MEMBANGUN KEPRIBADIAN PENGUSAHA YANG KUAT

Kepribadian yang kita maksudkan disini adalah suatu pengertian yang menyangkut suatu kesan secara menyeluruh tentang diri sesseorang yang dilihat orang lain. Kesan itu merupakan bauran yang unik dari ciri-ciri fisik dan mental yang ada dalam diri seseorang.

Kesan yang ditarik oleh orang lain menjadi positif tentang kepribadian orang, bila yang bersangkutan menunjukkan semua kemampuan, perbuatan dan kebiasaan seseorang baik jasmani, mental, rohani, emosional maupun sosial, sehingga dapat dijadikan panutan bagi orang lain, kecuali keadaan penampilan yang sebaliknya.

Kepribadian yang sehat akan sangat ditentukan oleh kemampuan seseorang untuk terus meningkatkan kedewasaannya dalam mengaktualisasikan sikap dan perilaku yang dapat diterima oleh orang lain dilihat dari sisi rohaniah, sosial, emosional dan intelektual yang bersumber dari kepercayaan diri karena kemampuan untuk menyalurkan segala yang kita ketahui dan segala yang kita kerjakan.

Sikap dapat dikatakan merupakan predeposisi stabil untuk bertindak secara positif dan atau negatif terhadap katagori atau objek tertentu. Misalkan Abdul mempunyai sikap yang negatif terhadap tokoh penguasa.

Sebagai karyawan ia mengatakan kepada rekan-rekannya bahwa para atasannya bersifat diktator. Jadi kita dapat mengatakan bahwa sikap sebagai fokus mental anda dalam memandang dunia luar dimana anda dapat merasa optimistik dan atau pesimistik.

Dalam bahasa sederhana sikap adalah cara anda melihat sesuatu secara mental (kesiapan berpikir dan memahami menurut pola berpikir tertentu) atau dengan kata lain sikap adalahcara anda mengkomunikasikan suasana hati anda kepada orang lain.

Dengan demikian anda dapat memfokuskan atau mengarahkan pikiran anda dalam suatu situasi sebagai peluang ataupun sebagai hambatan seperti halnya hari yang mendung dapat terasa indah, dapat pula terasa buruk, oleh karena itu andalah yang dapat menentukan suatu persepsi sebagai suatu proses memandang atau menafsirkan lingkungan anda.

Dengan memahami terbentuknya sikap, berarti pula kita dapat memahami struktur sikap beserta komponennya yaitu komponen kognitif berupa apa yang dipercayai oleh subjek pemilik sikap, komponen afektif merupakan komponen perasaan yang menyangkut aspek emosional dan komponen konatif merupakan aspek kecenderungan berperilakutertentu sesuai dengan sikap yang dimiliki oleh subjek.

Perilaku adalah segala tindakan yang dilakukan oleh suatu organisme, baik yang dapat diamati maupun jang tidak dapat diamati (seperti pikiran dan perasaan), dengan kata lain peri;aku adalah “gaya”. Jadi setiap manusia akan mengaktualisasikandiri kedalam tiga gaya yang disebut asertif, nonasertif dan agresif.

Perilaku Asertif bersifat aktif, langsung dan jujur dalam mengkomunikasi-kan kesan respek kepada diri sendiri dan orang lain, sehingga memandang keinginan, kebutuhan dan hak satu sama lain adalah sama. Jadi ada kemam-puan untuk mempengaruhi, mendengarkan, dan bernegosiasi sehingga orang lain bersedia untuk bekerja sama dengan suka rela.

Sedangkan perilaku Nonasertif bersifat pasip dan tidak langsung, jadi merupakan kebalikan dari asertif karena ia membiarkan keinginan, kebutuh-an dan hak orang lain menjadi lebih penting dari milik kita, ini berarti menciptakan satu situasi “menang-kalah”

Perilaku Agresif dari milik kita, ini berarti menciptakan satu situasi “menang-kalah”

Perilaku Agresifsifat lebih komplek karena dapat aktif dan atau pasif, jujur dan atau tidak jujur, langsung dan atau tidak langsung, tetapi pada dasarnya mengkomunikasikan suatu kesan superioritas dan tidak adanya respek, jadi kita menempatkan keinginan, kebutuhan dan hak kita diatas orang lain.
Dengan memahami kepribadian, sikap dan perilaku yang diutarakan diatas, maka usaha untuk membangun kepribadian pengusaha yang kuat maka pemahaman kepribadian sebagai personaliti sangat tergantung bagi setiap orang mau mengembangkan kecakapan-kecakapan yang berkaitan dengan ilmu pengetahuannya dan individualitasnya (terlihat dari wajah, perkataan, cara berjalan dan adatnya), sehingga nampak beda dengan orang lain. Jadi kita masing-masing akan memiliki satu kepribadian yang tersendiri, sehing-ga dapat merupakan tulang punggung yang sangat berharga.

Yang menjadi pertanyaan kita adalah bagaimana membangun kepribadian ditengah-tengah pengaruh faktor-faktor internal dan eksternal sehingga dalam setiap berpikir dapat menuntun bersikap dan berperilaku agar usaha menjadi pengusaha dengan keperibadian yang mampu menggerakkan kekuatan kepemimpinan kedalah pengaruh bukan menggunakan wewenang melainkan memberdayakan orang-orang.

FAKTOR YANG MEMPENGARUHI KEPERIBADIAN

Faktor pendidikan yang terkait dengan formal dan informal sangat mempe-ngaruhi usaha-usaha yang bersangkutan untuk meningkatkan tingkat kede-wasaan intelektual dimana ia memiliki kemampuan untuk membangun satu kebiasaan efektif sehingga ia berkesempatan meningkatkan kecakapan- kecakapan yang dibutuhkan dalam mengikuti perubahan.

Faktor kelamin, sebagai manusia yang diciptahan Tuhan menjadikan laki-laki dan perempuan sesuai dengan kodradnya, tetapi mereka bisa berperan saling melengkapi. Jadi bila anda seorang laki-laki akan berusaha untuk mengembangkan bertingkah laku yang sopan, begitu pula perempuan.

Faktor keluarga, dalam hal ini banyaklah pengaruh dari keturunan sebagai pembawaan dari turun temuran sebagai proses biologis dalam mana ciri-ciri orang tua diteruskan kepada keturunannya.

Faktor kepercayaan, memainkan peranan yang besar mempengaruhi usaha-usaha pengembangan keperibadian karena sebagai manusia yang diciptakan Tuhan, ia percaya dan memiliki keyakinan sehingga ia memiliki keimanan dan agama yang dianutnya. Dengan kepercayaan itu memotivasi kekuatan sikap dan perilaku.

Faktor masyarakat sangat mempengaruhi cara berpikir, bersikap berperilaku bahkan juga menumbuhkan nilai-nilai yang kadang kala bertentangan dalam hidup ini, oleh karena itu setiap masyarakat mempunyai pandangan sendiri-sendiri mengenai keperibadian manakah yang baik dan patut dihargai. Dalam masyarakat, orang biasanya mengagumi pria dan wanita yang dapat mengendalikan perasaan, bermoral teguh dapat menyesuaikan diri dapat bergaul dan ingin memperbaiki dirinya.

Dengan memahami faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi pengembangan keperibadian tersebut diatas, maka ia mampu berpikir bagaimana sebaiknya memenuhi keperluan dalam perjalanan hidupnya. Yang kita maksudkan keperluan disini adalah tuntutan kodrat kita sebagai manusia yang harus dipenuhi secara benar dan tepat agar dapat meraih keberhasilan dan bahagia.

Kebutuhan keperluan yang kita sebutkan disini meliputi : Keperluan Intelektual yang akan menunjukkan kepada kita agar kita mengenal diri, mengenal realitas hidup, perkembangan intelektual, pengetahuan tentang Allah swt. ; Keperluan Rohani yang mengajarkan kita dengan ilmu Allah untuk cinta kepada Tuhan sebagai sang pencipta, cita-cita moril dan akhlak ; Keperluan Jasmani merupakan kebutuhan untuk kesehatan, makanan bergizi, berolah raga dan atau bermain, perum-buhan wajar dan beristrahat ; Keperluan Emosional yang akan menuntun kecerdasan-kecerdasan yang menggerakkan kemampuan merasakan, memahami, dan secara efektif menerapkan daya dan kepekaan emosi sebagai sumber energi, informasi, koneksi dan pengaruh yang manusiawi, sehingga memberikan kekuatan motivasi untuk menerima diri, kasih sayang, rasa aman, kebebasan dan keberhasilan ; Keperluan Sosial yang berkaitan dengan ambil bagian dan kerja sama, diterima dan diperhatikan, status dan penghargaan, persahabatan dan kasih sayang.

WUJUD KEPERIBADIAN PENGUSAHA BERBASISKAN
MENTAL YANG KUAT

Mental yang kuat ditentukan oleh kemampuan berpikir dengan jelas dan mendalam mengenai suatu pokok persoalan. Menjadi jelas bila kita memiliki pengalaman atas persoalan tersebut. Umumnya dengan banyak pengalaman maka makin banyak pertimbangan-pertimbangan yang dapat dibeikan. Pengalaman dapat diperoleh dengan cara : pengalaman sendiri ; mendengar dan membaca. Oleh karena itu dengan pertimbangan yang keliru disebabkan karena kurangnya pengalaman.

Berpikir dengan mengungkapkan kata yang tersambung dari huruf sehingga menjadi kata yang bermakna, maka wujud keperibadian berbasiskan mental yang kuat dapat terungkap dari unsur huruf menjadi kata yang bermakna seperti yang kita uraikan dibawah ini :

Huruf (M) menjadi MANUSIAWI, artinya wujud manusia yang diciptakan oleh sang pencipta berbeda dengan makhluk lainnya karena ia sebagai mkhluk yang berakal budi, sehinga ia mampu berpikir dalam mengaktualisa-sikan sikap dan perilaku yang positip.

Huruf (E) menjadi EMPATI artinya wujud keadaan mental yang membuat seseorang mengidentifikasi atau merasa dirinya dalam keadaan perasaan atau pikiran yang sama dengan orang atau kelompok lain.

