Saturday, October 8, 2011

Famous




Famous


The river is famous to the fish.

The loud voice is famous to silence,
which knew it would inherit the earth
before anybody said so.

The cat sleeping on the fence is famous to the birds
watching him from the birdhouse.

The tear is famous, briefly, to the cheek.

The idea you carry close to your bosom
is famous to your bosom.

The boot is famous to the earth,
more famous than the dress shoe,
which is famous only to floors.

The bent photograph is famous to the one who carries it
and not at all famous to the one who is pictured.

I want to be famous to shuffling men
who smile while crossing streets,
sticky children in grocery lines,
famous as the one who smiled back.

I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous,
or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular,
but because it never forgot what it could do.



(From Naomi Shihab Nye, Hugging the Jukebox, Breitenbush Books: 1984. As it's out of print, you might click on her name on that Amazon page and check out some of her more accessible books.)

Friday, September 30, 2011

Using Walmart gift cards online

Plastic Gift Cards:
1. Can be used for purchases at Walmart.com and at any Walmart store in the U.S.
2. Sam's Club members can also use the card at Samsclub.com and at any Sam's Club store in the U.S.
3. They can be mailed to the recipient and take 3-5 days to arrive

Online Gift Cards:
1. Are emailed to the recipient within 24-48 hours
2. Contain a card number and PIN in the email that the recipient can use to purchase merchandise online at Walmart.com
3. Sam's Club members can also use the card online at Samsclub.com
4. We're sorry, but Online Gift Cards cannot be used at Walmart stores or Sam's Club stores

Using a Wal-Mart Gift Card online at Walmart.com is simple:
1. Find a product you would like to purchase and place it in your cart.
2. When you check out, you will have the option to pay for your entire order or a portion of your order with a Wal-Mart Gift Card.
3. Simply click "Use a Wal-Mart Gift Card," and enter your card number and PIN.
4. Your card balance will be automatically applied to your order total.

Note: You may only enter up to 4 gift cards per order.

Note: U.S. Gift cards are not usable in Canada, Mexico, or in International Walmart Stores due to exchange rates.

Note: Canadian gift cards cannot be used on Walmart.com.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Meet the Cryns kids!


Meet my kids!


Nate Cryns - owner of  CheerleadingDanceMusic.com

 
Noah Cryns and his son Noah
owner of a website design company MusePeep.com

 
Toby Cryns
owner of a website design company TheMightyMo
Greg Cryns

Gus Cryns

Katy Cryns

Liana Cryns


Nate Cryns



Toby Cryns

by age....
Nate


My son, Nate, had a really good band Juvenocracy/aka Spank



Noah  
My son, Noah (and Nate), covered "Mirage" by Tommy James. Think Noah's is even better!
 



Toby  
My son, Toby, wrote the music and directed his own video



Liana
My daughter, Liana, aka Letron, wrote the music, starred in this vid



Greg
My son, Greg, has his own band in Ocean Beach (San Diego) -  



Katy
My daughter, Katy Cryns, is working hard on a new TV show - 



Gus  
My son, Gus, produced a record for Stretford End -
  


Friday, September 9, 2011

Blackout: What would you do if you lost electric power?

There are times when you receive an exceptionally crafted email. Unfortunately, those times do not come often enough. Here is one I read this morning from someone I admire, Michael Senoff. Michael provides hundreds of awesome business interviews on his website at no charge to the public. That is a brilliant marketing concept. Give and you will get.

This email has to do with the power shutdown in Southern California yesterday, 9.8.11. It was reported that electric power was lost all the way to Arizona. So, what would YOU do without electricity? Read on....

Reposted with permission from the author, Michael Senoff



From: Michael Senoff
Subject: Blackout . . .
To: "greg" <gregcryns@charter.net>
Date: Friday, September 9, 2011, 12:19 PM

Greg

Who knew?

When would the power would come back on?

I was watching the movie "The Wrestler" on my battery powered laptop when my wife texted me . . .

"Go And Get a Generator."

I only had a 1/2 tank of gas.

