Sunsets are why I love driving so much!

I’m certain this won’t bring you the serotonin rush that I got from watching the sunset…. but… I truly had regrets about not pulling over and shooting the other day’s sunset.  So, as soon as I saw this one, I knew I had to shoot it.  This time, there was also not a massive onslaught of angry multiple ton trucks speeding past, so… I didn’t have to risk my life.  California is so beautiful!  I hope this adds a little beauty to your day.

If you like it, leave a comment.  If you want a desktop wallpaper, also let me know what your resolution is, and I’ll post it to that size.  Meanwhile, you can see more of my photos (some sunsets in there) at the Couch Surfing Ori Photography Page.

Keith Ferrazzi and his current Nanny

Keith has the most amazing home.  Since he travels so much, and hosts weekly dinner parties, he has to have help. Here’s a wonderful opportunity for anyone in or near LA that wants an amazing with an amazing person (which I honestly think Keith is)- Here is the job posting, followed by an interview I did with the current “nanny”.

Looking for a personal "nanny" (more than just an assistant) for a healthy, crazy busy, fun but very demanding adult 44 year old man.

Skills: Must be SUPER organized, NEVER drops a ball and always finds a way to GET IT (anything) DONE.

Style: Very candid, tough, NO DRAMA. Big nurturing heart, a true caretaker who loves children (none yet).  Trustworthy beyond belief!  Very socially engaging but knows boundaries with many guests and friends. Frugal and a great negotiator.

Special skill: A flair for elegance and throwing parties and dinners.  Able to cook some.

Fairly unpredictable schedule includes many evenings and weekends and some travel required for out of city events.

Please don't waste your time answering this add if even one of these criteria are in question at all.

I’ve met Julie (pictured to the left with Keith), and she is a super hero, capable of all the above listed items… so, I wanted to share what her experience has been for the last 6.5 years working with Keith.

How long have you worked with Keith Ferrazzi? Been with Keith 6.5 years.

How did you meet? Met through mutual friend.

What are some of the highlights of the gig? Getting to know Keith, getting to understand Keith, getting to meet all the people who surround Keith- Mark Thompson, Julie Woods-moss, Dr. Mark Goulson, There’s 100′s of people. Nancy Nadore, Keith’s family (parents, neices & nephews).

What’s Keith Ferrazzi like to work with/for? Challenging, but very interesting.  Keeps you on your toes. He is stubborn, but so am I.  It’s busy. Intense sometimes.  Half the time it’s a lot of fun.

I filmed “a day in the life” – I stayed at Keith’s home, went to his office, saw him lecture at the CIO100,  and rode with him to the airport.  Since that’s got a lot of video, I have to edit it- so I’ll post the whole story soon.

I think Keith is an amazing person, and one of the few who definitely walk the walk as well as talk the talk.

While I’m editing the whole story, here’s what Keith had to say:

Peggy Richardson -The Wizard of Ebooks

“So what is it exactly that you do?”

That is the question I get asked most often.  Not because it is standard, but because people look at my odd business card, and find out that I’ve been couchsurfing for over 3.5 years.  ”And you make money by couchsurfing?”

I have not really shared what exactly I do, until now! Read on! You may be surprised how I can help you, the people I have helped and how I have helped them, and WHY I am sharing this with you now! (In that order)

Who is Ori Bengal (Couch Surfing Ori)?

I was born in Israel in 1976, came to the USA on my 9th birthday, learned English by watching cartoons, have been building computers since 6th grade, and learning non-stop from the moment I was born.

I am, and have always been a big goofball. More productivity can be had if you are having fun. I believe in creativity, in doing good, helping others, constant learning, adventure, creativity, travel., that people are amazing if you get to know them, that success is achieved when we collaborate. I believe that growth is achieved by ramming past tour comfort zones.

In 2006, as a photographer and designer in South Florida, I felt uninspired.  I did not feel that I had someone to look up to or learn from, so I went on a quest to find those people, and myself.

As of January 1, 2007 I have been on the road.

I have stayed with hundreds of people in just as many different businesses as their guest, learning from everyone I visit and meet.

While I have stayed with UFC cage fighters, and an at an all girls’ college, I have also stayed with some extremely successful people, such as Tony Hsieh (CEO of Zappos.com), Matt Bacak, Perry Belcher, Jason Moffatt, and many people that you most likely have heard of … but the fact is, I got to see their lives, ask questions, and learn.

On my thousands of hours of driving around the country, my brain was fed a diet of audio books and seminars: consumer psychology, SEO, copywriting, direct response tactics, photography, motivation, charity, biographies, and the occasional Michael Chricton novel.

