Location: South Miami, Miami, FL – Viewing / Reading Time: 5mins

Okay, so let me start by saying that you will also find this video clip over at my business blog, which I launched in January to document my goal of becoming a Full-Time Virtual CEO by the end of 2010, and other related posts and videos on aspects surrounding my concept of the virtual business lifestyle and its benefits, in general.

Side Note: I noticed I was getting great comments and feedback on anything related to this lifestyle design concept, so decided to put it on a separate site, and keep this one to more everyday posts and more personal experiences. So, if you came here prior to January for this type of content, please do hop on over to Virtual Business Lifestyle for a bumper-load of cool stuff.

This video was shot real quick in the middle of a four-city US trip in early-mid February 2010. Myself and my wife had been traveling for about a week or so and I was feeling unbelievably relaxed. Seriously. She even pointed out, when we played it back, how laid-back and almost sleepy my voice and demeanor were in the video – I kinda see what she means, actually – compared to some of my other video posts!

The point here is that regardless of how busy we are, what we do for a living, the amount we work or how we live our lives, the chances are that we could ALL do with a little more relaxation time. Time spent doing things we enjoy like sports, reading, watching movies, visiting museums, and the more important things like spending time with family, enjoying our children and so on.

Miami, particularly South Beach, does indeed enable you to party like crazy if you like and I have definitely do so in the area on past trips. But, on this one, we did basically nothing at all. I replied to a few important emails, did a little shopping, had one conference call, recorded a couple of podcasts for an upcoming project I am working on with fellow blogger Maren Kate, over at Escaping the 9 to 5, and generally ate, slept and chilled out the rest of the time.

So, the next time you book a trip, or schedule a little time away from the office, be sure to make sure that you don’t end up working the whole time (like so many people do when they bring along their laptops and smart phones!). Chill out, relax (or chillax as my daughter likes to say!) and enjoy breathing properly.

The Miami ocean air would definitely help you do this, but if you tried hard enough, I am pretty sure you’d be able to experience the same thing wherever you may be. Be well, everyone.

As always, if you liked this post, please ‘Be Sweet and ReTweet” by clicking the button at the top of the page, as well as bookmarking it by using any of the options below. Thanks!

The Grand Masters of Eskrima Receive their Lifetime Awards

Location: New York, USA – Viewing / Reading Time: 8-9mins

On the evening of Saturday 30th January 2010, I was invited as a VIP guest to the World Premiere of a brand new, Filipino-made, documentary film called “Eskrimadors”, an inside look at the ancient and at time deadly Filipino martial art, Eskrima – also known as Arnis on a more international scale.

I grew up enjoying martial arts. I loved the movies from Hong Kong legends such as Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, and later on in my late teens and early twenties, Jet Li. I even got involved, to a certain degree in the Hong Kong film industry in the UK in the late 90’s. And I also studied a few different martial arts (karate, wing chun and aikido), but never really got heavily occupied with any of them.

I have now lived in the Philippines for close to a decade and have, of course, been aware of the Arnis they teach the kids in school, or used to, rather, and the deadly challenges that used to be put together involving rival schools and masters. However, that was basically my knowledge level of the art. Until that night at SM Cinema 2, where a friend (who is also the film’s producer) invited me to attend the premiere of her latest work. And I have to say, I was blown away.

The film’s production quality was amazing and the editing was excellent. Not only this, but the camera work was nothing short of awesome (its tough filming this stuff in close quarters, I am sure, because its unrehearsed and unbelievably fast!). However, what got me more than anything else was the STORY behind the Eskrimadors themselves. And I don’t mean a script, I mean the REAL history behind what they went through. The challenges of being forced underground and then allowed to practice the art in the ‘open’ again, thanks to American rule, the late night, bloody, battles involving rivals from different areas of the city and many other up’s and downs.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Before the film was presented the audience was treated to several demonstrations (one of which I have included above, and can be found on my YouTube channel) from the various Eskrima / Arnis schools when the Cebu area (this is where the art originated from and where I have now been living for over 6 years), and we were even introduced to one of the founding fathers of the art itself, Grand Master Cacoy Canete, who is now 90 years old and STILL practicing and teaching the art that he loves so much. His demonstration alone was memorable enough, without the movies’ presence.