I could remember how to siphon gas from my car's gas tank from my teenage years.

I got in my car and drove to the local Ace Hardware Store. 

They were closed.

Traffic was bad.

It would've taken me hours to get to the Home Depot on Genesee and Balboa.

Then, I remembered.

There were generators at Kraigan Auto Parts.

This one was right by my house.

I approached the store and saw two workers standing in side looking out.

I asked through the locked doors if they had any generators?

They said "yes".

And they unlocked and opened the door.

They reminded me it had to be cash.

They would only take one customer at a time.

Others waited outside.

I said . . 

"Not a problem, I've got cash."

They had two gas generators in stock.

I bought the less expensive one.

$397.00

This was all kind of spooky.

About ten people were crowding outside the door of the Kraigen store. 

No doubt, they were looking for ways to power up.

I felt a bit nervous caring out the last generator.

I wanted to get it on my car and get the bleep out of there as fast as possible.

This black out was unprecedented.

And no one really new when the lights would come back on.

Despite what the media says.

I just don't trust the media any longer.

It was time for me to take my "urban survival" into my own hands.

The first problem was food.

I needed to get power to the fridge and freezer to keep the food we had from spoiling.

I had 4 hours.

I got the generator home, unpacked and running. 

Was able to power up both the fridge and the freezers.

We had enough gas to run the generator for two days.

And at 1:30 AM that night, the power was back.

Ok . . .

Not the real emergency I thought could have happened.

But what if power was down for a week, ten days, a month?

What if this was a terrorist attack?

Or a virus that destroyed our power grid?

What if ?

Are you prepared ?

Do you have 5,000 to 10,000 in cash on had when you need it in the event of an emergency?

Remember . . ATM machines and banks aren't open when the power is out?

You can't buy anything unless you have cash on hand.

Do you have propane to cook with?

Do you have a way to make electric power?

Do you have batteries to power LED flash lights?

Do you have extra fresh water?

Gasoline?

Are you prepared when the light go out in your town?

Do you know how to make fast cash in the event of an emergency?

If not, go to this link.

It's my series on fast cash money making interviews.

Each interview will show you how to make cash money fast. 

Go to

http://www.hardtofindseminars.com/Fast_Cash_Interviews.htm

Southern California's nine hour black out was a wake up call for me. 

I was only partly prepared.

But not nearly enough. 

I was scrambling.

And I'll bet you're not prepared at all. 

Listen to my fast cash interviews.

Pass this e-mail to the family and loved ones you care about.

These recordings will at least give you a plan in the event you blackout.

Go to

http://www.hardtofindseminars.com/Fast_Cash_Interviews.htm

Michael Senoff

About the Author

I've spent the last five years of my life creating fascinating
streaming audio interviews with big name  marketers and getting
them to spill the beans on how they got rich and famous and I'm
giving most of my life's  work away for free.

These interviews are designed to be superior to any lecture out
there. 

They're more informative, natural and the information is more
dynamic and dense. 

Michael Senoff is the CEO and publisher of 
http://www.myfirsthmaclient.com 

The world's leading free digital consulting business library.

Michael is an experienced Internet marketer and talk show host and
a popular professional interviewer. Michael  has taught 100% on
line around the country & around the world to more than 50,000
students.

His over-the-top online audio interview web site 
http://www.hardtofindseminars.com is listed in the top 1% of  most
visited web sites in the world. 

Michael has also worked as a coach and adviser to other famous
marketing consultants. 

Michael is a husband and father of two young boys in Southern
California
. He has a successful audio publishing  business. 

Michael is originally from Atlanta Georgia and is now based in San
Diego, California
. Michael works with small  to medium sized
companies on four different continents. 

He is the author of the book: "TALK YOURSELF RICH": (86 of the most
revealing, proprietary secrets on the  subject of how to make more
money with audio interviews and the soon to be released sequel:
AUDIO MARKETING  SECRETS. How To Make Your Own Information Product
Using Audio Interviews.  Michael may be contacted at 
Michael@michaelsenoff.com  or at (858) 274-7851

DO YOU? DO YOU? Do you have the GUTS to forward this hard to find
seminars E-Lert to your friends, family and  associates? 