The benefit of having stayed with many marketers is that many of them loaded up my iPod with countless courses worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.  I drove, and I fed my brain. I attend, and speak at as many conferences and workshops as I can, to keep learning, and meeting other industry leaders.

Brian Tracy and Zig Ziglar talk about “The University on Wheels”, a name for the theory that if you have a standard commute: 30 minutes to work, 30 minutes back, 5 days a week, 50 weeks out of the year, and you spend that time listening to audio books, within 3 years you will have gotten the equivalent of a 2 year college education.

Many of my driving days involve between 8 and 20 hours of driving… all with audio books and seminars. The same applies to my frequent jogs.

I am addicted to learning, and feel that I add more value to my friends and clients when I am up to date on the latest and greatest methods and resources.

Since I share my knowledge and my addiction with those that I interact with, I am always being sent even more resources from numerous industries.

Now I am honored to get to come stay with many successful entrepreneurs, but offer them my unique form of consulting. You can scroll down a tiny bit, and have these individuals tell you what I’ve done for them.

What can Ori do for me?

I am a problem solver.  I show you opportunities that you had all along, but didn’t see.  I get you money that’s already on the table. I not only show you how to strengthen your business, but also how to have more fun while doing it!

I keep up on the latest business and marketing information, so you don’t have to. I give you resources to save you time and effort, so you can focus on the things that get you the highest return, and the things you are passionate about.

It doesn’t matter how successful you are, or what you do…  I can make things better. Rather than me telling you what specific tasks I do, these incredible people can tell you what they think. After the recommendations is a special way to help your business!

“Ori is one of the best photographers I’ve ever worked with. Most can take posed shots, but the way he captured this shot of me candidly made me freak out so much I use it on my site, my social media profiles and now my new book! throw in the fact that he was incredibly helpful and speedy when my publisher needed different specs, I would recommend him for anything photo related. Anytime and everytime!” Scott Stratten – UnMarketing.com

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When I couchsurfed with Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos, their Dance Dance Revolution arcade game in the lobby had broken down.  Replacing this popular attraction at the office would cost about $5,000, and was not exactly in the budget.  I had shown Tony how for less than $1,000 they can have a replacement system with a much larger screen.  All they’d’ need is a netbook, some metal DDR Dance Controllers, a large TV, and an open-source version of the game…thus having more songs to compete in than the original system had.

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Right as I was leaving his house in Carlsbad, Jason Moffatt had gotten the design for the cover of his new book, Twitter For The Shitter.  He was very not happy with the look of it, I was quickly able to make him a new cover that looks great, and is the one that was used. I also dog-sat for him for 6 weeks… although, that’s not too standard of a service. I was also honored to help open JMo’s eyes to travel. .

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Matt Bacak and me (wearing what I presented in)	Perry Belcher introducing my lecture on Personality Marketing:
	I was the official photographer for many of  Matt Bacak’s  conventions.  I spoke at one of them (on Personality Marketing). On the VIP Client days, I would help any of Matt’s clients with any marketing, technology, or strategy issues they have. I’ve installed and configured pieces of his blogs,
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Daniela Perez is a South Beach fashion and glamour model. As usual, I can deliver a different look than other people. You have to differentiate.
Since then I have also helped her acquire her name as a domain, I built her website, gave her another layer of privacy by using Google Voice, and taught her some ways to market herself as a model.
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	Suzanne Thomas worked very hard to start her non-profit bicycle library.  They received grants, some of which were budgeted for a website. Further funding would cease if the funds were not used for their designated use. The original designer created a very bland design which would not be a content managements system.  After 6 months, they had still not implemented the site layout, and funding was in danger. I quickly created a layout that all the founders were thrilled with.  I then implemented it quickly with more features than they expected.  They received their next round of funding.
	Since then I have created the cover and virtual picture of her e-book, a very custom template for her website, I filmed an edited an introduction video for her website, created her logo, made her custom brochures, as well as custom graphics and a logo for her latest project…..
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When Joanna Kinsman’s web site started redirecting her pages on two sites to the wrong page, 34 people had sent her instructions on how to fix it.  They were all wrong.  I asked her for her login, and was able to very quickly figure out which plugin was causing the problem, despite never having used it.

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Allison Nazarian, a copywriter from South Florida, had me create her new header, which came out better than the layout that she originally gave me.  She needed it done that day. I also made her book cover (not an e-book), a logo for her publishing company, and I took her to sing Karaoke for the first time.

