Once we got started I quickly realized how much value I have to offer these small businesses! Do you realize how easy it is to get a long-tail, local search term to the top of Google? Do you realize how easy it is to plug a site into TweetAdder, configure it and watch as the following grows? Do you realize how much ONE lead is worth to alot of small businesses? As Internet Marketers, we have SO MUCH value to offer it’s unbelievable!

That new company is doing better than I could have ever imagined, which is a big part of the reason why I have been so quiet on the blog and with my email lists lately. In the very near future I will be working to expand the new company and it will… ok it already has, become my priority.

What that means to you if you follow this blog and/or my newsletter:

- It means I most likely won’t be posting to the blog as much or sending out emails as much although I will NOT quit… it just won’t be as frequent.
- It also means I will be writing more about offline Internet Marketing (offering services to small businesses) not ALWAYS, just more than before.
- It also means that my next product and most likely the last product I release in quite a while will be a complete guide with videos etc. on how to setup a similar service from scratch including how we’ve been able to get clients and earn a great deal of money in a short amount of time.

What it does NOT mean to you if you follow this blog and/or my newsletter:

It does NOT mean that I am completely getting out of the “IM” niche. I will continue to provide advice here at the blog and I will continue to release products. It just won’t be as frequent and to be honest with you the quality will probably be much higher… that’s not to say the quality was ever low, but this will not be a big income source for me, so it will be more about passion and helping than ever before.

So anyway, I just wanted to give you a heads up as to what’s going on in my world.

Today I’m going to talk about me, as a person. In response to one of the questions I asked in a survey I sent out to my list a few weeks ago asking what I can do to build more trust, many people requested that I talk more about myself outside of IM. You asked and I listened. I’m not going to hold back, not even some of the very embarrassing things that I’ve gone through. One part of this post may really shock some people.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized this is a good idea. It’s always neat to learn more about the personal life of a friend or acquaintance and if you follow this blog, you’re a friend of mine!

You’re about to learn more about me than you ever wanted, or cared, to know

Just random details

I’m 29 years old (at the time of writing.) I am originally from Washington, Indiana, but now live in Indianapolis, Indiana (I like Indianapolis MUCH better.) I am very happily married to my wife, Claudia. We have one child, Aaron, who will be 3 years old in February.

I smoked for about 12 years before Claudia and I both quit January 2008, cold turkey, and never looked back!

I am one of six children. I have two older sisters (Dana & Kelly,) one older brother (Matt,) one younger brother (Jon) and one younger sister (Emily.)

… one niece, seven nephews, one more on the way.

We all grew up in the “middle class” I would say. My father was, and still is, a conductor for the railroad and made/makes good money, but with 6 kids money was still tight. We weren’t poor, but we weren’t rich by any means either. My mother cleaned houses for extra cash when she could, but she was always so busy cleaning up after us she couldn’t do that very often.

Work

My first “real” job was, you guessed it, flipping burgers. I was a grill cook at “The New White Steamer” in Washington, IN for a few years. I think I started when I was about 16. My salary was something like $4/hour, yes really lol

After that I got on at a Furniture Factory in Jasper, Indiana (Jasper Wood Products,) which is now closed. I was a machine operator, running various machines, making all kinds of furniture parts. I worked there for about 3 years.

Then I got tired of my boring life in Indiana and decided to join the Army. The $17,000 sign on bonus made up my mind for me haha I signed a 5-year contract and left for Basic Training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma February 28, 2002. My MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) AKA job, was 13M Multiple Launch Rocket System crew member.

I was then stationed in Babenhausen, Germany. Not long after I got there I was deployed to Iraq for the initial invasion. One year later I returned to Germany, traveled all over Europe and met my wonderful wife, who is from Frankfurt, Germany.

I started my online business late 2004, while still serving in the Army. I got out of the Army May 31st 2007 as a Sergeant and started working online full-time from there on out.

My Idiot Phase

You know how children go through “phases?” When I was a teenager I went through what I call my “Idiot Phase.”

