one day, locking out all the third-party apps and forcing people to come back to Twitter.com but that will surely cause user revolt -- much worse than if Google subtly introduced display ads on SERPs.

Aaron Goldman is founder and managing partner of Connectual, a rep firm dedicated to connecting the digital marketing ecosystem. Aaron blogs at DigitalSeaChange.com and GoodURLBadURL.com and can be reached at AG@Connectual.com






Dario Lorenzo
Streamline Marketing System
Vancouver BC V6Z 3B8
604 688 2521
www.streamlinemarketingsystem.com
http://www.myspace.com/473417936
http://www.squidoo.com/dario-lorenzo