Yesterday something happened to me that happens all the time. I met a new person and she happened to be looking for a job. I asked her what kind of job she was looking for and she curled her lip, shrugged her shoulders and said, “anything really.”

Okay, I’ll admit this is a pet peeve for me. Here she is looking for a job and any job will do. Do you believe that? Yeah, me neither. I’m sure anybody she’s networking with feels like they have to do a lot of work to learn anything about her and her skills and ambition. My guess is her cover letters and resumes and any applications that she is putting out there are very nonspecific too. This is likely the main reason that her job search has gone on nine months so far with no offers which is certainly a source of frustration for this bright, young woman.

Of course I can’t resist talking to anyone about their career. So I asked a few more questions and found out that she was a burned out elementary school teacher who had been teaching for three years. She felt like she was a statistic because she had heard reports that so many new teachers only last three to five years in the field. I told her that might be true but most people these days are only in any job for three to five years before being let go or otherwise choosing to move on anyway. I also tried to reassure her that sometimes you don’t know if you will like a profession until you’re in it but you can always learn something from it.

As we continued to visit, finally her eyes lit up about something. What she really wanted was to start her own business! She had already done a lot of research into potential businesses and was continually drawn to ideas centered on working with children. She also wanted to continue to use her curriculum development and organizational skills. Now we were onto something! Better yet her education and time teaching would nicely support such a business endeavor which was really important to her.

So by the end of the conversation she had a new person in her personal network. I was also able to provide her with several resources to check out. We also had an impromptu brainstorming session which resulted in several business concepts that she is excited to research further.

Moral of the story: knowing what you want sure helps other people help you…even people you just met.

I’m surprised how much forethought blogging actually takes. You have to decide a topic and a voice, which platform to use, what design and plugins to use, whether to have comments or not, and how often to post, to name a few. Plus there is a big learning curve to face. Then you have to find a balance between creating posts and checking stats and such…all potentially very time consuming (and addictive).

Blogging is certainly not for everyone. It is getting pretty popular though. Truthfully, I’m not sure if I am glad to be doing it yet or not. I’m sticking with it because I think it will pay off soon as I get faster at developing content and better at juggling it with my other projects. For me, the only downside has been the time commitment and the pressure to post. I’m not going too crazy about deadlines but I am striving to be consistent. The pluses for me have been that I enjoy learning about the technology and I now have a relevant reason to get my thoughts and ideas down on paper on a regular basis which really helps with my infopreneurial endeavors.

Yesterday, I saw a very good article about the benefits of building a content focused website rather than blogging. It was very convincing. From an infopreneurial standpoint it definitely makes more sense to think in terms of a content driven site rather than a blog mainly due to potentially improved page ranking to more easily connect to the intended target audience. Another reason is the higher level of control the infopreneur can have over their writing/production schedule with a content driven website. The big downside the infopreneurial blogger has to overcome is that the relationship building aspect of blogging is quite strained right from the start when you are so obviously trying to sell something. I mean it has to be done carefully because how many people would subscribe to a constant commercial? Here are a couple of infopreneurial website examples for you. The first is a content driven site, Love-of-Roses.com. This site is less than a year old from what I understand and has an awesome traffic ranking already. Next, here is one in the form of a blog, Seth Godin’s Blog. Seth has figured out the fine line that an infopreneurial blogger must manage to build traffic and sell his products and expertise.

Now, career blogging is a whole different story. I believe it to be a cutting edge career advancement technique. Your blog can become a showcase for your unique knowledge and skills. With small regular posts you can quickly build an impressive portfolio demonstrating more about your personality and quality of work while building your reputation at the same time. Plus, a blog can be an outstanding networking tool. This is just the kind of thing the blogosphere was meant for…sharing information, having a discussion, building relationships. Here is a fine example of a career blog to check out if you like the idea of blogging to advance your career – Publishing Careers by Lori Cates Hand. I love the way she has built the blog around the central theme of an informational interview for those interested in the industry. This instantly sets her up as an expert. It also leads to numerous ideas for topics to write about as she discusses her own career journey and daily activities. She also interviews others in the industry which greatly furthers her professional networking activities and exposure. Brilliant!

