Life’s a journey, not a destination…
…and I just can’t tell just what tomorrow brings…
What a great response to my first ever post! Thank you for visiting my blog and taking the time to read & leave me a comment.
As I write this, I’ve just driven back from visiting my parents, and in the car on the way home I was thinking about this online journey we’re on (in between singing and dancing about to music). Some of the journey was foggy which meant I had to concentrate, but it also gave me the title for this blog entry, so I guess I shouldn’t complain!
Anyway, I was thinking. This adventure that we’re on as part of Alex’s mentoring programme is like a car journey. We’re reading a map and following directions (from Alex) to get to our chosen destinations. Sometimes it will be foggy and you won’t be able to see the road ahead, although you know it’s there somewhere. At times like that, you’re grateful for the sight of another car ahead of you (a companion) – you can follow their lights as well as trying to see the road (working together to progress). At other times, there will be a lot of distractions on your journey – other road signs trying to get you off course (hype monsters), diversions (problems, whether technical or otherwise), running out of fuel (no longer KOTOBOT). But as we’re all in this together, it’s like the TEAM analogy – Together Everyone Achieves More.
Talking of diversions, I learned the importance of permalinks this weekend. There I was being all pleased with myself thinking I’d finally got my blog set up, but then realised that people couldn’t comment and couldn’t click on the whole post (I had the post teaser plug-in installed and it wouldn’t display the whole post when clicked on).
So – I copied & pasted the error message along with a plea for help into a couple of people’s blogs. I figured someone would know exactly what I’d done incorrectly and would be able to help me.
Within the hour I was back up & running again – thanks to Dean Holland, Austin Delaney and Mark McWilliams.
We’ve got an absolute wealth of knowledge here on the mentoring programme, and it’s great to know that everyone so far has been so friendly and helpful.
Oh, while I think of it, have a look at Austin’s page he’s set up – it’s got blog updates from all of Alex’s students – pop over and check that your blog is on there & that your posts are being fed into it. I think it’s going to prove a really useful resource.
On the same lines, Garry Parkes is just about to launch his 1st edition of his newsletter – I know he and Mark Austin have been working really hard to ensure we’re all in there as well.
Has anyone figured out what Gary Simpson’s ‘Project X’ is yet? He was running a competition over on his site – have a look.
On that note, I’m off to write my Christmas cards. I might even get a little sleep in there somewhere!
Speak soon,
Nikki aka Nix from the Nickelodeon (ask Gaz-Man from the Gaz-Land!!)
December 17th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
Nix,
You are quite a little story-teller in your own right, aren’t you? I was almost in that car with you… “I’m drivin’, “I’m drivin’…” Better not keep going with that Kings of Leon stuff, huh? That song has been on about a dozen times today and it is in my head - which is a scary place for anything to be.
And another thing… in the short piece above you managed to give so many other people credit for what they are doing.
This was a great piece of writing!
Regards
Gaz-Man from Gazz-Land
http://motivationselfesteem.com/talk
PS: There is a little surprise in Gazza Parkes’ newsletter for ya Nix. heh… heh…
December 17th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
I didn’t realise Kings of Leon had those lyrics - it was Aerosmith and their song Amazing that I got those lyrics from - so far both my post titles have been song lyrics - reckon I’m onto something!
Ooh, so what’s Parkesy been up to then - I shall have to go see now!
Glad you’re liking the story - I thought I might have just been rambling on for far too long as per usual!
Nix
December 17th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Hi Nikki
Thanks for pointing out the comments visibility… I’m sure this’ll all get a bit easier soon. Like you say, we’re all learning every day.
You asked whereabouts I am; well, most of the time I’m in a quandry in Cornwall.. I read in Jerry’s post that you’re in Bristol (btw there’s nothing coming up when I click your about page. Mine neither, but in my case it would be because I haven’t actually written anything yet…) I’ve been to Bristle quite often over the years, as my sister went there to do Nursing and my daughter went there to do Maths.
I liked your parallels with a car journey. I think the journey analogy is very appropriate. Quite a few of us have chosen names for their blogs which refer to it. ‘Nadav’s Journey’(http://nsaltsman.com) is one, and you can see he’s done a great job there even before you realise how young he is.
Which reminds me, it’s time I got back to making blog presentable and capable of doing what it’s supposed to!
All the best,
James
http://jameswoodfield-online.com/blog
December 17th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Oh man, now what’s happened - I’ve lost my About Me page. Damn it! I bet that’s out of fear as Gaz-Man was referring to me getting a picture on there.
Need to get that sorted now - thanks for pointing out it wasn’t working!
Technology…grr…!
Nikki
December 17th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Hi Nikki,
Just dropping by to say “Hi”.
