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Follow @darrensingletonFinding Motivation
As can be seen from the lack of posts to this blog, my motivation has once again dropped off the face of the planet. All of my websites/blogs have ground to a stand-still over the last month whilst I have done absolutely nothing online!
I have no real explanation for this. There are several things happening in my life at the moment that are being dealt with, one of which is that I am no longer moving out.
Earning money online is something that I have wanted to achieve for a long time and (although I mknew this at the start) I am beginning to realise more and more, that without a lot of hard work and attention being invested into each and every one of them – this is never going to happen.
The first step for me is deciding which projects to invest my time into. Looking at my GoDaddy account, I currently own 59 domain names and I have a further 3 being held at Moniker. I will be making a follow-up post discussing my decision with these projects but I know for a fact that both this blog and Gifts4Men will be my main focus for the next few weeks/months.
Offline, I have begun to attend the gym regularly as well as playing squash and football with my friends. In the last three weeks I have managed to lose 10lbs by performing this regular exercise and eating a little more healthier. Seeing improvements in my body, no matter how small, has motivated me to attend the gym more and makes me feel better about myself. I am hoping that I can push this motivation across to my online ventures by making small, steady improvements that will allow me to see results and improve upon them over time.
Have you ever suffered from lack of motivation? How did you solve it? Let me know in the comments.
Inspirational Video
I’ve had a very lazy weekend, saving money is hard work but it is saving the wallet and bank balance so I’m happy!
One thing that has really caught my attention is a video whereby Tony Robbins discusses the power that you have within yourself to succeed. Watching this video is highly recommended to anybody who is trying to make more money/improve their lives and if you do watch the video, you will need no further explanation from myself.
I’d like to thank David Risley for directing me to this video. I would also like to encourage you to leave a comment and let me know what you thought of the video.
Your Life in Pictures
A lot of media attention has been paid towards Facebook and Twitter, especially over the past siz months. One website that has been greatly overlooked is DailyBooth.
Loosely based on the Picture a Day for 4 Years concept, DailyBooth encourages its users to take pictures of themselves. Unlike Twitter which is purely text-based, DailyBooth allows the use of pictures and text in an innovative way, that is becoming more and more popular each day.
I have currently only added four pictures (view them here), but I am about to add another and plan to update this image each and every day. Once you have submitted a picture (either via your webcam or a standard image upload) people are able to leave picture and text comments, and obviously, you can do the same on theirs.
If you have a DailyBooth account, please follow me – if you haven’t got a DailyBooth account, signup now and get in on a website that is sure to be the next craze (then follow me)! Let me know your thoughts on DailyBooth in the comments section below!
My Second Customer Service Experience
Following my not-so-clever customer service experience at the beginning of this month, I have yet another encounter with the service provided to customers by United Biscuits, here in the UK.
Several weeks ago I purchased a packet of BBQ Hula Hoops (as can be seen to the right). On opening the bag, I noticed that there were some weird lumps, that looked nothing like the crisps that were meant to be in the bag.
A phone call to their customer satisfaction hotline put me in touch with an incredibly apologetic employee who promptly sent out £2 worth of vouchers for KP products.
At first, £2 didn’t seem all that good. But for a 38p packet of crisps, they have been quite generous. I’m not exactly sure what those lumps were but I was impressed with the customer service shown by United Biscuits.
Whilst you are here, take a look at one of the great new Hula Hoops adverts currently being shown on TV:
My Customer Service Experience
Although the issue has now been fixed, I thought that it would be a good idea to address my lack of online activity over the last three weeks.
The reason was a dodgy router and an uninformed “customer services representitive” at AOL who told us that a new one would be sent out to us and should arrive within ten working days. After waiting the ten working days (plus a further two), I gave their customer service department another call – at which point I was told that we were not entitled to a new router as the warranty had expired on the one that we had been using. Why we were not told that in the first place, or been made aware of the issue when it was discovered at their end and the dispatch of a new router was cancelled, I do not know.
Contacting a customer when there is a problem with an order should be a fundamental part of customer service and I was shocked that even though we were paying for a service, it was not being delivered.
After a backwards-and-forwards battle about the service we had recieved I was put onto the phone to a senior member of staff, who happened to solve the problem in a matter of minutes. After waiting four days (not even working days, this included the weekend) a brand new router arrived and due to the messing around that we had experienced, we are now paying £5 per month less for the same package and we are no longer tied in to any contracts (we were in an 18month contract prior to this event).
Overall, I was dissapointed in the service that I had received and was 90% positive that we were going to move to a different provider. However, the resolution given to us was too good to miss out on and if it doesn’t work out, we have no contract to fulfill and can leave at any time.
Have anybody else ever had a similar experience and everything turned out for the better?
