Message From jl

Hi Everyone!

WHEW! NOW the holidays are finally over! Very busy this year. Now, let's get back to work.

Last week, I received three emails asking if there was any chance the sender could purchase The MASTER COURSE at the sale price a little further into the year.

That pushed me over the edge with an idea I had been playing with, anyway. So, here's what I'm going to do ...

I've changed the price and lowered it from $297 to $97 - on The MASTER COURSE web site as well as the iCop web site. I'm doing this because I KNOW, without any doubt, that anyone who can follow direction can have a MUCH easier life over the next couple of years.

I'm doing it because I know how much it's needed and this will make it easier for folks to have it. But, I'm also doing it because I KNOW that what we give is returned to us, many times multiplied.

The only thing I CAN'T tell you at this point is how long we can leave it at that price mark. So, definitely pick it up as soon as you can!

www.i-cop.org/products/master-course.htm

Shifting Gears

I'm not nearly as caught up as I thought I would be by now, but we can get started. It's interesting that I'm finding it a bit difficult to find my voice, again.

Since I changed the focus of iCop away from the “level” of internet marketing and toward ALL online business, my focus has, by necessity, also changed.

Habit can be a terrible thing. I'm used to ranting about internet marketing; now, I don't have to, any more.

I should never have gotten so wrapped up in internet marketing - in fact, I'm not even sure how that happened. It makes a nasty person of me, since I have no tolerance when it comes to ethical behavior. And there's damn little of it in internet marketing.

The good news is ... I no longer have to write about what's wrong with internet marketing. I can return to my true love of writing about what's good, and true and right - or how to make things so.

So, please bear with me as I stumble around trying to switch gears. A nine year habit isn't easy to overcome!

Where We've Been

If there was any doubt as to the state of our economy, that went away with the results of the Internet Toy Drive, in conjunction with “Toys for Tots.” This year's project was a disaster compared to our last seven years.

When folks become afraid to GIVE or spend for the things they really need, we have a BIG problem. In the words of my friend, John Glube:

“As to the down turn in the economy, those who make a clear decision not to get side-tracked, stay focused and press ahead will survive. Those who succumb to fear will not.”

John couldn't have spoken truer, more succinct, words. So, let's first address the problem, then, we'll proceed to the solutions we can each apply in our own lives.

We have just come through an era of greed unlike any I've seen in my lifetime. Since one ugly behavior breeds the next, we have also lived through an era of extreme hatred and stupidity.

When we become so ugly with each other that we are even unable to share holiday seasons, we've gone 'round the bend into a world of, not just, “Me, first,” but of “Me, ONLY.”

Humanity is an interconnected society. We can not survive with a “Me, ONLY” mentality. And, that includes different groups with different beliefs. It simply will not work!

We have created an imbalance in our world. The universe won't sustain that; it must be righted. So, now, we'll be forced to open the hearts so many of us have slammed closed over the past few years.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying everyone has been acting unethically to bring about this financial disaster. But, even those who haven't done anything directly, have allowed it to happen by our silence and failure to act to stop it.

A few have tried. I could name some of them. But, for the most part, they have been shushed, made fun of, attacked and discounted, while those full of hatred have huge audiences.

Ah well, that part's over. The chickens, as they say, have come home to roost. And, more will follow.

I just wish it were that easy...

Right now, we're experiencing a period of grief over the loss of our free-flowing money, easy credit and liar's mortgages. Remember when folks had nothing better to do with their money than to buy prom dresses for their dogs? Are you beginning to see the insanity of the imbalance?

In processing grief, we go through five stages. We WILL process the grief over this loss and we WILL go through the five stages.

The first stage is denial. That's where we are right now. I suspect a great many folks are experiencing the magic mentality that causes them to believe things will change for the better over the first quarter of this year ... administration change of the USA and all that.

They're right, of course. Things WILL change. They'll get worse. Much worse. And, it won't be the fault of any current leaders. The back-lash won't be stopped, and it will be in control for quite some time.

The fact that gasoline is now at the lowest cost it's been in many years is NOT an indication that this has all been a “near-miss.” Over a million jobs have been lost in the USA in the past two months!

The fact of a new administration will not be instant magic. It took time to get here; it will take time to recover our sanity.

In fact, this denial stage has been going on for over a year. It's only been in the past few weeks that the “powers that be” admitted this recession formally began in December of 2007.

That's back when I stated I know a recession when I see one. Heads have been in the sand that long - as if ignoring it would make it go away. That, and the lying about it, merely made it worse.

I suspect we might be fairly close to collectively moving on to the second stage of the grief process: anger. Lord only knows what that's going to bring! At this point, I prefer not to guess.

So, I'm sitting here writing things you don't want to hear. I don't want to have to do it, either. But, we MUST define, and realistically understand the problem, before we can move on to solutions.

We MUST understand the REALITY of what got us here before we can make the changes that will allow us to move forward. Otherwise, we don't know exactly WHAT to change - or how.

I don't have the solutions for the big picture. What I CAN do is help you through it at the level of your own and your families' lives. The path will cross from business, to personal and back, again.

BUT - we MUST not make the same mistakes!

In December I ran a survey among you and asked you what steps you plan to take - both personally and professionally - to get through this economic crisis. I also published many of your responses.

If you missed that, you can easily find it in our archives:

www.onlinebusinesstradejournal.com/index.htm

This was done in an effort to get you to share information. It was my first effort to start moving THIS group in the direction we need to go - that of working TOGETHER toward the best interests of all.

One of the questions I asked was whether you would participate in an open forum if I supplied one. I asked because, in the past, we've set up forums that went great guns for a while, then, died on the vine.

From your responses, I suspect that might happen, again. However, it occurred to me that we can use this very newsletter as a forum - which is what we were doing in December.

If you're reading this, now, you likely read the Journal most of the time. We can continue airing your thoughts and feelings right here. It would certainly be more informative than just one person writing so much.

We won't devote the entire issues to it, but we'll make it a definite part of the publication. So you can always check in to get the thoughts and ideas of other readers.

Of course, I COULD break down and set up a blog, but I've resisted doing that for years. We'll see. If I think it will really help, I'll do it.

More than anything, over the next few years, we'll ALL need support, acceptance and communication with others having the same or similar experiences.

Unfortunately, it WILL be years - not months. We didn't get into this hole overnight and we won't get out that quickly, either.

EVERYONE has something to contribute. It may be wisdom or a bright idea. It may be years of experience or a single situation that taught you a good lesson to share.

Remember, we can't do much about the over-all economic situation. But we CAN do a LOT to help each other learn ways to cope, and indeed, even avoid much of the negativity. We CAN actually use the situation to succeed rather than be sucked down the drain.

I know how to do that, and I know some of you do, too. Next week, I'll discuss the ideas you sent in and begin giving you specific ideas you can put into effect immediately. The time to start is now.

Have a fabulous week and ... keep on keepin' on!

  jl

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Online Business Trade Journal™ is published solely by dr. jl scott, Director of the International Council of Online Professionals (iCop) and may not reflect the opinion of all iCop members.

Material in the "Leaving You With a Smile" column may be copyrighted by unknown persons.

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Copyright © 2009 jl scott, ph.d., Director
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