Guest Post

Does Your Affiliate Marketing Strategy Suck?

by Steve Scott

Bad Affiliate Marketing StrategyAs you know, I talk a lot about affiliate marketing on this blog.  It’s how I make the bulk of my income – So I know it’s a profitable business model. 

Unfortunately some people aren’t successful when they try it.  In this guest post, Jeevan shows how a bad affiliate marketing strategy might be holding you back…

Do you know why people like affiliate marketing? Because it is one of the best ways to make money through Internet.

Affiliate marketing was once the easiest way to make money online. But, things have changed now. If you really want to succeed today, you have to work (there is no easy way!)

With more people competing, with more people wanting to make money in less than a(n) hour. It is really hard. But, fear not. There is a good news to everyone who is starting out with affiliate marketing.

What you need to do is come up with a good strategy or plan that works. In this blog post, we are going to talk about coming up with this plan and how you can get ahead (and make some cash online).

Realize this:

You can’t make money by pushing a button! If you want to make money, then you have to work. Then, you have to invest time and money. Just don’t expect to make money by buying one of those “push button money making softwares”. There is more to affiliate marketing than that.

Hard Core Researching – What’s your Strategy?

Do you have a strategy? To succeed in affiliate marketing, you need to have a strategy that works. What you need to do is outline your ideas, read various books and articles about affiliate marketing, take the best ideas out of them and apply it to your own strategy. Refine your readings, find out the best techniques, improve them if necessary, apply them to your strategy.

So, how can you come up with good ideas? Through research. Research helps you to discriminate between the strategies that work with those that aren’t worth a penny.

The ones who want to make money (and who don’t really want to do the work) makes money by tricking people. They make products (that aren’t actually worth anything, especially in today’s market) and make money by selling them. Coming up with good ideas is just the first part of it, you also need to do some experimentation to refine out the ideas and find the best ones.

Steps you need to take:

1. Take a piece of paper and write down what you know about affiliate marketing

2. Put the paper aside and do your research.

3. Find out the big guys in Affiliate marketing, read their articles and tips.

4. Write down what you learned from them (note down the tips).

5. Refine the ideas (find out which of them can be experimented with).

6. Experiment and find out what works out for you

7. Add them to your strategy. Don’t forget to add your own twist to the technique.

Experiment your Strategies

Once you have developed several clear strategies in your mind, experiment with them. For instance, you could try split testing your email titles, message, intros etc. See which one works out best for your subscribers.

You could also try out giving freebies to your subscribers (this could help you to keep the open rates up and above). You should experiment with every little piece of your strategy. Even a slight change can bring a huge difference in the outcome.

Let me give you an example:

Let’s say you have a blog and you make money by marketing through emails. Let’s also say you are not focusing on the number of subscribers; rather on a list of people who are really willing to pay for the products you recommend. Let’s also imagine that you are using a popup software to increase your subscriber count.

Now, you could try optimizing your popup time delay so that it only captures people who really like your content. For instance, you could set the popup for 15-30 seconds (the people that are in this time slot have already told you that they are interested in your content). And you could capture those leads and convert them into buyers.

There are plenty of ways through which you can make money online. And there are millions of changes that you can make to increase your revenue through affiliate marketing.

What else do I need to do?

Now, if you already have a good strategy, then there are some things that you can do to improve your affiliate marketing commissions.

  • When it comes to writing reviews, don’t make them boring. Instead make those review posts interesting and entertaining to read. For instance, you could add examples and analogies to make it more interesting. You need to make “them” read your post. While you are at it, use call to action and several persuasive techniques to make them to buy the product.
  • Be honest. Write honest reviews. Your readers will truly appreciate it.
  • Add too little links to your Review post. This technique works out perfectly. You know, human mind is not motivated to take action by something that is in excess. We are motivated by the limited resources. Think about it, people like Diamonds and all those minerals that aren’t “common”. When it comes to review posts, add one or two links (add them towards the end of the post).
  • Get special offer for your site readers only. You need to make your visitors feel that you consider them as important and special people. People tend to buy more when they feel that you consider them as special.
  • Give them what they want. Add a poll to your site. Ask you site readers what they expect from your reviews (what product offers). Add different categories as answer (like electronics). Start recommending products from best answers.

So, are you in?