Following the film, all the masters and grand masters were award with Certificates if Recognition for a Lifetime of Devotion to the Art, which is fading slowly, but surely, as youngsters now prefer to play video games and more modern sports, such as basketball and soccer. This is hard for the masters to accept as they watch the once extremely popular home-grown martial art, which is now bigger internationally, in regards to schools, clubs and competitions, fading in the country where it was created.

This whole thing touched me, sincerely. So much so, that even though I am traveling at 35,000 feet as I write this post, on my way from Miami to New York on a four-city tour of the US involving meet-up’s with clients, prospects and other like-minded entrepreneurs – the moment I get back to Cebu in the middle of February, I will be looking up my producer friend and getting the contact details of one of the clubs, Doce Pares, that have been around since the early days (and who’s full-time school is just a five minute drive from my office), as I now want to go and learn this amazing martial art for myself, to add a real experience to my life journey (although the obvious strikes and subsequent bruises, I am going to receive from those sticks as a complete beginner, will be avoided whenever possible, I assure you!).

I also want to be able to pass it on to my two sons and my daughter (if she will put down her fashion magazines and log out of her facebook account!) to hopefully show them a little more of their Filipino roots and to be able to enjoy the pleasure that I believe I will get by beginning a brand new experience at my own ripe-old age.

So, wish me advance luck, and I will be sure to let you know as to when I begin, what its like to be taught by masters who have been teaching for decades, as well as what it feels like to no doubt get hit repeatedly by bamboo rattan sticks!!!

For a general explanation of Eskrima / Arnis, check it out on Wikipedia – no point in me even trying to tell you about the actually martial art itself at this moment, but I do believe a few of you, at least, might be interested enough to want to read a little more on the subject.

As always, if you liked this post, please ‘Be Sweet and ReTweet” by clicking the button at the top of the page, as well as bookmarking it by using any of the options below. Thanks!

Location: Home Office – Reading Time: 3mins

Meet my youngest son, Charles (or Charlie Boy as he is more affectionately known!).  This is Charlie at our local Starbucks branch in Ayala Center, Cebu.

We popped in together when his Mummy was doing some serious show shopping, and Daddy had gotten tired of the question “What do you think of these…?”. We go into this Starbucks 2-3 times a week. The staff there know us well, and we’ve got to know them pretty well, too. However, on this day KZ, the young lady on the left in the photo, remembered that the last time I was there with Charlie she gave me a taste of their new Orange Latte Drink, without the coffee, just to check it out. It was good, and so I let Charlie have a little taste too (one of the rare occasions where anything remotely close to Chocolate gets near him as he’s only 14 months old!).

Charlie liked the new beverage, too. So much in fact that he smiled at the staff with a grin from ear to ear! (Gotta love that choco taste, huh, kids…?!)

So, on this trip to Starbucks, I didnt get the customary ‘Hi Chris, same as always..?’, as I walked through the door… No, no. This time around it was a great big ‘Hi Charlie..!’, and then I ordered my drink. I already had a smile on my face – not only was the staff great with Charlie the last time we went in, but they even remembered his name (and he wasnt the one paying for the coffee!).

Before my beverage was completed and served to me, KZ was walking around the counter, with a little tasting cup in hand, towards Charlie. With that she bends down, along with a co-worker in tow, and starts to feed my little boy the choco-orange delight that he fell in love with the last time he was in the store. Absolutely awesome.

This my friends, is why I will be a Starbucks customer for LIFE. The coffee is great, yes, and I do love it. But there ‘are’ other coffee shops in town. The fact of the matter is that Starbucks employees, or ‘Partners’ as they are known as, are among the absolute BEST employees that I come across. Everywhere – not just in the Philippines.

Thank you Starbucks for being awesome, and thank you KZ at Ayala Center, Cebu Branch for being spectacular as always and putting another smile on my son’s face – I have a feeling he’ll be back for more soon!

