We are all a product of a dream, whether realized or otherwise, they are among the most powerful mechanisms in our lives that help guide us, give us new ideas and play around with alternative realities!

Why develop Dreamclue.com?

Well, I originally began on this project a little over a year ago now after realizing that there was a huge amount of knowledge we are all acquiring but forgetting nightly! I wanted to create a system that not only makes sense of our dreams but more importantly, allows us to record them for prosperity. Our dreams are also a visual medium, so the site had to be chalk full of imagery to help guide you through the exploration of the dreamworld. The results? Well, launching with over two thousand dream symbols written by yours truly and a quarter of the entries with photographs also taken by me, I have big expectations for this site!

How does Dreamclue.com work?

Dreams are our own business, so it has to be built anonymously, as such, like myfoodcount.com before it, the system has no clue who you are and it’s drop dead easy interface for adding and learning about the dreamworld only helps to make the exploration that much easier!

Other cool Dreamclue.com features

The site features both text and image based navigation, in addition to interesting statistics not only about your very own dreams but all the dreams on the site as well. You can also read other peoples dreams (they are rendered anonymous by our system) and even comment on any interpretation on the site!

What’s next?

A lot, will let all our visitors know when the time is right

The Bottom Line

Passion is a dangerous thing as it can only bread more passion!

What I find interesting with most religions is how they seem to really dislike one another under their facade of acceptance while they compete for our “poor” souls. Each religion out there has the tenant that they are the only TRUE religion so anybody professing anything different is seen as a competitor in this life or the next. What I find equally of interest is that they try to discount each-others beliefs while re-enforcing their own. Scientology is no different in that they are attacked regularly by Catholics and Muslims as being an evil cult which to me sounds no different then a kettle calling a pot black. I fail to see ANY difference between Scientology and other world faiths out there.

Disclaimer

My postings about religion are simply my exploration of this concept within humanity, I am not judging nor bashing of others rights to believe in whatever they wish to believe. I welcome anybody wishing to discuss this with me on my blog, I am open minded enough to explore anything but have no desire to be directed how I should live my life (ei: don’t expect me to convert to your way of thinking). I am sure this is full of inaccuracies, feel free to point them out. My goal in life is to understand others mechanisms regarding what makes them function.

Comparison (however flawed) with other religions

Scientology, unlike other faiths is rather new on the scene, there are actual video and audio recordings from the founder, L. Ron Hubbard himself. They preach acceptance, conditioning and conversion just like, ironically, the other world religions. Where they differ most greatly is that you don’t pray to an all-knowing creator (God) but actually take courses in how to improve yourself beyond ethical reproachment. Instead of intense worship, you focus on intense study. There is no heaven or hell, there aren’t millions of death under their belt in their religions name and there most notably, have a rather more interesting story as to human existence then any other religion complete with aliens and galactic wars. Cult? Nope, it’s just re-incarnation 2.0!

Scientology - The Shrinking World of L. Ron Hubbard (1967) - Part 1

• Scientology means “study of knowingness”, it’s a faith or religion that calls itself a science
• Scientologists study for hours daily, listening to tapes and are tested regularly to make sure all materials are clearly understood and followed to the letter
• Scientologist use an e-meter, which is essentially a lie detector to audit people at confessionals for any type of emotion
• Scientology has a record keeping system that would make even the ancient Romans envious, everything written down and kept for further analysis
• Scientology is about profit, just like most other religions, at least they are honest about their intentions
• to become a “clear”, you must be able to answer 60 questions in L. Ron Hubbard’s own handwriting without showing an ounce of emotion on an e-meter
• ”suppressives” or people who dis Scientology are, in Lr. Ron Hubbard’s own words “Fair game. May be deprived of property or injured by any means by any Scientologist without any discipline of Scientologists. May be tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed”.
• R2-45 is the mechanism by which people actively bashing Scientology are persecuted and investigated in order to ruin them
• L. Ron Hubbard comes through as a rather intelligent and charismatic leader
• I like how L. Ron Hubbard clarifies that he has no problem with people who are critical of him but of those who actively try to suppress the rights of others to practice what they want deserve what they get

Scientology - The Shrinking World of L. Ron Hubbard (1967) - Part 2

• L. Ron Hubbard states that he had only two wives in his life but the record states that he had three, what I find interesting about this is… who cares? I fail to see how many wives, children or other details about a person have anything to do with leadership
• L. Ron Hubbard spends a lot of time researching past civilizations, he believes he has lived before during many lives, memories exist within everybody from prior lives
• people sign up in servitude to L. Ron Hubbard for a billion years as part of their training
• -L. Ron Hubbard says that Scientology is a science, not a faith nor belief
• L. Ron Hubbard’s quote stating “the one man in the world who never believes he’s a mad is a madman” couldn’t be any truer