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Elizabeth Potts Weinstein is a recovering lawyer. I helped her change her look completely to match her brand. Since she is about being fun, and living her truth, I helped her find that with my adventure consulting package. A weekend of consulting, 2 new adventures she’s never done before (ziplining, and drinking sake), and a whole new look. Apparently, she didn’t own any t-shirts since she’s been a lawyer. After I was done with her, she now sells her own t-shirt designs. I also did various graphic design for her- such as this header for her site.

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I also make pretty pictures- the same creativity goes into problem solving:

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In order to take a great and captivating photo, you have to know what is interesting, you need to anticipate action, you need to take in all the details of a scene, including lighting, wind, and what’s about to happen.

In order to create a great photoshop image, you have to havea a vision of what you want, so you can figure out what the steps would be to achieve that image.

For great images, you also have to be able to see the unseen potential of everything. That small pebble can become an entire city if you can see its potential, and think of what it would take to go from 1 stage to the next.

Any business problem is the same way- where are you? Where do you want to go? What are the steps that are needed to achieve this?

The goal doesn’t even have to sound realistic to regular people.

I do a lot of things for you, but most of all I strive to provide massive value.

Pretty diverse, right? You try fitting “business card design, website design, pay per click ads, copywriting, Facebook fan pages, social media campaigns, photography, videography, postcard marketing, conversion improvement, header design, twitter backgrounds, youtube backgrounds, advanced photo manipulation, logo design, motivation, advertisement, motion graphics, 3d animation, house-sitting, babysitting, dog sitting, product design, vehicle wraps, book cover design, branding, and telling of bad jokes” on a business card, then there’s the other side!

Here’s what you can count on:

• You will get actionable steps that will catapult you past your stumbling block.
• You will have fun.
• You will get new resources that will save you time.
• You will hear some bad jokes.

Why should you book a FREE 15 minute session ($60 value)

The first step in the process is to fill out a form that tells me about you, when’s a good time to reach you, and what’s going on in your life and business. I will read this before I call you, and you will get a much more focused session.

Get your 15 minute speed consult for free.

Click the red button below,then fill out the form on the next page:

Why should you get your fifteen minute of clarity and creativity now?

I want to live longer!

That’s rightt… I’ve read of the horrible things that happen if tooth and gum issues get out of hand. The other day I went with Kathi Burns (she’s one of the people above) to Tiujana to check out Mexican Dentistry. Apparently, the rates are much better there.

After everyone in social media told me to be careful in Tijuana. I wasn’t scared of TJ, I was more scared of the dentist. This facility is supposed to be state of the art, but the fact is that I can’t remember when I last visited the dentist. It is literally more than 10 years. Deca-annual cleaning, right?

Well, despite having smashed one tooth while wakeboarding (but it made for such a great picture, that it’s worth it!) in 2008, I have not gone. I guess I didn’t want them to telll me that I need a whole new mouth. Like when you go in for the oil change, and leave with new wiper blades, rotation, brake pads, fluids, and subscription to Sports Illustrated.

My fears were waranted. They want me to get my wisdom teeth yanked. They want me to take out 8 fillings and put in new ones. I mean, come on, it sucked the first time… let’s take ‘em out and do it again!

The dentist that looked at my mouth said “So why are you here today?” I told her that I wanted a cleaning. She looked in my mouth and said “Oh no, you have to see our gums specialist. Your gums have problen, and I see decay back here… we hadn’t even done X-rays yet!

Anyways, after a few beers during lunch, I came back. Dr. Gums was there to greet me with a pickaxe…. I don’t know what it’s really called, but it pokes every one of your teeth to measure gum depth.

Basically 5,000 prods told him that he wants to do a planing/scaling procedure, aka deep cleaning.

They also asked how many packs a week I smoke! What gives, I don’t smoke cigarettes at all! Probably should consider whitening too.

When I was in La Jolla for 2 months, I was focused on my book, not on taking on clients. I also often find ways to help the people I stay with, but this time I was just house-sitting.

So, yeah. I need to raise some funds so that none of those creepy things that eat teeth get into the nervous system because of enough decay. That’s creepy. Save my brain!

As incentive I’m giving you 50% off of all my services until September!

Get your 15 minute speed consult for free.

Click the red button below,then fill out the form on the next page:

So what’s better than seven minutes in Heaven?

You haven’t figured it out yet? Seven minutes in Heaven only lasts for 7 minutes, then you can’t get any more of your goal. Working with me, you get 15 minutes! That’s more thtan twice as many!

