My attempts at advertising, check my other blog :)

http://www.empowernetwork.com/danloewen/blog/getting-the-word-out/ I'm working on my blog and advertising as well. I'm thinking that CasinoCrushing.com is going to be different than I originally thought. I would love to do the forums and chat room that I was planning. and that still may come, but I think the best step is strictly an informative blog and videos with the newest ideas or musings on gambling. Unless someone would like to help me with the set-up? Hint Hint? :)Anyway, it's going to be a quickie tonight, but I'll be back tomorrow. Good night!!!

So now what.....

Here's the deal. I am broke. No bullshit, no candy coating and no happy smiley sunshine time. I make money, and as usual it's just enough to pay the basics and not go any further. Don't get me wrong, we don't "need" anything... we have a roof over our heads (and I must say, we have the best rental deal in the city....) we have 2 cars, but usually have to scramble the last couple of days before payday to make sure we have enough money for gas, we have clothes (nothing pricey, usually on sale or from Value-Village or MCC), and we never miss a meal. But that's where it ends... there is no "savings" there is no "Rainy Day or Holiday" fund. There is no RRSP (401k if your to the South), there is no retirement plan.... There is strictly a day in day out same thing to get your paycheque. Now I'm not a pessimist, and I'm not a negative person, but I can't see this ending well without a dramatic change. I honestly think this opportunity is it. If it takes a year to make my first ten sales, so be it. That will be an extra $250 minimum residual income in my pocket per month. What could I do with an extra $250? Breathe a little easier? I mean it's not retirement but it's a step in the right direction. Now I know this doesn't seem like much, but I am looking conservatively because I am really at the "Fish out of water" stage :) Not scared, just a little timid. I know they say it's idiot proof, but I have been known to push the boundary on idiot to new and unimaginable depths of stupid... So shy of really screwing up, I figure $250 is the most basic residual I could honestly expect, for now. What will I do with this windfall? Actually all of my income is slated to be re-introduced into the business. Now here's where I start to get a little excited. Now I have tons to do, and little time to do it in.... but it's what I want. so I am going to keep this journal as a step by step of what I did and how I did it. Hopefully I won't be giving away any trade secrets, but I think it'll be safe. If you haven't checked out the program, I really suggest you do. It's a perfect part time to full time starting point to get you heading in the right direction, so here's the link go take a peek and let me know what you think! :) DL

http://www.empowernetwork.com/truestory.php?id=danloewen

A different kind of gamble - part 3

So I have regaled you with the details of my work life over the last few years. Some great companies, some not so great. But that isn't the whole of it. I've always wanted to be my own boss, to work from home, and to help other people manage as well. When my daughter was born I had the great "luck" to get laid off, and spend a whole year being "Mister Mom". Spending 12 months at home with the kids, driving my son to school, and playing with my daughter ALL day.... that was the best year of my life. Going back to work after that was awful.... but it forced me to look harder at the work at home world and decide even more firmly that that's what I want. When I was in my teens and early 20's it was all about the "BIG" score, the retire by 45 and the residual income received by the sweat of the people down from me. I was expected to buy inferior products at a huge mark up, take a 10 to 20% commission and sell all my friends and family, and even any strangers that came across my path on the "Opportunity" I was giving them. I held meeting, and took phone calls, I listened to tapes, bought enough product to keep my upline happy, and went to international sales conventions. I bought books, programs, invested in coaching and mentors, to the tune of thousands of dollars. Then when I figured out I had been led along the garden path, I did it again. I have just finished paying off the last $5,000 dollar investment and have nothing but a little more frustration to show for it. Do you want to know the best part? I'd be willing to do it again.... if the right program, training, products, residual, well coached opportunity came along again. That brings us back to now. I don't like to make claims, and load people up with promises I don't know if I can keep... but I'm going to stick to this. If it takes a week, a month or a year to see something come back to me.... I'm doing it. It's no longer a matter of dabbling or trying new things, it's about drawing a line in the sand and saying THIS IS IT. So check back from time to time, see whats happening, and draw your own conclusion. Comment, be positive, be negative, let me know what you think. I'll be up front, and tell you where I'm at, whats going on and more importantly, how it's going. So I look forward to spending this time here on a daily basis, I look forward to this forcing me to be more focused, I look forward to my first sales and making a business I can be proud of. I look forward to the connections and relationships that this will offer me and will do my best to be someone that you can count on. Have a great night, I am off to bed :) DL http://www.empowernetwork.com/readytorelease.php?id=danloewen

