Step One to Make This Year Your “Bamboo Year”

We’re almost a month into the new year. I intended this to be a “happy new year” message but I’ve been so busy (in a happy sort of way) that this is my first chance to write.

As you look ahead to a new year, do you feel hope in your heart, or fear?

For many, fear is the predominant feeling.  So much bad news in the world, and much of hits home.

Yet I want to say, hang on to hope. I’ve had many very “dry” years. Yet, I hung on to hope, even when I could not see how things could possibly change.

Well, they did. For me, 2010 was an amazing year. Despite the economy and the turbulent state of publishing, it was an incredible year for me.

In fact, it was a year when the “bamboo” I’d planted and had assiduously watered and cultivated finally took off.

You know I’ve often said (borrowing from Alex Mandossian), success is like bamboo.

Bamboo grows silently in the ground for 4 years. Not a sign of life.

Then, in the fourth  year, shoots pop up. In the fifth year, it grows 80-90 feet tall!

2009 was like my “fourth” year. Around midyear, the shoots popped up. I’m talking about my business and personal life–everything. This past year, they really took off.

I’m telling you this to give you hope. The things that contributed to my success are eminently duplicatable–by anyone.  I’m not just “lucky.” Luck has nothing to do with it. I’ve just discovered some resources and principles that have made all the difference–especially when used together.

I teach many of the principles in my Author Success Plan course. If you don’t have it, by all means get it.

I will be sharing more of what I’ve discovered in the coming days and weeks.

As for the resources,  I’ll just tell you about one of the key tools that has made a difference to me. It’s absolutely the place to start.

If you don’t already have a website that:

• people can find easily because it gets high search engine ranking
• is easy to set up and maintain, and doesn’t involve all kinds of plugins and updating as blogs do
• does not require a webmaster to keep going
• allows you to add fresh content at will
• is secure from hackers (without having to take a course on how to, as I did for my blog)

… then you might want to check out the software I’ve been using for 9 years that’s as easy to use as MS Word.

This material will shave YEARS off of the learning curve as well as time and money you would invest in any other way of getting your website up and running smoothly.

Believe me, I know. I have both Wordpress blogs and this software, and hands down I prefer this. The only advantages to a blog are that people can comment, and if you want a membership site, you can use Wishlist Member software to convert it.

Otherwise, stick with Paul Smithson’s course and software. Both are absolutely topnotch. One of the best products I’ve ever invested in. And it was truly an investment, paying me back many times over.

Not only is this award-winning software for an extremely good price, but the customer service is great. Within the first 90 days, they will help you with anything you need to know to get your site up and running–within 24 hours– at no extra cost.

For me, customer service is a big indicator of the true quality of a company and product. I’m happy to report that the service has been excellent in the 5 years I’ve been using the product. First, I’ve hardly had to contact them. Second, when I have, the response has been speedy and the service excellent.

There is also an extremely extensive course on how to build a profitable website that’s top-notch. To see what the course has to offer, go here.

To see the features of the software, go here.

Hang on to hope.  I’ll do my best to make it a “bamboo year” for you as an author. That’s my pledge!