Additionally, should you decide that I provide the great value that all the above people say that I do, you can always buy more of my time… or even better, take the Couchsurfing Package, where I come over and stay with you at your place for the entire weekend, or longer packages are avavilable.

When I am there in person I get to see what you are reallly like… unlike those consultants that only see you in the office for a few hours, while you get dressed nicely, and put on your best face, and don’t provide completely the real you.

I’m not there for the hours. I”m there to get to know the people, because that’s why I’m currently in my 4th year of couchsurfing – to meet and help the most amazing people out there.

So, click the red button, fill out the form, and let’s talk!

Ori

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So, I’m writing this from Los Angeles.  If I wasn’t here this weekend, I’d be in Alabama, driving a stock car at 200mph with Matt Bacak and his top affiliates.  I wanted to go, but funds are tight, and many amazing projects came up. This morning’s breakfast conversation led to a trip to Baja, Mexico this Monday.  Dinner’s conversation led to us searching for places we  can try to either ride an Ostrich, or… I’d also be willing to wear Kevlar vest, and a helmet, and piss one off… I hear those things are brutal, but that sounds like it’d make a fun video.

Back to LA though– I’m staying with this girl Espree.  She’s gorgeous, loves to smile, has a snowboard and 4 skateboards of different types right by the door.  I met her last week when watching Jason Moffatt perform his first stand up comedy routine at the Comedy Store.  He was awesome.  Jason was couchsurfing with Espree at the time, and Espree is also a friend of Rob & Kathi’s — whom I was couchsurfing with for the last week, and whom I’m going to Baja with, and trying to ride an ostritch with.

I’m also working on marketing some of Kathi’s projects, and Rob and I have been helping each other solve all of our business problems.  It’s been really sweet.  Additionally, this drive to LA has been the first time I’ve ever used a garment bag! Kathi is a professional organizer, and an image consultant/stylist.  I’m documenting the process.  She pre-shopped for me, then I went to Macys, had my own private dressing room (the size of a large conference room), tried all this amazing stuff on… and then took various things for alterations.  I have a whole new wardrobe, and a new haircut— yea… I know… you want pics… next week–  I’m working with Rob to do a photoshoot.

So, Rob knows Espree, but I was talking about Serendipity…. so… what’s the deal with that?

Ok.. I’ll break it down for you:

In May  I went on that road trip with the girl.  I had all that yummy but horrible Taco Bell, which led me to feel awful, which led me to go back on raw food and a 30 day cleanse, which led me to detox and bring up all sorts of emotions, which made me pretty depressed for a few days, which made it pretty damn easy to say “YES!” to Moffatt’s random text about if I wanted to watch his surf spot & dog in La Jolla for 6 weeks while he RVs with his girl, which led Rob Burns to reach out because he saw that I was watching JMo’s dog…. and because I was in La Jolla, I worked on my book a bunch, met some more awesome people, and now Espree….

Espree I find ultra inspiring.  I hope she’s not pissed at me for writing this, but I really wish more people followed in her example.  Why? ’cause more people would be happy and  successful.  She has a vision board– but more specifically, she has her goals broken down by amounts, dates, etc… very specific.  Do you know what YOU want?  Only 3 percent of Americans set goals.  Do you?  If you could do anything what would you do?  How would you do it?

Read, network, mastermind, engage, learn, take action, learn from your mistakes, take further action.

She seemed surprised at the conclusions I inferred so quickly.  Over the years I’ve just learned to trust my gut feeling, and listen to it.  Proof that  it’s working?  I haven’t had a gun pulled on me since 2001!  Must be doing something right, right?

Since I’ve couch surfed, I’ve learned a lot about people.  I spend an awful lot about them, and I study many books on psychology, marketing, and people in general… biographies and quote books rock.

My point is that she told me that she’s just lucky.  I say people make their own luck, and having studied (and couchsurfed with) many successful people, she’s taking all the right steps.

Anyways- back to serendipity-   I’m definitely going to Baja on Monday… that’s why I drive with my Passport… “Just in case” something incredible happens that requires me to leave the country.  It would not surprise me if someone said “Hey, let’s go to Thailand, and stay on this island there for 6 months” – and I’d say “Sounds great!” (in fact, that’s kind of on my agenda… if you’d like to get in on that, you can join me in Thailand where I’ll be renting a house on an island, and doing consulting from there).

I haven’t been to the dentist in years… like…. mid 90′s or so.  I don’t like getting my teeth scraped.  I’ve busted a tooth in a wakeboarding accident.  When I drove to Austin from Atlanta, my tongue got cut up on one of my teeth— is my filling falling apart?  Is my tooth?  I don’t know, but US Dentistry rates are outrageous.  So, I hear the dentistry costs about 1/10th over there, and the Fish Tacos are amazing.  I’m going for some fish tacos, a donkey show, and a checkup.  Just kidding about the Donkey Show.  That sounds pretty gross.