Nice blog, I like the approach you are taking
Check your footer, your blogroll is going to cause you problems.
Regards,
Eoin
December 17th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Hi Nikki,
Thank you for being the 2nd ‘Alexateer’ to visit my shiny new ‘Blog’.
I have added you to my roll of honour.
I will pop by again soon to see what you are up to.
Best
Bri
December 17th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Eoin,
Thanks for pointing that out - can you tell I’m new at this?! Any thoughts on how to remove the blogroll from my footer would be much appreciated!
Thanks,
Nikki
December 17th, 2008 at 10:54 pm
Hi Nikki,
Thanks for stopping by my blog, hope the image of myself in fishnets and Top Hat did not give you ‘nightmares’ lol !!
The problem in the footer could either be a ‘widget’ you have added..
Or look for theme editor and then footer.php and remove manually?
Cheers
Tommy
http://www.tommy-mclaughlin.com
December 17th, 2008 at 11:41 pm
Hi Nikki,
thanks for the visit luv your site keep up the good work, one day i will get it right.
kind regards
Nicos.
December 18th, 2008 at 4:20 am
Nix,
I came over and expected to see you and… and… and… I looked and… I saw Jack ****! Where are ya gal?
Gary Simpson
http://motivationselfesteem.com/talk
PS: I’m havin’ a pow-wow about the PPP Newsletter #1 over at Gazz-Land. You’re invited. Don’t be late Nix.
December 18th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Nikki
Tweet Tweet! I enjoyed your post and writing style….keep in touch and every success to you!
Harry
http://harryharrisblog.com
December 18th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Hi all,
Tommy, I’ve replied on your blog, will get into the html tomorrow and try to get it all sorted - keep an eye out because I’ll probably be back with questions!
Nicos, I emailed you this morning with screenshots of my WP admin & pointers on how to find the relevant parts, as well as details of the Google Analytics plugin I’m using - hope this helps!
Gaz-man, as soon as I figure out how to get a pic in here without royally f**king it up (pardon my English) then I’ll do so - you may want to be sitting down at the time though! I’ve been over to your pow-wow, thanks for the invite
Harry, thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
Later peeps!
Oh, enjoy the coaching tonight - I’m without internet access so will miss this one as well
so will be playing catch-up even more!
Nikki
December 19th, 2008 at 1:55 am
Hey Nikki
Great story telling - you will go far with writing talent like that
Let us know if we can help with anything.
Found your blog watching Alex’s coaching call during the twitter session. You’re now famous!
Catch up soon
JJ
December 19th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Nix,
You asked over at Gary-Land
It ain’t a rumour Nix. It’s a FACT! We saw your pic on twitter and a few of your tweets. Cute Nix. Real cute.
Hey send me an email and I’ll send you a SURPRISE. I have just this moment zipped it up.
Gaz-Man from Gaz-Land
http://motivationselfesteem.com/talk
PS: What is all this swearing going on at the Nickelodeon?
December 19th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Hi Nikki,
Love the colour scheme of the blog.
Need to jazz mine up a bit but I’m a bit worried about doing it at moment. Don’t want to cause a problem and all the traffic can’t get through to me because I muck something up.
That’s main reason I’m not upgrading to Wordpress 2.7. Is it going to cause me problems????
Thanks for helping out promoting the Newsletter by the way - you secured you name in the “Hall of Fame” as it were. Hope it all starts paying dividends for us all soon.
Garry,
http://garryparkes.com/
December 19th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Hi Garry,
I’m using 2.7 as that’s what it installed automatically - pop over to Tommy McLaughlin’s blog as he’s been talking about upgrading and any potential technical problems, so he’s a good place to start!
Thanks for the comment, glad you like the look of my blog!
Nikki
December 20th, 2008 at 2:21 am
Hi Nikki,
I’m glad to see your blog is up running. It feel good to get help from the fellow students isn’t it?
Thanks for visiting my site and I already added you to my blogroll.
Best wishes to you,
Will
http://WillLim.com
December 20th, 2008 at 2:44 am
Hello Nikki,
I am so sorry it’s taken me this long to get to your blog. I admire your blogging skills.
I’ve been wondering for a long time who you are. I see you everywhere I go. Your like the butterfly of the group. Thanks for posting about Austin.
I moved him up on my list of places to visit because of your post. Been there, hot, hot, hot!
I think of you as the keeper of information. When I want to know what someone is doing, I’m coming to you first.
Be back soon,
Mrs Renee Olson
http://marketingwithrenee.com/
December 20th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Hi Nikki,
I like your style of writing, keep up the good work!
How’s your traffic plan coming along?!
