This challenge excited me–particularly her idea for the educational system. Talk about leadership, leverage, and legacy!

Hi Cynthia,

I do have more insight on marketing the second idea since there is more specificity in your description there (and education is a dear-to-my-heart topic!). But I’ll share my quick insights on the t-shirt idea first: Contests are often a hit “Please help me choose a logo” or “Which slogan do you like best”–winner gets a t-shirt.

When creating an educational system for teenagers a really good idea would be to get permission from the school(s) to do a survey to gauge the dominant learning style (auditory, visual, or kinesthetic), what their biggest challenges are, etc. I did this in the 90s with a middle school before the web was on my radar, let alone tools like surveymonkey.com and the like! This way they know that’s something coming, and offering to speak at the schools for free can get your foot in the door.

Some teenagers may be willing to be interviewed with parent’s permission (I got an enthusiastic response from students at a local college!).

If you want all to be digital, and on the cheap, use the free program Audacity for audio (see video tutorials on how to get and use Audacity by looking at the productivity & tech resources on this blog, which also shares tutorials on how to create a squeeze page) and PrimoPDF http://www.primopdf.com/ to create PDF documents. A highly recommended one stop shop for hard copy CDs, DVDs, and printing is http://www.disk.com/ and they’ll even do the order fulfillment for you. They’ll work with the digital media you provide for them.

The free media to get the word out could include Facebook, Twitter, and blogging while keeping the schools in the loop about it all. Keep in mind that building relationships with your followers even on topics not related to business is key. Just pick one to start with at first so you don’t get (as) overwhelmed. Flyers in mom/pop coffee shops and bookstores seem to be well-received for t-shirts.

Having someone hold you accountable and supporting during this journey is pivotal though. Don’t let the crazy-makers and naysayers steal your joy because this educational system is a fabulous idea in my not so humble opinion!

Good luck!

If you’d like to hear the call we did, click here to get the download of the MP3. You’ll be glad you did!

Wendy’s process appeared as a special resource highly recommended and used by the author of the recent bestseller: Bank on Yourself:The Life-Changing Secret to Growing and Protecting Your Financial Future, a book about taking back control of your financial future, which is on the best seller list for Amazon, Wall Street Journal and USA Today.

Here’s what the author of the book had to say:

“JOY – For No Apparent Reason at ALL????

I’d like to ask you a personal question, if I may.

How often do you experience joy. for no apparent reason at all?

I’m not just talking about “contentment,” or feeling “okay” about
your life.  I’m talking about pure, unadulterated feeling-like-
you’re-three-feet-off-the-ground joy!     Perhaps you don’t even
believe it’s possible. or that you deserve it.

If so, I can relate.  Despite love and success, parts of my life
still felt like a grind.   I often procrastinated on critical
things I needed to do for my business.  I felt stressed much of
the time.  My “perfectionism” would make projects drag out much
longer than I planned or expected. I wasn’t fully enjoying all I
had achieved.

All the strategies I used to try to break through these blocks
worked – to a degree.  But, deep in my heart, I knew I could be
more, do more, and enjoy my life more.  I just couldn’t seem to
figure out how to get there.  Maybe you can relate.

But friends were raving about the nearly instant breakthroughs
they were having in their lives, using an extraordinary
technology.  And, frankly, I was jealous!  I was also skeptical,
but decided to give it a try. The shifts I experienced in so many
different areas of my business and personal life were dramatic.
and immediate.

Here are just a few: Within just one day, some things that had
seemed difficult and painful started feeling easy.  Even
effortless. Situations that would normally stress me out suddenly
simply stopped having that effect.   Physical pain I had for more
than a decade vanished. Perhaps the most unexpected benefit of
all was the feeling of pure joy I began experiencing – even doing
things I used to like least!

Are you ready to blast through obstacles that lie between you
and your full potential? If you are, I’ve arranged for you to get
access to the internationally acclaimed expert in this
technology.”

I’m looking forward to my copy of the book and am appreciative of Wendy who so generously shared this very process on the call. Even though the call has taken place already, you can still click here to get the recording!

What fun serendipity! If the technology is getting in your way of creating your product and getting it out to the marketplace, take advantage of the free tutorials (no opt-in required): http://budurl.com/FreeTechResources

Leverage your expertise into audio and create a legacy in the process!

The following segment was a semi-spontaneous idea based on some questions I’d been receiving about product creation (especially audio) and then the technical aspects of creating and then selling your product. There are also other people’s products you can sell and follow the same technical process you would with your own product. I spent a lot of time on content creation and getting through the creative blocks too.

I also shared a link to a page that has a number of step-by-step quick-start video tutorials as a handy reference (free and no opt-in required for either site).

Check out the show:

Once you dive into the tools (My Colleague Bea Fields & I can help you with that too!), here are a few more resources worth checking out in the Web 2.0 community–these are people I’ve built relationships with in a social networking framework and they are also excellent at what they do:

Facebook Goddess: Mari Smith

For Business Blogging Experts: Denise Wakeman & Patsi Krakoff of The Blog Squad

Twitter Experts: Deb Micek and Warren Whitlock

Video (and integrating all the tools): Sherman Hu

WordPress Expert: Kim Beasley

Folks who know me know I am the hugest advocate of storytelling. Check out Carla Young’s program for more on that!

And for more on time mastery, check out Ann Rusnak (The Time Diva!).

And the list goes on!

There was some irony in my process because of various interruptions and false starts while I was recording. I was so glad when I finally finished my vocals and could move on to mixing the ocean waves and my relaxing music in!

So if you, or someone you know is starting to feel the pinch, or if you just want to do some preventative maintenance, I invite you to get in a quiet place and treat yourself for 14 minutes by downloading the MP3 below and listening:Get Still, Get Positive Meditation