BBC Panorama - Scientology & Me (Part 1 of 3)

• Scientology is gaining acceptance around the world and is trying to become classified as a religion through various movements
• use of a disconnect is used to break all links with individuals, including family members who try to get in the way of the religious growth of Scientologists
• the concentration of this documentary is on making Scientology look like an evil cult, I completely see how Jon Sweeney has slanted his reports already
• Scientology is the study of life and knowledge
• e-meter was designed by L. Ron Hubbard himself

BBC Panorama - Scientology & Me (Part 2 of 3)

• using the word “cult” is heavily frowned upon, they state they are a religion which I don’t understand because their Founder, L. Ron Hubbard stated emphatically that they are not a religion but a science
• Scientology sends in their volunteers after major disasters to help using “touch assists” which is a healing method using hands and touch sort of like a massage but much lighter
• Scientology runs an anti-drug program called “Narconon” using exercise and vitamin supplementation to help people kick their habits
• courses don’t equate worship in British law, hence why it’s acceptance as a religion is stalled
• it becomes quickly evident that Jon Sweeney isn’t very popular with the Scientology

BBC Panorama - Scientology & Me (Part 3 of 3)

• many stars speak highly of the religion
• I find Scientologist rather confrontational regarding Jon Sweeney’s interview, they seem to follow him everywhere, trying to break him down mentally but I also understand where they are coming from, how you would feel if you where Catholic or Muslim and constantly referred to as being part of a cult?
• psychiatry is a pseudo-science according to Scientologists, a view that I actually have come to fully agree with though they take things a little further then I would have
• they completely succeeded in driving Jon Sweeney nuts, if all for a few moments, they achieved their goal in my opinion as a result, discrediting his journalistic indifference
• Scientology takes it’s religion extremely seriously, just like other world faiths

Brainwashing 101

If something works, it’s adopted by others and religion is no different then other types of marketing. They all seem to follow the same principles as those used in brainwashing 101 courses. These are the same techniques used by marketers who tell us you must buy a diamond for marriage, buy new cloths every season and that debts are no big deal in the pursuit of happiness (capitalism). I consider any type of activity whose sole purpose is to change the thinking of another person to be considered brainwashing.

Repetition!

First, begin with repetitive repetition on a continual basis to re-enforce a certain method of thinking. When I saw the video of this, I instantly thought of Madrasas or Sunday Schools the dot this planet.

Servitude

If you are Christian, you must give your soul to God “for eternity”, I believe it’s the same for other faiths but in Scientology, they only keep your soul under servitude for a billion years. I think this is progress… a billion years doesn’t seem so long when compared to eternity!

Sacrifice

Surrounding yourself by like minded individuals and “blocking out” those who don’t share your beliefs and the donation of energy whether in time, money or deeds to the religious organization. Evangelists have tiding where you give a portion of your income to the church, Catholics have the basket they put through the pews and other religions a mix of the two. If you want to be “part of us”, you must prove it in actions as well or words. At least Scientology is straight forward and very clear regarding these expectations with ladders related to donations.

Overly-friendliness: Community of the like minded

I grew up Roman Catholic and I see the same thing among other faiths, this overly-friendliness towards the like minded and possible conversionable. I visited a “born again” Evangelist complex a few years ago and that is when it really struck me… it isn’t just “hi”, it’s the big handshakes, hugs and even kisses. Why does this exist? Well, simply to re-enforce that you have entered a safe place, you have friends. Some people like hugging complete strangers, as for me, handshakes are about as far as I will take things.

Confessionals

Scientologists use e-meters, Catholics the confessional and I am sure there is an equivalent in other religion but what is it’s true purpose? No matter how the religious autocracy wish to characterize it, these are a brilliant method of control in two fundamental ways. First, they help break down the mental barriers which may, at a later period of time, create doubt in the mind and secondly, it keeps people in line. If you told your priest that you did xyz they say, “your sins are now forgiven” what has actually happened? NOTHING but a bonding event at the subconscious level! You told somebody else your deepest secrets which gives you some relief but also helps to keep you in line at a subconscious level.