Over at my other business blog, Telesales Magic, which focuses on telesales tips, telemarketing tips and cold calling tips, I recently sat down and put together a few things on the subject of using voicemail and email to help the telesales efforts that so many sales pro’s put forth every day. At first it was going to be a 2, or maybe a 3 part series of  posts, but it evolved into something bigger. After a little planning and getting together with a great eBook designer, my first FREE Telesales eBook was created.

Make no mistake, emails and voicemails will NOT ‘close’ business for you (maybe very rarely, but let me emphasize the word ‘rarely’ here!). People prefer to buy from people. Plain and simple. Even the greatest emails and the strongest, most professional voicemails left on hundreds of thousands of machines throughout the course of the day do not bring clients on board.

However, when used properly, they can greatly increase the possibility of doing so, by providing more in-depth information, and generally allowing you to look professional and seasoned, as a company or individual.

Just sign-up at the Telesales Magic website NOW and a link to the eBook (along with my other two eBook’s, too!) will be emailed to you directly. I hope it helps you out, and please let me know how you get on by commenting on this page.

As telesales professionals it’s our job, and we know this, to help people find solutions to their problems. We’re picture painters. Artists. Helping people see that the issues and headaches that they have been experiencing can be forgotten with the help of our spectacular range of products, or services. This will almost always be done by creating rapport, engaging our clients, and helping them along in the buying process.

Remember, people LOVE to buy, they just don’t like to be SOLD!

This particular eBook focuses on using these two tools to help you when making your follow-up’s with prospective clients, to supplement your teleselling efforts. However, I do focus a little more on email, as we do tend to use this medium more than voicemail nowadays, don’t we..?!

As always, if you liked this post, please ‘Be Sweet and ReTweet” by clicking the button at the top of the page, as well as bookmarking it by using any of the options below. Thanks!

Location: Balcony at Home! – Reading & Viewing Time: 3mins

Hi everyone. Yesterday I worked a 13 hour day… Sometimes these things happen. And yesterday was one of those days that, when you put in the extra effort and things happen that are great, it all makes it all the more worthwhile.

A client of mine that has been with us for about a year is launching a new product line and wanted to hire some additional outsourcing staff members to work on the B2B project. His existing team is a small one of just 5 full-time agents, but they drive business to him every day. This second team, a slightly larger one, will fundamentally run the new side of his business with a mix of inbound customer service, outbound telemarketing and a virtual assistant. We brainstormed for almost 2 hours and he was very happy at the end of the call (as I was!), knowing that we had listened and taken on board is requirements and been able to come out with a really cool, flexible set-up for him.

When I got back home I simply fancied recording a quick video, as the sun was about to come up in beautiful Cebu City, Philippines, to tell you about it!

Hope you enjoy it.

As always, if you liked this post, please ‘Be Sweet and ReTweet” by clicking the button at the top of the page, as well as bookmarking it by using any of the options below. Thanks!

Location: Live2Sell HQ – Reading / Viewing Time: 3mins

First of all, a very Happy New Year to each and every one of you.

What a year 2009 was. Very fast moving, lots of travel, tons of business growth and I got to relaunch my blog to what seems like a brand new type of audience, with a huge appreciation of what I’ve been doing – so thank you, very much! We’ve had over 650-odd eBooks downloaded in the last couple of months – amazing!

As I mention in the above video clip, get ready for a BIG announcement soon, along with a list of MY personal goals for 2010.

I believe this year is going to be TWICE as successful as 2009 (I saw my main business focus grow by over 140%), so I am welcoming 2010 with wide open arms!

Stay tuned guys, lots coming our way, thats for sure.

PS. If you haven’t already signed up for my RSS feed, please do, to make sure you dont get left behind this year – plus, get your hands on those free eBooks, too!

As always, if you liked this post, please ‘Be Sweet and ReTweet” by clicking the button at the top of the page, as well as bookmarking it by using any of the options below. Thanks!

