Yesterday we got into S.F at about 4:30 pm, and then we were driven to the hotel where we met our affiliate managers in the lobby. All the affiliate managewrs were pretty cool. After going upstairs to change we went for a cocktail dinner, where I got pretty damn hammered. I ended up drinking about 8 Disaronno and orange juice mixed drinks. Those Disaronno drinks were amazing, fruity yet powerful at the same time. We headed back to the hotel at about 10:00 pm, while most affiliates went clubbing until 2 am.

At the moment I am dealing with a hangover and a cold which kinda sucks but oh well. Today we go for a full 1 hour massage which should be a great way to relax and chill out. Tonight we have another dinner where we will drink some more, meet more affiliates and eat. Anyways I’m gonna go sit down, I hate typing while standing up.

Ciao,
C.V

Today I am off to San Francisco, California for the affiliate appreciation gathering that one of the companies I promote is holding for it’s top affiliates. They are flying 30 affiliates (and guests) for 3 days in San Francisco. Since the weather is all gloom in Vancouver  this will be a great getaway, free of charge. The current temperature in S.F. is 16°C and clear and here in Vancouver it’s 9°C and cloudy/foggy/drizzle, blah!

I will be visiting Alcatraz, doing a city tour as well as having a full spa treatment all paid for, which is pretty cool. I have never gotten a spa treatment, it feels creepy for some reason. The hotel looks pretty swanks, we are staying at the Hotel Griffon.

I’m not bringing my laptop because I don’t trust U.S. customs officials. I have read horror stories online of officials seizing laptops and not giving them back, or if they do it’s many months later. No thanks, I don’t need that type of headache. I will just let my pay per click campaigns run themselves, and maybe check in on them from an Internet cafe from time to time if possible.

I’m heading down to San Fran with Rob and Angela, the guy who got me hyped on affiliate marketing in the first place many years. I’ve been to San Francisco 2 times before this trip, it’s a neat city to visit. Most of the big web companies are from around the Bay Area, that place is ground zero for Internet companies.

I’ll be back Thursday and then need to get the 2 bedroom condo in Burnaby I bought inspected to make sure there are no hidden problems. I will probably start looking for condo #3 when I get back as well. Near Christmas is always a great time to buy, because no one else is thinking about buying real estate. That means less competition and better real estate investment deals for me, weeee.

Oh well I better start packing my carry on, it’s 8:30 AM and my ride (Rob’s dad) get here at 11:10 AM. It’s a 2 hour flight to S.F. and Vancouver is on the same time zone so I won’t be having that wonderful jet lag feeling.

I just came up with this idea. Basically you add a piece of Javascript code on your web page that will show the current date and time. What’s the big deal? Well for instance if you were doing a review type landing page for HDTV plasma TVs then the person visiting your site would see the current date and time. This would make the user think that the content on your website was brand new which can work to your benefit. This is an old trick but something I have never used before. I’m sure you can get creative with this right Rob?

Here is the javascript code:

<script language=”javascript” type=”text/javascript”>

<!–

document.write(”reviewed on ” + document.lastModified);

–>

</script>

Place the Javascript code on the spot of the page where you want the date to appear, bottom of page, top of page or where ever. This tip is nothing mind blowing by any means but if you can increase relevancy to web users it can result in more sales.

I guess hard work does pay off. I’ve been to San Francisco a few times when I was a young graffiti artist, that was many years back. I always liked San Fran, relaxed vibe and just a cool city to hang out in. Well I guess my sales to one of my affiliate companies was pretty good because they chose me and other top affiliates for an all expenses paid trip to San Francisco next month. Apparently I can bring another person I already asked my wife but since we have such small kids it makes it impossible for her to come with me, which sucks. Luckily for a friend of mine I have an opening now and I will be inviting him to go to San Francisco with me!

Part of the all expenses paid trip includes a day trip to Napa Valley (wine tasting), trip to infamous Alcatraz as well as all food and accomodations paid for!! I was pretty happy when I got that email, let me tell you. And the cool thing is that it’s the week of my birthday. It’s always nice to get free stuff and be appreciated for your hard work.

If you would have told me 10 years ago I would be getting free trips for Internet marketing sales I would have thought that you were nuts, but here I am. And Friday October 10th is the day I left my job at my God Fathers mill work shop to quit my fulltime cabinet making career go back to school to learn web design. That was way back in 1999, 8 years later and the journey of life gets better and better.

*All I know is that the law of attraction does work, beleive it or not.

Sometimes you come out  with a great idea, and you think it will take off. What happens if it doesn’t happen? Well this just happened to me, so now I need to find another way to make it happen. I am always trying new niches and ways to make money online, and sometimes it just doesn’t work. When this happens I have to admit I get bummed out, who wouldn’t?

I usually take a break then plan another way to attack it, it usually works to some degree. Affiliate marketing is all about trying new things out, because you don’t really know what will take off and work until you get in and try it.  The people who make the most money are the guys that have the balls to try new things. Sitting on the sidelines and being happy with what you have is great, but I like to expand.

Making money is like a game to me, it’s a challenge to see how far I can “push the envelope”. Sure I could be happy with what I am bringing in and I am, but I know I can bring even more. I will bring in more one way or another, I’m not too worried but I do get discouraged from time to time.

The reason for this post, hmm I’m not 100% sure. I think I just needed a 1 minute break from the “situation”, then I can think clearly and go balls out again.

PS: Don’t be one of those people who sits on the sidelines because your scared to fail. You should know that by sitting on the sidelines you have already failed YOURSELF. It’s easy to sit on the couch and watch reality shows, but do you have the courage to make something happen for yourself?

* Never give up, failure is only a state of mine. You are what you think you are, change your attitude and be a winner.