Huruf (N) menjadi NALAR artinya wujud dari pertimbangan baik buruk sehingga semua keputusan harus didasarkan oleh nalar yang sehat menjadi-kan sikap dan perilaku yang memungkinkan berpikir logis.

Huruf (T) menjadi TASAMUH artinya wujud dari sikap dan perilaku atas buah pikiran yang luas dan lapang dada dalam bertindak agar penyabar.

Huruf (A) menjadi AKAL artinya wujud dari potensi rohaniah yeng memiliki pelbagai kesanggupan seperti kemampuan berpikir, menyadari, menghayati, mengerti dan memahami, sehingga kegiatan akal berpusat atau bersumber dari kesanggupan jiwa.

Huruf (L) menjadi LATIH artinya wujud dari usaha yang berkesinambungan untuk membangun dan mengembangkan kebiasaan yang effektif.

Dengan menguraikan huruf menjadi kata bermakna tersebut diatas kita dapat merumuskan keperibadian pengusaha berbasiskan mental yang kuat adalah keperibadian dengan watak MANUSIAWI dengan menempatkan EMPATI dengan proses NALAR secara TASAMUH dengan memanfaatkan AKAL agar LATIH dapat berjalan sesuai dengan usaha membangun kebiasaan yang efektif.
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Dengan pemahaman pengertian diatas, kita dapat mengembangkan gagasan atau ide berpikir dalam keperibadian.

BERPIKIR DALAM KEPERIBADIAN

Seorang pengusaha dengan memiliki keperibadian yang cerdas, jujur dan dapat dipercaya akan dapat menuntun sikap dan perilaku yang diharapkan dalam memberikan keteladanan untuk selalu memimikirkan orang yang berada disekitarnya menjadi seorang pengusaha dengan mental yang kuat.

Itulah satu kesan untuk ditumbuh kembangkan dalam suasana dinamika dalam berpikir kritis dan kreatif agar wujud keperibadian pengusaha yang berbasiskan mental yang kuat tumbuh sebagai sesuatu yang bukan dipaksakan dari luar melainkan datang atas dasar kesadaran sendiri.

Pertama yang perlu mendapatkan perhatian adalah bagaimana orang-orang yang berada disekitar kita mampu mengembangkan kemampuan berpikir dengan memanfaatkan otak secara efektif dengan memperhatikan :

1) Pengalaman adalah guru yang terbaik ;
2) Dapatkan informasi dari fakta, sejarah data dalam memberikan penilaia
3) Berikan ungkapan kata-kata yang benar dan mudah dipahami, jangan dapat disalah tafsirkan ;
4) Pergunakanlah kata-kata dengan hati-hati agar berdampak efektif adanya
5) Pergunakanlah alat pikir berupa kesadaran, kecerdasan dan akal yang benar dan terintergrasi ;
6) Aktualisasikan apa yang dipelajari sebelumnya sebelum masalah baru timbul ;
7) Selalu mengembangkan keinginan kedalam peraktek berpikir terbuka ;
8) Kembangkan daya dorong yang dapat menjadi kekuatan motivasi untuk belajar yang berkesinambungan.

Kedua yang perlu mendapatkan perhatian bagaimana kita memiliki satu kemampuan untuk berperan dalam mengamati yang tepat dan berguna, untuk itu disyaratkan hal-hal sebagai berikut :

1) Mampu mengaktualisasikan pemahaman atas perbedaan dalam melihat dengan memandang, Melihat harus diartikan memperhatikan sampai ke hal yang mendetail, memberi interpretasi, dan menarisk satu kesimpulan ;
2) Harus melepaskan diri dari harapan sendiri, jadi haruslah melihat apa yang terjadi sbenarnya ;
3) Jangan terkecoh dari tatapan-tatapan mata yang dapat mempengaruhgi dalam menginterpretasikan apa yang anda lihat ;
4) Pikirkan perbedan dan persamaan apa yang diamati, jadi ia harus mampu memanfaatkan apa yang dilihatnya ;
5) Walaupun obyektifitas yang mutlak sukar ditangkap, namun ia harus mampu menempatkan obyektifitas dalam pengamatan-pengamatan yang dilakukannya.

Ketiga yang perlu mendapatkan perhatian, bagaimana kita dapat meningkatkan keterampilan untuk berusaha menjadi pendengar yang efektif, karena itu perhatikan hal-hal yang kita ungkapkan dibawah ini :

1) Hilangkan kebiasaan mengabaikan pembicaraan-pembicaraan yang tidak menarik ;
2) Cobalah anda renungkan dengan mengukur tingkat penguasaan dalam pembicaraan dengan materi yang dibentangkan ;
3) Jauhkan pikiran dari kefasihan berbicara dengan kemampuan dalam proses yang bersangkutan mempergunakan alat pokirannya ;
4) Pahamilah setiap kata-kata sulit atau asing yang dipakai oleh pembicara ;
5) Tentukan maksud dan tujuan dari pembicaraan sebelum penilaian ;
6) Berikan kesempatan bagi pembicara untuk mengungkapkan pikirannya, jangan terlalu cepat membuat kesimpulan ;
7) Pergunakan cara-cara untuk mengajak bagi orang-orang yang hanya diam saja atau bagi orang-orang yang banyak bicara ;
8) Pertahankan agar tercipta suasana yang menyenagkan dan hindari hal-hal yang dapat menimbulkan emosional.

Keempat yang perlu mendapatkan perhatian, bagaimana anda membiasakan agar memiliki kemampuan untuk membaca secara produktif dengan usaha-usaha seperti dibawah ini :

1) Usahakan setiap hari dalam 30 menit dengan membaca serta seleksi bahan bacaannya ;
2) Buang kebiasaan membaca dengan bersuara atau mulut bergerak, membaca kata berulang-ulang ;
3) Berusaha untuk meningkatkan kecepatan dalam membaca ;
4) Berusahalah membaca dalam satu pandangan pada satu kalimat ;
5) Ketahuilah adanya kata-kata isyarat yang menunjukkan perubahan dari jalan pikiran dan rinciannya oleh penulis ;
6) Pahamilah secara jelas informasi (hasil dari data dsb) yang diperlukan ;
7) Pahamilah pokok pikirannya dan jangan terlarut dalam riciannya ;
8) Pahamilah dengan jelas materi yang diungkapkan ;
9) Aturlah waktu membaca dan usahakan kecepatan membaca serta jangan lupa ada saat mata untuk beristrahat.

Kelima yang harus mendapat perhatian, bagaimana usaha-usaha yang harus dilakukan sebagai usahawan yang memiliki kemantapan peribadi, agar dapat dipenuhi sikap dan perilaku yang konsisten dalam kekuatan mental yang sejalan dengan keinginan dari perubahan itu sendiri sebagai berikut :

1) Tetapkan keputusan strategik peribadi yang realistis yang dapat menjadi daya dorong untuk membangun kekuatan motivasi diri ;
2) Renungkan apa yang menjadi kekuatan dan kelemahan yang dimiliki dan usahakan untuk memperbaiki yang menjadi kelemahan ;
3) Selalu membayangkan sebagai seorang CEO yang memiliki kemampuan dalam menghadapi situasi yang kritis dengan sabar dan bijaksana ;
4) Memiliki sikap yang tegas dalam proses-proses mengambil keputusan ;
5) Tingkatkan kemampuan bergaul dengan siapapun dan pandai menempat-kan diri dimanapun ;
6) Mampu melaksanakan praktek konsep manajemen secara produktif ;
7) Berusahalah menjadi bawahan yang baik dan sekali gus mampu berperan sebagai seorang yang memiliki kepemimpinan ;
8) Belajarlah mempercayai bawahan dengan mendelegasikan wewenang ;
9) Kembangkan selalu untuk berkomunikasi dengan baik kepada atasan dan atau bawahan sehingga selalu siap menghadapi tantantan-tantangan dan kesempatan yang terbuka, sehingga selalu siap menerima setiap tanggung jawab yang lebih besar.

KESIMPULAN

Usahawan dengan keperibadian mental yang kuat dapat menuntun selaku kepemimpinan yang memiliki satu kesan bagi pengikutnya dengan ciri-ciri yang berbeda dengan yang yang lainnya. Sudah tentu ada faktor yang sangat mendorong terbentuknya seperti pendidikan, kelamin, usia, keluarga, dsb.

Dengan memahami unsur kata dalam mental yang kita sebutkan, manusiawi (M), empati (E), nalar (N), tasamuh (T), akal (A), latih (L) agar menjadi kata yang bermakna mendorong orang untuk memiliki kepribadian dalam berpikir dalam memanfaatkan otak, menjadi berguna, meningkatkan kete-rampilan, membaca produktif dan membangun kemantapan.