As I mentioned earlier, you still have a big chance. A chance that will help you to get ahead. And you don’t need the big gurus helping you. You can do it, all by yourself. You just need to believe in your abilities. Make a strategy. Experiment with it. Tweak it. Develop a plan (schedule). Work. Focus. And Achieve Success. Just do it.

Author Bio:  Hey, My name is Jeevan Jacob John. I am young blogger who likes to share tips and tricks on building a successful blog. I try my best to come up with new analogies and perspectives to make it easier for others to understand. You can find me at my hub -www.Techpupil.com

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Freelance Contractors – An Internet Marketer’s Best Friend

by Steve Scott

Grow an Internet BusinessI’m a firm believer in the power of outsourcing.  Simply put, don’t try to do everything yourself.  Instead, stick to what YOU do best and hire someone else to handle your ‘weak areas.’

In today’s guest post, Bruce Stevens shows how to hire a freelance contractor.  This article will help you tackle the painful process of finding the right person for your Internet business.

When your Internet business is on ‘auto pilot’ and everything is running smoothly you are perhaps comfortable going it alone.

However, when you want to see accelerated and sustainable growth you are going to need a staff of workers to support you.

It can be quite costly, and not really practical to keep staff on the payroll all the time, just to help with sudden growth.

But there is a viable alternative which is cost effective, and ideal for  almost anyone involved in all facets of Internet Marketing; hiring freelance contractors.

Two examples of an Internet Marketer’s growth acceleration would be;

  • The launch of a new website
  • The creation & launch of a new product

For either of these, again you can tackle it all yourself, but if you have progressed beyond that (and we all do) then, in time you will need writers, graphics personnel, web designers, perhaps market strategists, etc.

Hiring a staff of talented personnel who can work together to get your project up and running can be a nightmare. Let’s face it, developing and launching a new website or product from scratch is much different than outsourcing an occasional article for, say a review site for a Smokey Mountain Smoker or hiring a writer to do a few blog posts for you.

It’s not “just” a website – this is YOUR business

Remember this is your business and for an important project like this you need the best talent you can afford. However, thanks to the explosion in popularity of all types of Internet Marketing endeavours, you will be able to find what you need at a freelance contractor staffing website like Elance.com, Freelancer.com or the like.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking hiring a contractor is on the same level as buying something like say, office supplies.  Personnel are different from commodities – workers don’t come equipped with equal talents and capabilities. They’ll all have different skill levels, and Internet marketing experience. The selection process takes time and thought.

Although everyone wants to save money, skimping on contractor labor can be a costly experience in the long run.  Where cost is the only criteria you use in your selection, you are inviting failure.  The object here is getting great talent which will do your job properly, not only this time, but also will want to work with you on future jobs. Forming a great working relationship right from the beginning of your first project will pay big dividends down the road.

Start a list…

Keeping a list of providers you trust will save you lots of time going through resumes and job bids on future projects.  This list is sort of like building a staff of qualified contractors before you need them (but without having to pay salaries when not in use).  It’s a win-win situation.

Here’s How to Do it: 

  • When posting your needs on a staffing site, give a detailed but brief description of the job, your company and your goals.  If you are vague, competent bidders will be hesitant to place a bid and those who do bid will likely not understand your needs. The best freelancers need information to give you a realistic bid and most won‘t even bid without it.
  • Contact your top few bidders before you award your job; use email or message boards to assess their level of understanding, their language skills, and how they would approach you project.
  • Once you award the job, stay involved.  Be available for questions and be quick to respond.  Doing so will ensure the provider takes you seriously and will give their best for you. On longer jobs, set milestones along the way. Tie partial payments to satisfactory completion of the milestones.
  • Upon completion of the job, pay promptly, leave good feedback if the provider deserves it and if you wish to keep this provider on your list, invite them to be part of your Linkedin network.

After a while you will have a treasure trove of talent to draw upon when you need it.  And when it comes time for that big push to promote a new website, launch a new product or move out into unfamiliar territory, your “virtual staff” is waiting in the wings.

Managing That Big Project:

So the new website is no longer a dream, it’s go time. When it is time to move into action, there are tremendous recent technological breakthroughs in communication and management  software programs to help you integrate your staff, train them to work together, and stay on top of what everyone is doing.  You as the leader/manager will be able to run the whole operation as smoothly as a conductor leading a symphony.

