Do Not Call Registry – Act now to renew your listing

The Federal “Do Not Call“ list reaches its five-year point next summer, meaning those who signed up early will begin to be dropped from the list in mid-2008. The result is more unwanted telemarketing calls.

If you don’t wish to receive these unwanted interruptions, be sure click here and re-register up to three of your phone numbers. It only takes a minute and by acting now, you can avoid the annoyance later.

Technorati Tags: Do Not Call Registry, Telemarketers, Xtraordinary Living, www.productivelearning.com, Rick Itzkowich

Additonal evidence supporting VSS

The following article from Reuters Health Exercising harder keeps weight off longer offers further evidence that in order to make changes, we need to have Vision, Structure & Support (VSS).

To find more about VSS, please read the following posts:
Are you a self-help junkie?
Structure – One of the 3 pillars of change
1-Year Anniversary.

Technorati Tags: Vision Structure & Support, Exercise, Weight Loss, VSS, Change, Xtraordinary Living, www.productivelearning.com, Rick Itzkowich

Fun way to meet new people and increase traffic to your blog

Something that is fun about blogging is that you get to meet new people that you wouldn’t have otherwise met. If you happen to have your own blog, here’s a way to increase traffic to your blog.

I recently discovered a way to exchange links via the Technorati favorites feature. Dosh Dosh & Beta Blog for Dummies started this link exchange program.

Here’s the fastest way to join the exchange program: Favorite my blog by clicking here and then please leave your Technorati username as well as a similar link to your blog in a comment below this post. Click the Post a Comment link at the bottom of this post.

To make things easy, I suggest using a Technorati favorite link or button. You can get the buttons and links easily at this Technorati page. Please leave a link to one blog only.

When you add my link to your Technorati favorites, I will do the same for you. This way we can both benefit for additional exposure.

Technorati Tags: Technorati Favorites, Increase blog traffic, link exchange, Xtraordinary Living, www.productivelearning.com, Rick Itzkowich

Structure – One of the 3 pillars of change

Earlier this month I wrote a post about the 3 necessary elements – Vision, Structure & Support – to have a fighting chance of succeeding when trying to change something in our lives. This post is about Structure.

The dictionary definition of structure is: anything composed of parts arranged together in some way; an organization. A synonym for Structure is: System.

What this means is that unless you have a system in place for you to achieve something, you probably won’t. Examples of systems include: automatic withdrawals from a checking account into a savings or investment account (to build wealth), working out with a trainer or enrolling in Yoga classes (for fitness), automatic backup (for your computer data), email auto-responders (to notify people you’re out of the office), etc.

Our new “QuoteActions” program is designed to provide a fast, easy and inexpensive Awareness Structure to keep our mind focused on positive things during the day and reinforce conscious thinking.

As the name states, “QuoteActions” consists of a quote that is either inspirational, motivational or introspective and a recommended supporting action that helps make the quote “come alive”.

When you think about how most of us start the day – by either reading, watching or listening to the news – you realize that our day typically starts by being exposed to a barrage of negative news. After all, that is what the media sells. The “QuoteActions” program is a great way to offer an alternative to that and start the day on a positive note.

If you are a PL&L client and you are really committed about making some of the changes you need to make to help you create an Xtraordinary Life, then you ought to at least give this program a try. I’m quite certain you will find it to be a very nice addition to your course curriculum.

If you’re not a PL&L client, then this is the least expensive & most convenient way for you to see whether what we offer is a good fit for you in your life.

If you are already a “QuoteActions” user, I would love to hear from you about how you are liking the program and what kind of impact has it had in your life.

To find out more about this program, you can click on any of the “QuoteActions” links or on the logo above.

Technorati Tags: Structure, Change, Xtraordinary Living, www.productivelearning.com, Rick Itzkowich

You might be richer than you think

Did you know that the State of California is holding more than $4.8 billion in Unclaimed Property? These assets have been turned over to the State for safekeeping by banks, businesses and other organizations as required by law.

There is no charge to file a claim for Unclaimed Property. Last year, more than 239,000 accounts were returned, and the average amount received was almost $1,000! You can use this Web site to search for property you may have lost or forgotten. There are 7.6 million accounts, so there is a good chance that you, a friend or family member has unclaimed property.

After typing my name to search if I had any claims available – I didn’t – I found that my grandfather had about $200 in an old savings account. What was interesting was that when he opened the account, he listed the address of the house where I was born in Mexico City. That certainly brought a lot of memories!

However, a good friend of mine claimed (and received) almost $800 and my wife Jessica had about $45 dollars she was owed from a previous insurance payment. The claim process is very simple and doesn’t take much time. I invite you to see if you or someone you know does have some money just waiting to be claimed.

Technorati Tags: Free Money, Refund, Windfall, Xtraordinary Living

Feedblitz Update

Email notification is the most convenient way to read or listen to new blog content. Currently when there is a new post or podcast, you get automatic updates via Feedblitz.

On a recent post, a reader sent me a message letting me know that my post copy made no sense. Upon review, I found out that subscribers had only received a portion of the message’s content. I have since discovered there is a glitch in the system — where sometimes instead of receiving the full content of the post in your email notification, you only receive portions of it.

In order to address this issue, subscribers will be notified via Feedblitz when new content is added, but the message will only contain the new post’s “title” with a direct link to the blog. This easy access link will take you to the Xtraordinary Living blog to read the entire post or hear the podcast.

If you are not currently a Feedblitz subscriber you may consider doing so. Click below:

Enter your Email

Curiosity killed the cat?

I’m a very curious person, and I like numbers. This combination is what prompted me to write this post. While I can currently get the number of visitors to our Xtraordinary Living blog, I have no idea who they are. The curious part of me would love to know this information. Since one of the reasons I started the blog was to have a vehicle to experiment and have fun with — read one of my earliest posts — I’m really excited about this one. Also, another fun part of creating the blog is surprising my partner Lindon – since he never knows what kind of “entrepreneurial seizure” I’ll have next!

I decided to offer you a “quid pro quo.” In exchange for you letting me know who you are, I will give you a gift. I’m offering you one of our audio CD programs as a gift. All you have to do is click here. As an FYI – at PL&L we never sell, share or trade any of your information – ever.

I would also welcome any comments you have. Another reason I started this blog was to have a conversation. Anytime you comment it allows me the opportunity to do so.

Urban Legends

Earlier today I posted a photograph of an enormous iceberg that a Newfoundland rig manager supposedly snapped while being underwater. Thanks to Mark McQuaid – one of our long-term clients – I can correct my mistake and provide accurate information.

This image was produced in 1999 by Ralph A. Clevenger, a professional nature and underwater photographer who is also a member of the faculty of the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California. As Mr. Clevenger explained, this image is not a single photograph but a composite of four different photographs (not all taken in the same place):

The iceberg image is a digital composite designed to illustrate the concept of “what you see is not necessarily what you get”. As an underwater photographer I knew that my “vision” of what a big iceberg looks like was impossible to get in reality so I had to create it. The image exists in nature but due to water visibility is not possible to capture on film.

There are 4 separate images involved; the sky, the background, the top iceberg (shot in Antarctica), and the underwater iceberg (shot above water in Alaska and flipped in the final composite).

This information came from the Urban Legends Reference Pages at Snopes.com. This is a great site to verify whether something is true or not.

Technorati Tags: Urban Legends, Snopes.com, hoax, Xtraordinary Living