After connecting with Dori Friend and being her poolboy for the weekend while her 8 friends from high school visited her, I got invited to her birthday bash on the 27-29th.  Lots of floating around on the lake, and having fun.  I’m totally down, Dori rocks!

I also found out last time I was in San Fran that my parents are coming out to visit my older bro — we went indoor skydiving, and I’m going to show up when my folks are visiting, and we’ll all do that together. I didn’t even know my folks were going to go visit before the other week!

What else?

Well… actually… it’s 1:30am, and I’m waking up at 6am to beat out the LA traffic, and get to Raymond Aaron’s event.   I’m getting coaching on my consulting.  Masters hire masters.

So… sweet dreams, good morning— whatever’s going on while you read this.  But the world keeps getting more and more exciting… are you taking advantage of that?

This post is about what just happened with one of my models… but keep reading, ’cause it also explains some neat marketing stuff.

What does it say about the world we live in, when you do something nice for a friend, but they have a hard time trusting that there’s no catch?

I’ve been off the grid.  I’m supposed to be working on my book, but the people I’m spending time with have inspired me back to the business side of things. I’m a closet workaholic!

See that image below?  That’s what I’m working on.

A series of Photoshop and Photography DVDs.  I’ll post more about those very soon, this post is about Daniela.

In 2007 I decided to have a creativity workshop, and 2 weeks later I did.  Based on the feedback I received, I decided to move forward with a whole series of DVDs, so I filmed a bunch of my shoots just for that purpose.  One of the models that I used was Daniela Perez (That stunning model that I used as the picture for this post- sadly, that photo was not taken by me).

I have worked with Daniela for years while I was in South Florida.  She is a talented model.  As a photographer, how do I define model?  Looks are only a small percent.  Additional factors I consider are punctuality, wardrobe size, ability to pose, ability to do work long hours, having a personality, additional skills that come in handy.

Daniela qualifies for all of those.  She is one of those women who always smile (not artificially), have a lot of energy, can show off many looks (I’ll dig up my Daniela photos later), is a professional make up artist (saves you having to hire a makeup artist…. and makes a huge difference in your photography), shows up on time, works for hours upon hours, has a massive diversified wardrobe, and she also knows how to walk and pose (great for fashion shows, catalogs, and my artistic images).

When I announced that I was doing these photoshoots, and video taping them — oh yeah… and I decided this on a whim!  There was very little notice to anyone.  I acquired a studio, a bunch of models, some makeup artists, on a “What are you doing tomorrow??” basis.  Daniela came through with very little notice, did an amazing job posing for my creative shots, and pulled off so many different looks!

Now that I’m editing the videos, I saw some of the footage, and was really appreciative.  I forgot to mention, none of the makeup artists or models charged me (nor the studio owners actually).  Once I finish my hard work, these DVDs will help a great many photographers, and will also sustain my travels and lifestyle.  For that I am grateful.

I looked up DanielaPerez.com — it was available.  I texted her to see if she wanted a website.

Lesson: Everyone should own their own name if possible.

Daniela has modeling portfolios online, one of which is on OneModelPlace.com – a company I used to work for (my last “real” job – 2004-2005).  They had just sold for many millions to some media conglomerate.  Additionally, since she has more than one portfolio, but sends people to only one at a time… I thought that a website that has links to all of them makes much more sense.

Lesson:  You should drive people to your personal property (in this case, I’m referring to a website), because these other sites (youtube, facebook, myspace, onemodelplace.com, etc) can go down, or kick you off, and then you lose all your contact data with people, etc…

Text conversation:
Me: DanielaPerez.com is available- want a website?
Her: LOL.. I don’t really have the money for that right now. But thanks though.
(I do charge at minimum $1,500 for a website, since I bring design, marketing, and functionality to a site– not just “making it pretty”)
Me: Domain costs $10. And u can point it to your portfolio.
Lesson: If you are sending people to a site (let’s say youtube), and don’t have or want your own site, you can still buy a domain (your name perhaps), and just have it redirect to the other site. (for example- CouchSurfingOri.com could take people to youtube.com/couchsurfingori)
Me: Or I can even make a small page with a small bio, and links to your pages.  I wouldn’t charge you. You helped me with my vids.
Me: When’s your birthday?
Her: Next Thursday, the 12th.
Her: You would do my website for free?
Me: I’m already doing it- doing it right now. It’s your b-day present. Already bought the domain before you even texted that.
Her: LOL…. there’s no catch??
Her: Is this your first site?
(Skipping a few lines where I talk about my website building experience (made my 1st one in 1997))
Her: Just asking cuz you said free, I was wondering the catch, but if you say so… I’m excited!!!