Some helpful general purpose software programs which I have found invaluable are…

  1. Top of the choices would be Freemind.com, a mind mapping tool.  As the name implies, it is free and allows for developing and testing of your overall plan.  Makes a great master blueprint for your project.
  2. Then there is Gliffy.com which can use that mind map, converting it into flow charts which will give easily followed instructions in a basic step by step pattern.
  3. You can create a five minute video of anything on your monitor by using a software tool called Jingproject.com.  This is especially valuable if you need to give a contractor detailed instructions – you can literally walk him through the process visually. My personal favourite and a tool I use daily.
  4. The absolute ultimate project management tool is called WebEx.com (and requires a subscription).  It will let you track the project in detail, keep a record of all communications and will even let your staff communicate with each other as well as you if you like.
  5. And last but not least, is Skype.com which is a VOIP service that allows for free telephone, video meeting and instant messaging service.  This is great for making free visual telephone calls to family and friends as well as being a major project managing tool.

There are many more such tools available but these five are great starters.  Just remember, it really doesn’t matter what form of Internet Marketing business you have, the project leader (YOU) is the most valuable tool in your toolbox, so remember, always stay in control and your project will turn out great.

Bruce StevensBruce Stevens is the founder of Hubzz a highly successful review site for all things outdoors. An avid camper and fisherman, Bruce was stymied by equipment review sites that were little more than sales pitches and saw a need for impartial, unbiased information for outdoor enthusiasts.

Bruce lives in Alberta, close by the eastern slope of the Canadian Rockies, and blogs at http://rocketrider.net

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4 Ways to Make Money with eBooks

by Steve Scott

Let others share your ebook for you!

Today we have a guest post from Angela England about some of the ways to make money with an eBook. 

I will let Angela tell you about herself….

I’ve never considered myself a “mom-blogger,” because I got into the online world as a web content writer.


Quickly developing a grasp of basic SEO and technical skills, I created a residual income in my spare time that grew from guilt-free-pizza-nights to covering the mortgage during my maternity leave with my third baby.

What I want to share is how I used ebooks to grow that revenue even further during the year my fourth child was born and I began homeschooling.

When I published Making Money Blogging – Beyond Banner Ad Sales, it was designed to be a recap of the three main ways I used my blog to create an income for myself through ebook sales, through turning web articles into magazine articles, and via content production for several clients and websites.

The book also became my stepping stone to launch myself as a consultant for small bloggers and solidify my standing as a speaker at conferences.

Last year, I used the book to leverage an additional five figures of income for my family – on top of what I already had going on as Editor-in-Chief at Blissfully Domestic, Feature Writer at Suite 101, and of course, busy mother of four! There were four main ways I garnered revenue using my ebook that I want to share with you here.

1. Ebook Sales From Direct Traffic and Affiliates

Of course, the first thing that comes to mind when you think of creating revenue with an ebook product is the income from the actual sales of the book. In this case, the $25 someone paid to purchase the book. But, as you’ll see in the next two steps, this was only one portion of the income generated via my ebook.

Setting your ebook up with an affiliate program of some sort, whether third-party hosting like ejunkie, or a plugin you control yourself, can be a very significant way to increase the amount of sales you generate. Now, you aren’t the only one promoting and marketing your work – you’ve enlisted the help of others. Running a good affiliate program can make a huge difference in the amount of ebook sales you are able to generate.

2. Affiliate Links Placed Within the Ebook

Another great way to capitalize on potential revenue after the sale of the book, is through related affiliate links. This is also a fabulous way to monetize a book you’ve given away for free. Anytime you mention a product or tool that is genuinely helpful, or useful for accomplishing a task you mention in the ebook, don’t be afraid to use an affiliate link if available.

Affiliate links are something I consider a benefit and value to my readers. When I talk about the plugin I use to create my own estore and affiliate programs, it only makes sense that my readers might want to purchase those plugins!

3. Selling Services In Tandem With the Ebook

When I started doing consultations for small and new bloggers, I knew I needed to hone my chops a bit. So when I launched Making Money Blogging, I offered a free, 20 minute phone consult to anyone who pre-purchased the book. This gave me two advantages with the launch of that book:

  • 1 – I had funds upfront for hiring a professional editor and cover design.
  • 2- I had built-in practice audience for honing my skill as a consultant with a crowd that wouldn’t demand money back if it was obvious I was still learning.

As a result of those initial consultations, I raised my rates, developed a positive reputation for someone who could help personalize your to-do-list, and I was able to collect very positive testimonials.