Do you? Do you?


Send them to http://www.hardtofindseminars.com 

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Pay Pal labels



Hi Everyone,


My wife told me I could but I didn't believe her. I thought I needed a PayPal payment to print a label. This is very important for people who host a lot of auctions because you can also get Delivery Confirmation there for 19 CENTS. 

Here is what you do:

Log into PayPal then click on "Merchant Services" near the top of the page--> then click on Multi-Order shipping (on the right side under Shipping & Tax). A Pop-Up box will come up (if you have that allowed). At the bottom of the box there is a button that says "Create" . Click that and fill in the information. You will need to know the weight of your package, of course.

I've been doing this for over 3 months now. Once in a great while I need to cancel the printed label. That is easy from the main PayPal page next to your postage paid order. "Void" the label. You will have to wait a week or two for your refund, but it will come.

Later!

Greg Cryns

Monday, July 25, 2011

Can Cold Water Clean Dishes?

This is for all the germ conscious folks that worry about using cold water to clean.


John went to visit his 90 year old grandfather in a very secluded, rural area of Saskatchewan. After spending a great evening chatting the night away, the next morning John's grandfather prepared breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast.


However, John noticed a film like substance on his plate, and questioned his grandfather asking, 'Are these plates clean?'


His grandfather replied, 'They're as clean as cold water can get em. Just you go ahead and finish your meal, Sonny!'


For lunch the old man made hamburgers. Again, John was concerned about the plates, as his appeared to have tiny specks around the edge that looked like dried egg and asked, 'Are you sure these plates are clean?'


Without looking up the old man said, 'I told you before, Sonny, those dishes are as clean as cold water can get them. Now don't you fret, I don't want to hear another word about it!'


Later that afternoon, John was on his way to a nearby town and as he was leaving, his grandfather's dog started to growl, and wouldn't let him pass. 


John yelled and said, 'Grandfather, your dog won't let me get to my car'. 


Without diverting his attention from the football game he was watching on TV, the old man shouted! 


'Coldwater, go lay down now, yah hear me!'


/

BookTV: expand your knowledge base

I spend a good part of my weekends watching and listening to BookTV.  I learn a lot there and it is not all political (thank God!).


Some examples:


After Words: Eli Pariser, "The Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding From You" hosted by Clay Shirky 


"Idea Man: A Memoir by the Co-Founder of Microsoft" 
Paul Allen
 



How the States Got Their Shapes Too: The People Behind the Border-Lines 
Mark Stein
 



1861: The Civil War Awakening 
Adam Goodheart
 



I "met" Sarah Vowell there. If you like history topics you will also want to meet her. http://www.booktv.org/search.aspx?For=Sarah%20Vowell


Yesterday I met Ben Mezrich, who is a very hot property these days. He told about how he wrote nine novels before he sold his first. He said you need to learn to welcome the 
rejections as surely they will come in great numbers.


But he never gave up. Now he is successful: Newest book: Sex on the Moon

*The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook: A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal

*Busting Vegas: A True Story of Monumental Excess, Sex, Love, Violence, and Beating the Odds

*Rigged: The True Story of an Ivy League Kid Who Changed the World of Oil, from Wall Street to Dubai

to name a few.



Greg Cryns
Work At Home Profiles 

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Charity comes in different flavors

What goes around comes around?

I would rather give money to people than to charities or churches.

For example, on a recent cruise ship vacation, I gave our waiters and additional cash tip as we left. I had already arranged that they receive a bigger tip through our credit card. Somehow that did not seem enough so I was compelled to give a few dollars more.

My point is that we (especally Americans) have so much. Let's be honest. We have tons more than we need. I lost over $100 at the ship's casino over the 3 days and nights. I mean, give me a break. If I can lose money gambling and spend money to rent snorkel equipment, then I ought to give a healthier tip.

Agree or disagree?