A different kind of gamble part 2

So $40,000 in the hole, no prospects and little hope, I found myself a bankruptcy attorney. I was brutally depressed and I think without the relationship I was in then, which turned into a marriage not to long after, I probably would have crawled into a bottle somewhere and and stayed. But that was indeed a turning point for me. I spent a nice chunk of time reflecting on my life, reading a lot (huge amount of Tony Robbins) and began looking for a new route to make a living. It didn't take to long and I was working in a small shop building machines that cut keys... nothing glamorous, but it was a nice change. I worked on two long tables facing a guy who worked on another two long tables, listening to music and putting together the intricate parts of the machine. The guy was a real ass, so we got along famously. I enjoyed the work immensely, and found that I was figuring out different layouts and tweaks to speed up production. Not to toot my own horn, but I got good, I was doubling the previous assemblers rate, and making 40 machines a month. I know it doesn't sound like much, but 40 machines at $5,000 apiece.... lets just say they were having trouble keeping enough sales to match my production. I approached the bosses about a raise ($13 an hour not really being enough to support my new fiance and her 2 kids) but was told no... I was later informed that they thought I was stuck there :) So I was off. I found another job, working in a foundry, pouring aluminum and brass. What an absolutely beautiful job. It's hot and nasty, but while you're pouring, it's magnificent.... like a small volcano, drooling lava into a hole in the sand... I loved it. Long story, slightly less long, the foreman went upstairs to talk to the bosses about giving me my 3rd raise and came down to talk to me. I remember he actually got choked up. He told me that he had told the owner I should get another raise, and he was told that it wouldn't happen, and that he would have to let me go. I didn't realize but this was the big economic downturn, i was the first of almost 2/3 of the staff to get laid off. They did give me a glowing reference, and with that, I was working again in days. This time a glass production plant. I was working on the receiving end of a heat treating oven, and it was HOT. The shifts were long, and the work was fast paced, but the money was good. I was finally making enough money to keep us ahead of the game, and my first cheque (excuse my Canadian spelling) was over $3,000. A few months rolled by and while the money was great, and we were actually ahead of the game, and the heat and pace helped me loose 35 lbs in just 2 months, the hours were brutal. But once again, things would change. I won't bore you with the details, but one night a foreman and I disagreed on what was legal and what wasn't in treatment of employees. She felt that screaming and belittling people was an appropriate management tool, and told me that if I didn't like it I could leave. The loss of pay and the fear of being jobless again was totally worth the look on her face when I handed her my radio and coveralls, wished my fellow employees good luck, and walked out the door. I got home early that night to an incredibly supportive, but understandably concerned wife. I took stock again, and went back to look for yet another job. That brings us to the current company I am working for. On that note I'll leave things until tomorrow :)

A different kind of gamble.

