His bloodshot eyes brimmed with sudden tears. The stress lines that creased his unshaven face relaxed for a brief instant, the muscles twisting in a rare expression of an uncommon emotion.

Sheer joy.

“The operation went well,” I had smiled. With a thrill of surprise and delight, I realized those simple words I had just uttered unleashed a flood of feeling.

And in that instant, I saw disappear, from a relieved father’s face, the collective agony and angst of many thousand parents, all caring for children shadowed by the spectre of congenital heart disease.

I saw a dream come alive.

May 1989

I sat on a rickety wooden stool in Ward 5, at the bedside of my 26 year old patient.

I was a freshly graduated medical doctor, in an internship.

I was terrified.

This was the first time death was so near, so inevitable, so personal.

Jayaraman (I still remember his name!) was from a remote village, so desperately poor that none of his family could afford to travel with him to hospital.

He suffered from a condition called ‘Primary Pulmonary Hypertension’ (a raised pressure in his lungs, with no known cause), which was untreatable.

He was afraid of dying.

He was frightened to be alone.

So I sat beside him, held his hand, as slowly his life ebbed away.

It was one of the most traumatic experiences of my young life, then. To watch, helplessly, as a patient died, putting to death that glowing belief we cherished as medical students that the knowledge we were acquiring would save lives and vanquish all illness.

It was a day I grew up.

* * *

Today, I experienced the same emotions of that endless night twenty years ago. I lost a child. A patient. A little girl we operated a few months back.

She died because her heart surgery came too late to prevent complications.

She died because a defect so easily repaired in early childhood was left unattended for too long.

Her operation was a “success” – but by then, changes had happened inside her tiny lungs that couldn’t be reversed. And they claimed the ultimate price – her life.

It hurts today, just as badly as it did twenty years ago.

With one difference.

Today, I know I can do something about it.

I know YOU can do something about it.

I know that together, you and I, can fight congenital heart disease.

Keep it from claiming too many more little lives.

Give young children a fate better than this one.

Offer them a better future.

Yes, we can do it.

We must.

R.I.P. little one.

.

.
Our goal: to sponsor 47 heart operations this year. You can help – in THREE ways:

• Tell a friend (or ten) about this and ask them to spread the word too
  .
• Join a 47 HEARTS GROUP and help a child live – click here
  .
• Buy the book, “47 HEARTS – How To Live Your Dream With Passion, Purpose & Persistence” (100% of profits go to charity) –

I just returned from surgery. It was the 61st operation funded by the Dr.Mani Children Heart Foundation. The patient was a 2 year old baby, who weighed just 9 kilos. The surgery lasted 4 hours. Everything else faded into the background.

Two days earlier, I spent all day and night blogging and on Twitter in the Heart Kids Blogathon and Tweetathon. It’s a controlled frenzy of activity that lasts all round the clock… no breaks, for 24 hours. There was no time for anything else.

People often ask me how I manage to tackle so many tasks, projects, activities – and get them done. The answer is ‘Focus’.

But there’s something else that makes it joyous, delightful and fun…

Getting in the zone.

• Ask a musician who’s playing his favorite piece.
• Ask the writer who’s in between blocks, penning lovely, flowing verses.
• Ask the sportsman who just hit his stride and is humming along ‘on song’.

They’re all in the zone.

It’s a magical time. It may last 15 seconds, or 15 minutes, or 15 hours. Time just stands still, in a sense, as you’re completely immersed, involved, engaged in what you do.

It’s at times like this that I live – intensely.

And when these magical moments are tied in with something special, fulfilling and important – like helping a child live – I feel eternally grateful for all that I have and am.

Any worthwhile achievement in history has been made at the cost of a sacrifice. In time. Of assets or resources. Even people’s lives.

“Take what you want, and pay the price” says God – Spanish proverb.

In a nutshell, one can sum up the concept of sacrifice thusly…

Give up something. Make sure it is valuable. Be seen to give it up.

Action

Making a Sacrifice Means That You Care

About something. Enough to give up something else.

Success in career comes at the cost of a life of ease and pleasure roaming the world. Raising happy, healthy children involves an investment in time and attention. Growing a thriving crop needs sustained hard work up front in tilling the land.

