This week is a travel week, so I thought I would use this as an opportunity to highlight an awesome mobile application I’ve been using called Tripit.

This handy tool allows you to look up a flight number, get a hotel address and find other trip information on your mobile phone. And it makes it REALLY EASY.

Forward your itineraries to plans@tripit.com once you have signed up, and Tripit will take care of the rest.

Another awesome feature is “auto-watch” for Gmail, where the service can actually monitor your email and instantly pick up new travel details as you receive them without even having to forward them over.

Here is a screenshot overview of what Tripit offers:

Tripit is available in any modern web browser, and offers mobile applications for Android, iPhone, and Blackberry.

Next, I’ve provided a quick video showing me putting this service to use, as I really want to show you how easy it is to incorporate this tool into your organization systems:

One last note – I’m a firm believer in redundancy, so I don’t recommend that you rely entirely upon this one tool.  I always keep my travel details backed up in Gmail AND Evernote.

I hope you find this post useful. Please feel free to share your thoughts on how you might use Tripit or other ways you choose to track YOUR travel details.

Please note: My posts may contain affiliate links occasionally, although not always. When you use an affiliate link, I make a small percentage (so it helps support this blog), but it doesn’t cost you anything extra. Thank you for your support.

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Let us be respectfully reminded:

Life and death are of supreme importance.
Time swiftly passes by, and with it,
our only chance.
Each of us must aspire to awaken.
Be aware.
Do not squander our life.

-    Charlotte Joko Beck

I just found out about this website this morning, and I wanted to share it with you as soon as possible, as it is a fantastic example of how people are harnessing new web technologies to better the lives of school children in America.

DonorsChoose.org is an online charity allows you to browse projects across the country and find something that inspires you to give. This could be anything from pencils,library books, gym class equipment, or microscope slides for a Biology class.  Once a project meets its funding goal, the money is delivered to the school.

Donors Choose was created by Charles Best, then a social studies teacher at a Bronx High School.  His school had a huge need for resources, and he wanted to find a way to empower people to donate while allowing them to maintain control and visibility over the process.

The Donors Choose mission statement is “to improve public education by empowering every teacher to be a change-maker and enabling any citizen to be a philanthropist”.

If this idea resonates with you and you are looking for a way to get started helping, I’d like to tell you about a friend of mine, Martin Guise.  Martin is a music teacher at a high-poverty high school in Memphis, TN.  He and his wife Bilen, also a school teacher, are making a difference there with the work they do daily to enrich the lives of the children in their classrooms.

Martin is currently trying to raise enough money to buy guitars for his classroom as he feels that “the guitar is unique in its popularity and accessibility in today’s music that it draws the instant interest of children”.

From the Donors Choose page:

My students are wonderfully talented musicians who possess both a love and a desire to create and perform music. I teach in a high poverty school district in Tennessee, where the roots of the culture are steeped in a rich musical heritage. One of the most prominent and important instruments to this musical culture is the guitar. My students deserve the opportunity to experience the joy of learning and playing the guitar in addition to their existing music education. The guitar draws so many children to music learning and adding the guitar to these children’s music education will strike a deeper interest in music learning and also reach more students to allow their natural talents to be cultivated.

Martin needs just another $232 to fully fund 10 guitars and 2 folding stands to provide his students with the challenge of playing guitar and the benefit of adding this experience to their music education. This donation will directly impact the lives of 300 students that are part of the music program at Denver Elementary School in Memphis, TN.

If you can help Martin and his students out, please do so HERE.  If you would rather search for other donation opportunities in your community, you can browse for projects HERE.

Each week I try to pull together some of the best links that I’ve come across in my online travels.  This week was especially hard, because if you saw this post, you know that I effectively killed my RSS subscription list.

This really forced me to shake things up a bit, so I hope you will enjoy this weeks list! I’ve also changed up the formatting to make this a real quick read. I’d like to hear your feedback on if you like this better or worse compared to this format.

Who The Hell Reads Your Blog Anyway?

A great article on attracting GREAT quality readers written by Joshua Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus

Now

White Hot Truth

Advanced Tactics in Saying No

Required Learning for the 21st Century

How to Build a Six-Figure Blog Without Anyone Knowing

An interesting article on Email Blogging.  I really like this guy’s voice.

How to Debug Your Thought Code

Changing the way we think by debugging our own thought processes.

App Sumo

It’s like Groupon for Web Apps!

Visual Web Optimizer

A/B Testing Tool for Websites

Learn To Remember Everything: The Memory Palace Technique

This post made me feel like I was in Inception!

And that is all for this week!

If you know of a post or product that I should highlight in The Weekly Gathering Round the Post, let me know in the comments and I’ll contact you to find out more!

