The Freedom Net

Well, I finally figured it out!  I know why I have had issues getting this blog indexed by Google and other search engines.  I was wracking my brain today trying to figure it out … then I remembered!

A while back when I was setting up several blogs as sub-folders on this domain, I created a robots.txt file for the search engines so they wouldn’t index any sub-folders yet.  I wanted to make sure that people visiting the home page (still under construction, btw) wouldn’t be able to find the blog(s).  Unfortunately, once I got this blog ready to submit to PPP, I forgot to modify the robots.txt file!  I’ve been blocking the search engines from indexing the blog myself!  OK, now I feel stupid.

In the event you’ve never heard of the robots.txt file, you can find out all about it here:

http://www.robotstxt.org

OK, not really, but it sounded good,didn’t it?  I mean, isn’t that one of the places you would go if you were financially able to do so? Me too.

Well, I may not be able to go there yet, but I can sure practice my Hawaiian language skills.  I found a great new place that allows me to do research online, compile the results, and get paid for it!  It’s the new human powered search engine, Mahalo! (that is thank you in Hawaiian)

Even if you are not interested in being a part-time guide (it pays $10-$15 per search term accepted into their system), you should still check out the search engine.  In fact, I have a deal you just can’t beat with a stick.  Try the Mahalo Follow toolbar for Firefox for a few days, and see if you don’t notice a difference in the results you get.  I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.  (And I’m not just saying that because I’m doing work for them either)

So, the adventure continues.  Once again, I’ve re-submitted my blog, The Freedom Net, to Pay Per Post, and once again, I’ve been rejected.

“So, what’s wrong this time?”, you ask.  Well, let me tell you all about it.

It seems that while Google is indexing some pages of this blog, it is not indexing the home page of the blog.  The Freedom Net has been up here for months, and still it’s not indexing the home page.  I don’t understand how that could happen, especially since it is indexing some of the posts … but I am going to attempt to correct the issue.

You may notice several links embedded within this blog post to the home page on the blog.  Don’t bother clicking on them, because you’re already there.  They are there specifically to entice the spiders from Google land to come and gobble up my friggin’ blog home page.

I’ll report back in a few days if the experiment has worked.  Wish me luck.

I get distracted fairly easily.  After a quick review of all of my past expriementation and failures, I discovered a definite pattern to these events.  I definitely believe that success is born out of failure, but I’m not so sure thas is true if the failure is self-imposed. 

I started out on this stay-at-home journey just a few short weeks ago.  When I did, I was confident in my ability to achieve success.  Today, as the money gets tighter and tighter, I am losing that confidence.  My confidence is being shaken by circumstances surrounding me.  I’ve lost my focus.  Once again, I’m staring failure in the face.

Looking back over the sites that I’ve logged into my favorites over the past few weeks, it’s apparent that I’ve been in research mode again.  I’ve amassed quite a few newly discovered sites that pay for blogging, blog posts, advertising, and creative freelance writing opportunities.  I’ve done more research than I have actual work effort.  And herein lies the crux of my problem:  I’ve gotten the paralysis of analysis once again.

So how do I break free?  Well, I think part of it must come from a determination made within myself that I will make it happen … no matter what!

In case you haven’t noticed, or perhaps you haven’t been here before, the blog is changing directions somewhat.  I’ve focused a lot in the past on Internet marketing exclusively, and ways to make money online.  Moving forward, I’m including anything that has to do with personal freedom.

You see, I figure it like this:  freedom from your boss isn’t all that great if you don’t have the time to enjoy it.  I’ll be changing some of the categories on the blog over the next few days, as well as coming up with a Wordpress theme that will liven things up a bit as well.

Stay tuned for more details, and come back often!  I’m finally getting in a groove as far as maintaining my various blog postings go, so you should find new and interesting information here several times a week.

So, until next time … Carpe Diem! (Sieze the Day!)

We recently took a family trip out of town to visit some relatives. Usually this is the type of trip that you would get all worked up about because of time constraint issues. Being a real man (read: stay-at-home-dad) has some distinct advantages, as we discovered on this particular trip.

Vacationing or traveling out of town for the normal 8 to 5, Monday thru Friday worker is hard enough. Most people out there rarely have a schedule that is as accommodating as those banker’s hours. However, when you don’t have to report to work on Monday morning, and you don’t really have to feel pressured on Friday to leave as soon as possible, a whole new world of possibilities opens up to you!

This is what we discovered on this particular trip. It occurred to us as we left town on Sunday rather than Friday how nice it was not to have to compete with weekend traffic. There was no rush to get out of town on Friday night so we could make the most of our weekend. As people were leaving the state park where we stayed, we were arriving. OK, so there were some retirees and summer students that showed up on our second day there, but I’m betting that’s pretty atypical and probably a result of the recent flooding at other larger area attractions (we were at the Meridian state park in Texas).