Quantum

How Big Is Your Sacrifice?

Giving up your first born at an altar to God was the supreme sacrifice we read about in mythology. In ancient times, farmers sacrificed their fattest cows and goats and pigs to appease what they saw as an angry Nature.

In general, the bigger your dream, the more you should be ready and willing to give up to reach it.

Perception

Does Anyone Care About What You Sacrifice?

This only matters when you care if anyone else sees what you’re giving up. (In many cases, that’s completely irrelevant.) But let’s say you do.

I could stop drinking tea for a day, and call it a sacrifice. A fellow tea-drinker would realize how big a deal that is… but not others.

For an event like the Heart Kids Blogathon, the sacrifice must be broader based, one that others will understand – and appreciate. So, I’m giving up sleeping for a day!

What Makes “Heart Kids Blogathon” Tick?

This is the seventh year I’m doing a “Heart Kids Blogathon“. I stay awake for 24 hours straight, updating my blog every 30 minutes, and more recently, doing it on Twitter too.

Thousands of people watch, participate and tell friends about it. Behind all this interest lies a sacrifice.

A relatively small one, in contrast to the really big ones that are made by families of the kids I treat for congenital heart defects. But a sacrifice nonetheless.

One day, I’ll write a book sharing some inspiring stories that have deeply touched my heart.

Tales and anecdotes of concerned moms and caring dads, loving grandparents and commited uncles, inspired aunts and determined siblings… all of whom engaged in battle against a cruel killer that unfortunately picked their loved one as a target.

They CRUSHED it, beating the odds, and proved convincingly that the human spirit is indomitable.

They bluntly refused to let a bad hand of cards that Life dealt them to hurt their child’s future.

And my small sacrifice is to spend a day every year, spotlighting these real heroes in the journey of life.

To show them off to you. To share their inspiring energy with you. To give you the same treasure I’ve received from them… the ability to trust that

DREAMS COME TRUE – If You Believe In Them With All Your Heart

Dr.Mani’s annual 24-hour event for raising awareness about congenital heart defects.

Learn more about progress of this year’s event and see how much our generous donors have given – click here.

Our goal: to sponsor 47 heart operations this year. You can help – in THREE ways:

• Tell a friend (or ten) about this and ask them to spread the word too
  .
• Join a 47 HEARTS GROUP and help a child live – click here
  .
• Buy the book, “47 HEARTS – How To Live Your Dream With Passion, Purpose & Persistence” (100% of profits go to charity) –

“47 Hearts“ officially launches on February 14th, 2010.

This is how thrilling it feels…

Amazon.com sales rank on February 9th: 1,542,106

Amazon.com sales rank on February 12th: 44,026

And here’s what I hope to see on February 14th:

Amazon.com sales rank on February 14th: 001

Let’s make it happen!

In an earlier post, I shared how launching a print book is not all fun and frolic!

Well, I must be some kind of glutton for punishment – because I went ahead and wrote another book, and am now launching it on February 14th.

“47 HEARTS” is a book about dreams. YOUR dreams. And how to make them all come true, by applying 47 simple, yet powerfully effective tips.

And to power the book launch, I’ve created another series of resources, here are a few of them:

47 HEARTS Book Trailer – watch it on YouTube

47 HEARTS Photo Album – see it here

47 HEARTS Knol – read it here

47 HEARTS on Amapedia – see it here

47 HEARTS Manifesto – download it here

47 HEARTS Facebook Page – see it here

47 HEARTS Blog – read it here

47 HEARTS on Twitter – follow it here

47 HEARTS Launch Website – see it here

47 HEARTS Squidoo Lens – this is it

47 HEARTS Reviews – like this

47 HEARTS Press Release – like this

47 HEARTS Author Site – this is one of them

47 HEARTS Hub Pages – like this

Now… if this doesn’t make you pause and re-consider your decision to write and publish your book, then welcome to the exclusive club of published authors!

Just be prepared to work hard – AFTER you’ve done writing it!

Please wish me luck on February 14th, 2010 – and help spread the word, if you can.