Jenis-jenis kepribadian kita

Selama ini kita mengenal orang dari kepribadian mereka. Ada orang yang mudah bersahabat, pendiam, keras, pemarah, pendendam, penyabar, santai, perfeksionis (menuntuk kesempurnaan), penggembira, optimis, pesimis, dan masih banyak istilah lain yang menggambarkan diri seseorang. Kalau diamati sekilas, kelihatannya akan cukup sulit untuk bisa mempelajari dan memahami kepribadian seseorang. Bila kita renungkan lebih dalam, akan kita ketahui bahwa kepribadian itu mempunyai suatu pola. Pola yang akan terlihat sangat sulit dimengerti bagi orang yang tidak mengerti cara membacanya, tetapi bagi bagi mereka yang telah belajar dan mengerti cara membaca pola ini, mereka juga dapat membaca orang lain. Beberapa tipe kepribadian secara umum dapat kita golongkan :

1. Tipe Kepribadian Koleris

Orang koleris dikenal sebagai orang yang keras, tegas, dan sangat menuntut. Mereka memiliki energi besar untuk melakukan hal-hal sulit, memiliki dorongan dan keyakinan yang kuat akan kemampuan diri mereka. Mereka pantang menyerah, tidak ada yang namanya kegagalan dalam kamus mereka. Bila mereka gagal, meraka akan terus mencoba dan mencoba lagi. Dan siapa pun yang berusaha menghalangi niatnya untuk mencapai tujuan akan dianggap sebagai musuhnya.
Orang koleris percaya bahwa dirinya dilahirkan menjadi pemimpin dan selalu tampil di depan menjadi pemimpin kelompok dalam kegiatan. Mereka adalah orang yang suka dan sangat tertantang untuk melaksanakan suatu tugas besar, suka mendapat peran penting dan memegang wewenang.
Mereka juga berfikir dengan cepat, cepat dalam mengambil keputusan, tidak biasa diam, selalu saja mencari suatu pekerjaan atau kegiatan, mampu mengerjakan beberapa tugas sekaligus dengan hasil yang sama baiknya.. Orang koleris sangat dinamis dan aktif serta sangat membutuhkan perubahan. Mereka mempunyai kebutuhan mendasar barupa tantangan, pilihan, dan pengendalian. Mereka akan sangat termotivasi untuk melakukan sesuatu bila ketiga komponen ini terpenuhi. Mereka selau berorientasi pada target yang harus dicapai, mementingkan hasil akhir, tidak suka pada orang yang kerjanya lamban. Kemampuan alami orang koleris membuat mereka mampu menyelesaikan sendiri hampir semua masalah, sehingga mereka jarang membutuhkan orang lain. Orang koleris juga jarang menangis, jarang memberikan perhatian yang hangat, dan menunjukkan rasa sayang dan perhatiannya dalam bentuk memberi atau menghasilkan “sesuatu” bagi orang yang mereka cintai.
Orang koleris selain memiliki keinginan yang sangat kuat, juga cenderung sangat yakin pada kemampuan diri mereka sendiri serta sangat mandiri. Mereka tidak suka diperintah oleh orang lain, tetapi suka memberikan perintah. Tidak suka orang yang plin-plan, banyak bicara, tetapi tidak produktif.
Orang koleris memang tekadang kurang bijaksana. Dalam bertindak, Mereka sering kali bisa menjadi sangat marah terhadap hal-hal kecil atau tindakan yang mereka anggap bodoh. Dan kalau sudah marah, mereka bisa sangat kasar dalam berbicara (sarkatis). Mereka dapat menghancurkan Anda hanya dengan menggunakan kata-katanya. Mereka juga mudah memaafkan orang lain, mudah melupakan kemarahannya walau pun mereka penuh temperamen dan mudah marah.

2. Tipe Kepribadian Sanguin

Orang sanguin dikenal sangat ramah dan sangat suka berbicara kepada siapa saja dengan topik apa saja. Mereka penuh inspirasi, sangat aktif, dapat mempengaruhi orang lain untuk percaya pada apa yang dikatakan, bisa menjadi motivator yang menyenangkan, dan sikapnya cenderung optimis. Orang sanguin juga mudah dipengaruhi, cenderung menjadi pengikut, dan mau melakukan apa saja untuk menyenangkan hati orang lain. Mereka pintar membuat kesan, mempunyai banyak kawan, mengenal banyak orang penting, menyukai kehidupan sosial, mempunyai rasa humor yang tinggi, mempunyai antuasisme dan sikap ekspresif. Hal ini membuat mereka disukai oleh setiap orang yang mereka ajak bicara.
Orang sanguin sangat suka menjadi pusat perhatian, sangat menyukai pujian, dan perhatian, mempunyai impian-impian besar, kreatif dalam merencanakan sesuatu. Tapi mereka kurang terdorong untuk mewujudkan impian dan rencananya, sering tidak disiplin dan pelupa. Meraka sangat takut kehilangan popularitas atau kehilangan kawan. Mereka akan membuat rumah menjadi tempat tinggal yang sangat menyenangkan, tidak suka pekerjaan yang rutin dan monoton, menyukai kegiatan yang bersifat spontan, tidak keberatan menjadi sukarelawan, kreatif dan inovatif serta selalu memikirkan kegiatan baru yang menyenangkan dan pintar mendorong serta memotivasi orang lain untuk turut bekerja.
Orang sanguin dapat bersahabat dengan siapa saja, sangat perduli dengan orang lain, tidak memiliki beban, selalu terlihat gembira dan bahagia serta sangat menyenangkan untuk dijadikan kawan. Orang sanguin sering tidak disiplin, tidak menepati janji, sulit bertahan dalam suatu proyek yang rumit dan memakan waktu lama, selalu tidak puas pada jalur karir yang dipilih, dan terlalu menikmati perubahan. Mereka mengalami kesulitan untuk mendengarkan orang lain, selau bercerita dengan penuh semangat dan lupa memberi kesempatan orang lain berbicara, sangat impulsif dalam pola perilakunya. Karena mereka sangat rileks, tanpa beban. Mereka mempunyai kecenderungan untuk membesar-besarkan sesuatu, kurang bisa menyimpan rahasia, cenderung bertindak sebelum berfikir, dan terkadang kurang tegas sehingga sering diperalat oleh orang lain.

3. Tipe Kepribadian Phlegmatis

Orang phlegmatis adalah tipe orang yang paling menyenangkan untuk dijadikan kawan. Orang phlegmatis adalah orang yang manis, tidak mendesak, tidak suka memerintah. Mereka mempunyai sifat pemalu, tidak suka menonjolkan diri, menyukai keramaian, sopan dan mempunyai aturan yang baik dalam pergaulan, tidak suka dengan konflik dan pertentangan, senang memberi dukungan dan setuju dengan pendapat orang lain, sangat tertutup dan menjadi pendengar yang baik dan tidak mudah tersinggung.
Mereka hanya bisa mengerjakan satu hal dalam satu waktu tertentu, tidak bisa mengerjakan banyak hal secara bersamaan, senang pekerjaan yang bersifat monoton dan berulang. Orang phlegmatis baik dalam menyimpan rahasia, baik dalam menerima perintah, sulit untuk berkata “tidak” , memiliki sifat menyerah, suka menyenangkan orang lain, tidak tegas, mudah dibujuk untuk melakukan hal yang tidak disenanginya. Mereka tidak menyukai kejutan, bersifat sentimental, mempunyai kebutuhan mendasar berupa penghargaan dan penerimaan, tidak banyak menuntut, apa adanya, tenang dan bahagia dalam hidupnya. Sifatnya rendah hati, sabar, simpatik, teratur, efisien, dan sangat praktis. Dan mereka selalu mencari solusi yang paling sederhana dari setiap masalah yang dihadapi, selalu bersikap konservatif (berhati-hati), tapi kadang bisa menjadi penakut, dan selalu ingin mengetahui hasilnya sebelum mereka memulainya.
Orang phlegmatis bisa sangat plin-plan, tidak senang membuat kesalahan, tipe penonton, kurang aktif, kurang berinisiatif, suka berada di belakang layar, tidak senang menjadi pusat perhatian, cenderung mencari selamat, takut mendapat malu, kurang bersemangat, kurang motivasi. Mereka lebih suka diam dan menunggu untuk mengerjakan sesuatu. Bila mereka tidak diberi penghargaan dan pengarahan, maka mereka akan menjadi frustasi dan menyerah, tidak mau mengerjakan apa-apa lagi. Sebaliknya, bila mereka mendapatkan pengarahan dan bimbingan, mereka akan mau mengerjakan lebih banyak daripada yang diharapkan.

4. Tipe Kepribadian Melankolis

Orang melankolis adalah orang yang serius dan tertutup, namun cerdas dan sangat kritis dalam berpikir. Mereka mengerjakan suatu hal lebih tekun, memahami sesuatu setahap demi setahap, menjalani sebagian hidupnyu dengan sangat serius. Mereka mampu menganalisis suatu keadaan dengan jauh lebih baik, memiliki kemampuan luar biasa dalam “melihat di balik layar”, tingkat ketelitian dan ketajaman analisisnya tinggi. Mereka mengikuti perencanaan dan mengikutinya dengan sangat hati-hati.
Orang melankolis sangat hati-hati, teliti, suka curiga, tidak senang membuat kesalahan, senang dengan detail, menyukai data, fakta, angka-angka dan grafik. Mereka taat mengikuti instruksi dengan seksama, tidak suka mendesak, tidak perlu menjadi pemimpin, senang berada di sekeliling orang yang ramah dan terbuka. Orang melankolis senang menjadi benar bukan karena mereka merasa lebih baik daripada orang lain, tetapi mereka hanya ingin menjadi benar, dan hasil kerjanya harus benar dan baik. Mereka sangat konsisten, tidak pernah salah dalam menyampaikan detail suatu cerita, cenderung conformist (orang yang suka mengikuti apa yang dilakukan oleh banyak orang), dan selalu ingin meningkatkan kinerjanya.
Orang melankolis mempunyai perasaan yang sangat halus, tidak mau menyinggung perasaan orang lain, menyimpan kemarahan dan dendam mereka untuk waktu yang sangat lama. Mereka selalu berorientasi pada jadwal, menentukan standar yang sangat tinggi, bersifat perfeksionis, sangat terorganisir dan tertib. Mereka sangat analitis tapi sering buruk dalam melakukan sintesis, jarang salah dan selalu melakukan pemeriksaan ulang, sangat sensitif, sangat idealis, ingin mnjadi yang terbaik, mencari yang terbaik, berusaha mendapatkan yang terbaik. Orang melankolis sangat kuat memegang prinsip dan keyakinannya, tekun dalam mengejar cita-cita yang ingin mereka capai, rela berkorban, bekerja tak kenal lelah untuk menghasilkan suatu pekerjaan yang baik, lebih mementingkan tugas daripada diri mereka sendiri, dan juga sangat rapi.
Orang melankolis sangat terpusat pada diri mereka sendiri, kurang memiliki fleksibilitas dalam membangun suatu hubungan interpersonal yang hangat. Mereka sering sekali murung, cenderung melihat hal-hal yang salah daripada hal-hal yang benar, sering keliru membaca orang, sikap mereka cenderung kaku, suka berteori, tidak suka bersosialisasi, suka melindungi dirinya sendiri, dan sangat segan mencoba hal-hal baru. Sangat sulit bagi oang melankolis untuk melakukan konsultasi atau terapi bagi persoalan pribadinya, dan tidak mudah untuk memaafkan orang yang pernah melakukan kesalahan pada mereka.