It was comforting to realize on Tuesday when we left, that I didn’t have to ‘get some rest’ just because of work in the morning. In fact, if we all stayed up late and were bushed, we could all sleep in. How gratifying is that? Not having a regular work schedule to worry about has definitely had an impact on our recreation. Although this trip cost us more than we bargained for (with car troubles I will elaborate more on later), it was still a nice thing to come to terms with.

Ever wonder what a day in the life of a SAHD WAHD looks like (OK that acronym wasn’t funny!)? Well, I thought I would share with you what my day was like today. I’m sure that every stay and home dad and work at home dad has a vast and different experience, but I have always been intrigued, and I though you might be intrigued as well.

So, here’s what happened at my house today.

• 7:30 AM - Kids woke up. They are now my alarm clock.
• 8:30 AM - Watched ‘Home on The Range’ with the kids on DVD. We promised them we would watch it with them last night.
• 10:00 AM - OK, this is when I actually started ‘working’, if you can really call it that. I have a writing assignment that I started last night, and should finish up today.
• 12:00 Noon - Time for lunch. Spent more time with the kids. Not like they were not here while I was writing, but my wife pretty much kept them occupied so dad could ‘work’. Unfortunately, we really don’t have a spare room to set up as an office, so the PC is in the corner of the living room. Sure, I can type in the middle of a three ring circus, can’t you?
• 1:00 PM - Watched some NASA videos with my son. He is really into the space thing, so this was cool. It is one of my interests as well.
• 3:00 PM - OK, it’s back to the grindstone … well, actually the keyboard. I picked up a second writing assignment, so I can begin working on it as soon as I am done with this one. I missed a tech support assignment on the tech job board … someone else picked it up while I was offline with the kids. Oh well, life’s full of opportunities … you just have to decide which ones are the most important.
• 5:30 PM - Dinner time. We take time to eat together, although it is usually in front of the boob tube. I guess it’s better than nothing, but this is an area I would like to improve on.
• 7:30 PM - Back to the writing gig. The kids are in bed now (their bedtime is 7pm), which allows me much more coherent thoughts when doing creative writing (if it can be called that).
• 9:30 PM - Woo Hoo! I’m finished with my writing assignment for the day. After roughly six hours of work, I’ve completed 15 keyword articles for submission. I also received payment offers on two exclusive articles I submitted over at Associated Content. This makes the day a productive one.
• 10:00 PM - After a short break, I’m back online, going over my blogs (I currently have 5 semi-active blogs that I am trying to get in shape to qualify for an advertising program). I’m posting, posting, posting, trying to get everything in shape for the advertising market that’s out there.

I don’t know when I will call it quits tonight, but it will probably be after midnight. I’ve always said I would rather burn the midnight oil for myself, rather than for someone else. Now is my chance to see just how productive I can be … for me.

Come back tomorrow, and perhaps we’ll have another chance to visit.

Working from home is truly hard work.  I’ve honestly never done anything that has required as much mental concentration as this has.  I’ve often thought how nice it would be … but when the natives are restless, it’s a real pain in the rear!

I have found that if you fail to plan, then it is true, that you plan to fail.  Without an actual work schedule, I find myself playing around all day.  Even if I’m on the computer ‘at work’, I still end up surfing through my e-mail, working on personal blog and ministry projects, etc.  The list goes on and on.  How is it that I can’t stay focused on the task at hand?

Who knows … maybe it’s human instinct.  Somewhere deep down inside, I think that I’m supposed to leave the cave in order to go and find food.  All I know is this:  working at home is hard work.

I’ve been a bit down in the dumps lately.  I’ve been pressured by bills, deadlines, clients, and my family.  I never gave it a second thought to take out my frustration on them.  After all, that’s what I did when I was working for ‘the man’, right?

Well, I figured out today that I should count my blessings.  I’ve got a good friend from high school who also works from home, albeit for an actual employer.  He designs highly interactive and multi-media driven websites.  He is good at what he does. 

But when I talk to him, guess what?  He wishes for the very thing that I take for granted.  He wishes for a wife and a family to share his success and failures with.  He wishes for a family to share his hopes and dreams with.  Regardless of the outcome, he simply wants to have that feeling of ‘family’.

Count your blessings tonight.  Think about all of the good things that you do have in life, not the things you think you are missing out on.  If you focus on the good things, you will come away with a whole different attitude, I promise.

Well, another month has passed, and it’s time to do another wrap-up for the month.  Here’s where I ended up for the month of July:

• Associated Content - $46.73
• IRA (Internet Marketing Associates) - $139
• Text Link Ads - $38.88
• Google Adsense - $7.28
• Total for July - $239.81

Well, despite the increase, this is still pennies compared to what I need to be making, know what I mean?

I’m still working on getting back up and running with Pay Per Post, and hopefully a couple of other blog advertisers as well.  If that kicks in and I can stay focused, I can probably hit my short-term goals.

I’m getting ready to drop one of the programs listed above, despite the fact that it paid decent money last month.  I’ll explain more in my next post, but it goes back to what I’ve said about writing for money before.  You have to know what you are worth, and stick to your guns!