Location: Hilton Resort & Spa, Cebu – Reading Time: 9mins

It’s amazing to see how the web is constantly changing the world. Nowadays it is imperative for you to own your own slice of the internet. Thankfully, you can make your online presence felt in a flash and let your brand be known to the world. Building your offline (you know, the REAL world!) brand is a long process. However, creating your own online brand can be a lot easier, and take a lot less time. And believe it or not, you don’t actually have to be overly-savvy or an absolute know-it-all in the area that you decide to focus on – you just have to be creative and alert. Those interested in embracing the Virtual Business Lifestyle are the type of people that want to work less and either make the same amount of money, or more money (I prefer the latter, obviously!). And more of those type of people are creating their online brands every day!

Bottom line is, whatever market, niche or industry you decide to focus on, in regards to building up your own brand around, you just have to know the basics. You can start from scratch and slowly work your way up. All you have to do is to invest a great deal of your time, patience and your skills – eventually, you’ll see things bounce into place.

Over the holiday period I’ve had a handful of emails from people that say that really want to get involved in trying to find their ‘muse’ (ala Tim Ferriss’ 4HWW), but don’t really know where to start. In response to this, there is one major tip – pick something you are PASSIONATE about. If that’s dog care, write about looking after dogs; if it’s vintage cars, write about ways to create a vintage car collection, or how to look after the cars themselves. It doesn’t matter what the subject, or focus, is – just make sure you’re passionate about it. Following that one simple tip, here are a few more to help you build your own online brand going into 2010.

Create a Blog or Website. The first thing you have to do is make your online presence felt by establishing an online identity that is uniquely yours. Start building your online brand with your own website and personal blog. You can choose from the many blogging platforms that are available for free. Wordpress has been a top favorite of mine for quite some time. It provides templates that are easy to edit and allows for cross-blog communication, comments, spam protection, upgrades, plug-ins and many other features.

Be sure to invest in a domain name, otherwise you’ll just slip into the realm of nobodyknowsme.wordpress.com. Don’t worry about design too much at first – just get the thing up and running, and get writing. Besides, as I said, they have some pretty cool ‘freebie’ templates now, and you can even Google for more!

Stay Updated. Building your online brand requires that you know what everybody else is doing. That includes your target audience and your competitors (although don’t get too caught up in reading every word they publish online – seriously, there is MUCH better stuff you can, and SHOULD be doing with your time!). You have to listen to what’s happening around you so you know where you stand and how to position yourself effectively. Subscribe to RSS feeds using a service like Google Reader (which is free!) and get the latest news streams and updates on your favorite website and blogs regularly.

Now that you’re ‘in the know’, you have to reinforce your online brand by actively engaging others in conversations in a consistent manner.

Use Social Media. Now bring your online brand to life by letting the magic of online networking do its work using the different social media tools available. Can you say Twitter? Or Facebook? LinkedIn is best for your business needs (refer to my previous blog titled “5 Top Tips Building your Entrepreneurial Network through LinkedIn“). LinkedIn not only allows you to keep in touch with your old friends but also join or create groups in your industry – a perfect way to get new connections, and spread your word of wisdom! And don’t forget popular Bookmarking sites such as Digg, StumbleUpon and YahooBuzz to name a few.

Contribute. Once you’ve been going for a while, start doing extra little bits and pieces online to get your name out there more often, and in other places. Contact some of those blogs that you’ve been commenting on over the last few months and ask the blogger if they would be interested in a Guest Post from the guy or gal behind www.yourwebsite.com!

You can also start writing for other well known sites like eZineArticles and eHow – not only will this help get your name ‘out there’ further online, but they also allow links back to YOUR website, meaning will check out your own site when they are done reading your informative content!

Creating your blog or website, getting noticed and connecting to the right people through social media and other sites are just the tip of the iceberg in the grand scale of building your online brand. The real work is in consistently sustaining and growing your online presence on a daily basis. As mentioned earlier, although its faster to build your reputation online than it is offline, its still a PROCESS. However, in time the online brand that you establish will assume a personality of its own, one that people will remember.

You have to work on your brand until it becomes synonymous to solid information, a nice personality and fundamentally, TRUST. Which, in the final analysis, becomes the yardstick for your success in the overall scheme of building your own online brand.

Good luck!

As always, if you liked this post, please ‘Be Sweet and ReTweet” by clicking the button at the top of the page, as well as bookmarking it by using any of the options below. Thanks!

