Do you want to learn how to build  a successful Internet business?

If your answer is “no,” then stop here, do not pass go, do not collect $200 (homage to Monopoly, one my favorite boardgames of all time).

If your answer is “yes,” then keep reading because the answer is quite simple, watch or listen to the interviews on Mixergy.com — all of them.

Want to learn how to start an Internet business, how to raise venture capital, how to build community, how to get links to your site, how to get people to pay for services, how to create compelling content?….there’s an interview for that!

Mixergy.com, “home of the ambitious upstart,” provides free video interviews (at least for now) with successful Internet entrepreneurs. The interviews are conducted by Andrew Warner, an accomplished Internet entrepreneur in his own right with his own fascinating roller coaster of a story where he took his company to $30+ million a year in sales.

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In honor of Movember, the charity dedicated to generating awareness and raising funds for testicular and prostate cancer research, here’s Ploomy’s top three ways to protect your privates.

• Grow a Mo: It’s an excuse not to shave and a great conversation starter at the bar. Chicks dig a dude down with charity!
• Mo your friends: If you don’t want to grow a mustache you can Mo your friends with this new Facebook application
• Cheers to your prostate: Try these Mo-inspired cocktails named after some of the best Mo’s in pop-culture

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This is the time of year that many people already start to give up on their New Year’s Resolutions. Especially fitness goals.  Don’t be one of those people!

Not getting to your destination? Having trouble achieving your goals? You may have a problem that you haven’t considered – how you set them in the first place.

When you are doing everything you possibly can to achieve your goals, but just can’t quite seem to reach them, the problem might be that you are setting the wrong type of goal. Here’s a real-world example that you might see in business:

My goal is to increase company sales this year.

What’s wrong with this goal?

“This Year” is too long a time frame to measure progress.  You can easily lie to yourself each month you fail to see higher sales, by saying “I’ll make up for it next month”.

You don’t directly control company sales.  Most likely, you aren’t in a position to control company-wide sales.  Even a director of sales doesn’t technically “control” sales because customers must buy something for sales to increase, and you can’t control the customers. You can only take actions that will influence their decision to purchase.

Not measurable. How will you measure your success here?

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While everyone is talking about “Love,” I’d like to talk about another “L” word and that’s leadership.

Whether you are a retail manager with 6 sales associates, a coach of a basketball team, or a father with children, leadership plays a big part in our lives. And understanding how to get the best out of your team is crucial for success in many of our endeavors.

One of readers (Rob K. in Oregon) recently sent me a link to a great site that I think you should check out.

The site is a blog that former NBA coach Eric Musselman has penned since 2007 and deals with “Notes, observations, and commentary on basketball and coaching.”

For any of you readers out there who love basketball, you’ll be in for a treat. The site is chock full of leadership insight as well as player/coach stories from around the NBA and college ranks.

Check out Eric Musselman’s Blog.

Valentine’s Day is less than two weeks away, but have no fear Ploomy’s got you covered.  We’ve teamed up with ProFlowers.com to give 5 of our lucky readers $70 Gift Certificates. How’s that for a stimulus check???

The $70 gift certificate can be used for all sorts of things on the ProFlowers.com website including but not limited to: sending flowers, sending chocolates, or sending other types of gift baskets. They have a huge assortment and some of the best choices on the Interwebs for flower delivery.

In order to win one of these $70 gift certificates, all you have to do is tell us why your wife, girlfriend, mother, or that girl in marketing is deserving of flowers this Valentine’s Day?

Your answers don’t have to be particularly long, just convincing. Allow your answers to be funny, inspirational, creative, entertaining, heart warming or just ridiculously cool—there is no wrong answer!

Add your comments on the site no later than Sunday Feb 8th at 11:59pm (pacific time) and we’ll announce the 5 winners on Monday, Feb 9th.

Just remember one entry per person. Apologies in advance to all our friends in other countries, but this contest is only open to those living in the United States.

Did you watch the season premiere of Lost last night?

It’s a great show, but as the Tyler Durden of the wine industry, Gary Vaynerchuk , reminds us, watching it could be the exact reason why you’re not getting the most out of your life. “Everybody has time. Stop fucking watching Lost!”

There is a lot to like about Gary Vee.  He’s passionate (no doubt) and his riff here on personal branding is such a great motivator.

And for the record, I didn’t watch Lost last night — although I did DVR it.

Each year, Australia hosts arguably one of the world’s toughest endurance races called the Westfield Sydney to Melbourne Ultra Marathon.  For many people, completing a single marathon already feels like a huge accomplishment, but an ultra marathon takes it to a completely different level. The race is run between two of Australia’s largest shopping malls, one in Sydney and the other in Melbourne, takes a staggering 5 days to complete and traverses an astonishing 875 kilometers (544 miles).

Because of the advanced training required with a race like this, a majority of the competitors were younger and had experience competing at an elite level. Many of them were professional athletes with good equipment and even sponsored by well known shoe companies.

In 1983, an unknown 61-year-old potato-farmer named Cliff Young showed up on race day. He was everything the other runners were not.  He was older, wore overalls and ran in boots. Much to the surprise of everyone in attendance, Cliff hadn’t come there to watch that day, he came to race.

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Whether you voted for President-elect Barack Obama or not, no one can deny he has a gift for delivering magical speeches. Better than Clinton…maybe.  Better than JFK or King Jr…probably not, but Obama has seemed to captivate with his messages of hope and change at a time when our nation needs it most.

This is why it was interesting to learn that the man behind Obama’s speeches is a 27-year old guy from Massachusetts named Jon Favreau (not the actor).  Get this, he usually writes his speeches at a local Starbucks and even emails himself notes with his BlackBerry.

After Obama’s inaguration on January 20th, Favreau will join Obama in the White House as the youngest ever selected chief speechwriter.

Favreau’s journey to being Obama’s speechwriter proves yet again that success can come at any age. “Yes, we can.”

Read the entire Washington Post article on Jon Favreau.

View some of Obama’s Speeches after the jump.

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With this post I want to focus on a topic that is very top of mind for me right now. And that is the idea of “growth.”

In about 3 months, I will be turning the big 30 and I am actually really looking forward to it. No, there aren’t the flying cars or hovercraft skateboards like the ones in Back to the Future like I’d imagined there to be at this age, but that’s okay.

Naturally, it’s been a time of reflection and I’ve definitely been thinking off and on throughout this last year about what the heck I am doing in my life. Where am I actually heading, where do I want to go now, and what do I have to do to get there? I’m guessing you do this sometimes too right?

Of course you don’t have to be turning 30 to have these thoughts, but for me it’s just something I’ve thought about a lot more recently.

A little while back, a friend of mine told me this story about how Chinese Bamboo Trees grow. I thought it was very insightful and really helped me to think about the idea of growth in a different way.

Now, I should note that there are over 1500+ types of bamboo trees. Just remember, these probably aren’t those little office plants you’re used to seeing. You’ll see what I am talking about in a moment.

“Energy and persistence alter all things.” – Benjamin Franklin

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All the experts agree; a positive male role model is key to the successful development of a young man.

Sure, most of us have great fathers, uncles, older brothers, bosses, coaches and teachers to look up to, but if you want to be a real legend, – and don’t we all – you’ll need to find a truly great man to model. And not just any legendary role model will do; you need to find one that matches your own personal style.

The men listed below have lived and lived well. They loomed over the pack as larger than life heroes; they ruled the roost and rose to the top. They authored novels, dominated debates, dazzled with wit and won championships, women, wealth and wars.

Without any further ado, I present to you seven legendary men’s men in seven classic categories.
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