All small business owners and new entrepreneurs set out to strike it rich and live the American dream.  Then, reality sets in and we see there is a lot more to making a business work than having a good idea.  It takes hard work, determination, self-control and passion to make it all come together.

I have chased down many ventures that I have been luke warm about over the years.  For example, I looked into a couple of Multi-Level Marketing ventures and tested the waters.  None of them took off for me because I never had the passion to be a salesman.  The companies were probably great and the products were quality.  In fact, I received some of my best training from their training reps and programs.  However, I never gave my heart to the cause.

Starting a new business (even maintaining an old one) takes loads of effort and sweat.  If it is something you truly don’t care about, you will move it to the back burner and it will eventually fail.  You will hit many roadblocks and speed bumps along the way but have to motor past them.  If you decide to look for an easier route, the venture will go under.

My childhood mentor owned the martial arts school I taught at.  My friend and I were the only staff he had for over 200+ students.  We loved teaching the art and loved everything about it.  Because of our passion, we motivated others to come and train.  The more experienced students were always there to help out in the classes and train with us.

My boss would not sleep until he found a way through the roadblocks.  When our equipment was getting beat up, he came up with creative ways to get new gear.  He was fully invested in every aspect of the school.  Because of this, he turned a hefty profit.

Just a brief word of advice: don’t waste your time, money or efforts on something your not passionate about.

Do you remember as a child, all you had to do to find a fortune was spot the “X” on the treasure map?  In our lives it is still very easy to discover treasure.  At least, we can find the things we truly hold valuable in our own lives.  The question is, will you like what you find?

The Bible offers some great advice where to look for that “X.”  “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21.  There are so many thing that we hold at great values in our lives.  There are things that we live and breathe for every single day.  What are they?

Are your treasures your family? Friends? Faith? Or even your finances?  If you think about it right at this moment, what is your answer?  What is it that you hold most valuable?  I would say it is my faith, family and quest for self-improvement.  My wife and daughter are the most important things in this world to me.  Without question, I would say they are the treasures in my heart.  I pray that they would agree with my assessment and feel they are number one in my heart.

Looking into the scope of my life, I would love to say I place value on the items that truly matter.  On the surface, it is easy to say my priorities are in the proper places.  However, how can you truly know where you actually place the value in your world?  It is easier than you think.

Where do you spend most of your time?  When you have some spare time, what are you spending it on?  Rushing to check stock quotes?  Are you infatuated with your Facebook page or Twitter account?  Or do you spend that time with your family?  The answer to this will clue you in on the truth.

Take an honest look to where the “X” in your life is.  If you are happy where your heart lies, good for you.  If not, seek to place your priorities where you want them to be.

One day as I was people watching, I had an a-ha moment.  Each person walking by had his or her very own life.  Each had unique gifts.  Their problems were weighing on their mind.  Many even had a much different look.  We all are different and have our own story.

Each of us, if followed by a camera crew, would have a great television show.  We would be able to learn from each other’s successes and most importantly from each mistake.  If we placed our value into getting to know each other, we would strike oil with each new relationship.

I recently heard a podcast about a study showing that we all have only a third of the friends that previous generations have had.  We are not as close to our neighbors anymore as our parents were, etc.  We are ignoring our best resource, and that is the uniqueness of one another.

Our moms all told us that we are like precious little snowflakes and all unique in our own way.  They may have even used the neighbor kids as a yardstick for measuring your behavior.  “That little Bobby, next door, is so good.  He just washed the car for his grandma.”  Also, we were privy to learn about others’ mistakes.  Don’t buy the vacuum from the door to door salesman, it is a rip-off.

Instead, our yardsticks are those on TV.  We listen to what works in Nevada when we live in Ohio.  By sharing with my friends, I have been able to side-step numerous calamities in my financial life and in other areas.

When we share a new bank offering great interest rates or even a stock that is crumbling, we help each other out.  My experiences can be a great resource to another.  I can’t tell you how many times parents and family friends have called me for military advice because their child was about to join the service.  I have helped many people get passed the shrewd recruiters and get great jobs.

We all have a gift, learn what others have and share with them.

I am so impressed with the innovators of this world.  People have taken the frown of a down economy and turned it upside down with some fantastic ideas.  Their ideas are saving bundles of money and helping small time or new writers hang with the big boys.  One such idea is a blog tour.

As an author, I have learned that starting out is tough.  When no one knows who you are, you don’t sell books.  On top of that, I can tell everyone how great of a writer I am, but why should they believe me?  In fact if I am so great, why aren’t other people telling you how great I am?  Self promoters are a dime a dozen these days and through avenues likes Twitter and Facebook, they are well…annoying.

As I was working a deal for my new site, I noticed this writer was going on a blog tour.  That sounded awesome, and I wanted more details.  I was floored with what she said.

A blog tour is the Internet version of a book tour.  Instead of paying thousands to run around the country and promote your book, bloggers do it for you.  People are spending more and more time on the Internet these days and usually frequent a few blogs for entertainment, news or even inspiration.  Blog tours take advantage of this.

