I just turned around…and suddenly it’s October!

I can’t believe it’s been nearly a week and a half since I’ve blogged. That’s WAY too much time away from my Whirled. The truth is that the Rev and I have been pretty busy with our day job, finishing up some cover designs and getting several books ready to go to the printer. And things are still rather hectic (but in a good way), so I’m just going to serve up tidbits today. I just don’t have the brainpower right now to finish one of the more profoundly insightful posts I have lurking in my "half-finished" folder.

Getting into my pantry
Speaking of tidbits, I was cleaning out the pantry shelves and came across two items that have been there a while, but that neither Ron nor I have the courage to try.

It occurs to me that maybe I am not as gastronomically adventurous as I’ve long fancied myself to be.

Why you can’t sue a hustledork
I grabbed this from one of the disclaimer pages on one of the many web sites of an active Netrepreneur.

EARNINGS & INCOME DISCLAIMERS

ANY EARNINGS OR INCOME STATEMENTS, OR EARNINGS OR INCOME EXAMPLES, ARE ONLY ESTIMATES OF WHAT WE THINK YOU COULD EARN. THERE IS NO ASSURANCE YOU'LL DO AS WELL. IF YOU RELY UPON OUR FIGURES, YOU MUST ACCEPT THE RISK OF NOT DOING AS WELL.

WHERE SPECIFIC INCOME FIGURES ARE USED, AND ATTRIBUTED TO AN INDIVIDUAL OR BUSINESS, THOSE PERSONS OR BUSINESSES HAVE EARNED THAT AMOUNT. THERE IS NO ASSURANCE YOU'LL DO AS WELL. IF YOU RELY UPON OUR FIGURES; YOU MUST ACCEPT THE RISK OF NOT DOING AS WELL.

ANY AND ALL CLAIMS OR REPRESENTATIONS, AS TO INCOME EARNINGS ON THIS WEB SITE, ARE NOT TO BE CONSIDERED AS AVERAGE EARNINGS.

THERE CAN BE NO ASSURANCE THAT ANY PRIOR SUCCESSES, OR PAST RESULTS, AS TO INCOME EARNINGS, CAN BE USED AS AN INDICATION OF YOUR FUTURE SUCCESS OR RESULTS.

MONETARY AND INCOME RESULTS ARE BASED ON MANY FACTORS. WE HAVE NO WAY OF KNOWING HOW WELL YOU WILL DO, AS WE DO NOT KNOW YOU, YOUR BACKGROUND, YOUR WORK ETHIC, OR YOUR BUSINESS SKILLS OR PRACTICES. THEREFORE WE DO NOT GUARANTEE OR IMPLY THAT YOU WILL WIN ANY INCENTIVES OR PRIZES THAT MAY BE OFFERED, GET RICH, THAT YOU WILL DO AS WELL, OR MAKE ANY MONEY AT ALL. THERE IS NO ASSURANCE YOU’LL DO AS WELL. IF YOU RELY UPON OUR FIGURES; YOU MUST ACCEPT THE RISK OF NOT DOING AS WELL.

INTERNET BUSINESSES AND EARNINGS DERIVED THEREFROM, HAVE UNKNOWN RISKS INVOLVED, AND ARE NOT SUITABLE FOR EVERYONE. MAKING DECISIONS BASED ON ANY INFORMATION PRESENTED IN OUR PRODUCTS, SERVICES, OR WEB SITE, SHOULD BE DONE ONLY WITH THE KNOWLEDGE THAT YOU COULD EXPERIENCE SIGNIFICANT LOSSES, OR MAKE NO MONEY AT ALL.

ALL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES BY OUR COMPANY ARE FOR EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. USE CAUTION AND SEEK THE ADVICE OF QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS. CHECK WITH YOUR ACCOUNTANT, LAWYER OR PROFESSIONAL ADVISOR, BEFORE ACTING ON THIS OR ANY INFORMATION.

USERS OF OUR PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND WEB SITE ARE ADVISED TO DO THEIR OWN DUE DILIGENCE WHEN IT COMES TO MAKING BUSINESS DECISIONS AND ALL INFORMATION, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES THAT HAVE BEEN PROVIDED SHOULD BE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED BY YOUR OWN QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS. OUR INFORMATION, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES ON THIS WEB SITE SHOULD BE CAREFULLY CONSIDERED AND EVALUATED, BEFORE REACHING A BUSINESS DECISION, ON WHETHER TO RELY ON THEM. ALL DISCLOSURES AND DISCLAIMERS MADE HEREIN OR ON OUR SITE, APPLY EQUALLY TO ANY OFFERS, PRIZES, OR INCENTIVES, THAT MAY BE MADE BY OUR COMPANY.

YOU AGREE THAT OUR COMPANY IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SUCCESS OR FAILURE OF YOUR BUSINESS DECISIONS RELATING TO ANY INFORMATION PRESENTED BY OUR COMPANY, OR OUR COMPANY PRODUCTS OR SERVICES.

I just have one question.

How does all of the above – due diligence, consulting a passel of professionals before acting, and the like – reconcile with "success" tips such as, "Go with your gut"…or, "If you feel moved to act, ACT on that feeling!"… or, "The Universe likes speed"?

Wickedpedia

UPDATE: Someone went in and "cleaned up" the Wikipedia entry I originally linked to here. Instead of the satirical version, the article is, once again, an objective look at the man they* call "The Buddha Of The Internet."

For you history buffs, here is a link to the page outlining the history of the much-doctored Wiki-entry. It appears that the person who initially created the page – the serious, non-satirical version, that is – is one "Staceyjmiller." The creation of the article is listed on this person's contributions history page: "16:30, 21 July 2007 (hist) (diff) Joe Vitale‎ (Creating an entry for Dr. Joe Vitale)". The day after that, Joe announced on his blog that he was now on Wikipedia, demurely adding, "And no, I didn't put me there."

By sheer coincidence, "Staceyjmiller" is remarkably similar to the name of the publicist who graciously sent me a copy of Zero Limits to review on my blog. Small world! And what a comfort to know that the content of an online "research" source can be created – and changed at will – by publicists and marketers as easily as by satirists. It kind of makes for a balanced universe, doesn't it?

Of course, even Wikipedia is quite forthright about the don't-believe-it-just-because-you-read-it principle. But they do include this caveat:

Wikipedia is not an advertising service. Promotional articles about yourself, your friends, your company or products, or articles created as part of a marketing or promotional campaign, will be deleted in accordance with our deletion policies. For more information, please see Wikipedia:Spam.

So who knows what final form the article in question will take?

*"They" being the man himself and a few of his friends. And the publicist hired by his publisher.