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Travel Tip - disembark early



My very smart wife taught me this one.


If you are pricing airline tickets you might find that your destination is one which has a layover for another location.

Let me explain: my dear wife, Yvonne, is extremely resourceful. She was visiting the usual travel haunts (Priceline, etc) to find the lowest air fare to Chicago.

She stumbled upon a flight with an ultimate destination of Milwaukee that had a lower airfare than she could find to Chicago. So, she booked her flight to Milwaukee. When she arrived in Chicago she simply got off the airplane and did not get back on.

Think outside the box!

Greg

Don't Believe Them


I am stuck in Atlanta. My plane had a mechanical problem so the good people at Delta Airline paid for the stay at a local hotel. I love my life in America. Extremely sorry that greed ruined it.


Online marketers are people who are trying to make your wallet thinner.

They often claim to have the golden key to making money online. They tell you if you do this or that you will achieve lasting success.

Don't believe them.

Scoop: they have experienced some success but that does not mean that the techniques they want to sell you still work. Let me put it this way.

If you were earning a fabulous amount of money with your Internet techinques, would you want to share them with the world? Many of these marketers simply found a small wormhole where they could fool Google into getting some clicks to their website.

These people are modern day snake oil salesmen.

Don't believe them.

Visit: http://www.workathomeprofiles.com

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

How to Motivate your direct sales team through communication




    from Steve Martin's LA Story


Do you have a direct sales team working with you? Perhaps this will help.




Motivate Your Team Through Communication

It's almost impossible to build a successful direct sales team without communicating with your team members. Communication is key to building a good team of sales consultants who are motivated to build their own businesses, and who will build yours by doing so.

There are three aspects to communication that every team builder should recognize and use if they want to build and motivate their team:

1) Commitment to communicate

For the best results when you begin building a group of quality team members, you need to determine that you will communicate with your team on a regular basis. Once you've made that commitment, make it a part of your daily routine.

Jot down notes to yourself on your planner or set up an automated system on your computer so you will remember to send out birthday or anniversary cards to team members. Call your consultants to congratulate them on their first party, sales goal, recruit, or any other important milestone.

Email your entire team every morning. You can send success quotes, motivational thoughts, contest news, or deadline reminders. It doesn't have to be long, but the idea is to stay in touch so your team knows you're available and are committed to communicating with them.

2) Communicate clearly

If your communications are hard to understand, poorly written, sloppy or simply disorganized, they won't be nearly effective as clear, concise communication with your team.

Keep your sentences short when writing. Use spelling and grammar checkers. And proofread your writing before sending it out. These simple task will take only minutes, but will pay off greatly in building rapport with your team. If writing and grammar are not your strong points, enlist the help of a proof reader.

Team members need to know that you have valuable information to share with them, and that you can help them succeed. This is much simpler when you can express yourself well and communicate your message clearly, whether on the phone or in writing.

3) Communicate consistently

Consistent communication might be the most important aspect of building a good team. Even poorly written communication is better than no communication at all. Never let your team feel you just signed them on and forgot about them. Communicate with them on a regular basis for the best results. Never let the words “sorry I've been out of touch lately” ever be said by you!

Consistent communication might include a weekly newsletter, a blog that is updated regularly, note cards, text messages, email updates, telephone calls, or anything else you can use to encourage team members and let them know how important they are to you, as well as how much you appreciate them.

Communication truly is key if you want to build a successful sales team. In today's age of speedy emails and texting, there is no reason not to communicate with your team on a regular basis. Doing so will motivate them to build their own businesses, which will build yours as well.

Greg Cryns
Work At Home Profiles  - an inexpensive direct sales club - Join Us!
.
.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Quality Website Content is Back



The Death and Resurrection of Quality Content
Copyright (c) 2011 Bill Platt
the Phantom Writers
http://thePhantomWriters.com/



No matter where you go online, you are bound to find someone
complaining about the quality of content available online. When
we want to find information that answers our questions for us,
the last thing we want to do is to land on a MFA (Made For
Adsense) website with questionable content. And yet, many of the
people who complain about this state of affairs also contribute
to the problem.