While my choice in playing smart and close is well known now, I also have a penchant for sales which isn't quite as well known. I have always loved being in a position to buy and sell products and services people need. That being said I spent about 2 years doing direct marketing selling cheap, made in China, odds n sods to people I wandered up to "cold". Not the easiest way to make a living, but truly one of the high points of my working career. At least it was... I honestly believed I was selling quality products and while I was sure of that, I was on cloud nine. I loved going to work every day, I enjoyed training (even the idiots), and I genuinely felt as though I was a positive influence. The first few months went fantastically. I was making good money, and was surrounded by a great staff, I had the largest sales team in the office, all personally trained by me, and all loving the work.... it was awesome. But then it happened... The crash. One day I realized that a new product we brought out had a problem in it. It was flawed, to say the very least. We called head office in Toronto, and were told to blow them out anyway. The product was a steal, and even if 50% of them failed, for the price, nobody would complain. That's when I started slipping in my sales. I just couldn't get excited about selling something that I felt wasn't worth it. So that being said, the next 1 1/2 years really took a toll on me... mentally, physically and spiritually. I became depressed and could barely make enough in sales to cover my rent, food and cigarettes (yes I used to be a smoker, stick around and you may even find out a few other things you didn't know about me ;) )Eventually things got so bad, I couldn't train anymore and the sales team of champions, became the sales team of Chump... just me. After one particularly bad day, I managed to hurt my back, and it laid me up for a week. Now normally, a week off would suck, but not be the end of the world... normally. But for me, I was broke before I got hurt, I was "paid" daily, so I had no savings, and because of the place I lived in, I paid rent on a weekly basis. After 2 days, with no food, and more importantly (at the time) no cigarettes, I decided I was out of the sales business for good... by day 5 of no food, I was sure of it. I managed to contact my parents, and get some cash for a bus ticket back to B.C. When I got back I put together a resume and went to work in a warehouse, doing the 9 to 5 for just a little bit more than I needed to live on. To make a long story short, while I did enjoy the work, there was no challenge or thrill. I missed the interaction I had during sales, and the pride I felt went I first started, not to mention the money :) So it wasn't too long before a new opportunity dropped into my lap, and I was able to start my own business, with a pre-made sales list. No cold calls, and clients who new the ropes and wanted what I was selling. I was so happy and things were moving along so fast it was a major blur. I was making money like I had never made money before (my take home after tax was over 3,000 some weeks) and it seemed to be getting better every week. I had a full time employee a work van and was enjoying the "sales" game again. When I took over the business I failed to realize that there was a HUGE problem coming and I was nowhere near prepared for it. Christmas.... That may seem like no problem at all, and for a guy in the gift supply business, it was absolutely crazy. The week before Christmas was my best week to date, and my cash take home was near 4,000. I managed to get credit like I had never seen before, a line of credit for 20,000, a few credit cards with limits of 5,000 and store credit cards with a few thousand more. My Credit was fantastic, because I had learned that any time you get a bill, you over pay. Not a lot, just round it up to the next 5 dollars. Before too long I was getting calls from companies trying to give me credit, and I was eying a 78 corvette w/ T roof that I had wanted ever since I was old enough to appreciate cars. Things were going awesome. Enter Boxing day. I took Christmas day off, but boxing day was back at it (while the money was great, I found I had to be out and working every day just to make sure it kept coming in). $200. $200 *#$*@ dollars. That was my week after Christmas, before tax, before expenses, before my employees. It hurt, but I knew I could get it back. I didn't. My January sales were close to $400 and I couldn't figure it out. In 3 short months, I had maxed out everything.... and with a bill looming over my head of over $40,000 I was packing it in, and looking for a real job. Tomorrow I'll fill in the rest.... But here's where I am today While my choice in playing smart and close is well known now, I also have a penchant for sales which isn't quite as well known. I have always loved being in a position to buy and sell products and services people need. That being said I spent about 2 years doing direct marketing selling cheap, made in China, odds n sods to people I wandered up to "cold". Not the easiest way to make a living, but truly one of the high points of my working career. At least it was... I honestly believed I was selling quality products and while I was sure of that, I was on cloud nine. I loved going to work every day, I enjoyed training (even the idiots), and I genuinely felt as though I was a positive influence. The first few months went fantastically. I was making good money, and was surrounded by a great staff, I had the largest sales team in the office, all personally trained by me, and all loving the work.... it was awesome. But then it happened... The crash. One day I realized that a new product we brought out had a problem in it. It was flawed, to say the very least. We called head office in Toronto, and were told to blow them out anyway. The product was a steal, and even if 50% of them failed, for the price, nobody would complain. That's when I started slipping in my sales. I just couldn't get excited about selling something that I felt wasn't worth it. So that being said, the next 1 1/2 years really took a toll on me... mentally, physically and spiritually. I became depressed and could barely make enough in sales to cover my rent, food and cigarettes (yes I used to be a smoker, stick around and you may even find out a few other things you didn't know about me ;) )Eventually things got so bad, I couldn't train anymore and the sales team of champions, became the sales team of Chump... just me. After one particularly bad day, I managed to hurt my back, and it laid me up for a week. Now normally, a week off would suck, but not be the end of the world... normally. But for me, I was broke before I got hurt, I was "paid" daily, so I had no savings, and because of the place I lived in, I paid rent on a weekly basis. After 2 days, with no food, and more importantly (at the time) no cigarettes, I decided I was out of the sales business for good... by day 5 of no food, I was sure of it. I managed to contact my parents, and get some cash for a bus ticket back to B.C. When I got back I put together a resume and went to work in a warehouse, doing the 9 to 5 for just a little bit more than I needed to live on. To make a long story short, while I did enjoy the work, there was no challenge or thrill. I missed the interaction I had during sales, and the pride I felt went I first started, not to mention the money :) So it wasn't too long before a new opportunity dropped into my lap, and I was able to start my own business, with a pre-made sales list. No cold calls, and clients who new the ropes and wanted what I was selling. I was so happy and things were moving along so fast it was a major blur. I was making money like I had never made money before (my take home after tax was over 3,000 some weeks) and it seemed to be getting better every week. I had a full time employee a work van and was enjoying the "sales" game again. When I took over the business I failed to realize that there was a HUGE problem coming and I was nowhere near prepared for it. Christmas.... That may seem like no problem at all, and for a guy in the gift supply business, it was absolutely crazy. The week before Christmas was my best week to date, and my cash take home was near 4,000. I managed to get credit like I had never seen before, a line of credit for 20,000, a few credit cards with limits of 5,000 and store credit cards with a few thousand more. My Credit was fantastic, because I had learned that any time you get a bill, you over pay. Not a lot, just round it up to the next 5 dollars. Before too long I was getting calls from companies trying to give me credit, and I was eying a 78 corvette w/ T roof that I had wanted ever since I was old enough to appreciate cars. Things were going awesome. Enter Boxing day. I took Christmas day off, but boxing day was back at it (while the money was great, I found I had to be out and working every day just to make sure it kept coming in). $200. $200 *#$*@ dollars. That was my week after Christmas, before tax, before expenses, before my employees. It hurt, but I knew I could get it back. I didn't. My January sales were close to $400 and I couldn't figure it out. In 3 short months, I had maxed out everything.... and with a bill looming over my head of over $40,000 I was packing it in, and looking for a real job. Tomorrow I'll fill in the rest.... But here's where I am today http://www.empowernetwork.com/almostasecret.php?id=danloewen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYRBELWSOUA&feature=related Another roulette software, for free..... based on the Martingale? or is it Martindale? method... plays penny bets.... might be worth checking out too :)

http://www.roulettebotplus.com/ Not a paid link, just something I'm checking out tonight.... Roulette Bot.... while the idea sounds fine, I don't hold out to much hope of it being legit.. I mean really, free software, and free support? I wouldn't be surprised if the Casino's it are linked to allow a few wins, to help you raise your bets, when your balance is high enough "Poof" the Bot looses all your money.... :) We'll see and get back to this later :)