The Virtual Toolbox

Cosmic Cow Pie

Learn how to navigate through life's  Cosmic Cow Pie with Carra Riley.

Although this book was a very quick and easy read, it contained a lot of useful, practical information. Follow Riley's 14 principles and be prepared for change. After reading this book, I found it much easier to "connect the Dots" in my life.

My two favorites take-a-ways from the book are "SWSWSWN" (Some Will, Some Won't, So What, Next) and "It's not my monkey." Cosmic Cow Pie reminded me of some basic concepts for dealing with life that I'd forgotten about.

From the Book:

"Cosmic Cow Pie...Connecting the Dots

Concepts you now framed in easy to follow principles to help balance your life."

Free Books!

I recently rediscovered Project Gutenberg.   The site is one of the largest collections of free electronic books and ebooks. Currently they have over 20,000 free books in their online book catalogue.

Project Gutenberg contains a wide variety of titles and authors like…

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Outline of Science by J. Arthur Thomson
All’s Well that Ends Well by William Shakespeare
The Marvelous Land Of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Oscar Wilde
H.G. Wells
Plato
Edgar Allen Poe
…and thousands more

Yes, all of the books are being distributed legally. The copyright for most of the books has expired in the United States. This means anyone can make copies of the works.

Happy Downloading and Reading!

Digital Magazines?

I love magazines but really feel overwhelmed when I look at the heap of magazines piling up in the corner of my office. Most of them have one or two articles I’ve been “meaning” to read. Zinio.com was one of my best discoveries for 2005.

Their service delivers magazines to you via the Internet. Zinio delivers the same magazine – including layout, text, and yes even advertising – as the print version. You can even search the magazine, highlight text, and create electronic notes.

Free Sample Magazines available at Zinio.com

A New Form of Media

Change This is using common tools like PDFs and blogs to change the way we share ideas. They have a large archive of manifestos (that’s what they call their PDF files) and more arriving every day. Each manifesto is reviewed before it’s posted on the site.

Recent manifestos included…
Women Bloggers: Changing Their Worlds, Changing the World
Elisa Camahort
Women are the power consumers and connectors of the Internet, and yet, their influence has mostly... more info

Beyond Snobbery: Grammar Need Not Be Cruel to Be Cool Here
June Casagrande (so not your ninth grade English teacher) will reassure you that it’s okay not to care about grammar. Just what you wanted to hear! But with humor and enthusiasm... more info

The Rise and Fall of the Hit
Chris Anderson, author of The Long Tail, chronicles the history of the blockbuster and explains why the traditional model of marketing and selling music no longer works. more info

The Change This mission is “to spread important ideas and change minds.”

The Corporate Blogging Book

I found this book by Debbie Weil recommended by TypePad and decided to purchase it. It was one of the best purchases I’ve made for my business. Debbie’s information and advice is spot on for bloggers. Both beginning and advanced bloggers will find this book useful. Order your copy today: The Corporate Blogging Book: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know to Get It Right

Art of Schmooze

Networking has been one of the most powerful marketing tools for me. At first I had a difficult time “making small talk” and promoting myself at meetings. After a lot of practice and stumbling,  I finally became comfortable with the process. I wish Beth Mende Conny’s book Art of Schmooze for Professionals had been available back then. Unfortunately it wasn’t but it is available to help you – her site also contains a lot of helpful information to help you become a “Smoother Schmoozer” ™.

Guerrilla Marketing

Jay Conrad Levinson has penned several books that I feel are worthwhile reads. When I first saw his books, I avoided them. I thought you had to be aggressive -- bordering on obnoxious -- to be successful at Guerrilla Marketing. I was wrong!

Here are a few of his books:

Guerrilla Marketing: Secrets for Making Big Profits from Your Small Business
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Guerrilla Marketing for Free: Dozens of No-Cost Tactics to Promote Your Business and Energize Your Profits
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Guerrilla Publicity: Hundreds of Sure-Fire Tactics to Get Maximum Sales for Minimum Dollars
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