I contacted 124 friends about helping spread word about the Heart Kids Tweetathon (and the launch of my new book, “47 HEARTS – How To Live Your Dreams, With Passion, Purpose & Persistence“) on February 14th.

40 have agreed.

Collectively, they have a reach of over 3.5 MILLION people through their network!

But I’m not stopping with this. Because it concerns the life and health of kids born with congenital heart defects. And there is much more to be done to spread awareness about this deadly killer that claims thousands of little lives every year.

So, this is an open invitation.

An invitation to you, and to everyone who cares and wants to make a difference in the life of a child born with a congenital heart defect.

February 14th, 2010, “A Day for Hearts”, is YOUR day to show how much you care!

On that day, I’m doing 2 things to benefit my non-profit work with heart kids:

#1 – A book launch for “47 Hearts“, a print book with 100% of profits going to charity

#2 – A 24-hour day-and-night “Heart Kids Tweetathon/Blogathon” to raise funds through donations

And I’m seeking your support with this. When you reply to let me know you’re interested, I’ll send you more information (and a review copy of the new book, too).

Here’s a brief outline of the promotion plan.

Phase 1 is underway. The first goal was to get 30 people on the team, each of whom will find 30 people to read and review the book BEFORE launch day (on blogs, forums or ezines). I’m happy to say this is going well, though there’s always room for a few more reviewers.

If you’d like to help find these reviewers, please invite anyone whom you think will fit the bill to visit:

http://47hearts.com/reviewit.htm

I’ll send them a digital review copy at least 2 weeks before launch, so they have enough time to read it and share their thoughts.

Some ideas on how to let folks know are here.

And so is some email copy you can use, if you like.

Phase 2 will begin in the first week of February, and that’s when I’m counting on your help in spreading word about the book launch and the Heart Kids Tweetathon / Blogathon which happen on Feb.14th.

What you can do now – and later?

Now: Invite reviewers to pick up digital copies of the book – if they are willing to write/record a review before launch date.

Later: Let your network know about the Feb.14th event, and invite people to support it by purchasing a copy of the book from Amazon.com or making a donation.

If you’d like to help out with this, please contact me to say “Yes, I’m IN!”

Anything else you want or need to clarify, please ask. You can email me, or use the helpdesk.

Ideas, suggestions and ways to increase reach of this promotion are most welcome – and deeply appreciated.

As is your ongoing support.

Thank you from my heart!

“Give me one moment in time
When I’m all that I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away…”

I cried last night.

Bitter tears. Of frustration. Pain. And anger.

All the while, words of my favorite Whitney Houston song kept ringing in my mind. A decade and a half of agonizing, tantalizing ‘near success’ had finally taken its toll. For too long, “all of my dreams have been a heartbeat away”.

In my social and business network spanning many thousand people, I have many celebrities, rockstars, le’ elite.

Any ONE of them, with a single email, phone call, recommendation, endorsement or referral, has the potential to COMPLETELY change the course of my work with heart kids and set it on a new, higher trajectory.

I know it – and keep trying to catalyze that magical event. And on many occasions, I’ve come oh-so-close… only to have it all fizzle out.

After a while, that kind of thing takes a heavy toll… because hanging in the balance is the survival and health of hundreds of children with congenital heart defects.

• There’s the famous blogger read by almost 50,000 people who won’t mention CHD awareness on his blog – because other readers may want him to feature their causes!
• There’s the famous Internet marketer, with a reach of almost a million people, who once wanted to hold a special event to raise funds for my charity – but now won’t even answer my emails!
• There’s the social networking guru who promised a big donation to sponsor a child’s heart operation – however, the check never arrived!
• There’s the best-selling author who mentioned adding my non-profit to a list of worthy charities supported by his work – but whose manager never got back to me, or replied to repeated follow ups!

Each of these episodes created a roller-coaster of emotions.

Hope – that something would come of it.

Excitement – that it would grow big, and help hundreds of kids.

Anxiety – when nothing seemed to happen for a while.

Disappointment – when realization hit that it won’t – ever.