Please note: This post may contain affiliate links occasionally, although not always. When you use an affiliate link, I make a small percentage (so it helps support this blog), but it doesn’t cost you anything extra. Thank you for your support.

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On Wednesday I announced an opportunity to Win a Free Pass to Trailblazer and Make a Guaranteed $1,000 in the Next Six Months Doing What You Love! I heard from three awesome individuals who are on fire to find their passion.  This left me with a real dilemma: how to pick the winner when I wish I could extend this opportunity to all three.  Here is what I heard back from these three readers:

Ruben Berenguel

Wow, I love the fact that Jonathan does this. I almost got a free pass last year for his Paid to Exist… and then luckily enough I could get a discount for his birthday. I love his teaching and style, and I’d really appreciate seeing what new stuff he has to offer. PTE & his ebooks are good, so the precedents are high on this. Why I’d like to participate? Curiosity. I just eat information, the more I have the happier I am, and I still feel like I’m missing something from his previous courses/books.

Ruben runs a site called Mostly Maths. I found his article on Learning to Remember Everything to be fascinating.

Joshua Stuckey

I’ll keep it simple, Phil. Think back to the days in your apt. where we burned through ideas, code and home-brew. Then remember how much we were able to accomplish in spite of our ignorance. You know how creative I am and how well we bounce ideas off of each other. I’d love to find that energy again~

Jaime

I am a mother of two girls and I also am Bipolar and have OCD. I am trying to laser focus my niche. I know that want to help other mothers that have issues be better parents, but I don’t know how to focus it exactly or create helpful products for that niche. I think this course would help me tremendously in my focus.

Jaime blogs at Up Your Awesome with the intention to help mothers grow as much as they possibly can and then push them to be even more awesome.

The Decision

I really had to pull a name from a hat on this one.  There was really no other way to do it.  And the winner is:

Joshua Stuckey!

I selected the winner yesterday, and when I contacted Joshua to let him know, here is what he had to say:

I find myself 32 years old, the father of the most brilliant and beautiful 18 month old boy on the planet, and at that junction in life when you ask yourself, “What do I REALLY want to do with my life?”  So imagine my surprise when I dialed into this community and found a program designed specifically to do just that!

I can’t wait to dive into this journey and find/maximize my niche market. If there’s one thing I love, it’s having an entrepreneurial spirit.  I’m currently a sales supervisor for a leading pest control company and have a team of 20 agents working under my lead. I LOVE sales! I love developing a product that adds value to the lives of other and finding a way to bring it to market.

I’m hoping to find a world of possibility on the “other side of the wall”, so to speak.

Congratulations Joshua, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with as a result of Trail-Blazers.  Jaime and Ruben, THANK YOU for taking the time to stop by Simply P Squared.  I know there are about a billion blogs out there so I’m honored that you have taken the time to read mine. As you know, I’m very new at this, so I’d love to have your continued feedback on what I’m doing right/wrong and what type of content you would like to see more of.

Until Next Time!

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Have you been trying to figure out how to step up your blogging game and enter the realm of the pros? Sick of your crappy template blogger.com setup? If so, you know that its hard to find reliable information out there on where to start without having to shell out cash to get behind a pay wall.

There are resources out there available for free, but you have to spent countless hours trying to pull all that information together to even THINK about getting started.  I was in your shoes just a mere three weeks ago, and spent over 80 man hours getting this site to where it is today. The GOOD NEWS for you is that I am going to demystify the entire process in this post today and blow the doors off the whole pro-blogger setup process.

You are going to be surprised at how easy it is to get a professional site up and running. Almost all the tools that you need are available in plug and play format. As long as you know where to find them, I am confident you can implement for success.

Below you will see a mind map that includes all the tools that I used to launch this blog. If someone had handed me this information, I could have saved at least half of the time spent getting this site launched.  Knowledge is power, and I am sharing everything I’ve learned in the past three weeks with you.

NOW WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH IT?

I recommend clicking on the full screen button for maximum viewing pleasure.  I’m also attaching this document in PDF format for easy reference off-line. I thought about offering this to email subscribers only, but  everyone needs to benefit from this.  Over 75 percent of the links included are for free products, which makes this even better!

A couple of notes on what you are going to see here. To the right of each label on the map, there is a small linkable button that will take you right to the referenced page.  If the item is highlighted, it means I am currently utilizing this tool or service in this blog you are reading right now. If it is not highlighted, this means that I do not use it, but after extensive research I am confident to recommend it whole heartedly.

Finally, if you see a small asterisk beside the link, that means I’m actually an affiliate of this tool or service. I want to be up front about this so you know that I’ll probably be making a few pennies if you decide to sign up through my link

Download PDF HERE

Please let me know if you have any questions in the comments below!   I’d also like to hear feedback about your particular experiences with these tools!

