25 things you did (or didn’t) know about Hilary

I’ve been tagged!

Yes Gary Simpson got me on his blog This is an idea that he picked up from Michel Fortin’s blog and the Gazz-Man has come up with an interesting (!) list, so I’d suggest you hop over and have a look at his post too. Come back to mine though if you want to find out about me!

Here are the rules.

Alex Jeffreys has urged us to make ourselves known to those reading our blogs and other communications so this is a good way to start.

So how did I get to my own list?

Well I thought of things myself, but I also asked my family, who came up with some interesting ideas. They also didn’t want to say some of them though. I wonder why?! I don’t know that these are necessarily strange, weird or bizarre, but they’ll do.

So here goes – a mixture of who I am, what I have done and what I am like. Maybe it will give you more of an insight into why I am taking this journey.

Oh and watch out! As the rules of this game say that I have to tag five other people to do the same – it could be you!

1. I am the middle of three daughters. My dad used to complain that even the budgie was female as our family is so full of females. When my son was born he was the first male in my maternal line for over 100 years!

2. I was (am sometimetimes still am) something of a tomboy. If there was anyone climbing the trees, getting into scrapes, willing to have a go at ‘interesting’ things, that was likely to be me (though not exclusively so).

3. I’ll usually try to do most things. This follows on from no 2 – I’m not worried about breaking a fingernail or helping to shift heavy objects. I’m fairly handy practically with DIY – much of it taught me by my dad.

4. Much of my working life has been in a male dominated environment. A reaction to no 1 perhaps?! I currently work in a college for 16+ learners where I work mainly with construction and engineering students.

5. I spent 11 years as an Air Traffic Controller. Perhaps I enjoy telling people where to go!

6. I once interrupted an after dinner speech dressed as a cleaning lady. We did clear it with the speaker’s PA first and made sure that he was in a good mood, otherwise it could have cut my career short! I got a few drinks out of that one.

7. I enjoy a glass of the Irish black stuff. Despite growing up in a nearly tee-total household, my parents wondered how they managed to bring up 3 Guiness-drinking daughters.

8. I flew over the school in which my sister was teaching in a Red Arrows aircraft. I worked with the Red Arrows aerobatic team for nearly 2 years (yes I told them where to go as well!). I was the passenger on a training flight – not an aerobatic one though.

9. I played the violin and bassoon. Sadly I rarely play either now, though I did take part in a makeshift band’s one-off performance at work just over a year ago.

10. I completed a course in organic horticulture. I love gardening, though I don’t do as much as I would like to at the moment and I believe in growing things as naturally as possible.

11. I love words and language. I usually win when we play Scrabble and like to spend time reading the dictionary. I have a degree in English Language and Medieval Literature.

12. I have always loved books and reading. Ever since learning to read I have always been able to lose myself in a book and I read as often as I can.

13. I sell second hand books on Amazon. Follows on from my love of books I suppose. The trouble is I have boxes of books everywhere which cause problems with no 14.

14. I love things to be tidy. But it doesn’t always happen! I keep trying to get sorted out but… (I’m sure that a lot of parents will know what I mean. lol!)

15. I like routines. I think that this helps to get things done more quickly so that I can get on with doing the things that I enjoy. I’m quite capable of being flexible though!

16. I have an interest in dyslexia. Follows on again from words and routines. I started a dyslexia course this year, but circumstances meant that it has had to go on hold for a while.

17. I like being outdoors. I enjoy walking, though certain members of my family are not so keen.

18. I don’t enjoy shopping and only have about 6 pairs of shoes. It is not a favourite pastime of all women – honestly! You’re more likely to find trainers, wellies and walking boots in my cupboards.

19. I like animals. We currently have two young cats, two guinea pigs and tropical fish in our home.

20. I once played the part of ‘Little Buttercup’. She is a red, round and rosy bumboat woman in Gilbert and Sullivan’s ‘HMS Pinafore’. I was rather the opposite and had to be well padded out!

21. I love singing and have sung in cathedrals, the open air, theatres (and in the shower!).
This is a great way of relaxing and I have sung in church choirs and an African township choir with lots of other styles in between.

22. I have lived outside the UK. I have lived in Cyprus and Germany and think the experiences will always stay with me – especially as I met my husband in Cyprus.

23. I make an amazing pasta dish. I wouldn’t class myself as a brilliant cook, but I do basic things fairly well and this seems to go down well with my family. My daughter added (yumm….) after she put this comment down.