Dari uraian di atas, kita akan bisa sedikit membaca diri kita sendiri sebagai sarana untuk perbaikan diri, menentukan sikap dalam bersosialisasi dengan orang lain, dan mencoba mengenali kepribadian seseorang yang ada di sekitar kita. Tulisan di atas berasal dari berbagai sumber yang saya rangkum karena bila dituliskan disini bisa beberapa lembar, dan tanpa mengurangi isi dari tulisan tersebut. Mohon maaf apabila ada kesalahan. Sesungguhnya kebenaran itu datangnya dari Allah dan kesalahan itu datang dari diri saya sendiri. Semoga bermanfaat. So…termasuk dalam tipe manakah diri Anda?

Cara tweak friendster

Seperti yang kita ketahui sekarang ini friendster sudah merupakan altertanif orang2 untuk bersosialisasi.Dari anak2 SD ampe Kuliahan ada juga yang ampe "bangkotan" (kwakwkakwkkak .... macan tutul aja) mereka masing2 memiliki friendsternya.Apalagi bila friendster kita memiliki layout( tampilan) yang menarik, pasti orang2 akan senang melihat friendster kita. Dan mungkin jugamereka akan menginvite friendster kita untuk menjadi teman (friend) mereka.

Ok, kita langsung mulai aja lah ...Pertama, kamu harus login ke friendster kamu dulu. Jika friendster anda blum terverifikasi, lakukanlah verifikasi dengan melihat email anda.Disitu anda akan melihat adanya email yang dikirim friendster sebagai verifikasi, verifikasi ini sangatlah penting.

Kedua, setelah anda login pilihlah menu myprofile.
Setelah itu pilih menu costumize page.ketiga, buka website : http://friendster-layouts.com/, di situ terdapat banyak kali layout2 yang keren2 abissss!!! untuk di jadi kan layout. Pilih salah satu dan kemudian klik bacaan "get the code" . Stelah itu copy semua codenya.






Ke-empat, buka friendster anda yang tadi, lalu paste kan code2 yang kamu copy tadi ke kotak "costumize CSS".



Kelima, kemudian cari tombol save, dan klik lah!!!.Ke-enam cari bacaan "view my profile" lalu klik.MAka lihat la perubahannya. .....!!!!

SQL Injection

Disini ada beberapa SQL Injector yang mungkin dapat membantu dan meringankan beban teman-teman ;p

1. BlindSqli
2. SQL Injection Tool v2.0b
3. SQL-InjectionScan
Donlot : http://www.4shared.com/file/65217199/810e7d8d/SQL_Injector_Tambahan_pass----_jasakom.html
Pass : jasakom

4. SQL AutoInjector
Donlot : http://rapidshare.com/files/144171085/AutoInject.exe

5. BSQL (Blind SQL)

"BSQL (Blind SQL) Hacker is an automated SQL Injection Framework / Tool designed to exploit SQL injection vulnerabilities virtually in any database."

Donlot : https://labs.portcullis.co.uk/application/bsql-hacker/

6. SqlMap

Introduction
sqlmap is an automatic SQL injection tool entirely developed in Python. It is capable to perform an extensive database management system back-end fingerprint, retrieve remote DBMS databases, usernames, tables, columns, enumerate entire DBMS, read system files and much more taking advantage of web application programming security flaws that lead to SQL injection vulnerabilities.
Features

Here is a list of major features implemented in sqlmap:

* Full support for MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL and Mcft SQL Server database management system back-end. Besides these four DBMS, sqlmap can also identify Mcft Access, DB2, Informix and Sybase;
* Extensive database management system back-end fingerprint based upon:
o Inband DBMS error messages
o DBMS banner parsing
o DBMS functions output comparison
o DBMS specific features such as MySQL comment injection
o Passive SQL injection fuzzing
* It fully supports two SQL injection techniques:
o Blind SQL injection, also known as Inference SQL injection
o Inband SQL injection, also known as UNION query SQL injection
and it partially supports error based SQL injection as one of the vectors for database management system fingerprint;
* It automatically tests all provided GET, POST, Cookie and User-Agent parameters to find dynamic ones. On these it automatically tests and detects the ones affected by SQL injection. Moreover each dynamic parameter is tested for numeric, single quoted string, double quoted string and all of these three type with one and two brackets to find which is the valid syntax to perform further injections with;
* It is possible to provide the name of the only parameter(s) that you want to perform tests and use for injection on, being them GET, POST, Cookie parameters;
* SQL injection testing and detection does not depend upon the web application database management system back-end. SQL injection exploiting and query syntax obviously depend upon the web application database management system back-end;
* It recognizes valid queries by false ones based upon HTML output page hashes comparison by default, but it is also possible to choose to perform such test based upon string matching;
* HTTP requests can be performed in both HTTP method GET and POST (default: GET);
* It is possible to perform HTTP requests using a HTTP User-Agent header string randomly selected from a text file;
* It is possible to provide a HTTP Cookie header string, useful when the web application requires authentication based upon cookies and you have such data;
* It is possible to provide an anonymous HTTP proxy address and port to pass by the HTTP requests to the target URL;
* It is possible to provide the remote DBMS back-end if you already know it making sqlmap save some time to fingerprint it;
* It supports various command line options to get database management system banner, current DBMS user, current DBMS database, enumerate users, users password hashes, databases, tables, columns, dump tables entries, dump the entire DBMS, retrieve an arbitrary file content (if the remote DBMS is MySQL) and provide your own SQL SELECT statement to be evaluated;
* It is possible to make sqlmap automatically detect if the affected parameter is also affected by an UNION query SQL injection and, in such case, to use it to exploit the vulnerability;
* It is possible to exclude system databases when enumerating tables, useful when dumping the entire DBMS databases tables entries and you want to skip the default DBMS data;
* It is possible to view the Estimated time of arrival for each query output, updated in real time while performing the SQL injection attack;
* Support to increase the verbosity level of output messages;
* It is possible to save queries performed and their retrieved value in real time on an output text file and continue the injection resuming from such file in a second time;
* PHP setting magic_quotes_gpc bypass by encoding every query string, between single quotes, with CHAR (or similar) DBMS specific function.

Donlot : http://sqlmap.sourceforge.net/

7. SQL Dump
Donlot : http://rapidshare.com/files/137432018/sqldump.rar

8. SQL InjecTion and XSS TOOLS

Apache Hacking TooLz Directory:

Apache Chunked Scanner
Apache Hacker Tool v 2.0
Apache H4x0r Script


Remote File Inclusion And Remote Command Execution Directory :

IIS 5 Dav Scanner & Exploiter
PHP Attacker
PHP Injection Scanner & Exploiter
XML-RPC Scanner & Exploiter


Databases & SQL Injection & XSS TooLz Directory

Casi 4.0
ForceSQL
Mssql BruteForce TooL
SQL Ping 2
SQL Recon
SQL Vuln Scanner
SQL & XSS TooL

PHP Shells

**** v2.0
c99shell #16
Backdoor php v0.1
r57shell
ajan
casus15
cmd (asp)
CyberEye (asp)
CyberSpy5 (asp)
Indexer (asp)
Ntdaddy (asp)
News Remote PHP Shell Injection
PHP Shell
phpRemoteView

Donlot : http://rapidshare.com/files/132986898/SQL_InjecTion___XSS_TooLz.rar

9. BaKo's SQL Injection Scanner v2.2

Warning: You must have the latest .NET framework to run this!
Warning 2: You need the Rufa font for the font to display right! This is included in the updated zip file.

Donlot : http://rapidshare.com/files/81555897/BaKo_s_SQL_Injection_Scanner_v2.2.zip.html

10. PRIAMOS SQL Injector & Scanner

Donlot : http://rapidshare.com/files/117691892/Priamos_v1.0.zip

11. Cfmtool
Donlot : http://rapidshare.com/files/116565659/cfmtool.rar

Cara Dapat Duit di Internet selain Pake Adsense

Di bawah ini aq kasih link-link yang mungkin bisa menjadi tambahan penghasilan baig teman-teman semuanya. Lebih dan kurang saya mohon maaf. Hehehehhehehehhe ... ( formil beneget ... !!!).

CPC (per-click)
- Datep duit kalo user ngeclick
http://www.adultads.biz/
http://www.adbrite.com/ - Indonesia OK
http://www.adknowledge.com/
http://www.bannerboxes.com/
http://www.bidclix.com/
http://www.bidvertiser.com/ - Indonesia OK
http://www.chitika.com/ - High-Rate, Banyak potongan - Indonesia OK
http://www.clicksor.com/ - Indonesia OK
http://www.hyperbidder.com/
http://www.kontera.com/
http://www.kanoodle.com/
http://www.mammamediasolutions.com/ - Indonesia OK
http://www.oxado.com/ - Situs baru
http://www.quigo.com/
http://www.targetpoint.com/ - Indonesia OK
http://www.valueclick.com/
http://publisher.yahoo.com/ - Beta - US Only

CPM (per-thousand impression)
- Datep duit setiap 1000 view
http://www.247realmedia.com/
http://www.adagency1.com/
http://www.addynamix.com/
http://www.adpepper.com/en/
http://www.adservingnetwork.com/
http://www.adsmart.net/
http://www.adtegrity.com/
http://www.adzuba.com/
http://www.accelerator-media.com/
http://www.bannerconnect.net/
http://www.bluelithium.com/
http://www.burstmedia.com/ - Min. 5000 Page View/bln - Indonesia OK.
http://www.budsinc.com/ - High-Rate - Indonesia OK
http://www.casalemedia.com/ - High-Rate - Indonesia OK
http://www.compactbanner.com/ - Indonesia OK
http://www.esourcemedia.com/
http://www.etype-europe.com/
http://www.etypeusa.com/
http://www.fastclick.com/ - Indonesia OK
http://www.hurricanedigitalmedia.com/
http://www.interclick.com/
http://www.joetec.net/
http://www.paypopup.com/ - Indonesia OK
http://stats.popuptraffic.com/
http://www.realcastmedia.com/
http://www.realtechnetwork.com/
http://www.rightmedia.com/
http://www.tremornetwork.com/
http://www.tribalfusion.com/ - High-Rate - Min. 2000 Unique Visitor/day - Indonesia OK.