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As some of you may know, I’m currently participating in a course offered by Jonathan Mead of Illuminated Mind in an effort to further craft my niche and find razor-sharp focus.  I’m a couple of days in now, and I can tell you that there are some really awesome people on the inside.  This has been restricted to a pioneer group of 30 individuals and at this point the doors are closed.  HOWEVER, I have managed to secure a guest pass for one individual and I’d like to offer it up to readers of this blog.  From Jonathan’s website, here is a description of what the course will entail:

There is one thing that makes the difference between success and failure in every business. It also makes the difference between an incredibly thriving product launch and one that only holds captive an audience of crickets chirping in the night.

Of course I’m talking about your offer to the world and the talents you have to share.

Until now there hasn’t been a course dedicated to help you find the intersection between your passion, the value you have and your strategy for releasing it to the world.

For years I’ve been helping clients get this right, and now I’ve taken the process and put it in a step-by-step course to teach you how to get paid to be who you are.

The program is called Trailblazer. It’s a walk-you-by-the-hand program that’s designed to help you make inevitable success with your offer to the world. It also includes a daring guarantee: you make at least $1,000 in the next six months with your passion-based business or your money back.

Each week we will delve into a specific blueprint to help you build real world results in your business. We cover six topics specifically:

1. Week 1: Find out what makes you come alive
2. Week 2: Identifying an offer that gets people to say “Yes”
3. Week 3: Attracting the people who want what you have to sell
4. Week 4: Know you’ll get paid before you create it
5. Week 5: Creating your high value offer and building momentum
6. Week 6: Your release strategy that makes you money, builds your list and elevates you as a major player in your niche

If this sounds like something that you would like to participate in, please leave me a comment telling me why.  Please only enter if you are really committed to the idea of taking part seriously and contributing regularly to the community. I want to ensure that someone who really wants to make positive changes in their life gets this opportunity.  This will be an ongoing course for the next couple months.  I look forward to seeing one of you on the inside!

PLEASE LEAVE YOUR COMMENT BELOW. THIS CONTEST WILL BE OVER AT MIDNIGHT ON THURSDAY, MARCH 31ST. I RESERVE THE RIGHT TO REVOKE THIS OFFER IF NO QUALITY COMMENTS ARE RECEIVED. SELL ME ON WHY YOU SHOULD BE PICKED!

No really. I just did.  This is a huge deal as I’ve been pretty much addicted to RSS for the past three years.  Up until a couple of weeks ago I think I was subscribing to about two hundred, and from there I had whacked it to a final 97 that I just didn’t think I could live without.  In the past three years, I’ve learned so much from the bloggers that I have followed, and the knowledge I have gained has helped me change my life in extraordinarily positive ways.  That being said, I’ve also stood by on the sidelines as a whole new wave of bloggers have risen with awesome inspiring content.  I haven’t engaged. I’ve been a bystander while all this great movement has been going on around me. Reading about all the cool things people are doing in their lives became my crack.  So today, I pulled the plug. I am no longer going to be sitting on the bench while everyone else is taking part in the year of the hustle.  I am going to engage and find out who the hell reads my blog anyway?

I literally just killed my RSS Feed:

But never fear! I would never do something so drastic without a systematic plan in place to mitigate the damage.  The premise that I am operating under is that by removing all the noise (even positive) from my life, I can focus on what is right in front of me.  I want to take this opportunity to form my own perspectives without all the whispers in my ear.  I want to find my own voice and seek original thought.

So here is my ask of you. I need your help, as I so eloquently stated in the title of this post.  I don’t think I can go entirely cold turkey, so instead, what I would like to do is seek out new inspiration. What are your favorite blogs that you read on a daily basis? PLEASE let me know in the comments. I hope to compile a list from your feedback, and from there narrow it down to ten blogs that I will continue to read as I move forward with this experiment. The other thing I’m going to do is to capture anytime that I think of reading another blog and put this in a special Evernote folder.  I’m going to give myself a guilty pleasure and add one blog back into my reading list each month outside of the core 10 that I start with.  This way, I’ll be able to compile a new reading list that is a little more focused.

As nerdy as it sounds, this is actually a really scary undertaking for me, so I’d really appreciate your support and feedback on this post.  I always have that file backed up, but I really think this is a great opportunity to shake things up and also engage with a whole new audience and learn new ways of thinking.

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We’ve made it to week two of The Weekly Gathering Round the Post and It looks like I’m going to stick with Saturday mornings. This is actually a really fun post to put together as it is a quick way to share all the links to things that I’ve found interesting over the course of the week.  I’m going to keep my introduction short as I’d rather you spend the time checking out this week’s fantastic finds from around the world:

Photos

Where is Cole?

Check out the link to learn more about Christine Gilbert’s fascinating world travels with her husband Drew and son Cole (pictured).