Nearly one-third of the purchasers of that ebook last year ended up hiring me for consultations, some of them, more than once. I offer a discount for the initial consultation with the purchase of the ebook to help overcome that first barrier. Adding a service after the sale of your ebook can greatly increase the overall revenue potential for you!

4. Clients Hired or Speaking Gigs Booked Through Reading my Ebook

I put these two together because I always wind up being hired by clients when I speak at a conference or event, so the two go together in my mind. Sometimes, someone will read what I’ve done or what I suggest doing in the ebook and decide they would rather hire me to do it for them instead of doing it themselves. For example, one area that comes up a lot is keyword research.

It’s something I’ve become pretty good at, but is also something that has a higher learning curve for some people or seems too tedious and time-consuming to do themselves. Other ways I’ve seen this work for friends is with website design, graphics creation, editing, freelance writing, and many other things. Always be sure that if you are willing to do per-hour or per-project work on behalf of someone else, you make that clear in your ebook, because you never know when your next client might be reading!

Using these four methods, I turned my last ebook into an additional five figures of income for my family. Granted, we aren’t millionaires, but most of this was while I was home as the primary care-giver for our four children, traveling multiple times, running an online magazine and homeschooling my children. Turn off the TV for a month, make it a habit (Love this post by Steve!) to write every day, and work on your next ebook. Then, you’ll see how you can add to your family’s income this year, too!

Angela England is a problogger, freelance writer and author of 30 Days to Make and Sell a Fabulous Ebook.

Find her on Twitter and at her blog, angengland.com.

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Google I Love You! (Google I Hate You)

by Steve Scott

Google Pagerank UpdateLet me be the first to welcome our new Google overlords and masters.

Let’s face it, Google is everywhere.  Google is into everything.  Soon enough they shall create Google America, Google Australia and Google England (etc.).

The (not so) secret Google plan to dominate the world is beginning to come to fruition.  Is it time to just bow to the inevitable?

There are three aspects of the Google plan to dominate the world I would like to discuss.  The Google PageRank Update, The Google +1 Button and the Google + (plus) social network.

Let’s start with the general love/hate relationship I have with the Big G.

Google, I love you (Google, I hate you)

Most people who work online have a “relationship” with Google.  Unfortunately it tends to be an abusive one.  We try to impress her.  We write her soothing stories.  We do everything we can to get her attention.

But Google, she is a harsh mistress.

Sometimes she ignores us.  Sometimes she favors others over us for no apparent reason.  If we ever step out of line she gives us a, “slap”.  Google punishes us and refuses to tell us exactly what we have done wrong.

Let’s face it:  Google is one mean Bi***.

“Hey, Babe, you know I love you” –Google

 

(All about the Google Pagerank Update)

I have been writing online for a year now.  (Gosh, has it been that long!)  Though I still do not have my own website I have written literally thousands of articles strewn about the Internet.  I have put a ton of effort into getting my dear Google to notice these articles.

Sometimes she has complied.  Other times she has ignored them.

One thing Google has been consistent on is ignoring them when it comes to PageRank.

Until now….

I keep list of a many of the things I write on Pagerankalert.com.  It is a list of links.  It creates its own page (that you can ping).  Hey…they are cheap backlinks …but it is a backlink…right?  With the November Google PageRank update, despite having a few hundred links listed there, I got 1 (one!!!) article ranked up.

One!

To a stunning PageRank 1.  (woohoo!)

Now, of course, I have come to grips with the fact that PageRank is only one factor that Google looks at.  Link relevancy, for instance, is likely far more import.  It is pretty clear that Google must be decreasing the importance of PageRank, since she pretty much ignored it since April 2010.  Even check the Alexa links.

(Let’s face it, until the June 29 update that was the last “big” one)

So, like many, I got used to being ignored by my darling Google.  I cook for her.  I clean the house.  I write her long love letters and she just grunts and watches American Idol.

No “Thanks”.

No nod of appreciation from my mistress Google.

What is a guy to do?

Then on the 29th my email literally blew up with notifications from PageRankAlert.com.  Of all the pages I track on that site I had 479 gain some sort of Pagerank.

479!!!!

SteveScottSite went from PR 2 to PR4. I had a handful of articles that got a PR 3.  A ton of PR 2’s and a few gross of PR 1.  I even had one Squidoo article go from PR0 to PR 4.

I was blown away.

