The Smartest Thing I Ever Did...™

Another way to share your advice & get published

You've already heard about the three new titles we've added to the Smartest Thing™ series—for incoming freshmen, seniors, and newly-minted graduates (or, if not, use the link in the right-hand column to find out how to get published in them). These fun books are a great way to share your hard-earned wisdom and advice to the students coming along behind you in school...and give you an impressive bullet for your resume: "published."

But we've got even more ways for you to share your wisdom and advice with other students and grads...and beef up your resume even more. QwikSmarts™ Publishing is an imprint of Real Solutions Press (which publishes the Smartest Thing™ series). Grads: Take Charge of Your First Year After College! is coming off the presses right now—256 pages jam-packed with everything you need to make a smooth and successful transition from school to the 'real world' of work and independent living. The next book in that series, Freshmen: Take Charge of Your First Year in College! is now in the works...and that's where you come in.

We're looking for 40- to 50-word quotes of your best advice for next year's incoming freshmen...about preparing for the transition to college, adjusting to being away from home and living with roommates, dealing with the food on campus, avoiding the Freshmen 15, surviving the first exam week, not going broke...anything goes! The name of your school and the year of your (past or expected) graduation will be included with your name—we can even include the URL of your blog, if you have one.

It's a great way to help fellow students and yourself at the same time. Your sage advice will be seen by thousands of students across the country and sales of the book will help a national charity, as all our books do. And you'll get the coveted bullet for your resume.

So go take a look at QwikSmarts.com—you can leave your tidbits of advice on the blog or email them privately right to the publisher. You survived freshmen year...now help the Class of 2013 do the same!

And, right now through May 3, you can get the e-book edition of the newly-released Grads: Take Charge by using coupon code GRAD00. Click here to request your copy now. You'll receive a download link on May 4th and be completely armed for success out in the 'real world'!

...for My Planet

Green is all the rage these days. More people are going green at home, at their offices, and in their garages every day. Each person has their own reasons for greening their life and each has taken a different road to awareness and finding solutions that work for them, their family, their community. Share your own adventure, findings, and benefits from going green in any area of your life. We're accepting stories from individuals as well as programs from eco-conscious companies, groups and organizations. Anything goes: sustainability, alternative energy, conservation, recycling, living lightly...

How have you been a good steward of your planet? Share what you've done to help protect your planet and encourage others to do the same!

Submission deadline: Monday 13 July 2009

Be sure to see the Writing a Great Story in the right-hand column and Sample Stories in the left-hand column to help you write a terrific story for The Smartest Thing I Ever Did™...for My Planet.

Sales of all our books help support the work of TreeBanking LLC. Learn more about them by clicking their logo.

...as a Husband-Wife Business Team

Business owners face enough challenges without including their spouse in the mix. How do you and your spouse survive the 24/7 contact of running a business and a marriage in tandem? Or did it not work for you and you're willing to share your 20/20 hindsight to help others avoid the same mistakes you made?

More and more people are choosing to go into business for themselves during these difficult economic times and many of them will bring their spouse into the dream with them. If you've discovered how to make it work for you, share what you've learned to help others navigate these dangerous waters.

Donald Trump said, "what's the point of having great knowledge and keeping it to yourself?"  Share your stories and solutions right here!

And reap the benefits of sharing your wisdom...if your story is published in The Smartest Thing I Ever Did™... as a Husband-Wife Business Team, you'll get 100 words to talk about who you are, what you do, and how to contact you—that's the equivalent of thousands of dollars of free advertising, nationwide! Learn more about how getting published in one of our Smartest Thing™ books can help create national visibility for your business by clicking on Publish Me! in the right-hand column.

Submission deadline: Monday 12 October 2009

Be sure to see the Writing a Great Story in the right-hand column and Sample Stories in the left-hand column to help you write a terrific story for The Smartest Thing WE Ever Did™...as a Husband-Wife Business Team.

New Titles Added...for College Freshmen, Seniors, and Grads!

We've just added three new titles to our exciting new book series:

The Smartest Thing I Ever Did™ ...as a Freshman in College

The Smartest Thing I Ever Did™ ...as a Senior in College

The Smartest Thing I Ever Did™ ...After Graduating from College

Students and grads today are just starting their academic and professional careers in the most complex world ever...filled with confusion as well as opportunity. Share the stories of things you did that helped you through those tough years and come out on the other side as a successful, confident grown-up.

Did you learn some lessons the hard way and want to help others avoid the same mistakes? Did you take time off to travel so you could face the job hunt with greater clarity? Did you start a successful business in your dorm? Maybe you put off grad school until you had some real-world experience under your belt...or maybe you decided that freelancing and volunteer work fit you best. They say that hindsight is 20/20—what do you know now that you wish you had known when you were first striking out on your own?

Share your stories here and help this new crop of Millennials make it in the real world! The story voted BEST for each book wins $100 cash prize; other prizes, too!

Submission deadline: Friday 16 October 2009

 

NEW! If you're a recent grad, a member of the Class of '09, or know someone who is, go to TakeChargeBookSeries.com right now to grab your free copy of the e-edition of our 256-page, newly-released print book, Grads: Take Charge of Your First Year After College! Get it for yourself or a special grad in your life!

We're going to start the donations rolling...now!

Every book in the Smartest Thing™ series will be generating a donation to a related charity based on the sales of the book. It's our hope to donate a minimum of $10,000 to each charity. But for that to happen, of course, the books need to be in print and offered for sale.