Humans = EVIL

Humans are all evil, worthless and lost without GOD or some other entity, Scientologists don’t revert to these words, instead, they focus on purity of the mind. Religion is basically the pursuit of perfection, something that cannot EVER be achieved no matter how much training or lives a person spends on this endeavor. Religions all describe humans as being fundamentally flawed and only religious dogma is the way to go to achieve a higher level of being in this life or the next. I find this incredibly interesting as there are far more Catholics, Muslims and other religious persons in prisons and committing crimes out there then Athiests yet, regardless of religion, Athiests are seen as the absolute lowest of the low. It seems that people who believe in themselves, for themselves are so off kilter in not seeing supreme guidance that we are vilified just under the surface of acceptance.

Profit

Scientology is an expensive religion, you have to pay for courses to constantly improve yourself, the books, tapes etc all add up to a pretty penny. Before you bash this, consider that the Pope lives in his own city of incredible splendor just like Evangelists live in their multi-million dollar homes. What’s the difference? None. Religion is truly the most profitable enterprise out there, many governments even allow tax deductions for “donations” to religious organizations.

Death to critics!

This bears repeating, in L. Ron Hubbard’s own words “Fair game. May be deprived of property or injured by any means by any Scientologist without any discipline of Scientologists. May be tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed”. Sounds harsh? I don’t think so, considering Catholics wish you to spend eternity in hell under the most inhumane conditions while fundamentalists believe you deserve a beheading for speaking badly about their beliefs. Considering this, Scientology is rather generous to it’s critics as it doesn’t involve death! Christians has their crusades and I am sure Muslims had their equivalents in history, so far, not a hint of this from Scientology. Again, I believe this is progress as far as religions go.

Gays are ok!

Unlike Catholics and many other major religions, Scientology doesn’t seem to discriminate against sexual orientation. If you are gay, you are welcomed with open arms. Again, this is welcome progress in the world of religion.

Charisma of the Leader

After watching quite a bit of video, no matter what you believe about Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard is a rather charismatic leader, I am sure this was as true about Jesus in his time as with other prophets from other religions. He comes across as rather sincere, he obviously believes his way of thinking is the “purest” and wants to expand this organization to touch the hearts of minds of others around the world. Ironically, this is the same mission and method used by other religions around the world.

Is Scientology a Cult or a Religion

If others wish you ill harm on others, then I would consider this a cult but if they simply wish to be left alone to work on themselves while bettering the lives of those around them, who is to judge or make this distinction? As for me, I don’t see them as a cult anymore then other religions out there. They have their beliefs, I have mine… as long as they don’t infringe on my rights, I couldn’t care less about what their followers are doing behind closed doors. What I do find fascinating about the evolution of Scientology is that it gives you a glimpse of how religions form and grow in both influence and power in our world over time. They are the new kid on the block, learning along the way what should and shouldn’t be adopted.

Is Scientology for me?

Although I find their stories far more interesting then those of other prophetic books, I still cannot fathom giving up my inner power, no matter how slight, to another organization, no matter how it’s characterized by preachers and sinners alike. I do agree with some of their teachings and even some of their views but not enough to feel any deep passion to join them. Their equivalent to the Koran or Bible called Dianetics is on my “to-read” list though but unlike these two other books, I can’t find a free copy of this one.

The Bottom Line

Religion is no different then cough medicine, it makes the symptoms of thinking about our collectively mortality go away without solving the underlying problem that we all die eventually.

Buzvia: Church of Scientology Official Web Site, Wikipedia

I have many passions in life one of which is to allow others to freely share the influenced they have earned online with others. Life is just like the web but unlike life, you can now share your influence with complete strangers… Karma at its best!

Why develop buzvia?

Well, I have had this concept in my mind for a very long time, I believe that humans are at their best when they freely share information and knowledge with one another, just like the original spirit of the web. What has changed over the past decade on the web? Well, walled gardens, people FEAR giving links to sites other then their own because they don’t want to loose traffic. I wanted to change this with a simple and straight forward system.

How does buzvia work?

Each link on the internet has a source page and referral page, what buzvia does is act like a middleman which tracks both source and referrals by simply adding http://buzvia.com/#url#… it couldn’t be any simpler! The information is captured and stats are collected by all those involved. The beauty of this system is two fold, you don’t need an account to participate and everybody knows how to make external links.

Other cool buzvia features

I have a lot of knowledge about the web, as such, I have also launched a blog to highlight trends, experiences and sites in order to help other with their SEO, SEM and whatever other acronym you can imagine. I also look forward to writing about the companies that decide, in all their great wisdom, to join the buzvia revolution and see how much they can truly benefit by breaking down their walled gardens and embracing change.

What’s next?

