I added a “fast action gift” to my Article Intelligence Report this past Saturday.? (You can only see it from the Order page… just testing new things to improve my conversion rate.)

The gift is the recording of a couple list building interviews I purchased rights to.? The calls involve two interviews between Harris Fellman and Tellman Knudson.

I was listening to the end of one of the interviews in the car on Saturday on the way home from work.? Tellman said something that really struck me as profound — related life & business in general and not just list building.

He hired someone to work for him and focus solely on AdWords traffic.? This new employee was a total novice — so his first task was to engage in dedicated AdWords training.

After a little time passed, this new employee started to apply some of what he was learning and began a few AdWords campaigns.

He then approached his boss, Tellman to sort out some mounting confusion…? How much time should he spend learning AdWords and how much should he spend applying that knowledge by doing it?

Tellman had some great advice for him.? He should continue to spend between 1/3 and 1/2 of his time each day in training so as to become? an increasingly knowledgeable expert.? The remaining time each day should be spent applying each new bit of knowledge to his campaigns.

Tellman was making a point that we need to become experts at what we are doing so we can gain the most benefit from it.? There are multiple forms of traffic generation (with new methods constantly springing up). ? From blogs to AdWords to article marketing to press releases… and dozens (or hundreds) of others.? The main point is that we are doing at least one of them effectively before moving on to the next.

But I also got something else out of this “learning versus doing” balance Tellman was admonishing.? ? I want my life to count and make a difference.? ? Maybe you’re like me and tend to live life itself in “doing” mode and are noticeably ineffective in the areas that matter most.? I’m not talking about business now, but life and relationships with family and friends.

I need to spend more time “in training.”? And not just a few minutes each day.? I need to seriously increase my “training time” for living life effectively so that when I’m “doing” my daily activities of work and leisure, I’m doing them in a way that will have the most lasting impact.

In the Internet marketing world there’s lots of this positive thinking mindset going on.? (It takes it when faced with the loneliness and often defeat of the solo entrepreneur.)? But I’m not just talking about positive thinking and affirmations here and the “Law of Attraction” so often expounded in recent times.? I’m referring to training my mind and heart for godliness through study and meditation on God’s Word in the Bible.

I don’t just want to cultivate a positive mindset, I want to cultivate a life that is pleasing to God so I can be transformed into Jesus’ likeness.

-Chris