How To Save Skype Voicemails

I got a really interesting voicemail in Skype that I had to pass along to my business partners, but was stopped dead in my tracks when I find out that there is no way to get at these voicemails other than through the Skype client. I searched the Skype forums, searched the web, tried installing Pamela (which apparently can only save voicemails that you get *after* it's installed) and nothing could work. Until I came across this little gem. It's a pretty old post, but it got me experimenting and allowed me to solve the problem. Here is my step by step.

1. Get Audacity. It's great, free audio editor and recorder.
2. Open Audacity.
3. Unplug any external speakers on your laptop or get your speakers near your mic.
4. Slide the microphone slider in Audacity to the left so it doesn't pick up too much (you might need to try it a few times to get the volume right).
5. Press record in Audacity.
6. Press play in Skype.

That's it. You'll be recording your voicemails in no time and I was very surprised at the sound quality. It turned out very clear!

How to Never Use the Fax Machine Again: Use eSignatures

If you're like me, the thought of getting some paperwork that I have to sign sends shivers up my spine. I know it's going to sit on my desk for three days, then I'll finally say "Ok, I'm just going to take some time and get this done." So I:

1. fill out the paperwork,
   
2. sign and date on the line,
   
3. get in my car,
   
4. drive to the neighborhood Kinko's,
   
5. wait in line,
   
6. tell them I need to fax these 10 pages of nonsense,
7. they say "it is $2 per page so that will be $20. you can use the machine over there."
8. I pay the frikin $20 (the $20 has a very hard time leaving my hands I'll have you know, $2 per page is highway robbery),
9. I go the fax machine,
   
10. ask the Kinko's staff how to use it,
11. figure out how to use it,
12. send the faxes,
13. leave Kinko's,
14. drive back to work,
15. but now that I spent my entire afternoon dealing with this, it's time to go home.

Sound familiar?

Well luckily there is a better way. A law that was passed in 2000, called the ESIGN Act makes it so you can do this all online. No printing, no faxing, no bulls**t.

So how can you take advantage of this?

Sign up for Middlepost Docs which allows you to send documents for signatures and get them signed online. They are also stored for at least 7 years.

How to Never Make a Late Payment on Your Credit Card

When you are late making a payment (otherwise known as a default) on your credit card, a lot of bad things can happen such as your interest rate can shoot up to insane levels like 29%, any introductory offer will be cancelled and will now be at the huge rate as well, and the rate will never go back down. Plus it can mess up your credit score! That's a lot of bad for such a small thing as missing a payment. So all in all, you get screwed and the credit card company takes more of your money.

Fortunately, there is a very simple way to never have to worry about missing a credit card payment. If you'll notice on your monthly credit card statement, there is always a minimum payment due (assuming your balance is not zero) and if you make the minimum payment, you will not be "late".

So here's how to ensure this will never happen to you:

1. Figure out how much your maximum minimum payment would be by looking at past bills. Lets say just for examples sake that you owe $5000, the minimum payment is $50 and your maximum credit limit is $10,000. Then we could say that if you were maxed out at $10,000 your minimum payment would be $100.
   
2. Setup a monthly recurring automatic bill payment from your bank to your credit card for at least $100, maybe a bit more just in case, and time it so that it will always get paid before the due date.
   

That's all you have to do. Bill payment is free so it doesn't cost you anything and you can then make your main credit card payments at your convenience without having to worry about being late.

GoDaddy Founder Bob Parsons 16 Rules for Success

I was just doing some research into Bob Parsons, the man behind GoDaddy.com and found a post on his blog that provides a good bio of himself plus his 16 rules of success that he lives by in business and in life. Did you know he fought in Vietnam? And did you know that he started a successful
business and grew it to 1000 employees then eventually sold to Intuit?

On to Bob Parsons 16 Rules. Here are some excerpts that I like:

1. Get and stay out of your comfort zone. I believe that not much happens of any significance when we're in our comfort zone. I hear people say, "But I'm concerned about security." My response to that is simple: "Security is for cadavers."

5. Focus on what you want to have happen. Remember that old saying, "As you think, so shall you be."

9. Measure everything of significance. I swear this is true. Anything that is measured and watched, improves.

15. Don't take yourself too seriously. Lighten up. Often, at least half of what we accomplish is due to luck. None of us are in control as much as we like to think we are.

After doing more research, the guy has really earned my respect. At first I figured a guy with an earring that rides a big bold chopper and takes his GoDaddy girls to Nascar races is probably an ego-maniac, but there appears to be more than meets the eye.

Anti-GTD

My friend sent me this funny (or bitter) post about GTD and productivity. I'm not siding with his post in any way, it's just an amusing take on things.

The Anti-GTD'er

Want a Joost Invite?

Come one, come all. Post a comment here and I will send you a free Joost Invite.

For those not in the know, Joost is basically free TV brought to you by the guys that made Skype.

Commission Junction

Commission Junction is probably the biggest and most well known Affiliate Marketing service provider in the industry. They've been around forever, and by forever I mean they survived the dot com rise and fall. I first signed up for CJ because that is who eBay uses for their affiliate marketing system and now that I am a member, I have been joining several other advertiser's programs too.

I actually like Commission Junction's interface (especially when compared to other affiliate providers like Performics). It's pretty easy to use and has some decent reporting so you can find out the important stuff quickly: How much did I make today? And from which Advertiser?

Probably the best thing about Commission Junction is that when you are looking for other advertiser's affiliate programs, they show you the following three columns:

1. 3 Month EPC (earnings per 100 clicks)
2. 7 Day EPC (earnings per 100 clicks)
3. Network Earnings Rating - Shows a comparison rating of the volume of commissions paid out compared to all the other advertisers in the CJ network

This allows you to see which programs actually work and which ones don't. Invaluable information!