Ah well, that’s the million dollar questions isn’t it, don’t worry, if things go to plan, I will have something truly special to announce in about two months or three depending on how development goes. It won’t be LegendaryLife, that is still deep in production mode but it will be something I believe equally exciting for a particular demographic of our society I am very happy with how WoodMarvels.com is coming along and am looking forward with great glee to see how this year works out for professionally and personally. Life is amazing when your having fun and everyday is like a vacation! I wouldn’t want it any other way.

The Bottom Line

Passion is a dangerous thing as it can only bread more passion!

Visit buzvia at http://buzvia.com

The founder of GoDaddy has had tremendous success online as a domain registrar, he risked everything he earned from the sale of his company Parsons Technology, turning his 64 million dollar buyout to what will soon be a billion dollar company. Without further ado, here is his top 10 keys (suggestions) for success in 2008.

10: Never listen to advertising experts

The reason for GoDaddy’s success is doing everything that it was told not to do by agencies, the more people say you shouldn’t do something, the more you should do it. People generally fear change, they don’t want to make waves so becoming an agent of change is the only way to get any type of attention no matter your field.

9: Surround yourself with beautiful, intelligent and successful women

Half of the world’s population is female yet if you attend enough board meetings, you will quickly realize that these statistics don’t hold true in the executive world (sadly). I would easily argue that women are our smarter half and a company without at least 50% of the top management that isn’t one is missing out on huge opportunities.

8: Take care of your employees and give to charity

Employees leave a company because of stress but if you provide a good working environment that is fun, challenging and rewarding, even at lower pay then a competitor, they will stay with you. Charity is also always a great thing, once you can afford to do so.

7: It’s never too late to get a motorcycle but always wear your safety gear

I got my motorcycle license a few years back, the freedom that you experience driving on the road is tremendous, cars are so boxed that I got to the point where I actually hated being inside of one. Driving a motorcycle gives you instant feedback about the environment, the flexibility to move on a dime and just pure pleasure of the open road… something lost in cars and trucks.

6: Earn a Ph.D. in International Relations so you can become the head of ICANN

A degree is only worth as much as you do with it, ICANN is just about the most useless organization out there, they are experts at conducting meetings in exotic locations that produce absolutely nothing. Each time somebody registers a domain, they send a few cents to these guys who wine and dine on our efforts and provide anything but leadership or vision for the online industry.

5: Figure out what “Brad” does in GoDaddy

An inside joke but if you have an employee or somebody who really serves no value to your company, no matter your affiliation, time to let them go unless you can afford to do otherwise. Same goes with software and hardware, if it doesn’t have a use, then there is no purpose in supporting it any longer.

4: Figure out what “Yahoo” actually does

Yahoo use to be known as a search engine, now it’s morphed into a huge conglomerate but unlike General Electric, they are experts at buying up overpriced companies then shutting them down. They lack a vision, purpose and to be quite frank, are headed for the same fate as AOL… oblivion.

3: Let the devil within you come out every once in a while

Living life on the straight and narrow is nice but it’s good to get out of your shell or comfort zone every once in a while. When was the last time you did something crazy? If you can’t remember, time to do it again.

2: Never, ever, buy a Zune

Hmmm… let me see, Microsoft is an expert at creating loss leaders, they have the Xbox franchise which looses money hand over fist, more software packages then I can count which do little but offer pale imitations of other software products and are sitting on a huge pile of cash. Microsoft has their operating system (XP) that is their backbone and Office, otherwise, everything else has been a dismal failure… why? Well, they got too much money and I think they fear loosing it, so instead of making waves inside of new industries, they are stuck taking cautious approaches towards everything… which leads to mediocrity. If you aren’t in an industry to shake it up, don’t go into it… the Zune (so far) is no different. Let me put this another way, if you own stock in Microsoft, how much has it grown over the past few years compared to a company that does take chances such as Google?

1: Be Godaddy’est in everything you do

The definition of Godaddy’est is simply the ability to live on the fine edge between decency and absurdity. It’s a fine line between being labeled a mad man vs a crazy man, if you live your life on that edge, sometimes you get burned but more often then not, you will progress faster. Take chances, take risks and more importantly, enjoy the trip while it lasts.

The Bottom Line

Follow your gut, more often then not, it will prove right.

Buzvia: GoDaddy,  GoDaddy Radio, Bob Parsons Personal Site, ZipitLive: GoDaddy Reseller

Over the years, I have studied the Branson way of “Virgin” business and here is the top 10 list that he, so far, has never released as to why he has become such a successful entrepreneur.