24. I have run 2 half-marathons. This was a while ago, but I would still like to run the London marathon. Trouble is I don’t do enough exercise at the moment…

I thought that I would add a special one for the Gazz-Man because I know how much he likes Slade:

25. I was born and brought up in the next town to Slade’s hometown.

If I were to summarise all of this in one it would be:

My family and friends are most important to me which is why honesty, integrity and trust must always come first.

Well, are you enlightened, intrigued, puzzled? Let me know what you think. You can ask me further questions if you want, but I might not answer them all – yet.

So tagging. Well a quick look through my commenters would give Becky Carter, Gaielle Sharp, Ken Douglas, Dean Holland and Valerie Davies.

Don’t worry if you can’t do it immediately as you have other things going on, but do let me know when you have done it so that we can all come and take a look.

It’s a great way for us to get to know one another better and also to tell our story to others.

Mission Completed Well Done!
Becky Carter
Ken Douglas

Alex Jeffreys video competition – my first ever video!

I’ve done it!

After several days and hours of trying to get my head around making a video for Alex’s competition I’ve finally produced something. It’s not perfect by any means, but I have got it going!

My first attempt was far too wordy and long winded – even I got bored watching it! Lizzie told me so too!

So I cut out most of what I had said and tried to make it punchier.

I’ve got lots to learn like I think the microphone was too close and some of the page changes might be too quick, but I didn’t want to lose the viewers’ interest.

I’d be really grateful if you could let me know what you think about it.

By the way all the photos are my own except for the 2 obvious ones.

I just felt that it was important to show what is important to me and why I am taking this journey.

A couple of months ago I would never have thought that I would be doing this so I’m mighty glad of that kick up the backside that I have been given to get this done.

And thanks for all your encouraging remarks on my previous post about getting it going. I appreciate them all.

Perhaps now I can go and have a look at some of the other videos.

I know that Garry Parkes has a list of some of those that he has already found and Gaielle has made a more complete listing of them here.

Once I’ve got that sorted out I can resume my blog hopping both inside and outside this group – I have been a bit remiss of late!

I look forward to your candid and constructive comments on my first attempt.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=OeIt6MOANq0

I’ve got competition!

I haven’t posted for a week because I have been busy doing other things (like Tax Returns – due in the UK by 31st Jan or we get a £100 fine!)

But I’m going to have to up my work rate because I have competition!

Now I know that so many of the other F500 students are so much further ahead than I am, but I don’t really think that I am in competition with them.

In fact I have been quite clear in my comments here and on other blogs that it is important that we are ourselves and work at our own pace as long as we keep moving forward.

So why the concern now?

I know I have contributed to this because I have spent the past two evenings helping my daughter to get her Wordpress blog set up.

One of the best ways of cementing your own learning is to help someone else to do what you have learnt yourself.

I still used Dean Holland’s excellent eBook on how to set up your blog, but this time I was able to take several shortcuts through adding plugins, setting up a blogroll and editing posts because I have been doing them myself for the past seven weeks.

Yes there were things I couldn’t remember how to do and initially we set up the Wordpress blog and exported it to her own domain where we had to edit some of the things – like finding a new theme.

We also copied over a couple of posts and responses from a blog she had set up by herself on a free website. Some of those comments reflected the issues she had with her blog because she couldn’t do what she saw me doing, but she was delighted that the Gazz-Man (Gary Simpson) had come over and left her a message – she’s even added him to her list of Cool People (along with me of course!). A link to her blog is under blog links if you’d like to see what she is up to and leave her a comment.

But this has made me particularly aware of a couple of things.

I’ve just been over to Ian and Becky Carter’s blog and had a look at their video for the competition which I think really sets out what is important to them. Like so many people this is their first attempt (mine is still to come). But importantly, their motivation for taking this journey and following what Alex Jeffreys is teaching us so brilliantly, comes in the shape of Becky’s two sons (and they are cute!).

My children are a little older, but I see how important it is that we not only do our best in what we say to them, but also in letting them see what we do.

If they can see us working hard, learning, interacting with others and hopefully also benefitting financially, what better model is there for them to walk down the same path, hopefully to their own financial independence?

What do I want for my children (and I’m sure so many of you do for yours)?

For them to have a good, healthy and happy life. But also not to have to struggle financially as I saw my parents doing (though that gave me a good grounding in looking after my money) and as we have had to do for so long.

Our children are our future and I want to help them to be winners too. Yes, I’ve shown my daughter Gary’s latest post on 20 Big Differences between Winners and Losers. (I also showed her the responses to my comment there – thanks Gary!)

My professional life is spent working mainly with young people and I do get a buzz out of helping them to learn something they have not previously understood. Why should it be any different with my own children?

So the competition?

