Like a 2 x 4 to the forehead...

What I LOVE about MaaMaw is her ability to get her point across the way she does...i.e. sometimes a 2x4 to the head is required but many more times than not, she says, "sit down here and have a brownie and a cup of coffee and let me explain why you need to reconsider your point of view" :). She is a good writer who lets all readers and participants on this board know, in no uncertain terms, who owns the board and the type of behavior that won't be tolerated. On the flip side, her honestly and willingness to show her humanity and failings makes her that much more endearing to the public. She doesn't pretend to have all the answers and that comes across to fellow entrepreneurs as, "I am just a fellow traveler of this business world. Let me share what has and has not worked for me." I for one want to thank MaaMaw for being so frank and open.
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*Side note: The above statements or the following observations are not a reflection of ANYONE in this thread (I respect and admire all that posted) or on this board, just something I have been noticing in life in general and this thread brought it to my mind.

I have watched with fascination over the years how people react to 2 different kinds of people. I realize that the following may be obvious to some people but I too learn very slowly :) !

Those that hide how they are feeling sometimes through a facade of toughness and "I have if all under control", can lead very lonely lives and can come across arrogant. I do not know of anyone that would want to assist or be around those type of people unless they can overlook this type of attitude. Example: I have a brother-in-law like this.

While others, who are willing to share some of their burdens openly (not in a whiney way) find people are more accepting and willing to assist them. While they may open up and become 'vulnerable' by expressing their feelings, they really are more endearing to those around them. Deep friendships are borne from these interactions. Example: I have very close friends who exemplify this as many tragedies have come their way in the past few years and their willingness to open up and share with others their feelings and emotions have imprinted them on the minds and hearts of many.

Thus ends the sermonette for the day! :)
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> Sure I would!

> I'm an honest idiot!

> And my idiocy doesn't affect the people who do business with me -- it
> affects ME, and MY success.

> If I weren't so obsessed about offering "only the best" on this
> site -- if I could say, "Hey, that looks decent... I'll plop it
> up!" -- then I would have made lots more money.

> I don't think there's any harm done by confessing that.

> I have always considered this site a success. To me, averaging even $500 a
> month while doing virtually nothing other than keeping up with my board is
> successful.

> I could manage with that amount of success, so the motivation to add
> another 6 hours to my 12-hour-workdays-not-counting-homeschooling just
> wasn't there.

> Roo, I know that's been stuck in your craw for a really long time now, but
> it isn't accurate.

> You did a *TON* to help me keep this board going, and I am eternally
> grateful -- but not *one* single day went by -- *ever* -- since the day I
> started this board in 1998 (except when my father died) -- that I did not
> get on this board at *least* half a dozen times a day or night (usually at
> least twice that), skim through the posts, stop to read what I could, and
> nuke the spam that was up when I came by.

> Even when we moved, we couldn't leave the motel until I got done checking
> the board and nuking spam and editing messages here and there.

> I even logged on from a library one trip because it happened to be next to
> the fast-food place where we had lunch.

> Just because I didn't post didn't mean I wasn't here.

> You were nuking 20 or 30 spams at a pop, and so was I. It was completely
> out of control for a long time (so much so that I even considered shutting
> the board down at night like I used to do in the olden days when FIB had a
> flower on the cover instead of MaaMaw).

> As you can see by the *many* dissertations I have posted recently, I am
> incapable of writing short answers or joining in to a limited extent.
> Believe me, I've tried, but unless my answer is snappy for a purpose, I
> just can't do it.

> It's not something I'm proud of, but it's who I am. It's a handicap I
> have.

> Why did I go underground?

> Because I had to work my butt off to earn a living. My business suffered a
> setback, and I had to take back piles and piles of typing that I thought
> were farmed out forever. When I "went missing," I had two little
> kids to think about. I was trying to homeschool and type, and every waking
> *second* was spent running around like a turkey with a tin can stuck on
> its head.

> I "tended" the board, but I did not participate.

> I never deserted the board or you.

> When I moved here "the year before," I intended to do a limited
> amount of typing and build my internet business -- but I panicked when we
> couldn't make it, and I started taking more and more typing, and I was
> back where I started.

> The typing ended, and here I am.

> I did desert my email, because I was getting almost 2,000 spams a day for
> several months, and I couldn't deal with it -- but I kept up with my
> personal email, and you have always had that address.

> Please, Rooster...

> I'm happy you're back, and I don't want to fight with you again, but I'm
> not going to let the "desertion" myth stand.

> Not taking care of my mail every day is procrastination.

> Not diving into an internet business when I was typing hours and hours and
> hours every day and homeschooling two kids wasn't procrastination -- it
> was a conscious decision I made because I wasn't going to let Katie get
> any older with a mother who didn't have *any* time for her.

> Which is why I've been at this full time since the typing dried up. I'm
> working my tail off, there's no money to show for it yet, and I am have
> having more fun than one human being should be allowed to have :-D

> I'm not sure yet.

> I started it for three reasons:

> 1. I am not good at mailings, and I'm hoping to use the blog the way I
> would have used mailings, with the occasional promotion, ads, etc.

> 2. I miss Boardwatch.

> 3. Lots smarter marketers than me swear by their blogs.

> The end.

> Luv,