I made this site: http://DanielaPerez.com and e-mailed her from a new e-mail address which is now at @danielaperez.com instead of hotmail.com (Lesson: Email sounds much more professional when you e-mail people from your domain).  I also set up a Google Voice Number for her so that she doesn’t have to give her cell phone number to creeps… as well as increase productivity- as Google Voice is an amazing tool… it will transcribe voiceails, and text them to you!

I wrote her a bio for the page, went through her whole portfolio to pick the images that I thought were the best, made the slideshow at the top of the page, named the files for SEO purposes, wrote the page information in direct response style (a manner that will make clients know why they should hire her, instead of the competition), and a few other things I don’t feel like boring you with…. but….She got response to it quickly…. and very positive response.

Not bad for a free website, right?  So… while she was surprised, I don’t really know why.  You see, I help people out all the time, and when someone calls me up out of the blue and says “You have to come into town, we got this incredible thing going on, and we’re taking you with!” it never surprises me.

Regardless of helping people…. fun, cool, interesting, people often get invited to do things, or are given things.  By being the most awesome person you can be, you can change people’s lives.  Smiling at someone can change their day or perspective.  By being awesome, you add value to others- maybe if you’re funny you get invited ’cause they know you’ll entertain their guests…. Just an example.

People like to do awesome things for others.  People like to help others.  People like to gift people things.  I’ve gotten rid of the people that were weighing me down… i.e. are not supportive people, or people who just whine all the tim but do nothing about it.  So, since everyone I hang with is so awesome, I have no problem gifting them stuff just for the hell of it… and the same happens to me all the time.  If you’re not sure what it is that you offer, or what makes you so cool (because you are! Everyone is awesome in some way… they may just not realize it)– try asking your friends what they like about you.  Ask what’s memorable about you.  It’s always good to know… and it’s a fun conversation.

Do something nice for someone just for the hell of it, or send them an unexpected thank you for something….. you’ll blow their mind.  Something you can do right now, pay the toll for the person behind you in line…. that’ll just surprise them, especially since they won’t know who you are.  It’s fun!

Anyways- I gotta get back to my DVDs, so I’ll end it on this note:

Regardless of whether you are a model, a blogger, a lawyer, a stripper…. whatever it is that you do, you should have a website that uses real copywriting and marketing techniques.  First, make sure the writing and message are words that would mean something to your target audience… so step 1 is to figure out exactly what you want to do.

In Daniela’s case for example, it is to do high-pay high quality photo shoots with experienced photographers, and high-pay fashion shows with quality designers.  So, the wording I used explains what’s unique about her, so that when those people read that, they’ll want to hire her.  I also gave her homework: to get video testimonials from photographers who have worked with her, to film her photo shoots, and to film her fashion shows.  The same applies for you!

If you’ve ever worked with someone, you should get a testimonial (preferably video).  You should video tape yourself doing your thing.  People don’t “just know” how awesome you are.  Demonstrating is way more powerful than telling.  What other people have to say (called Social Proof) is way more powerful than anything you tell them (and Video is the most credible form of this).

Other aspects of marketing you should consider for your site is quality images, quality design, search engine optimization….. If you’re not a designer, and not a marketer you may do a “do it yourself” version, which may not look very professional, and may alienate clients.

Another very important thing to mention– if you are giving someone something for free, that is not an excuse to not do a quality job! If you’re going to do a shitty job, then don’t do it at all.

Elizabeth PW showing off her Pole Dancing Is My Yoga shirt

Elizabeth PW has gone from not owning a single graphic T-shirt, to frequently being asked where people can buy a “Pole Dancing Is My Yoga” shirt-- which she actually sells now.

While Elizabeth (now one of my most recent couches) is such a great person, that she would give you the shirt off her back, up until January, she didn’t have any (t)shirts. That’s when Elizabeth couchsurfed with me in Austin, Texas.  I was going to create a new image for her that matched her personality more than her corporate looking pics.  That’s when I realized she didn’t have any tees, so we only shot in t-shirts which I had.