CPA (per-action (sale/lead)
- Dapet duit kalo user register / beli
http://www.advertising.com/
http://www.affiliatefuture.co.uk/
http://associates.amazon.com/ - Indonesia OK
http://www.azoogleads.com/
http://www.clickbooth.com/
http://www.binkads.com/
http://www.bluefn.com/
http://www.clickxchange.com/
http://www.cj.com/
http://www.directanetworks.com/
http://www.fluxads.com/
http://www.incentaclick.com/
http://www.linkshare.com/ - Indonesia OK
http://www.maxbounty.com/ - Indonesia OK
http://www.oridian.com/
http://www.roimatrix.com/ - Indonesia OK
http://www.shareasale.com/
http://www.trafficmp.com/trafficmp/

Mudah-mudahan kita bisa mendapatkan penghasilan yang lemayan... Amieennnn....

5 Essential Ingredients of a Successful Online Work at Home Business

The internet changes daily as far as what works and what doesn't when it comes to making money online.

If you are new to work at home online businesses, your head can spin with all the hype, sales pitches , and outright lies as far as the reality of starting up an online home based business.

There are however a few things to look for in your search for a work at home business that can become some nice additional income, or even better, your "job". Working at home, generating $1000 a day is far from what I call a "job".

To help ease your frustration, and point you in the right direction for what you should be looking for in today's online marketplace, the following summarizes the 5 essential ingredients in a winning work at home online business opportunity.

Later in this brief overview, I will offer a "secret" to online success that is rarely mentioned in the many articles written on the subject.

1. SYSTEM- This may be the most crucial item to your success. You need a System that generates prospects, educates them on your business opportunity, sorts and weeds out those that are not interested in your offer, then closes the sale at a conversion rate that ensures profitability. The System must be as automated as possible so you aren't spending hours cold calling or following up with people that are probably not interested, then trying to use your sales closing skills to make a sale.

Think of the successful off line businesses such as McDonalds, Tim Hortons or Subway. Do you think they could duplicate those businesses all over the country, setting up new franchise owners to run these businesses, without a SYSTEM that works?

2. BIG Profits- This is important as the advertising needed to result in sales can be quite costly. For some $1000 price point business programs, it isn't unusual to spend $200, $400 or even $600 to make that $1000 sale. Of course, there are ways to also spend $0 in advertising, but the reality is advertising is often on the range where to make $1, you may need to spend $0.40. Your profit is still $0.60. Would you do that over and over if you had a automated system in place to make this happen? Big Profits allows enough profit so your advertising cost is well covered by your selling price. You can't do much advertising to make a profit on selling a $20 ebook for example.

3. Hot Products- Yes, the product must be tangible and have use and value. There are many new business opportunities that offer $75,000 or more worth of downloadable products that sell for $1000. That's pretty HOT, and full of value. Having a product that can be downloaded, means NO shipping. Now that is just way too easy.

4. Leads and Traffic- This is probably the most perplexing for most new work at home business owners. An online business will never make any money without a source of leads (prospects). The key to providing leads to an online business is they need to be targeted.

This means you need to advertise to a niche market of people looking for exactly what your offers. Seems so simple a concept, but so may people struggle in building their prospect list.

5. Support and Training- as with any business start up, you need to learn your work at home online business program.Make sure that your business program has ample training and resources so you know exactly what to do to get those prospects to your System. This is not always easy to figure out when doing your due diligence on an offer.

As a suggestion, make sure you ask for examples of where and how you will advertise. Also ask where will you get the wording for the ads,who will write the ad copy and the followup messages, what the conversion rates are for your system. If your sponsor can't provide good answers, then they may not be that successful themselves.

This is just a brief overview of what today's online business programs need to cut through the many offers out there and make your business stand out to others.

Earlier I mentioned I'd offer a "secret" to successful online work at home business programs that is rarely mentioned in the various sales pitches. The true secret just might be you.

Most people do not realize they are starting up a real business. There will be ups and downs, profitability may not come overnight, or you may expect riches in the first few days.

I am sure some people have had such success, but most starting out, very likely start with leads, no prior list of prospects, and a small advertising budget. You then need to make good decisions to leverage your sales to grow your business.

The best way to accomplish an online business start up is with the very best automated SYSTEM. Then you can spend most of your time on advertising and growing your prospect list- leaving the rest to the system to close sales which will deliver you paying customers. Then you can train your new customers to do what you know how to do!

Guaranteed Extra Cash Online

For college students and other people who feel burned out trying to balance paying the bills and living at the same time, ads like these can prove to be irresistible. Many of them make perfect sense and easily hook you based on good concepts. Unfortunately, many times the product or service does not match the brilliance of a great idea for making money from home or through the Internet. As I’ve learned myself, the further you go down this road, the more excited you get. You basically get hooked, and if you aren’t careful, you will end up working hard and falling further into debt than you can imagine. Much like gambling, the lure of easy money and independence can make just about anyone fall prey to work at home scams that feed off your dreams to get to your wallet so they can go on to the next victim.

Hopefully, you will never fall victim to these scam artists. However, the fact of the matter is that these scammers would not be wasting their time if they were not making any money. And as long as people continue to get mixed up in this business, these scammers are going to stick around to trick more and more people.

The best way to keep a scammer’s claws away from your credit card is to do thorough research on each opportunity that you are considering. This means doing much more than simply reading a bit about it online. In my personal experience, I have been taken by companies who were savvy enough to pollute the Internet with staged testimonials, guarantees, questionable references to big name endorsements, and even appearances in the Better Business Bureau.

A colleague of mine who invested in vending machine placement services even went so far as to physically go to the manufacturing plant to tour the warehouse as well as contact the Better Business Bureau of that state. What he received, in return, were twenty malfunctioning candy machines with a list of local businesses who had apparently agreed to receive them. Not only did none of these businesses know what he was talking about, many of them were hostile when he showed up to place them.

What you want to do is check message boards such as the ASK section of Yahoo.com. Another simple method of weeding out the scams from the genuine opportunities is to go to a search engine and simply type in the company name followed by the word “scam”. If you do this, and you are barraged by an endless list of complaints, you my friend have found a nugget of gold in a sea of mud.

In terms of the Better Business Bureau, it is best to contact them directly to ask about any complaints, and also find out how long a company has been listed. The Better Business Bureau operates state by state. They will be able to tell you if they have any complaints on file. If they do, you will want to avoid the opportunity at all costs. But if it appears that a company is doing business the right way, you can continue your own research.

Being in the Business Bureau is not necessarily that hard to accomplish. Many scammers can use their money and connections to set up a front to initially qualify for the Better Business Bureau just long enough for them to collect their cash from unsuspecting victims, close shop, create a new identity and start again.

Before you decide to do anything, attempt to get in touch with the company that you are interested in. Can you get a human being on the phone? Do they have an actually physical address? How long does it take them to respond to your e-mails, if at all? If you cannot even talk to the company before you start, there is not chance that they will be around when you really need them. I once made quite a bit of money selling vacation vouchers on auction sites. The marketing plan was sound, and the money saving vouchers was a hit. Only problem was, I could never get in touch with their customer service department to handle my customer inquiries and complaints once I realized that the promises that existed in writing on the vouchers were misleading at best. This proved to be such a problem that it took me over a year to recover from the negative publicity on my auction site.

Of course, there are legitimate home based businesses out there. With the Internet and all the low cost, web producing tools available, there seems to be a renaissance in entrepreneurship. Basically, just find a product or service you can market online, and do your research. Sell on EBay if you don’t want to build your own website. You can have a website their and all search engine marketing is already done by EBay. The Small Business Association has an office in downtown Tacoma and contains invaluable information on their website http://www.sba.com. Since small business is the backbone of our country economically, sources such as these are eager to help you create a plan with realistic expectations.

However, like anything else worthwhile, you have to do your homework and work hard at it. The problem is that too many people make you think you can practically go online and make money just clicking on a mouse. You want to steer clear of any business that asks to you to pay for their “Top Secret” e-book that will teach you how to make an automated income.”

Think about it, if you are in dire need of cash, can you imagine any other situation in which you would not only work for free, but pay for the privilege to work. There are no magic formals or secrets worth paying for. All of the information in these e-books can be found for free through your own research if you have common internet skills.

If you don’t want to work hard and just make a few easy extra bucks without donating your blood or volunteering to be a guinea pig, it is possible to make some good extra money filling out online surveys or through mystery shopping. There are real opportunities out there which require no fee to get started. Not only that, several of them will even give you a $5 bonus just for signing up. If a company such as this is legitimate, they would be making lots of money through the success of its members. Companies that require that $49.97 start up fee only make money through the fee and only want to teach you how to get other people to do the same. The products are all useless lists and general information that anyone with a functioning mind could figure out on their own, or get for free by doing their own research.

In 12 years of trying to make a living on the Internet, the following are the best companies I have ever encountered for making a few extra bucks filling out surveys, playing games and mystery shopping. They probably won’t pay the rent, but if you’re interested in making an extra $400 or $500 a month or eating out at nice restaurants and going to movies for free, you may want to check these out:

Mystery Shopping Providers Association: ." target=new>http://www.mysteryshop.org/shoppers/">.

This site contains all the information you will ever need on starting up as a mystery shopper. It is also a portal for the best sites to go to for mystery shopping jobs online, and they don’t require that you invest a penny.

InboxDollars.com. (you can sign up for free and get $5 just for signing up. You can make a few hundred dollars in one day, theoretically, if you are willing to use a credit card to sign up for free or paid trials. Just make sure you have the patience to fill out the long surveys and keep detailed records so you can remember to cancel your free trials before you get charged. Also, you can fill out surveys to make a dollar or two which are completely free. I’ve made about $400 with this site.

http://www..sendearnings.com.(almost identical to InboxDollars.com)

http://www.treasuretrooper.com. (a lot of free surveys and cool games).

http://www.tiktikcash.com. By far the best of the survey sites. The free surveys are tremendous. You can make a dollar or two in one minute. This site has the shortest, most painless surveys. I made over thirty bucks in less than after signing up.

