Pony Of Prey Blog

November 2, 2005 (Boston, MA) - Travel enthusiasts this holiday
season will unwrap the power to enjoy the best of nine cities
across the U.S., thanks to friends, family and corporate
gift-givers. Smart Destinations’ Go USA Card is the first
product of its kind and is revolutionizing how consumers
maximize their travel experience: a single card offering
unlimited, flexible, fully pre-paid admission to hundreds of
attractions in multiple cities nationwide. Customers can
purchase the Go USA Card in increments of 1, 2, 3, 5 or 7 days,
to be used any time within a year at any combination of more
than 300 attractions participating in the following markets:
Boston, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Chicago, Orlando,
Miami, Los Angeles and Hawaii. Los Angeles will be available
starting November 15. Go USA Cards can be purchased online at
www.GoUSACard.com.

“This is the only card in any country that allows the holder
unlimited access to dozens of top attractions in multiple
destination cities, and includes the flexibility to be used over
the course of a year,” said Cecilia Dahl, president of Smart
Destinations. “Building on the Go Boston Card and its sister
products, we achieved the critical mass needed to create a card
that works universally among all our markets. As a result, the
Go USA Card is the only card that lets consumers ‘day hop’ and
‘city hop’ across the U.S., with all admissions fully pre-paid.
Plus, with dozens of attractions in each market, travelers
individualize the experience based on personal interests.”

“In theory, someone who travels a great deal could use a
seven-day Card one day in every city in which we operate,” notes
Dahl. The numbers of attractions participating include: more
than 60 in New England; 50 in San Francisco and the region,
including a dozen in Wine Country; 70 in Orlando, Miami and
across central and southern Florida. There are 35 in San Diego,
30 in Seattle, more than 25 in Chicago, and some 30 to start
each in Los Angeles and Hawaii. Card holders are able to pick up
free, full-color Guidebooks for cities they visit at several
locations in each city. Guidebooks include descriptions of
attractions, maps and general information, plus details on
additional savings possible on shopping, dining and services.

A Great Gift Choice - Whether for Corporate or Personal Giving

As a gift item, no other product offers the same choice,
flexibility and value - either as a personal gift to friends and
family or as a corporate gift to employees, customers and
business partners. Smart Destinations received an enthusiastic
reception from HR and marketing professionals, as well from as
wholesalers of incentive merchandise, when it unveiled the Card
last month at the major premium and incentive conference, the
Motivation Show in Chicago. Tangible awards such as travel,
tickets to leisure activities and merchandise have proven to be
the most popular motivators for customers and employees, and the
Go USA Card is an innovative, cost-effective way to give the
gift of time well-spent. Go USA Cards can be purchased online at
www.GoUSACard.com.

Grow your own

The cheapest method has got to be to grow your own. The great thing is that it doesn’t require you to have much garden space, or even a garden at all!

We grow tomatoes, and strawberries in containers and the extra benefit is that you get total control over the growing conditions.

The best combination is to have organic soil together with organically produced seeds or plants, that way you ensure you get the full flavour and benefit.

Containers can be placed anywhere that receives a reasonable amount of daylight, which means that you can use them on balconies or other hard surfaces.

Look for your local suppliers

One of the most satisfying things to do is to buy organic food locally. That way you get the freshest ingredients for your kitchen and also get to support local businesses. With no transportation costs for the supplier too you should get very competitive prices.

Don’t forget that these same businesses will be employing local staff so you are also helping the local economy, everybody wins in this scenario.

Local markets

We visit a big monthly market held on a disused airstrip. Organic food is just one of the variety of items sold there but the prices are very, very good indeed. Of course they are all local suppliers and with several of them in one place we benefit from healthy competition and get to sample a lot of fruit!

Local box schemes

If you are unable to get out of your house or are too busy working to select your groceries by hand then why not subscribe to an organic box scheme?

You will receive, delivered to your door, a weekly selection of fruit and vegetables in season.

Farm shops

Finally, investigate whether any farms near you are operating an organic farm shop. Our local one is operated on an open farm so that you can go and see where the animals are being kept and take a look at the crops being grown.

They actually have a well-designed walking route around the farm which makes a nice day out for the kids too.

If you investigate the options above you should be able to make considerable savings whilst you and your family sample the delights and advantages of organic food

Virginia Louise is a keen convert to the organic way of life, having two children has especially highlighted the benefits to be gained by them from eating organically.

Virginia runs an information site on the advantages of organic food where you can obtain lots of free information about what makes organic food so beneficial, where to get it and suggested recipes.

Some Thoughts About the Million Dollar Home Page

Okay this is a hoot. Or well it would be if the author wasn’t so successful. This student has obvioulsy learned how to “Think and Grow Rich.”