Yup, it was Google bringing the flowers.  “I love you, babe” Google said.

So now once again, Google cares.  I am basking in the glow of a loving Google….

Until the next time I step out of line…

SLAP!!!

End part 1….

Next week I shall discuss the “Google +1” button and the new “Google +” Social network, and  (of course) Google’s relentless plan to dominate the world.

(Anyone remember “Pinky and the Brain?”)

Now, let me know what YOU think about the Google Update!

I bet she treated you all well.  How did it make you feel?  What were your results.  How do you feel about PageRank in general.  What did you do to GET PageRank.  Let me know what you think!

This article was written by my brother Gene.  He has long worked behind the scenes on the SSS as well as doing his own thing online.  Since I will be on vacation for the next month he will likely be doing about 1 article a week here for the near future.

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How to Become a Better Salesperson

by Steve Scott

How to Become a Better SalespersonAdarsh details an important fact in this guest post.  If you want to succeed online, you need to know how to sell.  Read this article to learn how to improve upon this invaluable skill.

If you are into online business, you need to sell. No exceptions. Period.

I’m going to assume that you either blog with the hopes of making money or have a business that will make profits. Whichever the case is, you need to sell. We are all salesman in the “internet lifestyle” world.

Some professions, no matter how important they are, always tend to have a negative aura surrounding them. Marketing and sales is one such career where you tend to be perceived as a person trying to cheat the buyer in any way possible. When people hear the word salesperson, they think that these people only care about the commission they make as a result of the sale. The image of an average sales man is that of a crook trying to steal the hard earned money from an innocent buyer. There are no tricks per se. Every salesperson must aim at selling effectively and in less time.

When I told one of my friends that I am going to start online business and start selling online he laughed at me. He advised me, “Man. Don’t spoil your life. Go for a regular job with a stable income.”

Now, if everyone became a doctor, or an engineer, or an IT pro, who would serve the primary function of taking the economy forward by making sales? Besides, selling is one of the highest paid jobs, if you know what you are doing.

There are two ways in which people can look to their job as a salesman.

One, they can see this as a regular 9-5 job. If you look at it from a career perspective, this is an excellent field to make a name and some money. I know quite a lot of people who sell to make a living. Some just make enough money to scrape through. Some cannot make money to meet even the basic needs of food and shelter. Then there are some who make more money than a glorified MBA guy. What does this mean? You can choose your destiny with the profession of selling.

How People Sell Online?

If you are into internet marketing, no doubt you might have come across many online products. Some claim to help you make millions, some teach you SEO skills, some teach you other aspects of marketing and so on.

Carefully observe what people in the online world do to sell. Just make sure that you analyze a handful of successful internet marketers. Darren Rowse from problogger.net, Brian Clark from copyblogger.com, Yaro Starak from entrepreneurs-journey.com etc are fine examples of people you can learn a lot from.

Here is what they have in common

  • Authority
  • A loyal audience
  • A product/Several products of their own

These are not the only people making a killing online. There are lots of others too. But, if you watch closely, everyone follows the same principle

  1. Provide value
  2. Build Trust
  3. Build a loyal audience
  4. Give away more value
  5. Sell products that solve a problem!
  6. Rinse and repeat with new products/blogs

Comparing Selling Online to the Offline World

To become a better salesperson, you need to understand about something called intuition or your gut feeling. Imagine the case when you go to the local store and you are offered two toothbrushes. They are almost similar in quality, price, looks and reputation of the brand. Which would you choose?

Difficult choice, I’d say.

However, if one was suggested by your friend and the other by someone you barely know, the answer is obvious. You are more comfortable with the person you know. You think that you can trust him more than the other person whom you hardly know. This is what every salesperson should strive to achieve. Try to build a strong emotional feeling between you and your client. This will almost guarantee a sale. When was the last time you rejected a dear friends recommendation to buy a product?

Understand the reason why people buy a product or solution. Is it because they can get better ROI? Is it because your product is 10% better than our competitor? No… The answer is, most of the time, emotions. People buy based on their emotions rather than thinking logically. If you can capitalize on the buyers emotions, I can guarantee you that you would have a better chance of selling your product.

How I Switched Insurance Company Because of One Salesperson?