Since then, she’s been happier, and says that even productivity has improved from wearing her shirts.  She also has more fun starting random conversations, or getting strange looks.  Since she likes the world (that I relate to so well) of the nerd, she has many nerdy t-shirts… such as my favorite, “There’s no place like 127.0.0.1” (For you non geeks, 127.0.0.1 is your “Home” (your existing computer) address on a network before you are assigned an ip)

Now that half a year has elapsed, and I finally got to couchsurf with her, I had to do a follow-up shoot to show off her T-Shirt collection that she has.

How do I block you in real life?

Pole Dancing Is My Yoga

Talk Nerdy To Me

My favorite- There's no place like 127.0.0.1

Trademarked Phrase- Copyright Notice

I could use a little sexual harassment

Without Me it's just Aweso

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate

EPW's Live Your Truth Tattoo

What’s your favorite?

San Francisco is cool, but I get a little uncomfortable in any city that I can’t find regular parking in.  I arrived here  Sunday night, and had dinner with Mark Joyner (best selling author, incredible marketer, and just a general go-getter). Then I went to Elizabeth’s house.  Her daughter, Gracie, was already a sleep.

I was given a key, and a parking garage card for the next day.  Woke up early the next day, and went to move my car before the meters begin. Gracie was already up, and greeted me with a large pile of arts and crafts that Gracie made for me.  Drawings, greeting cards, puppets, cut outs… all made with love and markers.

The kid is very loving, no doubt.  In fact, our first day hanging out, and she already said “I love you!”

I haven’t babysat in ages… so we started with the obvious, watching her DVD collection-  Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus, followed by some Strawberry Shortcake movie about Christmas (I sort of tuned out that one, not being a fan of Christmas), and then Kung Fu Panda… which I frigging love!

Kung Fu Panda not only is a work of art  in the way that they animated it, did the cameras, lighting, mood, and good ol’ fashioned story telling, but it has so many great messages.  The main message that I took from it: You are special just the way you are, so don’t try to be someone else. I try to preach the same message.

The odd thing about waking up at 6am, is that after 3 movies, it’s still early in the day.  Since I’m here to give Elizabeth more time to herself, I needed to figure out something else.  A field trip, yes!  After going through City Walks with Kids San Francisco deck of cards, I chose numerous exciting adventures for the week, but picked out the Tiburon Island Ferry tour for this day.

Gracie was excited that Mommy gets to work, and we get to have fun…..

10 minutes later, she was in tears “I miss my mommy!”

She then said that she doesn’t want to go on the cruise without mommy, then instantly stopped crying, and said “but I wouldn’t mind going to the aquarium!”  - translation “I miss my mommy” = you’re not doing what I want.

She’s already been to the aquarium three times, and has never been on a ferry, so that seemed like it would be a greater adventure, but I don’t feel like arguing with a five year old, and it’s not that great having a kid crying.  Also, I couldn’t argue with her brilliant argument:  Uhhh Ori, I just want to remind you… if we go on the cruise, I’ll cry… a lot!  Just want to remind you!

I took her to the aquarium, we watched all these giant fish and sharks get fed, got to pet sting rays and some sharks, and then got to go to the souvenir shop.  We then walked around Pier 39.  I ate some clam chowder out of a bread bowl, and we watched a juggler juggling swords while his hands were set on fire, and he balanced on a board that was on a barrel.  I had Gracie on my shoulders so she could get the best view.

So long as she got her way, she wouldn’t cry.  We headed back to the house, and along the way she said she misses her mommy — no tears this time.

Elizabeth had her first day of personal time in a long time, and was happy.  She decided that since Gracie kept missing her so much, she’d get her regular babysitter starting Thursday.  That too didn’t happen, since her ex got back in town, and picked up Gracie for the weekend.

I went and met up with my older brother.  I hadn’t seen him in many months.

The next day Gracie didn’t want to leave her Elizabeth’s side, so Elizabeth took her with when it was time to go to her trainer’s.  I took the BART (San Fran’s public transportation train) to Walnut Creek (which I never heard of until that morning) to get an amazing massage from Chris Arcucci, whom had gotten free consulting by being the right dialer on my online radio show, and wanted to thank me for the great advice.

The massage was incredible.  I generally don’t go and get massages.  They generally don’t do much for me, but Chris has been doing this for ages, and had no problem going pretty deep.  I finally started to relax (I’m generally bad at relaxing). After that we had lunch, and I gave her some new advice, and then it was back to the city.

Because I had posted to Facebook that I was on the BART, Dori Friend (a truly badass SEO master) asked if I was in the bay area.  Last year, when we met in person, we had joked around that I would be her poolboy/ranchhand at her ranch when I made it out this way.  Since my babysitting career was over, I replied that I AM in fact in the bay area, and am looking for new plans… does she need a ranch hand?