My daughter wants us to see who can make the most money from what we are doing. If I’m not careful she will quickly overtake me as young people are so quick to learn new things.

But in the same way that Ian and Becky are sharing their journey, I now have a companion on mine in my own home. I know that I have lots of companions in the F500, but it’s good to share face to face.

She’s asked me if she can do Alex’s course because she’s heard so much about it.

I’m sure that Alex will not mind if I let her see the videos. I will ask him, but I am certain that he is the sort of person who will be only too pleased to know that his teaching is already filtering down to the younger generation and hopefully setting her off on a path of financial independence she can eventually bring to her own family. After all he is a father too.

So my plan now?

To get off my backside so to speak and really plan out what I and we are going to do. My daughter has already said that she wants to help me with the video and I have some ideas that I want to get going on. So if I can get some peace and quiet for a little while tomorrow, I hope to work on it then.

Once I have made some plans I will share them here as I really think that it is helping me to be accountable to others.

And my next move?

To get the men in the household involved in what we are doing – four of us will be stronger than one or two.

Watch out! We may become a force to be reckoned with (if I have my way!)

Profit Pulling Project Newsletter Issue 2

Well it has arrived…

Garry Parkes has published the second edition of his Profit Pulling Newsletter and once again he (and his fellow contributors) have come up trumps. Check out his post about it at http://garryparkes.com/profit-pulling-project/profit-pulling-project-issue-2-live/

The great thing about this newsletter is that it is pulling together so much of the wealth of information that has been passed between all the students on Alex Jeffreys’ mentoring programme.

When I left a comment on Garry’s blog about this latest offering I said that I felt it was like having a multi- course banquet every day because there is so much in the way of great information and helpful suggestions and I just feel that I cannot take it in all at once.

But the great thing about this is that I know that I can go over to Garry’s site and he has not only these newsletters which distill the information for both newbies and experienced marketers in a helpful format, but also many useful resources.

In this issue there is information about getting onto your website through your cpanel, getting your email and uploading files.

Coleen Cook has written the first of a series of articles about ‘How to write Copy that will sell every time’. This first part is: Using an “Ad Campaign Measurement Sheet” to Measure your Success and suggests a way in which you can keep a record of how well your advertising is doing. A useful way of both making and saving money.

Bobby Winchell has written an article on Google Adwords: A Clever Testing Strategy which will help you when testing out a new campaign or niche to avoid the ‘Google slap’.

Gary Simpson aka ‘Gazz-Man’ writes in his usual no-nonsense style about not being an ‘excusiologist’. He is very forthright about the importance of getting on and doing something; about not wasting time. His outspoken style is excellent when it comes to getting you doing something and not making excuses.

Gary has an excellent style and I enjoy interacting on his blog with both him and other Alex Jeffreys’ students. I have also learnt a great deal from him and others on his site so do have a look at his blog by clicking on the link on the right of this post. He has some information that he will be bringing to us shortly through some special outside talent. I am really looking forward to that.

If you don’t want to be an excusiologist and want to move forward in your own journey to being a successful online marketer then you need to read this newletter and also the first issue that was published a couple of weeks ago. You can also sign up for future issues so do go to http://garryparkes.com/.

You owe it to yourself and your future.

Alex’s $1,000 challenge

I’ve been hit by the dreaded cold this weekend, which has put me back a few days as I have been so washed out.  I’m sorry that I haven’t been able to post or visit other blogs, so it’s time to start catching up now.

However, before the cold really hit me I managed to listen to Alex’s 4th module on Social Media Money and there was some great information as ever on that session.

He’s set us a challenge to see who can drive the most traffic to their blog. 

Now I know that there are lots of the other students who are much further on than I am in terms of being set up, having a bigger readership and having lots of other ways of driving traffic to their blogs.

But am I worried by this?  No!

Each one of us is different, thank goodness!

We each have a different way of doing things and those of us who are further behind needn’t worry as long as we keep on going. 

Maybe I’m a tortoise at the moment rather than a hare, but I know I will get there and that is the most important thing to me in the end.

So how am I getting traffic to my blog?

Well one of the things I have done is put a link to my blog in all the Christmas letters I have sent out to my family and friends.

I’ve been telling people at work what I am doing.

But until I finally get my ppp up and running (and thanks to everyone who is giving me a hand with that) I haven’t got the free report to give them.

So I’m going to concentrate on getting that sorted out and then I’ll work on generating traffic.  I’ll let you know what I’m doing when I really get going.

In the meantime I’ll keep going with visiting blogs, learning from others and preparing for Christmas.

I’ll update you soon!