Last night Melinda and I went to the local senior center to take
a swim.  We’ve been going weekly now in the new year, and it’s
been really fun to pick up a new sport.

To get there at the exact right time, we have to make sure we’re
between the pregnant lady swimathon and the old fat people
class.  Usually we’re able to get a few laps in between, and
it’s a blast.

Every week now, we’ve competed in a race against each other from
one end of the pool to the other.  She’s really good at the
breast stroke, and I can’t swim a breast stroke to save my
life.  So my goal now is to work on it until I can beat her.

There were times last night where my goggles were filling with
water, I couldn’t breathe, and I felt like I was sinking to the
bottom of the pool.  So I would take a breather, and go back to
a more familiar stroke for a little while.  Blow the water out
of my nose, and then return to frogging it in the breast
stroke.

Going back to a more familiar stroke allowed me to get back on
track, regain focus, and get back to work on the breast
stroke.

When the economy is scary like it is right now, it’s important
to take a breather once in a while when you feel like you’re
sinking.  Take a moment, count your blessings, and get back to
basics.  Maybe you’ve been slacking on your follow up phone
calls.  Maybe it’s time to clean out the office.

Whatever it takes to get a little breathing room, blow the water
out of your nose, and begin moving forward again.

This summer, Michael Phelps had his own scary moment in his
quest for 8 gold medals.

In the 150 meter swim, his goggles filled up with water almost
immediately.  He was blind for the majority of the race, yet he
still won.  How could this be?

Michael Phelps had prepared for the worst, and had prepared for
something like this to happen.  He had covered the basics, so he
was able to count his strokes and know where he was in the
race.  His preparation carried him through a dark, scary moment
- and yours can too.

The most important thing you can do right now is get back to
basics, and make sure you’re generating sales, leads, and
filling the pipeline for the upturn.

And most importantly, take care of those you already serve.

Be fearless, take a deep breath, and be prepared.  It’s the only
way to survive and thrive during these unprecedented times.

This week I’ve fielded a lot of phone calls from brave souls who
are waking up to the reality that if you’re not on the web -
you’re invisible.  A few minutes on the phone and I can save you
years of headaches by blasting you past the competition and
beginning the recovery – NOW – in your world.

It’s up to you to act, and get back to basics.  Get in touch
here: http://www.wallythewebguy.com/contact.htm

Keep swimming,
-Wally

P.S. – It took the advertising world over 100 years to figure
out the most important secret to success.  You don’t have to
wait, find it for yourself here.

P.P.S. – Super Bowl prediction – Arizona 24, Pittsburgh 17 -
Cardinals shock the world.  What’s yours?

I was reading up on my history the other day, and came across a
fun little story about Lincoln’s second vice president, Andrew
Johnson.  Turns out on inauguration day in 1865, old Andrew had
a bit of a cold.

He must have been feeling pretty lousy, because he took a few
too many swigs of grandpa’s special cough medicine, known here
in the 21st century as whiskey.

So he’s at the inauguration, and it’s his turn to speak, and
he’s slurring his words and just generally rambling on and on.
His face is red and he’s holding onto somebody’s arm to stay
standing.  People are poking him in the back and trying to find
the cane to pull him off stage, but to no avail.  After going on
like this for awhile, he finally shuts up.

Honest Abe Lincoln turns over to his guys and says something
like “don’t let him talk any more for the rest of the evening”.

With today being a big day for America, and our new president
taking the oath of office in less than an hour using the Lincoln
bible, I just hope old Joe Biden doesn’t have a cold.  He
doesn’t need grandpa’s cough medicine to talk too much anyway.

Let’s enjoy today as a day of renewal for our country.

Regardless of your political persuasion, be it moveon.org on the
left, or all the way to the Fox News right, now is the time to
pull together for the sake of the country.

I would hope that you would pull for President Obama and old Joe
because if they do well, America does well, and we all do well.

Only time will tell for sure, but let’s enjoy today’s feeling of
renewal together and take a nice, long deep breath of fresh air.

Feeling fresh,
-Wally

P.S. – Here’s a great new way to do well on the search engines,
whiles saving a ton of money at the same time.

P.P.S. – Taking a deep breath and listening to this CD might be
the best thing you’ve done for your business in a long, long
time.

Last week I wrote about resolutions, and how they don’t work.

Almost immediately, one of Wally’s Web Stars wrote back:

“I agree most whole-heartedly.  New Years “resolutions” are
usually about giving something up.  Less ice cream.  Less
spending.  Less booze.  Less fun.

While GOALS, on the other hand, are about accomplishing MORE.
More efficiency.  More productivity.  More customers. More
money. More happy.

Resolutions focus on the hole.  Goals focus on getting out of
the hole.”

For 2009, I’ve created two programs to get you out of the hole
and help you create more efficiency, productivity, and get more
customers in record time – resulting in more happy for you.

The first program is for you if you have never put up a website
before.

This program is for you if you have a great idea, and know that
you are ready to take the next step and start making some money
with it, but you just don’t know where to begin.  It’s also
great for you if you have a website for one business, but want
to start a completely different one.

It’s called the Idea Critique and Action plan, and you can read
all about it here.

The second program is for you if you have a website, but feel
that it is underperforming.

This is for you if the website you have is just not getting the
results you want.  Maybe you expected a ton of sales and nobody
is visiting it.  Or perhaps you feel there’s just something
missing.  This program answers those questions and gives you a
path forward.

It’s called the Website Critique and Action plan, and you can
read all about it here.

Each program helps you launch towards more efficiency,
productivity, and customers.  Most important, though, is that
they help you reach what is really important – More Happy.

Start the year out right and get going.

Get going,
-Wally

P.S. – There’s a lot of new stuff to read on my website.  Get
the hole, um, whole story here:
http://www.wallythewebguy.com/

A few nights ago on the tee-vee I overheard people getting
interviewed about their New Years resolutions.  “I want to party
less.”  “I want to lose weight.”  “I want to get a life.”  Blah
blah blah.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all about improvement.  But how many
new years resolutions have you broken?  I can think of a ton of
new years resolutions that I’ve made myself, and guess what?
I’ve kept NONE.  Resolutions are essentially a wish list.

So this year, I say no more resolutions.  New Year’s resolutions
are a prescription for frustration, failure, and regret.  Sounds
like a crummy way to begin the new year.

Instead, let’s have Goals we’re going to Accomplish in 2009.

Goals are much more powerful than wimpy resolutions.  They come
from the heart and soul.  And you don’t need a once a year
holiday (or Dick Clark) to set and accomplish them.

A good goal gives you the ability to achieve something you truly
want – to accomplish your dreams – and is something you can
strive for every day.  And you should.

Personally, I’ve set some goals that I look at every single day,
and as I work, I can literally feel myself moving closer to
them.  If you’ve never given yourself the chance to feel that -
I highly encourage you to do so.

For a good goal, all you need is a clear mental picture of the
goal, a timeline, and a plan of action.  This is why I’ve given
up on New Year’s Resolutions – and so should you.

If you’re serious about accomplishing your goals in 2009, I’ve
rolled out a number of tools to get you there faster, and rocket
launch you to the most prosperous year of your life at
http://www.wallythewebguy.com/services/.

Unlike wimpy resolutions, these resources can be your
prescription for success.

Wishing you success in 2009,
-Wally

P.S. – I’ve added a ton of content to the website since I last
spoke with you.  Check it out here.

P.P.S. – One secret lost on most web designers is define goals
for your visitors – as in, what do YOU want them to do?  I teach
this super important concept and many more in my amazing new CD
here.