Last week I came across an interesting article in Yahoo! about a student in the UK who managed to raise $1 million in four months for his tuition–selling pixels. 1 million pixels to be exact. You can find a copy of this article at http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051229/ts_nm/homepage_dc

His idea was to create a page called the Million Dollar Home page http://www.milliondollarhomepage.com and sell a million pixels for $1 each (in blocks of 100 pixels).

He started by selling a few blocks to some of his friends. When he had earned $1,000 (that’s only 10 blocks), he issued a press release. What audacity! What brilliance! His press release was picked up by the media and spread around the internet. Soon, the blocks started selling like crazy. Four months later, Alex Tew is sitting on a cool million for his “crazy” idea.

I visited his web site and what I found was very interesting and telling. Some of his comments in his FAQ section and blog are worth noting for those who study success.

1. He had a specific goal–a burning desire. It was to be able to pay for his education without taking on debt.

2. The beginning of his success was an idea. He sat down and did some brainstorming for about an hour (in writing–that’s very important) about ways he could raise money for school. Here is what he said about the process:

“…after an hour or two of jotting random things on paper, the idea seemingly popped out of nowhere. Almost like my subconscious mind had been ticking over in the background, working it all out. So it just kind of happened. That’s about it. I scribbled it down and within about 10 minutes a picture of what needed to be done had emerged.”

Notice the section that I marked in bold type above. This is often how ideas come to us. The problem is that most of us don’t think with a Definite Major Purpose in mind, we don’t write them down, and we don’t follow through with definite action.

In many ways, the goal was achieved in that 10 minute time frame. Everything else was just implementing the details of his plan.

3. He noted his ideas in writing. Putting your ideas in writing is the first step to moving it from an intangible idea to a physical reality. There is something about putting your ideas in writing that gives clarity and focus to your thoughts.

4. The idea–literally a million dollar idea–came to him quickly. But he had to make that idea tangible through bold, confident, intelligent action. He made it a big idea. He was audacious and confident enough to call it the Million Dollar home page. Not the 10,000 Home Page. Or the 100,000 home page. He gave people a bold idea to capture their imagination.

5. He issued a press release. He wasn’t shy about letting people know about his idea. Towards the end of the project, he even did interviews on CNN and Fox (and probably other networks).

6. He added real value for his customers. His customers are getting hits from their tiny ads for a fraction of the cost of most other ads. And the page is guaranteed to be up for 5 years. He is getting a ton of traffic to his website that his advertisers are benefiting from. His current “Alexa” rank is 1,302. No matter how novel your idea, you still have to add real value to your customers if you are going to succeed.

7. This is a simple, yet profound demonstration of the power of the internet and viral marketing–”word of mouse.” What million dollar idea can you come up with that will capture people’s imagination?

How Does Alex Measure Up?

Well, the proof is in the success. He’s got the money in the bank, so obviously he achieved his initial goal–and then some. Did I mention that he is already receiving job offers as well? If I compare what Alex accomplished with some of the principles in Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich,” I see a lot of similarities:

1. Desire - he had a specifc Definite Major Purpose backed by a burning desire.

2. Faith - he was loaded with self-confidence and belief that his plan would succeed. He probably saw the money coming in with his “mind’s eye” before he ever saw a dime.

3. Auto-suggestion - I don’t know if he specifically implemented this principle, but he did put his ideas in writing.

4. Specialized Knowledge - He had to have specialized knowledge to know how to put together a web page and to successfully issue a press release.

5. Imagination - He used synthetic imagination to organize existing elements into a new idea.

6. Organzied Planning - He had to go through the process of fleshing out the initial flash of an idea into plans that were practical.

7. Decision - he clearly made important decisions quickly and took immediate action.

8. Persistence - Given the fact that he achieved his goal in only 4 months, it’s hard to guage how much persistence he had to use, but he clearly used enough. Also, I note that he must be a persistent individual as he is starting school at a later age (21) than most.

9. Power of the Master Mind - It’s hard to tell from his description if he applied this principle. But it looks like he implemented this to some degree based on the inital people who purchased his pixels. Also, I note that he identifies a contact person in his contact info. Also, he had to organize a group of people and services in order to implement his idea–a web service provider, a company to collect the payments, etc.

10. He used is subconsious mind. By his own testimony, he believes his idea came from within his subconsious mind.

It’s no wonder that his project was a success. This is a great example for us to study and analyze. The internet has changed everything. We are now playing on a level playing field. You are only one sound idea, properly implemented, away from achieving your goal.

Copyright (c) 2006 Bill Marshall - All rights reserved. Feel free to republish this article with copyright and link information included.

For practical self-improvement tips, visit http://www.poweraffirmations.com. Get my new free e-book, “Power Affirmations: Power Positive Conditioning for Your Subconscious Mind”