The Battle of the Browsers – The History and the Future of Internet Browsers

With Internet Explorer 8 now available, can Microsoft hope to retain market dominance over fierce open source rivals such as Mozilla's Firefox or the feature packed Opera web browser. Can history give us a clue to what the future of web browsers/browsing might hold? How did Netscape Navigator go from having a dominant 89.36% market share of all web browsers in 1996 and yet only 3.76% by mid 1999?

Let us take a journey that will begin long before even the intellectual conception of Internet Explorer, that will glance at its long defeated rivals, examine the current browsers available and will end with a prediction of what the future of browsing will offer us – and which browser(s) will still be around to offer it.

People often think that Internet Explorer has been the dominant web browser since the golden age of the internet began. Well for a very long time now it has indeed been the most popular browser and at times been almost totally unrivalled. This was mainly a result of it being packaged free with Microsoft Windows, in what some would later call a brutal monopolisation attempt by Microsoft. The last few years however have heralded the arrival of new, possibly superior browsers. Mozilla's Firefox has been particularly successful at chipping away at Explorers market dominance. So where did it all begin, and why were Microsoft ever allowed to have a hundred percent market dominance?

Origins

The truth is they never did have total dominance, but at times they have come very close. Microsoft actually entered the Browser Battle quite late on. Infact a man named Neil Larson is credited to be one of the originators of internet browsers, when in 1977 he created a program – The TRS-80 - that allowed browsing between “sites” via hypertext jumps. This was a DOS program and the basis of much to come. Slowly other browsers powered by DOS and inspired by the TRS 80 were developed. Unfortunately they were often constricted by the limitations of the still fairly young internet itself.

In 1988, Peter Scott and Earle Fogel created a simple, fast browser called Hytelnet, which by 1990 offered users instant logon and access to the online catalogues of over five thousand libraries around the world – an exhilarating taste of what the internet, and web browsers, would soon be able to offer.

In 1989 the original World Wide Web was born. Using a NeXTcube computer, Tim Berners-Lee created a web browser that would change how people used the internet forever. He called his browser the WorldWideWeb(http://www., which is still likely to sound familiar to internet users today. It was a windowed browser capable of displaying simple style sheet, capable of editing sites and able to download and open any file type supported by the NeXTcube.

In 1993 the first popular graphical browser was released. Its name was Mosaic and it was created by Marc Andreessen and Eric Bina. Mosaic could be run on both Unix, and very importantly, on the highly popular Microsoft Windows operating system (incidentally it could also be used on Amiga and Apple computers). It was the first browser on Windows that could display graphics/pictures on a page where there was also textual content. It is often cited as being responsible for triggering the internet boom due to it making the internet bearable for the masses. (It should be noted that the web browser Cello was the first browser to be used on Windows – but it was non graphical and made very little impact compared to Mosaic).

The Browser Wars - Netscape Navigator versus Internet Explorer

Mosaic's decline began almost as soon as Netscape Navigator was released (1994). Netscape Navigator was a browser created by Marc Andreessen, one of the men behind Mosaic and co-founder of Netscape Communications Corporation. Netscape was unrivalled in terms of features and usability at the time. For example, one major change from previous browsers was that it allowed surfers to see parts of a website before the whole site was downloaded. This meant that people did not have to wait for minutes simply to see if the site they were loading was the actual one the were after, whilst also allowing them to read information on the site as the rest of it downloaded. By 1996 Netscape had almost 90% market dominance, as shown below.

Market Share Comparisons of Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer from 1996 to 1998

....................Netscape.......IE
October 1998..........64%.........32.2%
April 1998............70%.........22.7%
October 1997..........59.67%......15.13%
April 1997............81.13%......12.13%
October 1996..........80.45%......12.18%
April 1996............89.36%.......3.76%

In these two years Netscape clearly dominated the internet browser market, but a new browser named Internet Explorer was quickly gaining ground on it.

Microsoft released their own browser (ironically based on the earlier Mosaic browser which was created by one of the men now running Netscape), clearly worried about Netscape's dominance. It was not so much the worry that it would have a 100% market share of internet browsers on their Windows operating system, but more the worry that browsers would soon be capable of running all types programs on them. That would mean foregoing the need for an actual operating system, or at the most only a very basic one would be needed. This in turn would mean Netscape would soon be able to dictate terms to Microsoft, and Microsoft were not going to let that happen easily. Thus in August 1995, Internet Explorer was released.

By 1999 Internet explorer had captured an 89.03% market share, whilst Netscape was down to 10.47%. How could Internet Explorer make this much ground in just two years? Well this was down to two things really. The first, and by far the most important was that Microsoft bundled Internet Explorer in with every new copy of Windows, and as Windows was used by about 90% of the computer using population it clearly gave them a huge advantage. Internet Explorer had one other ace it held over Netscape – it was much better. Netscape Navigator was stagnant and had been for some time. The only new features it ever seemed to introduce were often perceived by the public as beneficial for Netscape's parent company rather than Netscape's user base. (i.e., features that would help it monopolise the market). Explorer, on the other hand, was given much attention by Microsoft. Regular updates and excellent usability plus a hundred million dollar investment would prove too much for Netscape Explorer.

2000 – 2005

These years were fairly quiet in the Battle of the Browsers. It seemed as if Internet Explorer had won the war and that nobody could even hope to compete with it. In 2002/2003 it had attained about 95% of the market share – about the time of IE 5/6. With over 1000 people working on it and millions of dollars being poured in, few people had the resources to compete. Then again, who wanted to compete? It was clearly a volatile market, and besides that everybody was content with Internet Explorer. Or were they? Some people saw faults with IE – security issues, incompatibility issues or simply bad programming. Not only that, it was being shoved down peoples throats. There was almost no competition to keep it in line or to turn to as an alternative. Something had to change. The only people with the ability and the power to compete with Microsoft took matters into their own hands.

Netscape was now supported by AOL. A few years prior, just after they had lost the Browser Wars to Microsoft, they had released the coding for Netscape into the public domain. This meant anybody could develop their own browser using the Netscape skeleton. And people did. Epiphany, Galeon and Camino, amongst others, were born out of Netscape's ashes. However the two most popular newcomers were called Mozilla and Firefox.

Mozilla was originally an open sourced project aimed to improve the Netscape browser. Eventually it was released as Netscape Navigator 7 and then 8. Later it was released as Mozilla 1.0.

Mozilla was almost an early version on another open source browser, Firefox. With it being an open source the public were able to contribute to it - adding in what features it needed, the programming it required and the support it deserved. The problems people saw in Internet Explorer were being fixed by members of the open sourced browser community via Firefox. For instance, the many security issues IE 6 had were almost entirely fixed in the very first release of Firefox. Microsoft had another fight on their hands.

2005 – Present

Firefox was the browser that grew and grew in these years. Every year capturing an even larger market share percentage than before. More user friendly than most of its rivals along with high security levels and arguably more intelligent programming helped its popularity. With such a large programming community behind it, updates have always been regular and add on programs/features are often released. It prides itself on being the peoples browser. It currently has a 28.38% market share.

Apple computers have had their own browser since the mid 1990's – Safari - complete with its own problems, such as (until recently) the inability to run Java scripts. However most Apple users seemed happy with it and a version capable of running on Windows has been released. It has had no major competitor on Apple Macs, and as such has largely been out of the Browser Wars. It currently holds a 2.54% market share and is slowly increasing.

Internet Explorer's market share has dropped from over 90% to around 75%, and is falling. It will be interesting to see what Microsoft will attempt to regain such a high market share.

Opera currently holds 1.07%.

Mozilla itself only has a 0.6% market share these days.

The Future of Web Browsing

Web browsers come and go. It is the nature of technology (if such a term can be used), to supplant inferior software in very short periods of time. It is almost impossible for a single company to stay ahead of the competition for long. Microsoft have the advantage of being able to release IE with any Windows using PC. That covers over 90% of the market. They also have the advantage of unprecedented resources. They can compete how they wish for as long as they wish. So there is no counting IE out of the future of web browsing.

Safari is in a similar position, being easily the most popular Mac web browser. Its long term survival is dependant upon Apple and the sale of their computers.

These are the only two browsers that are almost guaranteed another five years of life, at least. Firefox may seem like another candidate, but the public is fickle, and one bad release, or if it seriously lags behind the new Internet Explorer 8 for long, could easily see its popularity quickly descend into virtual oblivion.

However, it seems likely community driven browsers, such as Mozilla and Firefox, will be the only types of browser capable of competing with the wealthy internet arm of Microsoft in the near future.

As for web browsing itself, will it change any time soon? Well it already has for some online communities. For example, if you want to buy clothes you could try entering an online 'world' creating an online virtual You to go from 'shop to shop' with, looking at products and trying/buying what you see. Some 'worlds' allow you to recreate yourself accurately including weight and height and then try on things apparel such as jeans to give you an idea of how you would look in that particular item.

Will 'worlds' like this destroy normal web browsers such as IE ? - It seems unlikely. Traditional web browsers provide such freedom and ease of access that it is hard to see any other alternative taking over. However they are part of the new, 'thinking out of the box' wave of alternatives that some people will find attractive, and really who knows what the future will bring.

A Guide on RSS Tool

RSS is an abbreviation that has evolved into the following, depending on their versions:

• RDF Site Summary (also known as RSS 0.9; the first version of RSS)
• Rich Site Summary (also known as RSS 0.91; a prototype)
• Really Simple Syndication (also known as RSS 2.0)

Today, RSS stands for 'Really Simple Syndication', and it has the following 7 existing formats or versions:

• 0.90
• 0.91
• 0.92
• 0.93
• 0.94
• 1.0
• 2.0

RSS tools refer to a group of file formats that are designed to share headlines and other web content (this may be a summary or simply 1 to 2 lines of the article), links to the full versions of the content (the full article or post), and even file attachments such as multimedia files. All of these data is delivered in the form of an XML file (XML stands for eXtensible Markup Language), which has the following common names:

• RSS feed
• Webfeed
• RSS stream
• RSS channel


They are typically shown on web pages as an orange rectangle that usually has the letters XML or RSS in it.

RSS feeds can be used to deliver any kind of information. Some of these 'feeds' include:

• Blogs feed - each blog entry is summarized as a feed item. This makes blog posts easier to scan, enabling 'visitors' to zoom in on their items of interest.

