Well, the Olympics are Finally over (don’t get me wrong, its fun watching the world compete for Gold Medals and all, but two and a half weeks??) and that means that the TOTAL medal count is complete. The US came out on top with the highest number of Medals (110) followed closely by China (who spanked the rest of the world with their little gold encrusted necks). The rest of the world was no where close. If you had been paying attention to the blog here at all you would have noticed the opportunity to win 1000 Entrecard Credits by simply guessing the number of medals the US would have with out going over.

Well, we (by we, I mean I) had two total submissions and both were over. Though one was only over by a little margin (15 or so). I decided in the traditional sense of the Olympic Spirit to give 500 to the person who was closest anyways (as I have more credits than I know what to do with at this point).

Riyanne from Blogging from Scratch guessed 125 and has therefore received 500 EC to her account CONGRATULATIONS!!!

But the fun does not stop there!! I’m still having a contest for another 2000 Entrecard Credits!. You still have the chance to win as the contest isn’t over until September 1st!! So make sure you get in on the action!

When Michael Phelps trains for a competition like the Olympics, he really trains. Most days he swims four miles in preparation. Others he works outside of the pool on building muscle mass and endurance. The man is a machine and its no wonder that he’s on pace to set an Olympic record of 10 Olympic Golds in his career. Everyone could learn from Michael Phelps. He sets his goals and he works to accomplish them, much in the same way a blogger should.

Perhaps you started blogging for any number of reasons (I started because it sounded like fun). After awhile though, your original goals become outdated and often forgotten. It doesn’t hurt to reevaluate your goals every couple of months. Perhaps you reached that goal of 100 subscribers on feedburner. Maybe you average $100 a month from adsense for the past three months. Nows the time to step it up. Instead of posting once a week about your cat, post twice. Find new things to post about. Venture in to an area where you might be considered knowledgeable.

Much like Phelps and his Olympic team mates, we need to always be working harder on our blogs/sites. There’s always going to be someone with better grammar, a cooler layout or better plugins. If you keep the same site you’ve had since you started in 2001 because you’re used to it, things will over time become stale. Instead, push yourself to the limit.

It doesn’t hurt to reinvent yourself, as long as you’re not doing it weekly. The important thing is that you work hard. After all, PR and Alexa ranking don’t just fall from the sky. You have to earn them.

Don’t forget about the ENTRECARD CONTESTS I’m running right now, you have the chance to win 3k in credits!! Also, if you haven’t Joined the Pepperjam Network and Received your $10 Sign On Bonus You’re missing out on a great opportunity to take your blogging to the next level!!

So the Olympics have been underway for less than a week and China is out to an impressive lead with the gold medal count. Don’t worry though, Michael Phelps is doing his part to bring the US back (with two of the three golds around his neck). Its interesting to see the count and how the contries are stacking up against each other. Apparently the Chinese did the math and found out that they could take 119 gold medals in competitions with more than one medal at stake (like Gymnastics or WhiteWater) and they’ve been focusing on those competitions. So far it seems to have paid off.

I watched the opening on Friday and like many, I was very impressed. Of course, it took $300,000,000 to do it up that well, but the choreography, the scope and the overall production were well worth it. Very good. London is going to have a tough time to out do this one…..

In light of the olympics and in light of the already going on Entrecard Contest here (I’m giving away 2k credits) I’m going to give away 1000 more Entrecard Credits. All you have to do is guess the amount of medals (Gold, Silver and Bronze) that the US is going to walk away with. The Closest to the actual amount with out going over will win! Entries must be added to this post (in the form of comments) by 8/20/2008 and only *ONE* entry per person. The winner will be announced on the 25th!!