Millionaire Blueprints is one of my favorite reads. There are great stories in here to inspire entrepreneurs and people in traditional careers since the featured bios demonstrate a lot of creative thinking and persistence. You can also feel the passion of people in all kinds of businesses and careers which is very inspirational.

I think reading good stuff like this makes an abundance mindset more likely by helping to keep us more aware of opportunities all around us as well as our own potential based on our unique combination of personal strengths.

This weekend, I was offered the opportunity to attend a webinar for free. The invitation was sent out very last minute but it was an event scheduled from 9am-5pm for Saturday and Sunday with several speakers scheduled on topics like building a successful membership site, SEO, and how to teach webinars.

The event was free for a very good reason. The developers were in the middle of putting together a new product that they were anticipating selling for $1900.00. By having the free webinar it did several things for them.

First, it forced them to get their stuff together by a certain deadline. As most of us know, often without a deadline things just keep getting put on the back burner. So this fixes that problem by making the development of the new product a priority since many people will be signed in and waiting for it.

Secondly, they get the chance to really refine their material with feedback from actual participants. This, of course, will only make a better product in the end. These presenters spent a good deal of time on the last day asking for brutal feedback that they will use to great effect, I’m sure.

Also, they made about 140 people feel pretty special by being in on their presentation for free while at the same time referring attendees other products they are selling now. Pretty slick move really. They created a win-win situation for themselves and others. Thankfully, the mention of the other products they were selling was not obtrusive or rude.

But as I come back to my office on Monday morning I am feeling a little dumbfounded. I am so perplexed about the boldness of asking for a price of nineteen hundred dollars for an info product. Last year, I paid $1000.00 for two info products on vastly different and specific topics. One was worth it, the other not quite. But $1900 for a CD with audio and video on it from a two day webinar? Surely I am missing something and there will be more to the product than that. I suppose we shall see after they launch it.

All that being said, there are times when a product is worth that big price tag, but it needs to be one heck of a product or experience! Or a solid guarantee that you will make more money after learning from them than what you spent in the first place.

I had e-mail correspondence with someone I barely know yet who asked if I ever watch “The Big Idea” with Donnie Deutsch on CNBC. When someone comes by with a little tip like that out of nowhere I pay attention. My experience shows that there is probably something I need to see there. So, I responded that I had not, thanked her for the referral, and promised to TiVo it. I have now watched three episodes and I enjoy the show very much. But I’ve also noticed an interesting phenomenon.

On the show, one of the main things Donnie Deutsch does is to try and get insight with each person featured on the show about exactly where and how they got that big idea. This makes total sense because that is the name of the show, after all, so people really should expect that question. Nevertheless, each time he asks it the person pauses for a moment and looks as if they are processing that question and aren’t quite sure what to say. As if they are saying to themselves, “hey, that is a good question, where did that idea come from?” And, it is a pertinent question because essentially Donnie is trying to educate and coach people in his audience to find their own big idea and go for it.

I think the reason that the question is difficult is because when people have a great idea, they are often fully engaged in whatever it is they’re studying at the time inspiration strikes. They just know that they were busy following their noses, uncovering clues, letting one thing lead to another and it all seemed obvious at the time…until they get this question anyway. Then they want to be able to tell others how to do it.

Creativity is something that we all have if we can quiet our egos and open to it. I think the first step for someone who is just sitting there with no idea at all but desiring one is to remove all barriers to getting into the flow of creativity. Very “out there” I know, but creativity can’t occur while sitting in judgment of every thought that pops into your head. One has to open and be comfortable with the creative process. Some people are very good at tapping into their creative source consistently, others might have to be reminded to let go and play a little.

Begin by exploring things that catch your eye, just follow your nose a bit and see what happens. Once you have gathered some info, give yourself a rest and see what your wonderfully creative mind cooks up. When you feel a little kick of enthusiasm, you may be on to something!