Location: Home Office – Reading Time: 6mins

For the entrepreneur, whether or not he is currently involved in some kind of an outsourcing lifestyle, traveling for both business and pleasure can be combined if you only do your homework well. A lot of snags, inconveniences and complications can arise while you’re on a trip so you have to give careful thought and plan your much deserved vacation down to the last detail. With the demands of your job as an entrepreneur, traveling is a luxury – although something that those in search of the Virtual Business Lifestyle want to devourer! However, it could use a lot of your precious resources if you do not plan well so make sure that you maximize your time enjoying your vacation while you minimize the use of your resources.

Where and how long will you stay? What do you need to bring? Do have enough budget to spend for the entire travel? How can you do the things that you need to do without spending too much? Do you have any contingency plans in case problems arise? Asking yourself these questions and more is a good way to start.

Maybe you have a better idea on how to make the most of your trip while taking care of business. Grab a pen and paper and let’s start brainstorming. Map out your journey and make it an unforgettable one.

Plan. Identify your travel destinations and print out a map of the places that you will visit. Now look for a cheap place to stay. It should have easy access to public transportation. Is it a walking distance to your frequent destinations? Daily expenses on taxi and shuttle fees will eat up a huge chunk of your budget.

Airlines. Fly on economy using a single airline. If you are the type who gets a lot of work done while flying, you may want to upgrade to first class or business class so you can focus on doing your work up in the air.

Accommodation. Choose a hotel that is comfortable, clean and cheap. If you will be staying for a longer period, an apartment is a good alternative. That way, you will still stay productive while saving a lot of money.

Netbook. A cheaper version of laptops, netbooks are fast gaining popularity. In fact I did a post on this subject before Christmas. They are designed for lightweight use such as computing, surfing the Internet and running web-based applications. Netbooks are ultraportable and extremely lightweight, which makes it an ideal companion for the travelling entrepreneur. Having a netbook means that you can connect to the internet instantly while you’re on the go.

Internet access. Always stay connected by having internet access wherever you are. Your netbook should be paired with high-speed internet connection offered by wireless broadband service providers.

Smartphone. It is a must for traveling entrepreneurs to bring a smart phone such as a Blackberry, which are now equipped with Wi-Fi, 3G, GPS and many more features you thought only computers have. With smart phones, it is possible for you to meet your business needs while you’re away by giving you reliable communication capabilities, access to information from the Web, and even do social networking. If you still haven’t got one yet and you are planning to replace your old cell phone, make it a smart phone.

Food. Instead of eating in fast food restaurants, look for places that offer cheap, but healthy food. Stay healthy without overshooting your budget.

Fitness. Counter the stressful effects of flying, traveling and taking care of your business needs by putting exercise and workout part of your daily activities.

Booking. You can save a lot of money traveling with some practical tips on booking your flights. Get online and book your flights as early as possible so you can choose the cheapest seats available. Avoid traveling on dates that are considered peak season. Check out the best deal online by comparing the rates offered by the different travel agencies.

Virtual  assistance. Free yourself from doing the repetitive and time consuming part of your business needs so you can have more time for yourself. A virtual assistant can handle your calls, clean up your inbox and everything else in your to-do list.

As always, if you liked this post, please ‘Be Sweet and ReTweet” by clicking the button at the top of the page, as well as bookmarking it by using any of the options below. Thanks!

Location: Home Office – Reading Time: 7mins

As an entrepreneur that is proud to say he is working less and less inside the office and more and more pretty much anywhere I like, the importance of technology has really struck me over the last year, but more so, of mobile technology – allowing that Virtual Business Lifestyle that I love so much. Although running my outsourcing partner company is fundamentally the bulk of what I do, I am always working on new projects, one of which is my first full-blown eBook featuring a bucket full of telesales tips and telemarketing techniques, called Telesales Magic, which will be launched in the New Year sometime.

The emergence of a new category of small, portable, and inexpensive laptop computers, known as netbooks, is fast becoming a must-have device for general computing and accessing web-based applications whilst on the move. Here I run down my personal fave’s, based on playing around with them myself and through what friends have told me.