33 Photos That Will Inspire YOU to Jump Out of Your Chair and Travel the World!

This post really does make you want to abandon everything and hit the road.  As some of you may know, my wife is Filipino-American and I’ve always wanted to visit the Philippines.  This post made me want to get something planned ASAP, as a significant number of these pictures were taken there.

Technology

Kiwi WiFi iPhone Diagnostic Kit

This app allows you to connect your iPhone to your 1996 or later car via a 6 ft OBDII cable.  You can then monitor all kinds of stats about your car. From Amazon’s description:

• KIWI WiFi turns your iPhone in to a powerful automotive tool
• Will check for engine diagnostic codes, when your “check engine” light become illuminated you can view and reset the code
• Easy installation, simply plugs into OBDII port and will mount virtually anywhere in your vehicle
• Allows you to view sensor data such as engine RPM, vehicle speed, coolant temperature and throttle position
• MPG gauges, basic engine sensors, check engine scan tool, trip computer

This looks like a fun tool. The reviews seem pretty good at Amazon The only negative seems to be that the price may be a little steep for what you get. I Look forward to seeing how this evolves.

Paste HTML

Use this site to create a sandbox to test HTML, CSS, and JavaScript snippets.

Active Inbox

Get email under control and get things done.

Yearly Leaf

Yearly Leaf promises to deliver your Facebook posts in a luxury bound book that you can share with Grandma! They haven’t opened up their doors yet but you can use Facebook Connect to get on the list.

Manilla

Manilla is currently in private beta, but I managed to score an invite last week. The site seeks to provide one place where you can come to view, pay, and be reminded of statements. The UI is impressive and the feature set solid.  The only drawback right now is that the partnerships they have right now are fairly limited, so in my case there are still many bills I couldn’t connect to yet.  That takes most of the draw away, but my hope is that this will improve as they roll out from beta.  Get on the list to get an invite!

Xobni for Gmail Beta

I’ve been a long time user of Xobni for Outlook at work, however I’ve always secretly wished that I could get this functionality with Gmail.  Now Xobni is making this possible as they roll out this new offering.

Inspiration

City vs Country Minimalism

An excellent post by Leo Babauta. For more context also read this post.

Is Happiness Overrated?

Mary Jaksch discusses the importance of happiness and offers her perspective on what we might focus on instead.

The Rest

Make a guaranteed $1k (or more) in the next six months doing what you love

If the above tagline resonates with you, check this out. I am going to have an extra friends pass available for this program and I’d like to be able to share it with someone who will really benefit.  If this sounds like you, tell me why I should pick you in the comments.

Bearded Brothers

Makers of handmade energy bars that are 100% raw, others are mostly raw, gluten-free, and vegan friendly. I want one of these T-Shirts!

And that is all for this week!

If you know of a post or product that I should highlight in The Weekly Gathering Round the Post, let me know in the comments and I’ll contact you to find out more!

Please note: This post contains one affiliate link (Amazon). When you use an affiliate link, I make a small percentage (so it helps support this blog), but it doesn’t cost you anything extra. Thank you for your support.

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Blogging is tough! Simply P Squared officially relaunched on March 9th.  Here we are two weeks later and I’m still struggling with what this site is really all about.  On Friday of this past week, I was offered an amazing opportunity to accept a mentorship with Mary Jaksch of A-List Blogger Club. I quickly accepted this offer without hesitation, as her program is simply the best available for anyone wanting to get serious about blogging.

Since that time, it has become painfully clear to me that if I want to get this right, I’m going to need to find more focus.  I’m still slowly working though these details, but I hope to share with you how technology can truly have a transformative effect on ones life.  I can honestly say without reservation that if not for empowering myself through technology, I would not be where I am today.  At Simply P Squared, I will focus on how to harness the power of bleeding edge web technologies in order to facilitate success.  Stick by me closely as I work out the kinks, and I am confident that you will see the benefits.

I’ve also decided that a good way to introduce readers to what I’m all about is to give you regular updates on how things are going with getting this site up and running. The process has been both challenging and exciting for me so far and I hope that this content will be helpful if you might aspire to launch your own website someday.  I’ve been picking up tons of new information with every moment and I can’t wait to share this with you as things progress.

Lastly, I hope you are enjoying the Frugal Foodology series that Janice and I have launched to share our low-cost foodie adventures.  My guess is you will see this spinning off into a separate website in the future (more on this to come). Right now I just want to quickly provide a platform for the two of us to collaborate on this idea and get the ball rolling. Janice has some great ideas on where she hopes to take her content, but I don’t want to spoil the surprise just yet. I’m going to keep encouraging her to write, and I know it wouldn’t hurt if you were to provide her with some positive feedback as well!

I hope this post finds you well and please feel free to share your feedback in the comments as you make you way around the site.

Best,

Phil