I was thinking today how important it is to fulfill some of your dreams.

• Do you dream of taking a cool vacation or seeing those mountains you’ve only envisioned in your thoughts or seen in pictures?
• Do you plan to plan to plan but would rather plan to take action?
• Do you think you’ll never get to fulfill your dreams?
• Have you written your dreams down?  Do you look at them often or think about them on a regular basis?

These are all important questions when you think about fulfilling dreams.  I keep using this example, but it’s crucial to use it to understand our ability and potential.  How did a man land and walk on the moon if not for some loon who thought it was possible?  Become a dreamer and shoot for the stars!  It’s certainly better to think and dream about your potential than to waste time being negative about your current state of affairs.

You’re an amazing miracle of a creature!  You need to know that you can do whatever it is you put your mind to!  Go ahead, put that dream trip on your calendar and start planning for it.  Go ahead, start dreaming big and stop being negative and watch your life change.

God bless,

Travis

P.S. We’ve got another “Featured Friday Interview” tomorrow, don’t miss it!  Details on the time of the call and who will be on it will be released in the morn so stay tuned to my updates on twitter.

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15 Twitter Users Shaping the Future of Publishing

I’ve been going through this article and I’ve really enjoyed the content and mini-biographies.  It’s fascinating to see industry leaders (albeit in an industry I don’t pay much attention to) using social media in an effective way and via the vehicle that is really transforming not only the marketing community but the business community as a whole.

We are just scratching the surface of social media and it’s utilization across our culture.  One day, just as we’ve seen with email, everyone will be using social media as a tool that we could never believe we’ve lived without!

Travis
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Social media is confusing for many, but for people interested in politics it is nearly essential.

After hearing presentations at the Defending the American Dream Summit (#DAD09 on twitter) about social media and it’s significance, I continue to be convinced that if you’re in business or politics, by NOT jumping on the social media bandwagon (more like a freight train at this point), you’re missing out on the incredible potential for networking as well as getting your message and brand out there!

Travis
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You know, every now and then (every day) we need to be motivated, encouraged, driven and built up.  We need to believe in ourselves and our abilities and in turn, we need to see what it could be like.  We could NOT be fortunate enough to live in the greatest country God has ever created.  We could NOT be fortunate enough to live in a place where food is easy to come by.  We could NOT be fortunate enough to live in a place where we have the freedom to build our own businesses.

So, with that in mind and with the idea that you can do whatever you set out to do, enjoy this motivational video.  Although comedic in nature, just the thought of not succeeding in whatever field you are in should push you enough to believe in yourself and work hard enough to get to where you want to be.  With God’s grace, we’ll see you there!

By the way, don’t believe him – You will amount to more than jack squat, you just have to believe it!

God bless,
Travis
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Not necessarily because “everyone’s doing it.”  See, you thought that was going to be the no-brainer answer.

Social media matters because it’s the best way for most people to connect with each other.  If you are shy in person, you’re generally a bold titan online.  If you have trouble connecting and communicating with people, you generally become more adept at introducing your feelings while in the comfort of your own home.  If you can’t seem to find an old friend’s number, you can easily find their contact info on Facebook.  My wife and I invited a handful of our friends via Facebook (here come the “you insensitive, unthoughtful, cheapskate” comments) to our wedding.

Social media is one of the main ways we network today.  The long chats on cell phones have been replaced by wall postings about boyfriends, girlfriends, life, congratulations, “happy b-days,” etc.  Celebrity gossip in magazines has been replaced by celebrities letting the world know about their breakup via a “tweet.”  Also, breaking news is divulged on twitter as much now as on CNN.

It’s truly amazing that social media is starting to evolve into a system that you can basically run all your interests, relationships, schedules, iPhone apps, and life updates through.

So, when you mock your friend about being on twitter (like many of my friends are doing now, the same ones who were mocking me in 2005 when I got on Facebook, all of which have Facebook profiles now), understand that it matters not because he or she is jumping on the social media bandwagon, but because that person may desire the ability to relate to his or her long lost friend in a more honest and streamlined fashion, something he or she wouldn’t have been able to do by foregoing the opportunity to join one of the fastest growing networks on the internet.