Samsung NC10 – Considered a top class netbook in terms of performance, power and price, this professional looking netbook has an exceptional build quality that is reinforced with a chrome exterior.

The specifications include: Intel Atom N270 1.6 GHz processor, 1 GB Ram, and 160 GB HDD provide a high level of performance and storage, but its RAM slot is limited to 1 GB only. In terms of power, it tops the class 6-cell battery by running for more than five hours. It comes with Windows XP. With a full width keyboard and weighing 1.33 kg, other features are Bluetooth, wired and wireless connectivity, 3 in 1 multi card reader, 1.3 mega pixel webcam, 3 USB ports and VGA output. The 10.2 display has a vibrant 1024×600 resolution.

Its major advantages are its spacious keyboard and it provides six long hours of long battery life, making it an ideal travel companion anywhere. This netbook can be bought for around $419.00

MSI Wind – Touted as a great mini-notebook, the MSI Wind follows the tradition set by ASUS EeePC. It boasts an excellent build quality and matte textured LCD display with LED backlight.

The specifications include: Intel Atom N270 1.6Ghz processor, Windows XP operating system, 10-inch WSVGA display with 1024×600 resolution, 120GB SATA I for the hard drive, Ethernet, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, USB 2.0 port, 1.3 webcam and microphone, 4-in-1 card reader. Power usage requires 100~ 240V AC, 50/60Hz. Weight is 2.3 lbs or 1 kg. Users can choose from four colors and two hard ware configurations – 80GB or 120GB. Battery performance (3-cell) is measured at 3 hours per charge.

With a price tag of around $500, give or take a few bucks, you can enjoy its energetic display, excellent keyboard, and an easy upgrade for its storage device. Plus it is very friendly on your lap because it does heat too much.

Lenovo S10 – A 10-inch netbook introduced by Lenovo, it looks like any other notebook but it includes features that are impressive enough to make it as one of the top choices.

Specifications include: 1.6-Ghz Intel Atom Processor, 5,400-rpm hard drive, 3- or 6-cell battery, Wi-Fi wireless and Bluetooth connectivity, 160-GB hard drive, 10.2-in WSVGA TFT LCD with antiglare technology, integrated camera and 1024×600 resolution, and Windows XP Home Edition operating system. For the 3-cell battery, it weighs 1.2 kg.

It is affordable, stylish and easy to carry, but it has smaller keyboard that users may find difficulty. The starting price is $359.

HP Mini 5101 – This is what I use personally, with an upgraded 6-cell battery. I hardly touch it when I am home, but when I travel I use it for everything. Just like the post I did a few weeks back when I was in Bangkok on how to work with your PA when traveling.

A business class netbook from HP, the Mini 5101, has a strong build quality and a fine keyboard.

Specification include: 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 CPU, 1GB RAM, 160GB hard drive, 6-cell, 55WHr battery, 10.1 inch, 1024×600 resolution, 802.11a/b/g/n wireless, Bluetooth, and Windows XP Home Edition operating system. Other configuration options include a 1366×768 resolution, a 4-cell, 29Whr battery, and SUSE Linux. Weight is 1.2 kg. Battery life is estimated to be in range of 5-7 hours. A 2-megapixel webcam offers excellent images while stereo speakers provide loud and balanced sound.

Pricing starts at $399.99 and the recommended configuration is set at $425. All in all, the product’s price, design and extended battery life make it very appealing to business travelers. And, honestly speaking, in all the reviews I checked out before purchasing it myself nobody had anything really negative to say about it – hence my decision to go ahead with it.

Bottom line – get mobile. Stay mobile. And enjoy being mobile. Being handcuffed to that desk of yours doesn’t, and in this day and age (especially as a business owner) shouldn’t have to happen.

As always, if you liked this post, please ‘Be Sweet and ReTweet” by clicking the button at the top of the page, as well as bookmarking it by using any of the options below. Thanks!

Location: Starbucks, Cebu – Reading Time: Post – 3mins, eBook – 25mins

Get it whilst its still hot!

Visit my www.virtualbusinesslifestyle.com site for more details and download details!