Turns out that she has 8 of her lady friends from when she was in high school coming to visit her this weekend, so if I want to be pool boy, this would be a perfect time.  DONE!  I’m game!  So… we spoke a little bit, and I’m heading there today to do that.  Yes, I will probably be wearing an apron and a cowboy hat!  So far the only qualification I was given was that I need to be able to make margaritas.  Check!

Last night I had dinner with Catherine Grison, a French woman I met on twitter in November.  I had helped her for free when her father had died, and she was trying to make a tribute DVD for him, and get her shopping cart configured, and her blog to do certain things.

I’ve never seen a home with so much charm and personality.  She says it’s very Parisian, and I believe it.  The thing in Paris is that homes are not as huge as they are here, so people have to be able to accommodate all their belongings in that smaller space.  The word that came to my mind was “What amazing Feng Shui!” — the energy of this place was so welcoming!

When I mentioned this, she smiled and said “that’s because that’s what I do!”  She is a Feng Shui expert.  She studied it for three years under three different mentors.  When she came to the USA from France, she got into furniture sales because she knew that she would learn the culture that way.  You see, if someone is going to choose a perfect piece of furniture, they’ll tell you all their stories.  A good piece of furniture, unlike a garment, will last you ages…. so you want to make sure it fits with your lifestyle, and who you are.

Dinner was awesome- french sausage, french wine, fruit, french bread, olives…. A traditional french meal.  It was wonderful, as was the conversation.  She even read Tarot cards for me.  The most fascinating thing was to spend time with someone who is clearly not American.  There was just something about her!  She is sexy, and charming, and opinionated in the way that I’ve only heard mentioned about the French, but never really got to experience.  It was quite awesome.

Her website is http://www.yourfrenchaccent.com/ If you live in the Bay Area (especially Potrero Hill area), you have to look her up.

This morning I did a photo shoot with Elizabeth, because in January, when she couchsurfed with me in Austin, she did not own a single T-shirt!  Now she has a collection that everyone envies!  Yup, that was my doing.  Here’s the original post, where I gave her a look makeover

http://www.couchsurfingori.com/blog/is-this-the-same-person-photography-and-fun-can-make-a-difference/

So…  now I’m packing up to go to Dori’s ranch. You can see her at this video from Yanik Silver’s Underground, where my head got gashed open.  She’s the only girl in the video:

What’s next?  We’ll see how the weekend goes, but I may be back to San Francisco on Monday to take my brother’s step-kids out… you know, get to play Uncle Ori… .and they’re not five, so it just might be Indoor Skydiving!

My friend Elizabeth’s daughter recently had a brain tumor.  I was there for her via phone and texting when she found out that she has to take Gracie to the ER, and it may be fatal.  I was there to cheer her up, and be a shoulder and ear.  But my other friends on her insider group did more.  They hijacked her business, and handled it for her.  Alison flew in from Canada to be ther ein person with EPW.  I’m proud of my cheering up skills, and that I’m a trusted friend, and that I could be there… but I wanted to do more.

Once it was established that Gracie was all right after her brain surgery, I figured what *I* could do other than being funny!  You see, when you hear your kid has to go to the ER, or die, you drop everything to make sure the kid stays alive.  Everything.  Thus, she was at the hospital for about 2 weeks, not taking care of anything else- business, or even the car that got broken into.

Since EPW was not going to have a summer to work on things, as Gracie was going to go to camp…. recovering from surgery had messed up her coordination to where she couldn’t go to camp.  She’s fine now, and better than she’s been in a really really long time.  But EPW has to try and catch up with 2 weeks of unplanned hospital time, and look after the kid… it’s a bit much.  My plan:  Cancel Vegas, Go to San Fran, be the babysitter, so EPW can catch up on her life!  That, and have some personal time.

As far as the race goes, I ended up not going ’cause Jared & Jen were going to pick me up, and their car had blown up on their road trip.  They offered to fly me out there, but last minute tickets seemed insane.  I’d rather go with my friends to Seattle, and spend longer than 3 days there, as I’ve never been before.   As far as races– there’ll be others.  Meanwhile, there’s talk about a Canoe race in Belize in March!

My audio book for today’s journey was “Freakonomics” – it’s fabulous!  Witty and brilliant insight into a great many things.  too many to list actually  But… I”ll have time to write now that I’m here to babysit.  Oh yeah… tonight I get to sleep in a pink room, with pink Princess Sheets!  That’s how you know you’re cool!