We don't want to wait that long before making donations to these worthy charities, so we've decided to start right now! While we are still in the process of collecting stories for the dozen-plus titles in the series, we will donate $1 to the selected charity for each publishable story we receive for each book! 

Remember that favorite quote of mine, from Donald Trump: "What's the point of having great knowledge and keeping it to yourself?" So choose the title that best showcases your hard-won wisdom and submit your stories today!

You'll notice that charities have been selected for only a few titles in the series so far—we need your help to make selections for the others. Tell us which charities you feel should receive the donations from your favorite titles by leaving a comment on this site or emailing us privately. We'll keep everyone posted as we make selections.

Do you want to go on the air as an Expert Guest?

Being interviewed as an expert guest on a radio or podcast show holds tremendus potential for boosting your professional credibility and visibility to a large audience. If you're considering applying to be a guest on one of our Smartest Thing™ podcast shows, you'll want to maximize your time on the air. We highly recommend that you consider participating in a valuable teleseminar series being hosted by PowerFull Living called Insider Tips to Shine as a Radio Guest.

Here's more about this great series, from their website:

You’ll learn tips to:

• Distinguish yourself as a great guest so that hosts will want to invite you back again and again
  
• Develop confidence in talking about your passions
  
• Avoid some common mistakes to create raving listeners
  
• Generate income and build your opt- in lists
  
• Create instant connections with any audience

Did you know more than one in five has listened to Internet Radio in the past month and 41% of online radio listeners have visited a website due to an ad? And you know how hot podcasts are!

This call is an introduction to my 5-week Insider Tips To Shine As A Radio Guest Teleseminar Mentoring Program that begins Wednesday, October, 22, 2008. Learn more about this exciting new training and special guests.

All you have to do is register to receive all the details for the FREE teleseminar on Monday, September 29, 2008 from - 7 to 8 p.m. Eastern.

Don't miss out on this FREE call. Remember, you must register to get the details of the calls. A limited number of spots are available. Reserve yours today!

If you're serious about expanding your market reach by positioning yourself
as a radio guest expert, you will not want to miss this call!

Get ready to learn real information from someone who’s built a global reputation and learned tons about how best to deliver a message that is informative, distinctive, and most of all, memorable. I've participated in roughly 150 interviews as both a guest and host with requests continuing to pour in!

Even if you can't be on the call, you can listen to the recording,
but you must be registered to receive it!

Get your business noticed in StartUp Nation's competition!

Most of the contributors to our Smartest Thing™ book series are business owners and professionals, most work for themselves, and many work from their homes. Time is short, but I wanted to let you know about a competition sponsored by StartUp Nation. The deadline is in just a few days, September 30th, but the submission process doesn't take much time.

Even if you don't enter the competition, take a look around. StartUp Nation is a great place for all you entrepreneurial-minded folk. Check it out.

I'm honored to have been named a Woman Blogger to Watch in 2008

As many bloggers do, I was checking the statistics on my various blog sites yesterday and discovered quite a number of 'hits' coming from one source to this site of ours. I visited that site to find that I, as the hostess of this site for The Smartest Thing I Ever Did...® book series, was selected as one of the 101 Women Bloggers to Watch, Fall 2008 by WE magazine. Thank you, WE and all the Smartest Thing followers and fans! I'm truly honored to be on this list.

I hope you'll also visit my Better Than a Business Card blog for some great marketing tips and strategies to increase your visibility in this new Marketing Climate 2.0. And if you have special 18- to 25-year-olds in your life, go see what QwikSmarts® is all about!

...as a Woman in Business

Women are making huge strides everywhere. The business world isn't the same for women as it is for men. Share what you’ve discovered as a woman in business and all the complex puzzles that involves: maintaining a sense of self; dealing with the ‘glass ceiling’; interviewing; starting your own business; handling sexual harassment; dealing with stereotypes; dealing with success…and failure; balancing work and family; making a name for yourself; keeping perspective; this book will encourage and guide ‘sisters in business’ through tough business terrain.

Share what has helped make you a success in the business world!

Submission deadline: Monday 5 October 2009

Be sure to see the Writing a Great Story in the right-hand column and Sample Stories in the left-hand column to help you write a terrific story for The Smartest Thing I Ever Did™...as a Woman in Business.

...in Business

Business owners today are facing the toughest times in history. How can small businesses make it in this economy? What are the secrets to gaining visibility in an ever-noisier market? Are online businesses the best or can brick-and-mortar still survive?

As an owner of a business, whether small or large, you've discovered through trial-and-error solutions to many of the situations and decisions you've faced. Whether it's been how to raise capital for your start-up or assembling a great team or getting truly meaningful market research or hiring (and retaining) valuable employees, there are thousands of other business owners and managers out there who are facing those same obstacles.

Donald Trump said, "what's the point of having great knowledge and keeping it to yourself?"  Share your stories and solutions right here!

And reap the benefits of sharing your wisdom...if your story is published in The Smartest Thing I Ever Did...(R) in Business, you'll get 100 words to talk about who you are, what you do, and how to contact you--that's the equivalent of thousands of dollars of free advertising, nationwide! Learn more about how getting published in one of our Smartest Thing books can help create national visibility for your business by clicking on Publish Me! in the right-hand column.

Submission deadline: Monday 12 October 2009

Be sure to see the Writing a Great Story in the right-hand column and Sample Stories in the left-hand column to help you write a terrific story for The Smartest Thing I Ever Did™...in Business.