• Article feed - this alerts readers whenever there are new articles and web contents available.

• Forum feed - this allows users to receive forum posts and latest discussion topics.

• Schedule feed - this allows users (such as schools, clubs, and other organizations) to broadcast events and announce schedule changes or meeting agendas.

• Discounts or Special feed - this is used to enable users (such as retail and online stores) to 'deliver' latest specials and discounted offers.

• Ego or News Monitoring - this enables users to receive 'filtered' headlines or news that are based on a specific phrase or keyword.

• Industry-specific feed - used by technical professionals in order to market, promote, or communicate with current (and prospective) customers and clients within their specific industries.

RSS feeds enable people to track numerous blogs and news sources at the same time. To produce an RSS feed, all you need is the content or the article that you want to publicize and a validated RSS text file. Once your text file is registered at various aggregators (or 'news readers'), any external site can then capture and display your RSS feed, automatically updating them whenever you update your RSS file.

RSS tools are useful for sites that add or modify their contents on a regular basis. They are especially used for 'web syndication' or activities that involve regular updates and/or publications, such as the following:

• News websites - as used by major news organizations such as Reuters, CNN, and the BBC.
• Marketing
• Bug reports
• Personal weblogs

There are many benefits to using RSS feeds. Aside from being a great supplemental communication method that streamlines the communication needs of various sectors, RSS tools and feeds can also have tremendous benefits in your business, particularly in the field of internet marketing.

RSS tools and feeds provide Internet users with a free (or cheap) and easy advertising or online marketing opportunity for their businesses. Below are some of the RSS features that can help make your internet marketing strategies more effective.

1. Ease in content distribution services. With RSS, your business can be captured and displayed by virtually any external site, giving you an easy way to 'spread out' and advertise them.

2. Ease in regular content updates. With RSS, web contents concerning your business can now be automatically updated on a daily (and even hourly) basis. Internet users will be able to experience 'real time' updates as information in your own file (such as new products and other business-related releases) is changed and modified simultaneously with that of the RSS feeds that people are subscribed to.

3. Custom-made content services. With RSS, visitors can have personalized content services, allowing them total control of the flow and type of information that they receive. Depending on their interests and needs, visitors can subscribe to only those contents that they are looking for (such as real estate or job listings).

4. Increase in (and targeted) traffic. With RSS, traffic will be directed to your site as readers of your content summary (or 1 to 2 lines of your article) who find them interesting are 'forced' to click on a link back to your site.

These are just several of the many things that you can do with RSS. The possibilities are endless, and they are all aimed at providing you with an effective internet marketing strategy for your business.

In the mean time, Good Luck on your journey to success…

OR if you would like to succeed immediately to create financial freedom working only 4 hours a week, check out www.secrets2internetfortunes.com.

Internet And Business Online – The Act Of Interdependence

The best role of business online is that of interdependency. We’ve all heard the old saying, “No man is an island.” When it comes to online business this is especially true.

If a business owner who takes their business into the online world determines they will be self reliant and never accept the help of anyone then that individual will not be in business long enough to change their minds.

It is accepted fact that the greatest tool for long-term exposure to your website is through Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Without it potential customers can’t find you. It is unreasonable to expect that you can adequately develop a website without optimizing your website for the best possible search engine ranking.

Search engines also place a high value on sites that have links placed on existing sites. These ‘backlinks’ demonstrate to search engines that others trust your site. By placing your link on their website these other businesses indicate a trust and recommendation for your site.

In effect the two strategies listed above rely exclusively on what others can do for you when it comes to your online business.

Shirley Temple once proclaimed in her movie Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, “I’m very self-reliant.” American westerns are filled with lines dealing with pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and holding down the fort. Many of us have grown up to believe if we want something done right we have to do it ourselves.

This thinking is in opposition to the rules associated with an online business.

The online world can only exist because people share. Individuals share technology, but the also share links, reviews, blogs, forums and a wide range of other marketing strategies that find a commingling of interdependency.

In online business you are as dependent on others as they may be on you. Unlike the word ‘dependent’, the term interdependent indicates a mutual dependency. In other words you are depending on others to help provide links back to your site while they are equally dependent on you (or others) for the success of their business.

Have you really taken a proactive approach to networking? It’s possible you are reading this today and you’ve never considered asking someone else to place a link to your site on his or her online business site.

It can feel awkward depending on others to achieve online success especially if you’ve been lead to believe reliance on others is also a sign of imposing on their otherwise brilliant generosity.

I suppose it could be a deep-seated sense of pride that makes it hard to consider the need to ask others for help. However, the truth is depending on others is really what has made the Internet possible. The growth of this online world is comprised of a link of computers, networks and servers that are connected in a way that provides the maximum benefit for all.

Building an online business can feel a bit like trying to build a house of cards. Without the ability to rely on the other ‘cards’ around you it is virtually impossible to build.

Interdependence. This is the essence of online business.

Superior Leader - Warren Buffet

Superior business leader and American investor Warren Buffett is often called “Oracle of Omaha” or the “Sage of Omaha” and philanthropist. (Wikipedia, 2007) Buffett is the CEO, and the biggest shareholder of the Berkshire Hathaway Company. Buffett’s has an estimated current net worth of approximately $52 billion in US funds. Forbes Magazine ranks Buffett the third richest person in the world in September 2007 behind Carlos Slim and Bill Gates.

Warren Buffett is known for his economical and plain lifestyle. Buffett still lives in the same Omaha, Nebraska house that he purchased in 1958 for $31,500 with a current value of $700,000. In 1989, Buffett spent $9.7 million of the Berkshire’s funds on a corporate jet. He jokingly named it “The Indefensible” because of his past criticisms of such purchases by other CEOs. (Wikipedia, 2007)

Warren Buffett decided to make a commitment to give his fortune to charity back in June 2006. Buffett’s charity donation is approximately $30 billion, which is the largest donation in the history of the United States. The donation was enough to more than double the size of the foundation with 83% of it going to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Buffett believed that his family had enough money to get started in life so Buffett decided to give his fortune to charity. Buffett’s annual salary in 2006 was only $100,000. In 2007, Buffett was listed among Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. (Wikipedia, 2007)

What makes Warren Buffett a good business leader? This is what everyone wants to know because Warren buffet is so successful. It all starts with leadership. Warren buffet is a true leader where his leadership makes a difference in the world. Leadership is very much related to change and Warren Buffett has the capabilities of leadership change to fit the changing world. Warren Buffett has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to map read in the irregular waters of change. Is Warren Buffett born a leader? The authors of this paper believe not. Experience and research has shown little evidence that an individual who comes to power is a “born leader.” Warren Buffett took the falls that any other leader has to take. Warren Buffett learned from his mistakes and turned his mistakes into a positive thing. Warren Buffett shares his leadership at all organizational levels and Buffett is empowered to share leadership responsibilities. In the world of business, many titles related to leadership roles are actively used in business and Warren Buffett wears those titles to make him effective in multiple leadership positions in business. Distinction between good leadership and good management is made often. Managers are made to be organizational, controllers and budgeters. Warren Buffett has leadership in all three departments and one must have these traits to be a good business leader.

Another important trait in Today’s business leadership is communication. Warren Buffet is a skilled communicator in all aspects of life. Communication is the real key of leadership. Skilled communicators have an appreciation for positioning in the business world. Warren Buffet is experienced at positioning himself at the right place at the right time. Warren Buffet has the understanding of the people he is trying to reach and what he can and cannot hear from the people. Knowledge of audiences’ needs and wants gives the orator the ability to listen. Warren Buffett is an excellent listener with the ability to convey his understanding.

When Warren Buffett talks, people listen. Warren Buffett can send a message through an open door and does not have to push the message through a wall.

Leadership is crucial to any successful business and good leadership is what Warren Buffett is all about. This is what makes Warren buffet a good business leader.

Mr. Warren Buffett’s investment strategies and course of leadership are shining examples of characteristics shared by cognitive theorists. Cognitive theory is an approach of explaining behavior through perception, anticipation, and thinking. Mr. Buffett’s continual approach of analyzing both possible investment choices, market trends, and the ability to place management resources of the right caliber in the right position has consistently brought this investor to the forefront amongst peers and the marketplace. At the core of every sound investor is a creative innovator.

Innovation demands creativity. Creativity in turn draws on our cognitive faculties, across the full amplitude from emotion to reason. In the number-heavy world of global investing, innovative thinking is critical. Innovative investors decipher future trends, spot likely winners by combining science (financials) with art (acuity and perception) and continuously mitigate risk. They assess user needs, product features, the proper deployment of money, professional organizational structures and risk management. (Kore Kalibre, 2006)

Mr. Buffett’s instinct and ability to interpret market trends is also held by tight reigns. Despite over 50 years of growth, Mr. Buffett always adheres to one of the most basic business principles: “…only compete where you have a competitive advantage. Warren Buffett refers to staying within your circle of competence. Social psychologists tell us, though, that we are prone to overconfidence when it comes to assessing our abilities…” (Arthridge, 2006) A man of Warren Buffett’s position and track record could easily be derailed to a sense of over confidence. The principle of only competing within your range of competitive advantage is a principle that can be applied to many other areas in life, and Mr. Buffett’s ability to work and live by this idea has allowed him to continue forward with minimal bruising.

By establishing the previous examples, the authors can reinforce the principles of cognitive theory in that Mr. Buffett behavior patterns are clearly dictated by thought processes, which include interpretation, analysis, and foresight. “As experiences and events gain meaning and value, the process becomes increasingly top down as the mind in (a) attempt at an orderly process influences perception though beliefs, goals and external process” (Gardener, 2007)

Warren Buffett’s is a self empowered leader, because he is loyal, sets goals, plans a strategy for achievement, and stays committed until he accomplishes his purpose. Up to date, he is the greatest stockbroker of all-time. He is a very conservative investor that prefers to invest in companies that sell name brand products that he uses. For example, Coca-Cola, Gillette Razors, See’s Candy, Gulfstream Jet, and GEICO are the major companies he invested in. In the nineties his assets quadrupled in less than five years. He is a smart investor that usually does not take big investment risks. For example, he will not invest in internet stock, because the return is unpredictable. He likes to invest in companies that he is sure will be successful 20 years later. He buys the company with the intentions of keeping it forever. Usually, the management team of each company is the same staff that sold it Warren Buffett from the beginning. He stays loyal to his partners, and the team workstheir best to keep him happy.