And the hard lessons I’ve learned from this repeating cycle are that:

* Actions speak louder than words – don’t rely on a spoken or written promise as much as a tiny action step taken in support

* Celebrities are always concerned about their image, more than the cause they are endorsing or supporting

* Most ‘rockstars’ want something in return for what they do… and that has poisoned my nature and style, as I find myself bending over to accomodate them (Never again!)

* What they do for my charity needs to fit their agenda, whatever it is

As a fundraiser, evangelist for my non-profit, the Dr.Mani Children Heart Foundation, and online networker, I am deeply aware of the reality that charity is NOT compulsory. I realize and respect that each of my donors is acting out of a sense of caring, generosity and compassion for the under-privileged children my organization supports.

And this is NOT about these wonderful people who have been the cornerstone of all that we have achieved until now. $133,000+ raised in donations. 47 children operated successfully. These are accomplishments made possible by the Heart Kids tribe!

I only wish I had been smart enough to realize earlier that they are the ONLY people that matter – and not sought out celebrities and ‘rockstars’, hoping for that ‘quick hit’.

For years, I battled my natural reticence and shyness to thrust myself into the ‘digital limelight’, because I believed as a celebrity I could make a difference – in a bigger way. (Incidentally, MOST of my family and friends don’t even know what I do online!)

And I’m stubborn. Won’t give up easily.

But now I will.

I’ll give up on wanting to be a celebrity.

Because experience taught me that it sucks to be one!

I’ll just focus on doing things behind the scenes. Under the radar. With the support and encouragement of those 739 (and growing) people who really matter.

My Donors

.

The true stars, who make a difference to a heart kid’s life.

Coming to that decision made me happier.

I went to sleep with a smile on my face.

A smile that’s still there this morning.

Growing wider, as I write this post.

Thank you for reading.

And for being a part of the Heart Kids Tribe… where your stereotypical celebrity is NOT welcome – and YOU are the ROCKSTAR!

Dr.Harlan Kilstein is a fantastic copywriter, effective marketer and one of the brilliant people I engage with in interesting conversations on Twitter.

We were discussing my recent blog post about Frank Kern. And something Harlan said got me thinking about the impact and power of strategy versus tactics. It isn’t always easy to know the difference between the two.

To over-simplify it, tactics are what you do, and strategy is why you do it.

For instance, “giving value before money changes hands” is a strategy. It has a purpose – to show your ideal prospects the value of your content, the nature of your expertise and the potential benefits (to them) of being in your network.

Yes, it is expensive both in time and money – but can pay off massively in the long term. For instance, Jay Abraham sent me an introductory pack of his material for free in 2002. It had a transcript of his consulting sessions, 3 special reports and an audio tape of an interview he did with Tony Robbins.

Just the information he gave away for free in that pack got me hooked on learning more – and I have spent over $5,000 learning from him since then. (Oh, and that has paid off many times over as well).

“Giving 10 times more value than you charge for” is another strategy. It happens to be one Yanik Silver teaches, and follows himself. It has kept me on as his loyal client for over 10 years, graduating from a $19 ebook to a series of $500+ purchases of his material.

To decide to “make people smile in their business” is a strategy. It’s the cornerstone of my Smilenaire approach. The tactics used stem from this strategy.

People may not be smiling today in their business for any one of 3 reasons – because they don’t have one, or because it isn’t working well for them (making as much money as they want, or leaving them with enough spare time to have fun), or because they don’t have a deeper purpose for what they are doing.

“The Smilenaire Way” business coaching program addresses each of these 3 components – and is guided by the strategy.

So… if strategy is so powerful, why is it that many people remain tactical?

Because it is easier.

And because it works – now. Fast. And well.

The trouble is in scaling it up beyond a point. You cannot.

A tactical approach is appealing to those who don’t mind repetitive activity along the same lines. It’s like building a wall with bricks and no mortar. You can layer bricks one after another, and reach a certain height. But when you try to go beyond it, the wall will come crashing down – and you’ll have to start again from scratch.

Strategy is the mortar. It holds together each layer of bricks, consolidating your foundation, making what you’ve built strong enough so that you can keep layering upon it, growing your business higher and bigger.

There’s another problem. Tactic often masquerades as strategy.

