Monthly Must Read | The Search by John Battelle

The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture 

by John Battelle

Shopping at thrift stores and at the Goodwill was never my thing for one reason, I never though they had anything good to buy. I always thought that the products in those stores would not be worth buying and would probably be broken or something worse. It wasn't until I got with my lady that I willingly started going to thrift stores and shopping at the local goodwill. One of my favorite sections of those stores are the book aisle and every time I go into one, I find something that was one my list of books to acquire. 

Not too long ago, we recently went to the goodwill and I bought 5 books that I found, 2 of which were on my books to acquire list. One of them which I started reading this month is called The Search by John Battelle. 

What is the Book About

The Search is mainly about Google in the early days but more importantly the author accurately describes the events and the companies that were around in the early days of the internet. The book goes into depth about search and how it has changed not only businesses but also changed peoples lives. It changed the way we search for products and information and the way we buy and consume products and information.  

The book starts off by exploring the internet scene and the early search engines and related businesses before Google, then John goes into the background of how page and Brian met and came up with the search technology they created at Stanford. It then goes into Page and Brian receiving their first investment, to looking for the best business model to other stories later in the book like the original idea behind AdWords, the privacy laws issues they came up against and much more.

My Thoughts About the Book

This book holds a special place on my bookshelf because I always love a good story about the early beginnings of some of the biggest companies, once startups, that we know today. The Search is for anyone who wants a more in depth and behind the scene look into the beginnings of Google, the business of search and its' early days. You can learn of some of the events that took place when Google first started, the run ins with the Government and the privacy issues that came up, when the first went public and much more.

I think this book will give founders of startups and people alike the humbling experience that Page and Brian had starting what would become a billion dollar company. It was a great read and I will more than likely be reading this book again pretty soon because it is just that interesting. I know we all think we know the story of Google but in this book, he gives stories that was never really made public or in other books and documentaries. I personally think that this is one of those books that you must have in your book collection, especially entrepreneurs and founders of startups.

What I Learned from the Book

Reading this book was not intended for me to learn something about business or personal development but more for entertainment. I enjoy reading and watching movies about startups and their beginnings, the hardships and failures along the way all the way to their success. 

One thing that I did not know which you can say that I learned was the yahoo had an opportunity to license Goggles' search technology but passed on it. When i think about it and look at yahoo today, I think that probably maybe one of their biggest mistakes. 

As John explained in the book, Page and Brian saw that there was an already growing and well funded list of search related business like Yahoo, Excite, AltaVista, Infoseek and more so they decided instead of starting and running a company which was a lot harder than it is today, they could license their technology to one of those companies. They held meetings and demonstrations with these companies and other venture capitalists but was ultimately rejected by everyone so they continued to working on Google. 

As stated in the book, Page felt that the companies they visited were becoming portals, focusing on subgroups, sub-genres within the site and as Page added, "They did have horoscopes though." To the giants back in the day, search was a commodity and the goal was to keep people on your site, not send them away. 

They eventually got their first investment from the co-founder of Sun Microsystems, Andy Bechtolsheim and David Cheriton, founder of Granite Systems, a developer of networking technology that was sold to Cisco Systems back in 1996.

The stories in this book gives you a inside view of what it took for Google to become one of the biggest companies on the world today, all from two guys trying to make search more organized and useful to people.

Purchase "The Search" on Amazon http://amzn.to/1XnLU7J

Additional Books by John Battelle http://amzn.to/1VfIGW0

Authors Website http://battellemedia.com/

Follow This Author on 

Twitter https://twitter.com/johnbattelle

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Act Like A Success, Think Like A Success

Monthly Must Read | Act Like A Success, Think Like A Success by Steve Harvey

 

Act Like a Success, Think Like a Success: Discovering Your Gift and the Way to Life's Riches

Every morning for the last 5 or 6 years up until I left my job in December 2014, my daily morning commute was a 44 mile drive to work listening to the Steve Harvey Morning Show. Now, I don't get to listen much often since I left to manage my business and I don't listen to the radio much in the house but when I did, I always enjoyed tuning in. At 6am, he comes on for about 10 minutes to give a morning inspirational speech, then once he is finished, the rest of the morning show team (Tommy, Carla, Junior and Shirley) joins in. 

Throughout the week, Steve talks a lot about business and actually, they usually have a theme for each day of the week and one that I was very fond of was the Success Tuesdays. Knowing his story and hearing some of the trials and tribulations he has gone through and still going through are some of the best talks they are to me. When he announced that he was writing a book about becoming successful and what it took for him to get there, I was excited and ready to read and hear more about what he has been through. If there is one thing I love, it is I hearing about people's rise to success!

This month, I found myself picking up another book off of my shelf that I found to be a great read, "Act Like a Success, Think Like a Success" by Steve Harvey which I purchased back in 2014 the week it was released. The book is about personal development, teaching you how to find your gift or your natural talents and use them to achieve your dreams and also become successful. 