Believe it or not, you have the ability to become part of the
solution, rather than to continue being part of the problem. Keep
reading to learn how...

As the people who create the content that the world consumes,
through the World Wide Web, we are in a very unique position. We
have the power to change the future of the Internet... We have
the power to change the world for the better...

We have the power to turn the Internet into something our
children and grandchildren could value...

People who do not market goods and services online wonder why the
Internet has become a cesspool or irrelevant and badly written
content... They wonder why the information they find online is
littered with so much junk and garbage... They wonder why
marketers are willing to ruin the Internet in a quest to make a
few extra dollars...

Google, more than any other website, understands the battle that
they must win... They must devise systems that will conquer and
destroy the wealth of junk content online... It is a battle that
that Google must win, in order to ensure the longevity of its
value in the marketplace...

Over the last year, Bing has been eating into Google's market
share, in its effort to capture more eyeballs and more
advertising dollars...

The wizards behind the curtain at Google understand that Google
needs to change to survive. They know that Bing is winning market
share, because Google's search results are littered with a vast
empire of junk content, masquerading as quality content.
Information consumers have begun to take notice the heaps of junk
in Google's search results... And they are starting to notice in
large numbers...

Google must adapt or die...

As a result, Google is becoming somewhat more aggressive to weed
out the kinds of content that people are afraid that they cannot
trust...

There are still vast opportunities for marketers to take
advantage of Google, in order to convince Google's search
algorithms that a filthy, stinking piece of dog poo is good
quality content... So if this has been your business model until
now, you will still have opportunities to play that game into the
future...

But the reality is that the dog poo method of creating content
for the Internet is one that can only promise short-term gains...
Up until Google figures out how to recognize the dog poo on the
Internet...

As online marketers, we are in a unique position of power... If
we are willing to make a commitment to raise the bar on the
quality of content we provide to the global community, we can
start cleaning up our own corner of the Internet, one day at a
time...

And if we are willing to make a commitment to better quality
information, we can ensure a more long-term viability for our
online businesses, because our content will be at a level where
Google does not feel a need to whack our brand of Internet
Marketing...

When the Google Spam Team looks out on the vastness of the
Internet and sees our content as an example of the kind of
Internet they want to endorse, we will find Google technicians
making a commitment not to cleanse our websites from its search
results.

As web content creators, we have the power to raise the bar... We
have the power to create the kind of content that our children
and grandchildren will be happy to share with their
grandchildren...

We have the power through the words that we choose to improve the
quality of the Internet, and to make it a community more people
are happy to participate...

We have the power, and our power begins with a simple idea:

If we make a commitment to using less automation and investing
more personal time into our topics, with more regard for building
an audience and less focus on trying to snatch another link, then
we could position ourselves to ride the wave of great content to
personal financial success...

Yes, it really is that easy...

We only need to make a decision to do the right thing, lead by
example, and take action to bring the dream to life...




---------------------------------------------------------------------
This simple guide will teach you how to create good-quality,
profit-producing articles reliably and in 20 minutes or less:
http://thephantomwriters.com/article-writing-guide/
Sign up to receive our FREE twice-weekly marketing tips
via email: http://forms.aweber.com/form/20/1353305320.htm
If you are available on Fri or Sat night, join Bill Platt
and other online marketers at: http://LiveMarketingChat.com/

___________________________________________


Greg Cryns


Work At Home Profiles (an inexpensive membership website for people who work at home)
.


Friday, February 4, 2011

A few Twitter tips for businesses






Picture taken by Greg Cryns at Ocean Beach, CA.

I read a lot of stuff about how Twitter can be used as a marketing tool. I've seen Twitter work for a few people, but for most of us, well, just refrain. Here is a nice article about how Twitter can be used for worthwhile purposes.

Top Five Twitter Tips For Business (With A Healthy Dose of Skepticism)



eMarketer recently reported that many of the smallest businesses in the United
States don’t believe that their customers can be marketed to on social
networking sites.