I was planning to take a life insurance cover. There was this guy whom I met at a party. He overheard my conversation of planning to get a life insurance from a top leading insurance company. It so happens that this guy used to work for that company. He came up to me and we met. He took down my number and gave a short sales pitch about his company and why I should take the policy from him. I patiently listened to him and said that I would call him when I make up my mind. Counting 30 days from then, I must have had at least 100 calls from this guy asking me the status of my decision. What do you think happened then?

I ended up taking insurance from another company even though I was about to go with this company at first. When we are not comfortable with the salesperson, we don’t buy. No matter the quality, reputation or value the product provides, I simply did not choose to buy. That is the power of emotions and the comfort level with the salesperson.

How Can You as a Salesperson Be Rewarded?

There are often different reasons we all choose a career. If I choose to be a doctor, sometime I might have the aim of helping people, sometime I may have the aim of getting fame and respect in the society and sometimes the driving force can be monetary rewards. It all boils down to the individual’s personal choice. There are often many types of rewards people can get being a salesperson. If you ask me, the broadest classification would be one which gives you benefits which can be measured and the other one which cannot be measured.

Measurable and non measurable rewards

Here is a scenario.

You noticed a fellow passenger dropping his wallet. You take it and give it back to him. There are two types of reward you expect knowingly or unknowingly. Either you can expect the person to say a thank you and appreciate you for your honest and mentality to help others. Otherwise, you could expect a monetary gain as a reward for returning the purse.

If you wanted money then you are expecting a measurable reward and if you expected appreciation then you are expecting a non measurable reward.

For an average salesperson, the non measurable rewards can include:

  1. Satisfaction that he has sold a worthwhile product to a customer
  2. Confidence that he can sell more products
  3. Derive happiness from the fact that you have helped a customer get rid of a problem
  4. Feel secured that your job is not at stake since you are making sales
  5. A position in the society where you are respected (Most people who make money gain respect automatically

The list can go on depending upon the individual.

In case of measurable rewards it can be:

  1. Increase in profits
  2. Promotion if you are employed by someone else
  3. A glamorous lifestyle. Dubbed as “internet lifestyle” by some

To become a better salesperson, all you need to do is believe in yourself, sell the right product to the right customer and explore new opportunities.

Quick tips to sell online

You don’t need all the marketing advice to sell online. You really don’t.

All you need is some basic advice and the rest comes from personal experience.

  • Try to do some market research before you try to sell a product. If there is demand, then there should be supply
  • Value your audience more than your product. They must feel they are getting a bargain and not losing money. That doesn’t mean hyping the price 75% and then giving a discount of 50%
  • Build trust before you sell
  • Building hype works wonders for sales. Make sure the product lives up to the hype. Else, you are probably going to see a long list of returns and chargeback’s
  • Don’t undervalue or overprice your products. Learn to strike the right balance. Again, if you did market research correctly, I’d assume you already figured this out
  • Most importantly, stop trying to soak up all the advice on the net. Start taking action. If that means quitting reading articles over and over again, go on a “information diet” for a while

After all, a great footballer who doesn’t play is only as good as a person who doesn’t know to play at all.

Over to you. What kind of rewards motivates you? What is your strategy to make online sales?

Steve’s Note: Adarsh Thampy is an independent marketing consultant for small business who blogs at Conversion Rate Optimization Blog and helps small business get more customers and improve their conversion rates.

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How to Chain an Elephant: Breaking the Shackles We’ve Placed on Ourselves

by Steve Scott

It’s been awhile since I’ve published a guest post.  So I’m really excited about today’s post from Danny Iny who runs a marketing training program site.  Here he talks about an important lesson that can increase your motivation.  I’ve found it’s hard to achieve success when you don’t have the proper mindset.  So check out Danny’s article and learn a simple way to accomplish more with your Internet business.


Elephants are pretty powerful creatures.

They weigh in at as much as 24,000 pounds, and stand as high as thirteen feet tall.

Their trunks are agile enough to pick up a single blade of grass, and strong enough to rip branches off of a tree.

Despite their enormous power, elephants can be chained. It doesn’t seem to make sense – what chain is strong enough to hold an elephant who struggles to break it?

The answer is a small one: a small chain fastened to a metal collar around the elephant’s foot is attached to a wooden peg nailed into the ground. This holds the elephant so strongly that it doesn’t ever struggle to break free.

There is an elephant inside each of us – an inspired being of enormous power and capability. And just like the elephants that we might see in a circus, our internal elephants are also put in chains.

How does this happen? [click to continue…]

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