What is the book about

I had to give major kudos to Steve for technically writing and publishing his first book on personal development which is by far a very good read. Firstly, he gave a lot more detailed information about his journey to success and a straight to the point and easy to understand guide on what you need to do to become successful. Some of the stand out topics in the book were:
 
Finding Your Gift
The main focus around the book was about finding your true and natural gift you were born with. In other words, if there is something that you do quite well naturally or something that you are very well gifted at, he assures that if you take the time to explore it some more and spend some time crafting and perfecting that gift, you should be able achieve the success you desire. One main step in the process he talks about is also choosing the right vehicle to bring forth your gift.


The Untold and Behind the Scenes Stories
In the book, Steve also gives us behind the scene stories about performing for his first HBO Special, The Kings of Comedy tour, his first performance at a free amateur night, to making $25 a night, to $25,000 per night. One story that he talks about often on the radio show that he briefly spoke about in the book was when he became homeless. Now for anyone to be homeless and make it to become a multi millionaire and a well respected man is has my attention hands down.

Activity and Goal Setting Book 
Throughout the book, Steve placed a few activities for you to do, some while reading and the others throughout your time putting your goals and action steps in place. He also recommended that his readers put together a vision board that they can use as a guide or road map to achieve their goals. 

My thoughts about the book

What I most appreciate this book for is that it breaks down finding your gift or your true calling in life to levels that everyone can understand and actually start to take some type of action towards their goals. Many times when you are reading books, especially those you are reading to educate yourself, you get a sense that the book may be slightly out of your league or to complicated to take action without a specific route to take but the book was made to help guide you along the way instead of just giving information and not knowing what to do with it like the activity sections in between chapters and the stress of using paper and pencil to write down your goals and visions to make it more concrete. 
I also thought that Steve mentioned a critical aspect of getting motivated to take action and carry out your goals when he opened up with the chapter called, "Im Tired of Myself" which he explained that it wasn't until he was tired of himself, his financial situation and just completely frustrated with life that he started taking action towards his goals and vision. 

What I gained from the book  

Act Like A Success, Think Like A Success gave me major insight about the path that Steve took to get to where he is at in life right now. It was a very informative read and gave me much encouragement to keep pushing towards my goals and most of all, always taking action. I never read the book with the intentions of finding out what my gifts and natural talents are because I have always had a sense of direction and what I want out of life. I read the book simply because I wanted to know more about Steve's journey and hopefully gain the little jewels of knowledge he drops on the radio show. One of those jewels consisted of his daily schedule. I am always fascinated by seeing the daily routines and schedules of many working successful people mainly because you get a perspective of what all you can accomplish within a 24 hour time frame if you really just take action and get to work on your goals and vision. 

Take a look at his personal schedule that was published in the book, Act Like a Success, Think Like a Success
  

After reading this, I told myself that I have a lot of work to do if I'm ever to get on the level that his on or further. Anyone looking at this can easily see that the work Steve Harvey puts in everyday will more than likely keep him financial secured but also important, he keeps a routine to stay in shape to accommodate his hectic schedule. 

What do your daily schedule consists of and is it anywhere as productive as the schedule above? Please feel free to leave a comment below! 

Purchase "Act Like A Success, Think Like A Success" on Amazon http://amzn.to/1QVTBDd
 
Additional Books by Steve Harvey http://amzn.to/1L6CgFx

Authors Website www.steveharvey.com

Passive My Income Report for December 2015

Welcome to PMI Income Reports! 

Every month I create and share these reports which is a detailed account of my online earnings which helps me keep track of my progress, the trials and errors and also to give readers the ability to join me on my journey and hopefully take something out of it that you can use for yourself! 

Happy Holidays from PMI!!! Hope everyone enjoyed their holidays and ready to go into the New Year. There's alot of great things that is coming in the 2016, but for now, let's wrap up the year and get into Decembers Income Report.

December was both a great and sad month for my family and I. The day after Christmas, one of my grandmothers, whom is in her mid 90s, has not been doing to well lately so my family has been preparing for the worst. On a lighter note, we were still able to all get together to celebrate the holidays which I was quite happy about. 

Reading

Lately, I have been reading a lot of books on various topics which has been changing the way I think about money, life and my future. Now, I am not a fast reader nor do I read everyday but one habit that I am working on is reading a few chapters right after my morning workout (more on my workout below). As part of my challenge to myself to learn and open up my mind to new things, my goal is to purchase and read at least one book per month in which I will be able to use some of the information I've learned to improve my life overall whether it is financial related, personal and business relationships, my health or any other areas of my life I may not have mentioned. 

This month, I decided to end the year off with a quick refreshment of what I think is the best financial educational book to date. Since 2008, I have read Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki numerous times, especially around year end, which helps me set my financial goals for the following year. 

Now I'm pretty sure just about everyone has read Rich Dad, Poor Dad before, but if you haven't, it is never too late to get your hands on this book. I like to think of this as a "Financial Independence Step by Step Manual" for those who seek financial independence, wealth or simply to sharpen your financial intelligence. 

For those that are not familiar with the book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad gives you the financial education you will need to know about personal finance, starting a business and understanding their structures, taxes and laws around them, investing in the stocks, mutual funds & real estate, wealth building and understanding how money works. 

