What happened 37 seconds ago?

Did you ever think about a great idea but then gave up on thinking and forgot about it? Did you ever see someone else talk about an idea that you thought of in the first place? Did you know that merely a minute ago you missed another opportunity of your life to be happy, rich and famous?

Human brain is a constant idea generator. The sad thing is that every generated idea lives only 37 seconds in our mind according to all major research institutions. Majority of people forget about their ideas or even worse do not consider them to be worthy of consideration. Every 37 second period that can change our lives forever just ticks away in most of the cases. We do not care because we have thoushands of seconds and there is no panic at all. What a sad picture? Isn't it?

Usually ideas come to us in our dreams, fantasies, meetings, discussions or while we watch tv. I remember people striking in front of Wall Street saying they were 99%...sad but true 99% of people do not realize that they have ideas inside their heads. And who gets to be in this 1% group?

According to Forbes there are only +-1200 billionaires in the world that changed the whole world with their "crazy ideas"...look at craziest ratio when adding the worlds total population. It makes 1% if you add up thousands of multi-millionaires to that list.  I am not even mentioning great scientists, artists, public figures and authors.

What is our difference from these guys? The secret lays in our attitude towards our ideas and what we do after 37 seconds when our next idea is generated and is waiting to be modified.
Here is the list of 5 things we do to kill our ideas as soon as they appear:

1. We do not write them down. Why bother it is just an idea. Who cares if someone else thinks of the same idea and does Google, Facebook, Twitter or Youtube? Who cares if someone else changes lives of millions and gets all the benefits from it? So next time when you have some idea banging on your door just note it down. The best memory can not replac a written piece of paper. In the worst case someone else will find your paper and make fortune out of it.

2. We do not discuss our ideas? We discuss what we eat, what is in fashion and what is in news for hours. We discuss all the "significant" issues in the world but not our ideas. They do not deserve our attention at all. Why is that? Well may be our childhood had lots of cases when we were told to stop being "silly", "crazy" and "outstanding"...we were constantly told to be "normal". So as a normal person we prefer to discuss normal things instead of million dollar projects or dreams that take our breath away.

3. We tell our idea to "stupid" people! Let me bring Victor Antonio's (Sales Influence Coach) definition of "stupid". According to him there are 3 types of stupid people. First type is the one that does not know. Second Type is the one who knows that he does not know. And finally the Third Type which knows that he doesn't know but pretends to know. Please be aware of such people and be carefull when you share your ideas with people. Be more "selective" when giving out ideas like Wikipedia, Iphone or Ebay to people who have no prior knowledge or expertise in that field.

4. We do not believe that our ideas cost a penny. Any venture, project or business was projected in someones head and then with the power of belief built from a scratch. Global brands were just ideas once. But some people believed that they can make it big time. So anytime you have doubt about your potential to come up with some outstanding idea just remember you define the price tag. You decide whether it is just local shop or multi-national chain of retail stores. (Wal-Mart) 

5. We don't take action! We all want everything from life but when it comes to "action" part most of us suck at it. Why? Because we are too lazy, too comfortable, too smart, too satisfied and too sarcastic. Ideas hate when they are treated with less action. They require massive amount of energy and time. Trial and error. Go until the end. Never give up and make it happen! This is what usually quality people hear in their heads.
Others hear voices such as "Stop before getting screwed", "Better to be safe", "Why bother", "They are lucky". People hate action especially if it is not materially rewarded. If not so nobody would work from 9 to 6. Trust me. People hate doing what they do but money silences them. Imagine working for your own idea that will not only change your life but also will transfer other lives. What if your idea will feed millions of families. What if you become more valuable to your community? Think about it.

My advice:
When any idea strikes you next time...be it in the middle of the night...wake up and run to get pen and paper. Write it down. Discuss it with your "head-mates". Believe in yourself and your ability to make this idea work. Share this post with others who matter to you. Who knows what doors are waiting for you to open them? Only you know! Make one little step towards your dream. Be it consultance, personal development, a book or a meeting. Grab the opportunity and do not waste your 37 seconds!
Good luck!

Blog for Top or Post for the Most

Dear Friends,

Every decade has an emerging trend that requires immediate attention. Otherwise you just miss another opportunity to change your life for better. So what is trendy today? What makes difference in a viral world? One word comes to mind. Blogging. Go to every corner of the world and you will see a blogger standing out of the crowd. Just like many of you I also had  "What is this new "blogging" fewer? Should I involve myself into it?" kind of questions. 

What is a blog? 
A blog  is a hyper-active version of web page which consists of  "posts" typically displayed in reverse chronological order so the most recent post appears first. Blogs are usually the work of a single individual, occasionally of a small group.

Who can be a blogger?
Anyone who wants to be. There are no limitations on age, gender or field of expertise. All you need to know is Wordpress or Blogspot skills which you can get in two weeks depending on time you have and previous internet knowledge. Besides you will need a personal domain or web-platform to start blogging.
Go to blogspot.com or wordpress.org to get the basic info on how to start.

What to blog about?
Anything that comes to your mind is welcome. In fact internet has the most transparent audience. Though famous bloggers today blog about personal experience, fashion, online tutorials, daily tips or international news. In addition to that you can also do video blogging via youtube if you are not into typing and editing. So it is up to you to decide on the topic but please make sure you write some solid content which will intrigue the readers and gives a better scope on your personality. I will reflect back on the "content" issue later on my other posts.