The host or a writer for that site does a book review, interview and some even host videos about the book or its content.  These writers know the language of the daily traffic that comes through there and relate the book to them.  More importantly, these are the writers that readers know and trust.  They are giving their endorsement, not you giving yourself an endorsement.  Then naturally, there is information on where to buy the book.  Some bloggers just want the content and free book; others ask for a commission.

Writers have tour dates where the post will go to each site.  Writers can tour the world in their pajamas with the only cost being the books for the sites to review.

Before we even start, let me be clear about this one thing: the earthquake in Haiti and the resulting devastation was a terrible, terrible thing. We Americans, individually and collectively, should do what we can to help the people of Haiti recover from this disaster. I am not in the Rush Limbaugh, “Let ‘em take care of themselves” camp.

Having said that, this is a business blog, not a humanitarian aid blog or a general current events blog. So, it is appropriate that we take a look at the long term impact that this disaster may have on business, divorced from the tragedy itself.

In the short term, there are a few companies and industries that will benefit from the devastation of a small island nation within spitting distance of US airspace.  The same old, big players who rush to the rescue, to the benefit of both the victims and the company’s bottom line.  They know who they are.

A less obvious, longer term impact on the US economy will be the certain influx of many thousands of Haitians to the United States.  There will be a sudden and pronounced increase in the pool of unskilled and unemployed workers, which already is pushing maximum capacity.  Southern states, Florida in particular, are likely to be hit the hardest by the influx of Haitian immigrants.

While that’s good news for citrus farmers and housekeeping services, it’s not so great for those currently looking for a job or those workers in unskilled jobs fighting to cling to their current position.  There is a very real possibility of a flood of immigrants so extreme that it overwhelms the capacity of some municipalities to deliver services to those in need.

The writing is on the wall.  The influx is coming.  The question remains: how can you position yourself or your business to profit, or at least not suffer, from the coming events?  By proactively considering the impact that this disaster will have in your area, you can put yourself in the best possible place to reap the rewards of looking ahead and being prepared.

Just the other night, Chris Hubinsky, my friend and co-founder of H&L Ventures, and I laid out our first quarter stock investments.  I wanted to share our stocks and re-iterate our investment strategy.  Also, I am going to talk about a stock from our last strategy meeting.

We started this very small investment company in January of 2007.  H&L Ventures, Ltd. has been blessed with a 20% profit margin in the first two years.  We believe the credit can be awarded to our strategy, “free money”.  The majority of stock we purchase is high dividend yielding stocks or giant corporations.  We chase after companies with dividends because not only do we have shares in their company, they are giving us free money.

Dividend investing is when you re-distribute the funds for more stock.  So, instead of collecting a check for dividend payouts, we buy more shares, which means more dividends on the next payout.  We aim for companies with 3% yield or higher.

One such stock was (HTE) Harvest Energy Trust.  This was an energy investing company who paid monthly dividends over 3%.  Most dividend paying companies only do so quarterly.  Not only did we get dividends and more stocks, but this stock more than doubled at a rate of 230%!  Recently, they were bought out for $10 (Canadian) per share and we got $9.46 a share.  All those who listened to me last year enjoyed the profits.

This time around we decided to go after a high dividend stock.  This is Frontier Communications (FTR) with a 13% yield paid quarterly.  For those having trouble grasping this, the Law of 72 has you divide 72 by the yield.  The result is how many years it would take to double your initial investment as long as dividends are redistributed.  Every 5.5 years this investment will double.  Not too bad considering most companies have yields below 3%, which would take at least 24 years to double.

Naturally, we jumped on this stock.  I suspect the yield is high because they just started paying dividends in 2008, and they will not remain this high.  However, we couldn’t pass this one up and sleep at night.  Can you?

In my past four articles, I have honed in a concept I created called the learning process. It is a system designed around five parts that most people experience when learning something new. The first three of struggle, capable and comfortable are the most common for any skill you are currently performing.

Complacency is the fourth stage that many people experience when they are “too comfortable.” This is combated with paying more attention to the details. The last stage is one that most people will not achieve. It is reserved for the most dedicated of pupils. It is the mastery stage.

Masters have gone through the first three and possibly (but not necessarily) the fourth stages and have thrived. These are the people who have seen it all and are able to do the process blind-folded. The masters are often the people who create the systems you learned from and designed the equipment or process. Books quote them and people in the sport or science know who they are and listen when they speak.

To achieve this level you have to have experienced the skill from multiple areas. Maybe you were a teacher or leader of many people performing the task. To get here you have to be a student of the task. You need to research all the methods. You need to be able to talk people through these methods.

Mastery is doing the same thing many times until you are as close to perfect as humanly possible. Pro athletes are masters of their sport. CEOs are masters of their trade. They didn’t just learn how to do something and relax in the comfortable zone. These experts pushed the game to the next level and continued refining the skill.

They are necessary to evolve the skill or task and pass it on to the next generation. Michael Jordan revolutionized the way kids look at basketball. The same thing goes for Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong. Professors at leading universities discover new research, and new sciences are formed overnight.