There's many different subject and topics that Robert Kiyosaki touches on throughout the book, but the most famous of all has to be the "CashFlow Pattern, where he explains the the differences between Income, Expenses, Assets and Liabilities, much like the "CashFlow Quadrant" which describes the differences between being an Employee, Self Employed, a Business Owner and being an Investor.
 
While reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad, one quote that stuck with me throughout the book was "Mind Your Own Business" which is actually a chapter on its own, explaining that people should worry more about making their money work for them rather than focus on making money for someone else and their business. 

Check out this Months' Monthly Read: Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

Exercising

As part of my personal growth journey, I've started a small workout plan 4-5 days out of the week in the mornings and I can honestly say it is one of the best decisions I have made. As I am learning that working in front of a computer screen all day and not maintaining a healthy lifestyle can really mess with your health, I decided to design a simple workout plan that is very easy to stick to and can be done in about 30-45 minutes.

Here is the small plan I've put together:

• Run - 1.4 miles

• Push-ups - 2 sets of 25

• Sit-ups - 2 sets of 25

The workout plan above is a simple plan that I put together for myself that would help me along my journey. My goal with the workout plan is not to necessarily to gain muscles but more along the lines of tuning the muscles, staying healthy and in shape and to help me stay focus and self aware. There will be some major changes to the plan as we come into the New Year which I very excited about and can't wait to show to you guys!

Online Learning 

Another part of my personal growth journey that I am really enjoying is keeping up with the #AskGaryVeeShow on Gary Vaynerchuk YouTube Channel. On top of keeping up with Pat Flynn on Smart Passive Income and Matthew Allen on Dumb Passive Income, I'm also listening to Glendon Cameron on his YouTube channel just about everyday which is how I found out about Gary Vaynerchuk. The techniques and lessons I am learning from these guys are all great and I have been applying them online, offline, and in my daily life with some successes so far. Another reason I enjoy listening to them is because they both have the years of knowledge and authenticity of creating and running real businesses.

Niche Sites


December consisted of me producing a lot of content for my sites during the days that I did work. One of my goals that I have NOT kept up with was to produce at least 10-12 articles per week which would amount to around 2 articles per day. In reality, over the last few months, I've only got up to about 5 per week, and that's on a good week. 

Some weeks, only 1 was completed, on others, 2-3. I am really trying to get focus and get a on schedule with my goals for my niche site portfolio. Right now, being that it is just a one man operation, it's going to take some time to complete all the work on the table right now but for the most part, I am seeing some progress. 

Here are some of the things that I have completed or still working on right now to go into the New Year:

Niche Sites, YouTube Channels, 

• Producing 100% quality original articles
• Finish writing my first fiction book
• Creating new content for YouTube channel

Overall Portfolio 

• Organizing a schedule to post and interact on sites and social media platforms
• Building several new niche sites to add to my portfolio
• Develop a streamlined process for building niche sites and creating content  

There's a few other things I'm also trying to get organized and develop in a systematic order, but those listed are first priority as of right now.

Also, a funny thing has been happening lately. One of my sites that I built early last year which up until around Late October was just plain dead. The site had 0 views for the first 6 months of the site going live, then a spike a views occurred which is due to a single article which is now getting between 50-100 views per week. The article is ranking very well for the keywords used so I am using this article as a reference for producing more articles for the site.

There will be more details about this as we go along. Now it's time to get into this months online earnings.

Income Report - December 2015

Income

Affiliate Earnings

• $3.86 - Amazon Associates for sales on Amazon.com

Adsense

•  $0.13  - Revenue from Niche Sites

Android Applications 

• $0.00 - Mobile Advertising

Net Total for December 2015 - $3.99 

Expenses

•  $0.00 - Since most of my sites and apps have been up before I started this challenge, I did not include the expenses I paid earlier in the year for the domain names, fee, etc. I'm pretty sure it will not stay like this for too long once things start to pick up! 

If you are curious and would like to know my initial expenses for my online businesses at the beginning of the year, here is the breakdown:

• $10.33 - Domain Names
• $25.00 - Google Play Developer Fee 
• $40.00 - Development of Mobile Apps

Year To Date Total Expenses - $75.33

Short Recap

As we close the year out, I can see that there is still alot of work to be done. Since leaving my job in 2014 to run my own business, there were many ups and downs but overall it was a learning experience. 

A year later, I have made some major improvements and can see the some growth between the businesses. I may not be making the passive income that I really would like to see but I know it is a work in progress. Already seeing some progress, some of my sites are starting to make little bits of money every month and it's quite exciting taking into consideration that all of the traffic to the niche sites is organic.

I've realized that because I am taking the route of building up my sites naturally without many of the tools that's available, it will take some time to grow my sites and my audience base on the different platforms and I am committed to the long term process of it all. I am very excited and confident with the current plans for my niche sites and the way things have been shaping out but for the most part, there's still alot of work to be done to get them where I want them to be. 

Thank You for being apart of my monthly online income report. I am look forward to your comments and any suggestions as I am always looking forward to improving and learning new things that will help me grow and build my online business.