I remember a discussion I engaged Jeff Walker upon in the Warrior forum some years ago. He was using a specific military analogy as an example of strategy setting – but to me, that example appeared a classic study of tactical thinking!

If even such a strategic marketer can interpret a tactic as strategy, you’ll realize how tough it can be to make the distinction. For the record, I consider everything in the Product Launch Formula course to be TACTICAL. The strategy is in the decision to USE a product launch to build or grow your business!

Oh, and deliberately choosing NOT to have a strategy is in itself a strategy. Just saying

Intuitively, driven by necessity, and even accidentally, my approach to online marketing has always been strategic.

When I first saw the potential of the networked online community in raising awareness about congenital heart defects, I adopted a strategic approach – to reach the people who would reach many other people.

This led to a layered approach that has been scaling ever since 1996.

First, it directed me towards ezine marketing, where I could teach ezine publishers about growing their readership, making their e-publications more profitable and using their email newsletters to build their business.

The underlying strategic component was this: When I approached my list for help in announcing an awareness building or fundraising event for my non-profit work, I would not only reach those subscribers directly on my list, but through them, my appeal would go further and reach their audience too.

That’s how I have been able to get my message of CHD awareness out to not just thousands (as I might have done without a strategy), but to MILLIONS – because of this strategy.

Another fortuitous strategy that has benefited my ultimate goal massively is the choice to help business owners.

I could have stuck with just appealing to them from time to time, asking for donations. But instead, I chose to help them grow their business. This way, as their business grows, they willingly support CHD awareness and help fund a child’s treatment out of increased profits I help them generate!

There are examples galore, and we could discuss this all week long.

Hopefully, these few anecdotes of how being strategic has helped sustain, nurture and scale up things I’ve been involved in will give you some encouragement to take the little extra time and effort to formulate your own strategy, in business and in life.

“The SMILENAIRE Way” can help in a small way. More important is your committment to your decision to be strategic.

What do you think? Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment here.

Seth Godin’s post on January 19th (Martin Luther King day) said:

“I wonder how those that are lucky enough to be web savvy can create work that really adds leverage.”

He listed things to do – and asked “What if you do one of these things every day?”

It made me think about trying something new on February 14th (Congenital Heart Defects Awareness day).

In fact, to take it further and suggest doing it every day UNTIL (and even beyond) “A Day for Hearts”.

From writing and distributing articles about congenital heart disease (1999), to building a “Chain of Love“ (2001) and running a “From My Heart“ gift giveaway (2002), this annual event to build awareness about congenital heart disease has involved many different activities.

Some were intense, like the 2003 Heart Kids Blogathon. Others were creative bursts like the movie, “You’re Lucky IF…“, which touched many hearts – and saved some too.

What was a hopeful experiment went viral in 2005, as hundreds picked “The Coolest Warrior“ and “The Coolest Niche Marketer“. But not every effort was successful – with the “Heart Kids Tagathon“ in 2006 being a nice concept which didn’t quite take-off.

The “Heart Kids Firesale“ has been a hot favorite with supporters since 2007 – and has helped donors grow their business while they gave a child’s family hope!

Last year, dozens joined “Squidoo for CHD“ to build a lens to raise CHD awareness and the Heart Kids Tweet-a-thon raised funds to sponsor 4 heart operations.

So… what can we do differently this year? I came up with an idea.

It’s based on a development that’s very real. An affinity between people who care. A bond that’s grown strong over years.

A group of passionate, committed people, all fired by the common goal of wanting to help a child with congenital heart disease, and working together to raise awareness about the problem while highlighting a solution.

A tribe that has supported, encouraged and helped extend the efforts of the Dr.Mani Children Heart Foundation, has been responsible for our carrying out 33 heart operations, and will make it a foregone conclusion to reach an even more ambitious target of sponsoring 100 operations this year.

If you are in this tribe, you can pick any one of the ideas from the past and use them every day upto February 14th (and beyond).

Or try one of these things:

• Tell the story of “Our Little Hearts“

• Build a CHD bridge to help a child reach safety and health.
• Use this ready-to-go promotional material to spread the word

  Together, let’s help a child live – on “A Day for Hearts“

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