This is the thing about social media, people of all personality types can connect, network and converse within a sphere of their own comfort level, that’s why social media matters!  People who have shining personalities, amazing experience and character, unknown inner beauty and integrity are given the opportunity to be themselves within the protection of their comfort zones.

By no means am I encouraging hermitism (I think I just made up a word, maybe it’ll go viral), what I am saying is that we have unlocked the opportunity to see the best in a lot of people who would have normally withdrawn themselves from our conversations based on the risk of the pain associated with relationships.  That’s why social media matters, and that’s why it’s so important to me!

The hidden and untapped potential in each of us needs to find the light of day, and if that means that you have to join twitter and grow your network to ensure the breaking of the proverbial social ice, by all means, join the community, we’re glad you’re here!

God bless,

Travis Fitzwater
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Many moons ago I asked this very question, why do people use Facebook and Twitter to get traffic?  I had the problem because I was wondering how in the world people would/could use these platforms successfully to get a steady flow of traffic to their blogs while maintaining friendships and professional relationships.

This question was answered on a personal level as I began to see how it affected my blog traffic, giving me a steady flow of new and return visitors to my site (stats to follow).

But first, I want to differentiate the two.  Or, even better, you can go to this article at Twitip to get a great run down on the differences between the two, and as they explain in much better detail and more thoroughly than I ever could or would, you should go there and skim it real quick to get a good grasp on the differences.

So, why do I use Facebook and Twitter so much to get traffic?  This is the down low, the bottom line, the proverbial nitty gritty – I get nearly 20% (19.16% to be exact) of my blog traffic from Facebook and 13% (13.08% exactly) of my blog traffic from Twitter.  That’s why I use these tools, because nearly one-third (1/3) of my traffic comes from these sources.

Not only do they allow me to more effectively network with my friends, colleagues and even MCHammer (both MCHammer and I will follow you if you follow us, find MC Hammer here and follow me here), but it allows me to easily update my status wherever I am.

Fortunately for me, I’ve figured out from smarter people how to use the tools effectively and efficiently.  As an internet marketer and business owner, you have to leverage your time and use it wisely.

This is what I did to ensure that my accounts were working together:

First, I actually signed up for a Twitter account.  I’ve had my Facebook account for years, but only under a year ago did I sign up for Twitter.

Second, I began following people I knew and commenting here and there on my status as well as commented on others’ statuses (was that an awkward sentence?).

Third, I had to learn and educate myself on what all the Twitter lingo meant.  It took me a while to figure out how to respond to people (using the @ tool), send direct messages (DM), and it took me a long time to figure out what a ReTweet (RT) was and why it was so important.

Fourth, I integrated my Twitter account with my blog and Facebook.  So, now every time I create a blog post a notice goes to my Twitter account and automatically updates my Twitter status (you can do the same thing by checking out this tool, TweetMyBlog).  Then, since I use the Twitter application on Facebook (go here to use it yourself), every time I update my Twitter account, my Facebook profile automatically picks up the update and applies it to my Facebook status (this stuff has added a lot of traffic to my site.

Considering I have nearly 500 friends on Facebook and over 500 followers on Twitter (as of 02/05/09 @ 11:15 a.m. CST), in an instant, over 1,000 people are informed of a new blog post or any new updates on what’s going on in my life.  THAT’S THE POWER OF FACEBOOK AND TWITTER.

Why I use Facebook and Twitter to get traffic is very simple, it’s incredibly easy to integrate into my blog and social media outlets as well as it provides me the opportunity to be in contact with thousands of people in almost an instant.  Pretty sweet, huh?  You should try this!

God bless,

Travis Fitzwater
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“Whatever the mind can CONCEIVE and BELIEVE, it can ACHIEVE.” -Alexander Graham Bell

Enjoy this…I have enjoyed this already like 3 times today.

Travis Fitzwater

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God bless,

Travis Fitzwater
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