Yet research also shows that social sites are being used to find local
businesses, especially by younger customers.


So how should a small business approach Twitter? These are my top tips:


Three Do’s:


1. Do Use It For Research, Not Just Marketing
You’re probably already using Google News Alerts to keep up with the latest on
your clients and areas of expertise (if you’re not, you should be!)


Twitter is great for tapping into the chatter on these things too. Apps like
Tweetdeck and Hootsuite allow you to set up search columns which automatically
display the most recent tweets on any subject of your choice. See the latest
buzz, and keep an eye on the competition!


2. Do Time Your Tweets
92% of retweets occur within the first hour. So the time at which your tweets
go out is pretty important.


Think about the “peak viewing time” of your target audience(s) – are they
business people or busy moms? Which time zones are they in?


Use an application such as Hootsuite to send out your pre-written tweets at
optimal times. You can send out the same tweet more than once to hit different
markets, but don’t continuously recycle the same message – you’ll get flagged
for spam.


3. Do Track Your Results
Any tweet that you want to bring traffic to your website, generate sales or
leads, etc. must contain a clickable link (too many folks forget to include this
call to action and lose out on opportunities).


It’s really important to track what you’re doing to evaluate results – you want
to know what types of tweets work for you, and what times of day are best to
send them.


So, you also want to keep an eye on your Web traffic reports to evaluate your
Twitter success. Do visitors from Twitter mostly leave your site immediately,
or do they produce the outcomes that you want?


Since you’re restricted to 140 characters, using a free URL shortening service
like Bit.ly is very helpful – and it also gives you automatic click-through
tracking for every link.


And Two Don’ts:


4. Don’t Be Seduced By Big Numbers
It’s a wonderful ego boost to have hundreds or thousands of followers. In fact,
Peter Shankman recently referred to this as “the new penis envy!”


But bear in mind that lots of people follow you because they expect you to
follow them back as the accepted convention. So they don’t necessarily care
that much about what you write . . .


Notice who does respond or retweet your postings and celebrate your loyal
followers. Just remember that quantity doesn’t guarantee quality on Twitter.


5. Don’t Have Unrealistic Expectations
A recent survey found that over 70% of tweets get no response at all, and an
average of only 6% are retweeted.


Think about it – how many people are you following? How many tweets do you
actively read every day, let alone click on any links, retweet or reply . . .


Of course, it only takes one response that’s exactly the right one to make a
huge impact on your business.


But don’t expect every tweet that you send to be life (or business) changing!


© 2010, Philippa Gamse. Reprint rights granted so long as the article and
byline are reprinted intact and all links made live.


Philippa Gamse, CMC is a web strategy pioneer, consultant and speaker who has
critiqued over 5,000 websites in North America and Europe. To learn more about
how Philippa can improve your website results visit
http://www.websitesthatwin.com and while you're there check out her popular web
strategy audio guides at http://www.websitesthatwin.com/web-strategy-store.html 


Greg Cryns
Work At Home Profiles
.
.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

My Lucky Day




Sometimes it does pay to get up and get out. 



Recently I bought a used book in a second hand book story. The cost was $1.00. The book was published in 1963. I suspect it was in many personal libraries and book stores over the years and it may move on to even more interesting resting places since I tend to donate my books to the local library.


I skimmed the pages as I always do before I decide to spend much time with a book. I saw something green flash so I skimmed it again, flipping the pages with anticipation. 


There they were. Three crisp, folded once, $20.00 bills that were made in 1963. It's one thing to win a turkey when you buy a chance, it's another to come across serious hard cash. For me, $60.00 is serious money.


I told the story to my doctor this morning in her office. She told me a story of her own. Seems she knows a lady whose husband died a few years ago. He was in real estate and did quite well, said my doctor. His wife was gathering the information for the IRS to determine the estate tax damages. 


The lady knew she had to account for the contents of their two safety deposit boxes, one for her and one for him. She knew he would put some cash into the box whenever he had extra.


She found $40,000 in cash in the box.


Greg Cryns
Work At Home Profiles
.