I have put a post on my blog about traffic tactics that have worked for me so far. One of the best has been Squidoo. I only have one lens on there at present but it has been a high traffic source.
My youtube video has also had a lot of hits and driving traffic to my ppp. I haven’t used twiter to it’s full potential but the tweetmyblog plugin is very effective (details in my post).
Let me know what’s working for you!
All the best
Mark
http://missioninternetmarketing.com
December 20th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Hi Nikki,
Fellow Alex Jeffreys student here!
I am doing a short promotional video, and would like to know if it’s ok to use a screenshot of your website?
Let me know. Just drop me at the email address above.
Good luck!
Joe
http://www.JoeTrueman.com
December 20th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Hi Nikki,
Lovin’ your writing. You are a very talented lady.
Thanks for your post on my blog.
In response to your question - I’m also from the UK, living in Bucks at the moment.
I’ve discovered a great piece of software that speeds up your ability to produce any text related documents and radically increase your productivity.
Check out my blog post for further details.
Please also add me to your blogroll - you’re already on mine!
To your success,
Dave
http://www.DavePumfrey.com
December 22nd, 2008 at 3:52 am
hey Nikki,
I hope all is going well and you caught up with module 4 this week - and i also hope to see you on the live brainstorming session tomorrow,
but i just quickly wanted to drop by and show you my new blog post - (maybe you could benifit the oil rig hop)
http://marketingwithyou.com/its-time-to-shine-in-2009/
talk soon
Alex Jeffreys
December 22nd, 2008 at 4:06 am
Hi Nikki,
What a beautiful home you have . . . I love lavender!
Glad to hear you got your links figured out. There several blogs/homes I visited today who had the same issue going on.
Very clever prose; I’ll be back to read more soon.
Stop by and visit with me. One of my traffic tactics is to spend time each day “oil rig hopping”, to see what I can learn from everyone and hopefully be able to help out on occasion, too.
Happy holidays,
Theresa
December 23rd, 2008 at 2:53 am
Hi Nikki,
First time here on your blog. Nice work, I liked that car journey analogy. I added you to my blogroll.
I have put some updates on what is working for me in terms of traffic. Squidoo definitely and delicious as well.
Keep in touch,
Gordan
http://www.gordan
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Nix!
Just went to your “About Page.”
Woohoo. Hubba, hubba.
Seriously CUTE!
Heh…heh… that’ll get everyone curious and tearing over there quick smart.
It was worth the wait! LOL!
Gazz-Man from the Gallactic-Gazza-Galaxy
http://motivationselfesteem.com/talk
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Nix,
OK, just read your comment at the Gallactic-Gazza-Galaxy (nice alliteration, huh?) - otherwise known as my blog (I hate that word, actually - blog - ugh!)
How about this then? Smolderingly sultry. I better leave it at that - people will get the wrong idea.
I do appreciate all your activity over at my “blog” though. It is a dumb word, isn’t it? And it sounds obscene. BLOG! Duh! Who dreams this stuff up?
Gary SIMPSON
http://motivationselfesteem.com/talk
December 23rd, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Hey Nikki!
Maybe the destination is SUCCESS!!! With Alex as our esteemed leader, I like to think so anyway.
Come over and visit sometime. I like your style. it’s light and breezy.
Good luck with your information marketing journey. I hope you realise that Challenge has just become your new partner in Life!!!!
Take care and I wish you well. See you over at my place
Cols
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Hey Nikki,
I have just put a video on my blog, I have done a JV with Disney World! Watch the video, I’m sure it will bring a smile to your face.
Happy Christmas!
Mark
http://missioninternetmarketing.com
December 25th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Hi Nikki,
Came across your blog while checking on Gary-land. Decide to hop over and i am blown away by blog. Where did you get the theme. The colour, setting and yeah, your blog is so neat and tidy. Your post are something else. Lots of link and credit to you. Giving the credits to those who give you credits.
So, how is your plan attack on traffics generation going on?
If you have the time, drop by my squidoo lens at http://www.squidoo.com/listbuildingjeffrey and http://www.squidoo.com/TRAFFIC-GENERATIONS–SOCIAL-MEDIA-MARKETING.
DO LEAVE A COMMENT ON MY BLOG ABOUT MY SQUIDOOSSSS.
Have a nice day.
Bye.
Cheers,
Sincerely,
Jeffrey
http://jeffreyblogonline.com
P.S. Please add me to your blogroll. I have added you to my blogroll.
December 26th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Hello,
Lovely blog, purple is my favourite colour, along with pink.
I am looking forward to reading more blog posts from you, well done on setting it up and adding permalinks, that’s great.
Best wishes,
Ruth