Masters aren’t practitioners in the field, they are tomorrow’s pioneers.

Commercials used to be a very cost effective and measurable way for businesses to get their messages out to consumers. Thanks to tracking systems such as the Nielsen ratings, advertisers could tailor their message to their specific target market watching certain programs and then measure the results in terms of eyeballs (and ultimately sales).

But things have changed recently.  The introduction of the Digital Video Recorder (DVR) has completely rewritten the rules of engagement for television advertising.  It used to be that advertisers could count on the bulk of viewers to sit through the commercials, with allowances for bathroom breaks, kitchen runs, and channel flipping.  Not anymore.  Now more and more viewers are DVRing the programs and watching them later, sans commercials.  Now advertisers are not only losing eyeballs, they can’t even accurately track how many.

A few bold advertisers have moved forward into this brave new world by jumping back to the past.  Product placement has snuck in here and there.  An episode of The Office prominently mentioned a product on sale at Staples.  Smallville featured Stride gum prominently in one episode.

But the use of product placement has not, as of yet, caught on.  There are several likely suspects in the lack of implementation.  The fear of negative feedback, actual negative feedback, and resistance from show runners afraid of losing artistic credibility are all possible reasons to keep product placement out.  But I think there is a more likely culprit: syndication.

Product placement would forever tie the program to the advertiser, limiting the marketability of the show for later syndication and tipping the balance of power away from the Hollywood elite and toward big business.  Syndication is big money for the TV studios: high reward, low risk money.  That isn’t something that they are likely to give up without a fight.

So while the obvious solution sits on the shelf, the turf war rages on.  Meanwhile we, the people, ignore the commercials and fast forward to the good stuff.

Is it too early to write the obituary for printed newspapers? And when I say “write”, I mean “type on a computer and upload to a website where it can be viewed by anyone anywhere in the world”, not the archaic “print on dead trees and sell to people in a limited geographic area” way that it used to be used.

For years, techno-geeks and futurists have been declaring print dead, but to paraphrase Mark Twain, who sadly passed away decades before he ever got to use the Internet: reports of the demise of printed media may have been greatly exaggerated.  For my generation, printed newspapers are a dinosaur.  I, personally, would never risk smudging my hands with ink when I can view everything I need to know for free online.

But the older generation is still with us.  They’re alive and kicking, and they wouldn’t know what to do with themselves if they couldn’t start their morning with a cup of coffee and a newspaper.  An old fashioned, printed on a dead tree, smudgy ink newspaper.

There’s no doubt that circulations are sinking.  Newspapers are consolidating, sharing resources, outsourcing, raising prices, including more advertising and less content; whatever it takes to stay in the black.  And all their hard work will keep them afloat for a little while.  But even with advances in medical technology, the print generation won’t last forever.

Now here’s the rub.  Those old timers who are reading their morning paper are essentially subsidizing the free, online web news that you and I read.  When there are no more print subscribers, there’s no more online version of the printed paper.  The model has to change in the coming years.  The days of free Internet news sites will be coming to an end as the print generation begins to die out.

You can bet that the whole economic model of news delivery will change in the next decade.  The new format most likely will be subscriber-based and may be the model for the Internet of the next generation.  If you doubt that anyone would ever pay for access to websites that are now free, ask an old timer what it was like when TV was free.

Microsoft unveiled Windows 7 this week. It didn’t take long for the first reports of problems to begin trickling in. How is it possible that the biggest software company in the world, with something like 96% market share, cannot roll out a new product without taking two steps backward for every one forward?

It’s not like expectations are very high.  Vista was such an unmitigated disaster that Windows 7 would have to cripple the user’s computer immediately upon installation for it to be viewed as a downgrade.  Despite millions of dollars in advertising, the Official Random Stock Survey of People I Know (ORSSPIK) reveals that NOBODY in the entire world liked Vista even a little bit.  The highest praise I’ve heard for Vista was “It’s not as bad as I thought it would be.”  Wow, there’s a ringing endorsement.

Yet still, Microsoft rules the world.  The small but happy group of counter culture radicals who insist on using Apple Computers because “they just work” notwithstanding, the world runs on Windows.  If Bill Gates wants to include a bit of software that automatically deletes your favorite pictures of Danica Patrick in a bikini and replaces them with pictures of Nancy Pelosi in a bikini every hour, you’ll just have to make do.  You’ll find a work around.  You’ll buy a third party patch.  You’ll do whatever it takes because Microsoft has a stranglehold on the Operating System software that makes computers go.

So, as business and personal users convert to the latest and greatest Windows product, computer consultants everywhere will put in overtime.  IT staffs at companies big and small will use this to happily justify their existence and maybe even ask for a raise.  Mac sales will go up a good bit, but that bit will be almost imperceptible to Microsoft’s bottom line.  It’s a sure bet that Mac will use whatever headaches Windows 7 causes to create some very funny “I’m a Mac. I’m a PC”commercials.  So if you’re a PC user looking for a silver lining to Windows 7, that’s about the best you can hope for.