Well, after a long fought battle, we finally have a working sync component. This is very exciting for me personally, because it has been the most ambitious personal project I’ve ever undertaken. Many months of hair pulling and setbacks has now come to an end – or at least I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

With the help of SQLCE master Sasha from VisArts (http://visarts.de/), we’ve produced a component that far exceeds my original wishes. It syncs through Activesync and wifi – and has enough framework built in to sync over the Internet.

This is one of those projects where the sheer scale of possibilities and technology became fun and exciting. Opening up the Pocket PC and desktop versions of Achieve-IT! to Internet sync opens so many different avenues it’s staggering (web services, servers, collaboration, the possibilities are endless….)

Ok, let me get my head out of the clouds for a minute.

What I’m looking for is 5-6 people who want to participate in this exciting milestone of my life as well as your own lives by being the first to enjoy what I think is the best goal setting tool ever developed in human history. What you would be doing is helping to beta test the new version of Achieve-IT! desktop and Pocket PC along with the Sync component.

A few strongly desired qualifications for beta testing:

1. I’d prefer to work with you if you have both the desktop and Pocket PC (Windows Mobile) versions of Achieve-IT! goal software so you are familiar with how the software works.
2. It would help if you would be available for instant message chat to resolve any specific issues you are having so I can work fast and get a final release to the public.
3. *Required* Must be familiar with how to use Windows explorer, how to copy and paste files and how to extract .zip archives. I don’t have a lot of time right now to explain how to find the “Program Files” directory on your computer or Pocket PC. Why? Building installers is the last thing I do before a release – they take a lot of time to put together.
4. Patience and a willingness to test new settings would be helpful.

If you are interested and meet the requirements, please post a response to this message and I’ll contact you via email.

Thanks

My wife’s minivan is very sick.

I knew it was bad off. We were riding up to the store the other day and the van was making some unnerving sounds. I thought it had a flat tire it was banging so loud. It gave new meaning to the term “bucket of bolts” as we went the few blocks to the grocery.

The diagnoses was not good. Power steering is leaking fluid in 2 places – requiring a new fluid pump and overhaul, a transmission bearing that needs replacing (ala taking apart the entire transmission), oil leaking into the timing area – oh and while they were on the subject the timing belt was going out and needed replacing. And three or four other odds and ends just to make it interesting.

The shop gave us an estimate of $3,000 before it can be given a clean bill of health.

Neither one of us were particularly happy with the amount of work needed to be done on the van. But it is obviously necessary to keep things rolling smoothly around here.

So it occurred to me something Jay Abraham said, with a little bit of Dave Ramsey thrown in. Although we do have the cash to cover the bill, I had it slated for something else. The image of Dave Ramsey standing with both hands on his hips saying “don’t you dare charge that” came to mind.

But one of Jay Abraham’s business mantras is that your business should always be able to generate money above and beyond normal sales numbers when you need it to.

With that in mind, I had an idea. Let my business, or more specifically Achieve-IT! goal planning software sales, pay for my wife’s van repairs. That way, we wouldn’t have to worry about it.

To give you incentive to help us out with this unexpected bill, I’ll give you a special 25% discount price on Achieve-IT! software. I’ve set up a special page you can use for the next 72 hours to get it at this price. When you order, it goes into a separate Van repair account.

To get 25% off Achieve-IT software you must order through this link!

After 72 hours (Tuesday March 27th, 4pm sharp) I’ll take down the page and stop accepting orders at that price. I think at that price and 72 hours, we should have no problem covering the full cost of repair. So if you haven’t yet gotten your copy of Achieve-IT! now is a great time to take advantage. If you already have a copy, you might consider gifting one for a friend – at least tell them about the special.

You’d be really helping us out and getting a great deal at the same time.

Thank you for your support!

- Brad Isaac

P.S. Again, to get 25% off Achieve-IT! you must order through this page!

There’s something special that happens when you give someone else a gift on your birthday. If you get my newsletter, you’ll know I sent you a copy of the book Lighting Your Personal Fire. Whoa what a response! I haven’t yet caught up on all the emails, but I really appreciate everyone who took the time to write and the nice words you had to say about it.

I also celebrated by discounting the desktop version of my software 50%. I expected a few of you to take me up on the offer, but once again, I underestimated the number. I lost count after about 120!

I have to say, the past few days have been some of the busiest in my life – but it was great!

I promised a quick turnaround on a new version of Achieve-IT! 2007 that addressed reported bugs since Monday. So without further ado. The new build can be downloaded here. Get it while it’s hot.

For those of you who like seeing change-logs, you can view the list that reflects most everything that has changed since the version released in July. See it here. (Warning…it’s a long list – keep in mind there’s more I didn’t list for one reason or another.)

Finally, I’ll say a big thank-you for a great birthday!

Achieve-IT! software users.  It occurred to me that Achieve-IT! 2007 has the old 1.x help file when you go to Utility>Help. 

I’ve created a new help file in pdf format that you can download here.  It requires Adobe reader freeware available from www.adobe.com  Tip: Right click the link above and choose save as and save the file to your desktop computer. 

I’ve also been coding a new build to address some issues that have been reported since Monday.   I hope to have it to you by tomorrow.  P.S. The next build will include the new help file.

Technorati Tags: achieve-it, software, gtd, goals and goal setting

Screen showing goal export to Microsoft Outlook Calendar and Task List

If you are not having any problems, then you probably don’t need the update and you can wait for the major release.  Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.  

Technorati Tags: Achieve-IT!, Goals and goal setting, Productivity

You can help me build a better Achieve-IT! program.

Currently, I am working on bug fixes and software improvements.  But things get slow over the summer months and tend to put a squeeze on the business side of things.  It makes it tough to program new features and improvements when the electric company comes collecting and money is tight.

This year, in an effort to get ahead of the “dog days of summer” I am taking a different approach.  Instead of blindfolding myself and sticking a pin into a list of ideas, I thought there had to be a better way.  So, I decided I’d get your opinions on what would make it a better piece of software and perhaps a better direction for my software business.

What I’ve done is created a small survey you can take in less than 5 minutes.  It uses “survey logic” so it ranges between only 8 to 11 questions.  Your answers will help me figure out what’s right, what’s wrong and what needs improvement.  You’d be doing me a huge favor by taking it.

To say thanks, for every 10 people who take the survey, I will give away one copy of Achieve-IT! software to one of the participants (either desktop or Pocket PC – your choice!).  Names will be drawn at random and will receive notification by email. 

Click here to take my survey