I’ve been participating in this experiment, also called the carbon cleanse, and we are in day five.  The Huffington Post is sponsoring the experiment.  Each day we are given some tasks to do and then at the end of the day we receive an email with a SurveyMonkey link to answer 4 or 5 questions about how we did and how we felt about what we did.  There is also a Ning site where participants can “chat” with each other, post questions, pictures, etc.

The agreement to participate comes with a guide that lists the tasks for the day, ideas for change and some facts about the area we are concentrating on for that particular day.  I’m pretty good about being cognizant of my carbon foot print, and in general this has been fairly easy for me so far, but I have learned a lot and I am even more conscious now about my choices.

The first day, Sunday, was about consumption. Check out the Story of Stuff if you haven’t seen it yet.  Monday was about trash. Did you know that in 2006 we produced 4.6 pounds per person per day in the U.S.?  Wednesday was about transportation–the average American car owner spends about 1,000 hours annually in a car. What would you do with an additional 19 hours a week?  Yesterday we ate locally–breakfast was easy for me since we have our own chickens!  Today we explore no-energy alternatives to accomplish daily tasks–I think this will be a tough one.  Tomorrow is about water, Saturday about giving back, and Sunday is eco-sabbath, kind of like a Yom Kippur for the planet–use no appliances, electronics, motorized transportation, or money! 

Here’s the Guide  noimpactweek if any of you would like to try this on your own, or just get some ideas about how to help yourself, your community and the planet.

Building Relationships by Jan Schwartz

Georgia and Mouse

It finally dawned on me that I can write a blog that doesn’t really have to do with online learning.  Most, if not all, of the people who take our Online Teacher Training course are entrepreneurs themselves, so why not blog about that too?

We just set up a new tab on our website that is designed to help people market their classes.  We linked to their business websites and their email addresses and you may be reading this because I have the blog connected to Facebook and  I Tweeted it.

I really appreciate and enjoy social network marketing!  The only cost is time.  There is no cash outlay and it reaches lots of people; plus you get to make new acquaintances, and even friends, along the way.  Part of the excitement of using social network marketing is that we are finding ways to help people reach their dreams as we reach our own.  We are interested in building relationships with people as well as working with them. Building relationships builds trust, and trust comes ‘round the bend bringing even more people to develop relationships with.

How do you build relationships in your business?

Photo credit: Vicky Stromee