OUR AWESOME PLANET

OAP Winners! Congratulations :)

First of all, Thanks for all the OAP Readers and Friends who joined the OAP Contest! And the winners are...

Who Wants To Be The Next Spelling Bee Contestant? (P3,100+ Worth of Tickets and Priceless Guest Speller Spot!)

1st. The Demigod won 1 orchestra ticket and the July 3, opening night Guest Speller!

The Demigod said...

*clears throat and tentatively taps standing stage mike*

Is this on? What? It is? What's that now? Oh I'm on, ok.

*ehem*

I think I would make a GREAT spelling be contestant not only because I can spell DYSLEXIA with only two letters (M - E), but more importantly, I believe in World Peace.

And have no objection to full frontal nudity. Wait, what?

I. Thank. You.

*bow

A Personal Invitation to Become a Maven!

 

Congratulations to Lord for winning the Maven Secrets Scholarship Contest! His "Fresh Buko ala Ube Ice Cream" blog post stood out from all the entries. Why did I choose his entry? 

First, I've never been to the Balatoc Gold Mine in Baguio. 

Second, his entire post is entertaining for someone who is just starting to blog. 

Third, I like his advocacy and I want to help him launch it effectively. 

Fourth, I would have entitled the entire post as Fresh Buko ala Ube Ice Cream as a headline. 

Fifth, it was a toss up between his entry and the Artful Hooker's entry. But I promise only one.

Sixth, he had me at the Buko ala Ube Ice Cream -- I'm craving for one now.

Seventh, the photos he used with his ballerina gf were eye catching.

Eight, I like his natural passion of living life to the fullest.

Ninth, If someone was to surpass OAP, I would like him/her to be coming from Maven Secrets :)

I'm giving a 40% off discount to the 2nd and 3rd prize winner.

2nd Prize: Claire, Heck yeah!

3rd Prize: An Apprentice Wants to be a Master!

Maven Secrets Register NOW:

A Personal Invitation to Become a Maven

I'm giving out Fast Action Bonuses to people who will register immediately. I will reward the bonuses based on the time they register and pay. The fastest way is to pay through Paypal but of course, you can also pay in the bank during lunchtime. 

Fast Action Bonuses ($2,537.00 or P127,000 Total Bonuses!)

Blog Makeover (Webinar Part 2)

Due to insistent blog readers' demand, I'm doing a webinar part 2 this coming Friday. I will send out the invite to the Maven Secrets mailing list within the day. 

Also, I decided to release the recording of the the first webinar -- but exclusively to the Maven Secrets mailing list. I was hesitant at first to share it because it contains the well-guarded secrets of Professional Bloggers. It also provides answers to your questions directly.

Read details and the questions of the first webinar here:

Your Internet Marketing, Professional Blogging and "How to Quit Your Day Job" Questions Answered!

To join the webinar part 2, you need to register your first name and email address below, then click submit:

Your Internet Marketing, Professional Blogging and "How to Quit Your Day Job" Questions Answered!

 
Join us for a Webinar on June 9! I'm running a webinar for my Maven Secrets subscribers and OAP readers who might be interested to know the answers to these sent questions. I plan to answer all the questions as honestly and frankly as possible. This is part of my pre-launch for the Maven Secrets Program. I do hope you can join us...

Professional Blogging Questions (10 Questions)
1) Would you know if there are blogsites by Filipinos that have
succeeded worldwide? What do you think would it take for us to succeed
out there?
2) Is it a good idea to immediately load my website with adsense
and other ad panels even if I'm just starting out (with only about
a dozen blog posts)? Or should I wait until I have enough traffic?
3) Which advertising program will pay a publisher directly to
Paypal and not through checks or direct deposit?
4) Please name specific ad programs that are suitable for Pinoys
to make more money in blogging.
5) How can I improve my adsense ads in my blog?
6) How can I earn from blogging without compromising my content
in order to cater to the requirements of a certain sponsor
(payu2blog, etc.)?
7) How economically feasible is blogging? Can you provide, at
least, a range [of possible revenues]? How much do you earn per
month?
8) How many hours a week do you spend on it?
9) First question I have would be: What is the most important thing
I need to learn if I intend to make a career out of blogging, since
I really want to be a stay-at-home mom? (Do i need to study
programming, take writing lessons, SEO?)
10) If I already have a blog, how do I make it more marketable?

Manila loves Jack Canfield

UPDATE 4/22/09: Jack Canfield had to be hospitalized due to a serious back injury. This event is cancelled and postponed indefinitely. 

"The problem is that most people focus on their failures rather than their successes. But the truth is that most people have more successes than failures."