10. Keep things small

Keep the size of the companies small, his average is about 60 employees per company, if they get too big, break them up into smaller pieces. This does a number of things, first, it keeps the company nimble and still personalized as everybody knows everybody else on a first hand basis. Secondly, it keeps things manageable, if there is a problem, the risks are minimal for the entire “Virgin Group” both financially and in reputability. Like Sir Richard Branson says, he always pays off the debts of defunct Virgin companies should things go bust which is difficult if you have one huge company with billions in receivership and tens of thousands made redundant.

9. Be ethical

Don’t participate in underhanded business activities such as kickbacks, bribes and sabotage. As a businessperson, the only thing you have to stand on is your business ethics and reputation, once this is tarnished, it’s an uphill battle to regain it. People tend to remember the dramatic and negative about people even if they represent but a small portion of a positive image.

8. Give others a vested interest

Sir Richard Branson has a unique method of building up his conglomerate of companies, he creates partnerships on usually a 50/50 basis. As such, each party has a direct interest in success of the new Virgin brand. This works in several ways for the entrepreneur who wishes to buy into this type of arrangement. Firstly, Virgin has a lot of companies so you may instantly have a customer with another part of the conglomerate, for instance, the in-flight entertainment for Virgin Atlantic may also be used for Virgin Trains. Secondly, Virgin has huge cash reserve, so getting additional funding (seeking it from Angels, Vcs and banks) is far easier when you can say “Oh, by the way, you do know Virgin is a partner in this company right?” Lastly, people work harder when they have a direct vested interest in something, an employee will work 40 hours a week but the founder behind the company has no problem pulling in twice those hours off the clock. This internal motivation usually makes the difference between boom or bust.

7. Follow your gut

Businesses must evolve to stay competitive, if you have a gut feeling to do something that doesn’t show up in the numbers yet, well, DO IT! Nobody knows a company like the founder or executive committee that was there since it all began, competitors, segways and even the market demands are in a constant state of flux. If you want to run a company strictly by the numbers, become an accountant, otherwise, follow your gut more often then not, it will prove right.

6. “Sue the Bastards” - Sir Richard Branson

If somebody is being unfair, tainting your image and reputation or simply not paying their bills after multiple tries to solve a problem, sue them. A friend told me once that there is business and there is personal, you may be great friends with a person who may be one of your suppliers or providers but don’t let that get in the way of running your business. If somebody isn’t treating you right, solve it before things get worse, and yes, they will get worse. I have taken my fair share of people to court, I think it’s a great way towards dispute resolution.

5. Mistakes aren’t a BIG deal

No matter what type of business, there will be some mistakes made, you simply cannot afford to go through the world of business walking on egg shells. No matter the size of the mistake or who it affects, admit to it and move on. Trying to push a mistake under the rug will simply allow it to grow into a bigger problem and eventually, it may get legs of it’s own. I liken the role of an entrepreneur to that of a fireman, you spend your day putting out fires before they become unmanageable, whether this is kicking the sales force back into shape or making sure internal politics don’t get out of hand.

4. Think long term

If you are starting a business with a quick payout then you should stick to your job at McDonald’s flipping burgers. Businesses need to be run for the long term, this is the only way you can attract investment and maintain your sanity through the years. Decisions are a lot easier to make when you can envision their effect a few years down the road then how they will immediately impact your bottom line. Todays investment will result in tomorrows revenue.

3. Don’t cash-out!

Your company just made a huge profit this year, what do you do? No… don’t go on a vacation splurging all this away, look at areas in your company that would benefit from additional investment or even better, consider acquisitions or new areas you wish to create change into. The bottom line is that profits are great mechanisms to further boost future influence, don’t take this cash out and waste it! This is a gift to be taken seriously and shared, not to be squandered at the casino

2. Customers come first

Let’s face it, a business without customers is a dead business. It’s tough to get new customers and even tougher to get repeated business from them, always appreciate them! There is something very wrong when a company begins to take it’s customer base for granted and begins exploiting them. I have seen this time and again, most of the time, the company goes under once all these under-handed activities either become known or the staff themselves get tired of becoming the customers punching bag. Let me repeat, if you want a successful business, you must appreciate each and every customer who ultimately buys into your idea. EVERY ONE!

1. Have Fun!

Life is about having fun, and business shouldn’t be any different, if you don’t enjoy your position in life, change it before it changes you. We are all very lucky to be given the gift of life by our parents, we need to show that appreciation by learning and exploring the world around us. You run a business, great! This is a tool to give you more freedom then the average worker, but be sure to get as much learnings out of it as you possibly can.

The Bottom Line

There is much we can all learn from Sir Richard Branson, hopefully this glimpse into his keys of management opens the doors of possibility for you.