Why do you need blogging?
Answers may seem obvious but you should take some time and make a serious decision before you actually start blogging. A blog presumes a lot of time, energy and passion investment from any individual who agrees upon above mentioned terms. So you must be willing to pay the cost for a particular reason that matters only for you. I personally had three reasons that I want to share with you and hope it helps in your decision making.

1. Blogging gives instant publicity. (Brand yourself for free) 
Firstly, I admit that I started my primary blog just for fun and had no definite purpose. But as I got involved in it I found myself swayed by the power of blogging tools. Something I started for fun turned out to be 6000 Page views in 57 days. I did not imagine such publicity before. I could not sleep on the 58th day because I knew this was something big.

Imagine HR department of some fancy company calling you over night and saying they are interested in having you as their employee. Sounds perfect, doesn't it? I got a message from the chief editor of Cosmopolitan Azerbaijan  saying Joshgun are you interested in contributing for us? I was flattered to read it. I never got into direct touch with that magazine publisher before blogging. Only after that offer I felt the endless opportunities coming towards me.  

 Think about your blog as an eye-catching CV or PR release that attracts visitors online. Besides you enjoy this branding tool for free. All you need is some tutorials on how to pr yourself. In this respect I advise you to visit problogger.net and see what Darren Rowse has to say about self-branding and blogging to get your goals achieved. I personally learned a lot from this man and today I eat the fruits of my sleepless nights sitting in front of his tutorial videos.

2. Blogging means extra income. (Make money online)
Over a period of time as you evolve into a professional blogger you get decent amount of money for doing your "thing".  Today there are plenty of sites that look for freelance writers, contributors and copywriters. In addition to that you get Google Adsense which gives you money in return to their ads which are placed within your blog page. I promise to cover this topic briefly on one of my upcoming posts.

There is something you should know before dreaming about big pay cheques. Any six-fugure income earner admits that it takes at least 2-5 years to make this happen. So do not expect outrageus results over night. But hey, cheers up 2-5 years are better than 20-40 years of 9-6 life span which is not financially fit.

3. Blogging gives a better ability to share (Help others)
There are millions of people using Google and other search engines for one particular reason. They want to lear how. Most of them search for the best tutorial that gives them what they want. I remember times when I started with no idea on how to make a blog. I was lost and helpless. Later I decided to go online and see if someone else is willing to share the HOW? I got shocked to see thousands of people who posted online tutorials and tips that eased up the whole blogging procedure. From platform design to content marketing, from html secrets to traffic sourcing...you can find anything out on the web.

You can share your knowledge, your experience, your ideas with other people in a matter of seconds. The power of blogging is power of people who are willing to help others. So if you have something important to share but you are not into writing a book or doing a fancy conference then blogging is a perfect solution. In less than two weeks you get the massive ability to give away usefull data that enriches other people's lives. What could be better than that?

So If you have not made your mind about blogging consider these reasons and make your choice afterwards.
Good Luck!

Azerbaijan For Dummies

Dear foreign people,

“Especially foreign teachers, students, politicians, sports people and travellers.”

We decided to promote our country in a more native way than the official “come visit us commercials” which do not give you the real insights of our dear motherland. As I travelled abroad I constantly witnessed lack of knowledge in people when topic was Azerbaijan. I still remember some American students calling us “little Russia” which pissed me off many time. Because we were not little and we definitely were not Russia.

For those of you that hear the name of my country for the first time let me help you with pronouncing it right. It is Azerbaijan (Azer-buy-jun-gle without the (-gle) part). Most of you start off with a wrong pronounciation which hurts because it is our country name for God sake.

Foreign people are constantly bombarded with myths about developing countries (especially Azerbaijan).  This is why we (me and partner Orkhan Ahmadov) decided to hold a non-profit project for people who are interested in coming, will visit or want to know almost anything about Azerbaijan. We are going to share exclusive insights that you will hear only from native Azeris.

 Azerbaijan is an ancient country with a modern chaos within the social structure. This country is more like an exhibition center for multi-cultural bounds that decorate the very streets of its cities.

We live in a country which has an amazing combination of traditions, religions, political and social views.

This is just a prelude to our unbelievable tour inside the “Land of Fires”…fires which are caused by pipelines and doner makers…

Dear visitors and candidates to visiting…prepare yourself to an amazing discovery while you are in Azerbaijan! Everything will be different along the journey. Everything will be Azeri way. So put on your helmet and fasten your seatbelts if they are safe and not sold by any azeri already. Enjoy your stay, travel or exchange experience. Whatever it is you will never forget this country…especially the girls…food…places…and cars…

What else can you expect from a country that has something in common with Russia, Iran, Turkey, Georgia and of course BP…it must be something bold and crazy! Something that will blow you away…by the way our capital city Baku (Ba-co-ol without the (-ol) part) is often called the city of winds. So the being blown up part is guaranteed almost four months in a year.

This is my first post. This is why I will make it sure that you get a handy tip of the day:

“If you see two men kissing each other in the middle of the city do not get suprised. They are not gays…they are “gagash’s” who kiss in a customized way. This kind of greeting is general for Azeri youth which reminds us of Miami at times but we are so italian when it comes to greeting each other.”

Gagash is the “cowboy” version of a boy who usually drives an old Russian manufactured Vaz 2107 or Vaz2106 car and plays loud exotic music inside his car. He makes sure that every one around hears his music. Please ignore gagash’s if you can and the rest will be fine.

To be continued…

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