Manila loves Jack Canfield because of his Chicken Soup for the Soul series. His claim to fame is that he was rejected a number of times before he was able to successfully publish his book. Jack owns the record of having the Most Books on New York Times Best Seller list in the Guinness Book of World Records. He is one of the role models / mentors, Filipinos can learn from. 

In an interview with Dennis Hughes of ShareGuide.com, Jack shares his story about Chicken Soup for the Soul book:

"ShareGuide.com: Did you approach a number of publishers prior to it being accepted?"

"Jack Canfield: Yes! We were rejected by 123 publishers all told. The first time we went to New York, we visited with about a dozen publishers in a two day period with our agent, and nobody wanted it. They all said it was a stupid title, that nobody bought collections of short stories, that there was no edge--no sex, no violence. Why would anyone read it? We then kept going to publishers for another couple of months. It was rejected by another 22 publishers and then our agent said, "Sorry boys, I can't sell it." So we went to the American Bookseller's Association Convention in Anaheim and walked the floor from booth to booth asking publishers if they would be interested in our book. There were 4,000 booths there! I don't think we hit every one of them, but close to it. 

Maven Secrets Pilot Program

Finally, I'm launching the Maven Secrets Pilot Program exclusively to Friends of Our Awesome Planet.  The Pilot Program is a 90-day internet marketing and professional blogging course with mindset training, hands-on workshop, and personal coaching from me.

It is an exclusive program and slots are very limited. This is a one-time offer and I'm not sure if I'm going to offer the same program at the same low price in the future.

Join Now!
Maven Secrets Pilot Program | Internet Marketing and Professional Blogging Education

Rich Schefren Guided Profit System

A lot of people are asking me about Blogging and Internet Marketing. I just gave a talk to graduating IT students from different top universities and it was the most remarkable talk of the entire conference. I got interviewed in Masigasig Magazine and a lot of people are calling me to coach them on how to get started with professional blogging or internet marketing.

I learned most of my internet marketing strategies from my coach, Rich Schefren. He is launching a new internet marketing coaching program called Guided Profit System. (with my affiliate links) You might be interested to learn directly from my coach. The coaching program is $2,497 for a one-time payment or a payment plan of $750 now and 3 payments of $750. Check out the Top10 frequently asked questions about the Guided Profit System in Rich' Blog.

This is the last time I will be posting about internet marketing related post in OAP. I will be launching AntonDiaz.com soon focused on professional blogging, and internet marketing. OAP will be focused on Food , Travel and Lifestyle. Due to insistent public demand, I will be teaching a pilot group of students on how to become successful in their internet marketing business. Just let me know if you are interested. I would like to prioritize OAP friends in that pilot group.

Live an Awesome Life,

Text and Photos by Anton Diaz. www.OurAwesomePlanet.com Copyright 2008.

Samsung Camera is Now My Official Blogging Camera

(of course, this was taken from my canon 20d, :)

Samsung Camera is now my official blogging camera. I must confess that I'm a loyal Canon user so it breaks my heart to admit that Samsung is better. My first digital camera is the Canon 20D Digital SLR with 17-40mm L Lens. This is still my primary travel camera. I have a backup Canon Ixus that my wife uses occasionally but I'm not satisfied with the quality of its photos. I hardly use the photos produced by the Canon Ixus in my blog. It is hard for me to say this but I'm now replacing my Canon Ixus with the Samsung S760 Digital Camera. The Samsung S760 was included for FREE in our Batanes Travel Photography workshop and I was amazed by the quality of its shots. The photos are already very good and I can use it for OAP.

Check out the photos taken from Samsung S760 below. You can even check out the EXIF data of the photos to verify that it is indeed taken from the Samsung. Imagine this is only the entry-level camera of Samsung. I am dreaming of getting the high end line to use as my blogging camera.

Rakuh a Payaman Samsung Shot. A lot of people love this shot and this was in fact taken by my Samsung Camera. Galing no?


Sabtang Island Samsung Shot. I like the inherent color saturation of the Samsung Camera.


We survived the Batan -- Sabtang boat trip. I used the Samsung camera throughout the boat trip.


Ms. Marj David, Master Photographer George Tapan, Banker Paul San Pedro, House Mate Obet Laderas and Anton of OAP during the Sabtang Boat Trip. I like the face recognition technology of the Samsung which ensures that the faces of the people are in focus.


All my Canon Batteries were dead during this sunset shot in the Batanes Pier. I have to use my Samsung Camera to capture this shot.

I love my Samsung S760! I originally was planning to sell it but I'm keeping it as my backup blogging camera or use it when I will run a marathon. I have to live with its weaknesses though which are: (a) it consumes the life of the 2 x AA batteries fast (within 24-48 hours at most) and (b) you can only get an 8x10 photo out of it (I have to test it yet).