After Warren Buffett’s wife died, he decided to donate 85% of his money to charity. However, “he wants his money to be used the same year he donates it”.(Harris, 2006) The requirement will accelerate the process to help the world. According to Fortune magazine, five-sixths of his money will go to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This foundation which focus on finding cures for diseases that are common in poor nations. The rest of the money will be split among four other charities, that are each run by his three children and one that is in his late wife’s name.

Warren Buffett is not a huge spender. In fact, he still lives in the same house he bought 40 years ago. Warren “told ABC News “Nightline” that being born into wealth did not entitle his children”(Harris, 2006). In addition, he told Fortune magazine that, “A very rich person would leave his kids enough to do anything, but not enough to do nothing.”(Harris, 2006) In other words, he wants his children to work earn their money and value hard work and smart choices.

In the year 2006, Warren’s first annual donation to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was $1.5 billion and the rest was divided among the four charities. He was the first person to make a donation better than Bill Gates, the richest man in the world. It seems as if Bill Gates and Warren Buffett set a good example and lead others to be more generous, because now the Barron Hilton has committed to donating half of his fortune to charity also. Barron Hilton is the founder of the Hilton Hotels and is worth $2.3 billion. Hopefully, a trend started among the fortunate to give to the less fortunate.

The personality of Warren Buffett ties to the Social Cognitive Level, because he tries to understand and make sense of other people. He observes the differences in social knowledge when dealing with people. Social cognition refers to making sense of ourselves, others, and how the information is used. In the sixties and seventies Albert Bandura and Walter Mischel were psychologists, studying personality development. They found that social learning and cognitive principles improve ones abilities to self-regulate and to follow goals. Warren investment choices were successful, because he conditioned his the way he processed information, choices, and expectations.

Roadmap To Online Success - One Hour A Day, Five Days A Week

All great journeys begin with a single step. If you stand on the sideline and mutter to yourself about the distance, then you will never start your journey, let alone complete it.

As youngsters, we did not worry about time or distance. We only knew that we wanted to go, and we could not understand our parents' insistence that something was too far away. Now, as adults, we sometimes let our adult sensibilities stand in the way of what we want.

Let me ask you a question. Have you ever thought to yourself that you would like to start your own online business and cash in on the success that others are experiencing on the Internet? If so, what is stopping you?

Many people tell me that they do not have the time to start or run an online business.

Other people tell me that they do not have the resources to start and run an online business.

Some people tell me that they do not have the requisite knowledge.

Does any of this sound familiar to you?

STOP! THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE SAYING.

How much television do you watch each week?

How much money do you squander on fountain soft drinks or snacks?

Have you ever watched an educational television program or asked a friend about something you wanted to learn about?

My point is this...

The sociologists tell us that the average American watches 15 hours of television each week. If you could bring yourself to give up one program each day --- you decide which ones --- then you would have all of the time that you require to start and operate a successful online business.

If you buy your soft drinks in two-liter bottles, you will pay as much or less for your soft drink habit as you currently spend on one 32-ounce fountain drink. The money you save on frivolous spending could more than pay for your web hosting and a bit of advertising.

It you have taken 15 minutes out of your day in the last year to learn something new, then you have the skills necessary to learn what you need to learn, to be successful in an online business. It doesn't take much time or effort to learn what you need to learn, if you can find yourself a good mentor to help you get up to speed about this medium.

I have a full-time job, and yet, I have managed to successfully start two online businesses.

IT IS ALL ABOUT COMMITMENT

Commit yourself to one hour a day, $20-$30 per month, and one hour's worth of education in a workweek. If you can meet these bare minimum requirements, then you too can find the success you desire and crave.

The definition of success varies from person-to-person.

Maybe success for you would be to earn an extra $100 per month, so that you can take the family to an extra movie a month or give your wife a "mom's night off", where she does not have to cook at all one day a month.

Maybe success for you would be to find an extra $250 per month so that you can afford to take those classes at the local University Extension, so that you can get that big promotion and big raise at your job.

Maybe success for you would be the extra $500 per month so that you can afford to pay for a new used car for you and your family.

Perhaps, your idea of success is much bigger. Maybe you want to earn enough from an online business so that you can quit your job. Maybe you hope to earn enough that you could leave that 60-hour a week job and have more time to spend with your family. That is definitely a goal worth aiming to achieve. Your kids will only grow up once.

HERE IS THE ROADMAP TO GET YOU STARTED

1. You do not have to have your own product or service to make money online. You can sell other people's products and services, and you can earn a commission on those transactions. There are two types of programs available that can help you to sell other people's products and services. They are called Network Marketing/MLM programs and Affiliate Programs. The Network Marketing/MLM variety tends to offer a more comprehensive system for making money.

2. Find a program that offers a variety of products and services so that you can extend your own product and service offerings and reach out to a wider marketplace.

3. Find a program that offers more tutorials and resources to help you to become successful.

4. Find a program that offers mentoring through their systems. Network Marketing/MLM type companies rely on the mentor structure to grow their businesses. With Affiliate Programs, you are often on your own. Mentor's are individuals who are in the same business as you are, who are willing to guide you and help you to become successful in the business.

5. Commit yourself to one hour per day, five days per week, for learning about the business, and growing your online business.

6. Don't give up on your business. Don't give up on yourself. This should actually be the first item on my list. The Network Marketing model will not fail, if you put your mind and energy to following through with your plan. If anyone was to tell you that Network Marketing/MLM is a dead-end road, don't listen to him or her. People who fail in Network Marketing/MLM are those who fail to make a commitment and fail to follow-through.

7. Don't rely on the free website that the Network Marketing/MLM company provides to you. You can use this website to sell the companies products and services, but you do need to display it inside of your OWN domain. These days, you can register your domain for a year for much less than $20 per year, and you can get a good web hosting account for less than $30 per month. Your mentor can teach you how to set up your domain to host your web interface from your chosen Network Marketing/MLM program.

8. Try a couple of the products you sell through your Network Marketing/MLM program. In most cases, this is not a requirement, but it is a strong recommendation. Once you have used the product or service, you will understand much more about it, which will help you to tell other people about it and why they would want to purchase it.

If you use the resources that the company makes available to you, and you commit yourself to your $20-$30 per month and one hour a day, five days a week, you will soon find yourself basking in the success that you have desired for so long.

Don't be afraid to contact your upline mentors. If you need help, ask for it. Your upline mentors are more successful, when you are more successful. It is in their best interest to help you find the success you so richly deserve.

Money Does Talk!

When buying something, you can buy in one of two markets. The first is buying on terms in the retail market and the second is buying in the wholesale cash market. This can be illustrated by referring to the biggest purchase we all make in our lifetime - Real Estate.

In recent years, when you are buying a house it is easy to get financing of the first mortgage, so the seller is not forced to finance the whole sale. What I mean is the seller doesn’t become your first mortgage holder, the bank lends the money and the seller get the cash. Moreover, he will most likely make some concessions if he doesn’t have to carry back a second trust deed.

Therefore giving the seller all cash, will usually get you a better deal than asking the seller to let you buy the house with a very low down payment, with him carrying back a sizable trust deed. The big savings come when you are buying real estate that doesn’t have easy institutional financing available. The purchase of vacant land can be the best example.

My father was interested in buying industrial lots in the city of Montebello, just east of downtown Los Angeles. This was during the 1960’s. In those days it was common for a buyer to put down 20% and the seller to finance the remaining 80% for 10 years at 8% interest. For example: a $10,000 lot would cost you $2,000 down with $97.06 payments every month. After 10 years the total of the principal and interest payments would be $13,647.45. If you wanted to build on the property you had to pay off the land loan, first. The sellers then would not have to wait the whole 10 years before getting all their money.

Many property owners sold their property because they wanted money and getting the $2,000 wasn’t much money to them. So, my father would offer $5,000 all cash to the sellers. More than 1 out of 5 would take the cash up front instead of waiting for payments over 10 years. By offering the extra $3,000 cash down, my father saved $8,647.45 on the sale ($5,000 on the price reduction, plus the interest on the note). Now that is buying wholesale!!

Buying cars can be done the same way. When you pay retail, the dealer talks monthly payments. If he lowers the price, he’ll raise the interest rate. When you are buying for cash, he can only talk price. When you are leasing an automobile, they don’t even tell you the price!

The major consideration in leasing a car or not, is made by the leasing company to be all about what the monthly payment is going to be and how much extra it is going to cost you when you drive over 12,000 miles per year. Ever financed a used car from a “no credit check” dealer? He gets you for 36% interest on the balance you borrow, after getting a 50% down payment from you. Then if you miss a payment he takes the car and sues you for the difference. Buy what you can afford in cash and save making the lenders rich.

I read a report once that said that the average man makes $1,500,000 over his lifetime. Of that amount, he uses $600,000 to pay the interest on his purchases. Let’s look at the purchase of a home, from a slightly different point of view. A man who makes $1,500,000 in a lifetime will be earning on average about $30,000 a year or $2,500 per month.

He can afford to spend 40% of his income on rent or a mortgage payment. This means that he can afford a $150,000 house. If he can qualify for a 90% loan he would owe $135,000 at 8% amortized over 30 years. That means he pays $221,609.58 interest plus the $150,000 principal to buy this one house and pay it off over 30 years. The interest alone is almost 15% of his lifetime earnings! Buying anything on credit can cost you more than the retail price because you must add the interest to the cost of the item.

My suggestion. Buy for cash and negotiate for the best price you can get. If you must borrow, pay it off in as short a time possible. Also, never borrow for personal consumption. Postpone the purchase long enough to pay cash. If you can’t afford to wait until you save the money, you shouldn’t buy the item. It is just too expensive. To buy on payments raises the cost even higher than the cash price, so it becomes even more expensive. So if you cannot afford the cash price, you definitely cannot afford the financed price. My suggestion is to pay cash and buy wholesale. BUY THE BEST, PAY CASH