Check out last week's episode of The Joel Comm Show where Joel had the opportunity to interview Jack Zufelt, author of The DNA of Success, and the creator of millionaires. Mr. Zufelt has received the Presidential Medal of Merit for his work. Some of his ideas on how to be successful are rather unconventional, and one of them is this: goal setting does not work. (Think of all of your New Year's Resolutions from this last year.) Mr. Zufelt says tha ...continue

By: Robert B. Cialdini, Ph.D. What makes someone a good salesperson? You probably have an answer to this question, if you've ever been exposed to someone trying to sell you some thing (and who hasn't?). The answer might have to do with how likable the person was, or aspects of his or her sales pitch. Maybe it had something to do with the product, but then again, maybe not. This book takes a fascinating look at certain near-universal truths of ...continue

There are lots of conferences out there and if you are thinking you need to start planning ways to ramp up your business efforts in 2011, you really can't go wrong by attending a conference. It's a great way to put yourself out there and get to know the people who are doing great things in your industry. (And of course to give them a chance to get to know you!) Here is a short, by no means exhaustive list of conferences you might be interesting i ...continue

By: Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz If you are a committed workaholic or were raised by one, this book might bend your mind a little bit. Its subtitle is: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal. The authors show you how to maximize your four key areas of energy to get the most out of your life. The four key areas of energy are: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. They have worked with many top level ...continue

Every Wednesday at 12 PM Eastern time, Joel Comm's latest installment of The Joel Comm Show airs on Webmaster Radio. Last week's guest was Mark Widawer, talking about the ins and outs of split testing. Here are some of the details. (To hear the whole broadcast, click here.) Split testing can be defined as the organized process of having two different versions of something, for example your landing page, and then sending similar amounts of traf ...continue

By: Zig Ziglar Zig Ziglar is synonymous in many circles with selling and motivation. Many successful salespeople, businesspeople, and entrepreneurs cite him as a seminal influence, including our own Joel Comm. See You at the Top is one of the books that he's best known for, and it is still an extremely motivating and relevant read, even 35 years after its first publication. While Mr. Ziglar's background is in sales, this is far more than ju ...continue

There's a lot to be said in this day and age of rabid consumerism for decluttering. There are websites and books galore that will help you declutter your possessions so that you can have a neater, simpler existence and basically get more room and space to breathe in. If you've never tried decluttering your physical possessions, you should give it a try. It can give you more energy, confidence, and free you up to pursue the things you really care ...continue

By: Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner In this sequel to Freakonomics, authors Levitt and Dubner revisit the realm of weird and unexpected outcomes and the "hidden side of everything." This book is nothing if not entertaining, exploring such diverse (and potentially controversial) topics as the economics of prostitution, the phenomenon of information-challenged emergency rooms, the real story behind a much-written-about crime back in the six ...continue

By: Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner This book is not exactly about economics or business; rather, it delves into the hidden side of things, exploring why things aren't always as they seem and exposing how conventional wisdom lies a lot more often than you would think. Along the way, the authors explore the hidden causes behind things like the sudden and precipitous drop in crime in the mid-nineties, the true nature of the Ku Klux Klan, ...continue

Recently we've talked on this site about the beautiful thing that is open source software. While there are definitely pros and cons to using open source software as opposed to paid alternatives, if you are just starting out and have a minuscule or non-existent budget, open source software can really be a life-saver. And for some people, it's just a lifestyle choice. Whatever your motivations for seeking out open source alternatives, in the end it ...continue