I got multiple tattoos, which I regret now. I was arrested for drinking and driving. I did drugs, which luckily didn’t do any permanent damage before I got smart and quit. But worst of all, I beat up a guy, which resulted in a Class-C Felony. Yep, I’m a felon. Sorry if that disappoints you. Luckily the guy recovered fully, but that charge is on my record for life. It’s something I regret more than anything I’ve ever done in my entire life, but it happened and I can’t change the past.

To make a long story short I thought the guy was a child molester because I listened to unconfirmed rumors and I decided to take the law into my own hands. It probably had something to do with my 18 year old ego too, since a group of my friends were there too. It turns out he wasn’t a child molester, or at least he had never been convicted of it. I was arrested and sentenced to 4 years in prison. But in reality a 4 year sentence really means one year. Half of the sentence is almost always “suspended” and you almost always do half of what’s left, for “good behavior.”

I was given the choice by the judge of 1 year in jail, or 2 years of house arrest. I chose 2 years of house arrest and spent 2 of the most boring years of my life EVER sitting at my parents house, but during that time I had plenty of time to think about my past and more importantly, my future. Lesson: Don’t listen to rumors!

My Hobbies and Passions – My #1 passion is spending time with my wife and son. That’s corny and of course I know Claudia is going to read this But it’s also very true. My online business is also a great passion of mine because I am privileged with the ability to help people and make money at the same time! But below you’ll find some recreational things I like:

I have several hobbies, some of them are also passions.

1. Health and Fitness – I can’t stand the feeling of being weak and unhealthy!! I HATE it! I honestly enjoy going to the gym and although I love food, I eat fairly healthy and watch what I eat. I work out 6 days a week and do alot of strength training. I wouldn’t consider myself a bodybuilder, but I constantly work on increasing muscle size, strength and endurance. But, I never have and never will use illegal drugs to improve that like so many do. I spend a good deal of money on legal supplements though. If you’re interested in health and fitness I highly recommend my trainer’s blog “Personal Training Dude” at http://www.PersonalTrainingDude.com/. Health and Fitness is a hobby and a passion!

2. Geocaching – I started Geocaching in the summer of 2008 while visiting friends in Germany. I LOVE this hobby, it’s fun! I run a Geocaching blog at http://www.MadCacher.com/ and if you have no idea what it is, read this post: What is Geocaching?

3. Fishing – I’ve loved fishing since I was a kid. I like fishing for just about anything, but I primarily like bass fishing. I love the feeling of a big bass grabbing the lure, jumping out of the water, then fighting to get him in.

4. Collecting sports cards – Yeah, I know. It’s for kids, right? lol I was a big card collector as a kid, then got away from it as I got older, like so many others. But several months ago I’ve picked it back up and have a growing collection of Gem Mint sports cards, primarily basketball.

5. Football (Colts) – I’m a horrible Football fan because I just started getting into it last year and I don’t even know half of the rules, but I LOVE watching our Colts play and will be attending several games this season! oops, I just lost some blog readers from New England, huh? I hope not.

Beliefs

Politically I tend to lean more toward conservative views, but I try to stay away from politics and there are a few liberal views I agree with as well. If I did get into politics, I guess I would be more independent.

I believe children should be treated better than the average child is treated in the World and that definitely isn’t limited to third-world countries. I believe many children, even in the U.S.A. are treated poorly no child deserves that, no matter who their parents are.

I’m against abortion because I don’t think any person who has already been born should have the right to decide whether or not someone else should be born. “I’ve noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born” – Ronald Reagan

I believe all people should be judged by their character, not by anything else. But I also believe many people get away with far too much because they know people are afraid to say anything.

I believe most people have NO CLUE how much potential they possess!

I believe people should be judged by the type of person they are, not by what church they go to (if any) or by what religion they observe.

I believe the famous quote “You can do anything you want, if you put your mind to it” is false, but has great intentions.

I believe most people measure and accept their destiny by how they are raised. I believe this is a bad thing 99.9% of the time and a good thing 0.01% of the time.

Well, that’s all I can think of right now. If I think of more I’ll edit this post and add those things.

That’s a snapshot of my life. Complete honesty! I hope it hasn’t driven you away