PostKatrinaPortraits.com

Making money isn’t as hard as you think. Wouldn’t it be nice to sleep in everyday or sit around at home while money pours into your bank account? Maybe you could spend more time with your family, or traveling, or zooming around town in your new Ferrari. It’s the American dream. But being wealthy is not for everybody. Things just can’t be that way, there will always be a small minority of people that control the vast majority of the nation’s wealth. A lot of the problem is what we are taught growing up. We are taught to go to school, get a degree, and get a job. This is the #1 way to get stuck in a rut and never fulfill your dreams. You will always be working to make someone else rich while you get a few thousand a month. People get caught in get rich quick scams out of thier desperation. Wehn they see that they have no way out, people start to cling to whatever gives them hope. Whether they claim they made it in real estate, in the stock market, or wherever. These people always make claims that they raking in millions hand over fist and can show you exactly how to do it. They get your hopes up and then totally underwhelm you with a product that is basically an advertisement for all their other products. They say buy our book and we will tell you how to get rich, when you buy the book they tell you to buy a subscription to their newsletter to get the information youre looking for, etc.. blah blah blah. They basically sell you expensive advertisemnts for their other products. I have personally been let down so many times. I’ve bought so many of these products I can’t even count them. After doing more research and even getting into contact with owners of some of these businesses I finally realized something. They don’t make their money through real estate, or the stock market, or whatever they are pitching. They are making money from the products they are selling to you. They sell you crap and laugh all the way to the bank. Through literally years of research I was able to locate only a few programs that delievered. Programs started by normal people who figured out how to make supplimental income or even millions and share the basic information to help you make the change in your life. They don’t offer a get rich quick scheme, just important information that can help you make a little extra money on the side or become very wealthy depending on how you approach it.

These are only a few of the programs I recommend.

http://andrew1316.richjerk.hop.clickbank.net/ http://andrew1316.gcv2005.hop.clickbank.net/ http://andrew1316.sourceq5.hop.clickbank.net/

Do you know someone who tends to ask a lot of questions? Maybe he or she gets on your nerves because of the questions you have to field and because it seems you can’t get through a conversation without numerous interruptions. Don’t despair. This may be a very creative person from whom you can learn and someone who might help you increase your own ability to be creative.

In my “A Strategy For Winning” book, principle number three is Be Creative. I define creativity as doing a common thing uncommonly well. It is taking what we have, where we are, and getting the most out of it. It is looking at old things with a fresh pair of eyes and seeing them differently. When aptly applied, the questions “Why?” and “What if?” can change one’s life and change one’s world.

In 1901, H.C. Booth was sitting in a rocking chair on his front porch in America’s rural Midwest watching the sun set. He was also watching the dust blow across the prairie. As he relaxed and rocked, he asked himself, “What if we could reverse that wind and pull the dust rather than blow it?” H.C. Booth invented the vacuum cleaner.

Have you asked, “What if?” lately? “What if we tried it this way?” Maybe, “What if we changed that procedure?” It could be, “What if I changed my attitude?” There are many areas in which we can ask, “What if?”

Most people can learn to be more creative by learning to be more in touch with their subconscious minds. The subconscious mind is similar to a VCR or DVD. It records everything we experience directly or indirectly. We can actually set aside some time each day to relax and let those stored memories come to the surface in different combinations - like H.C. Booth.

Individual creative people may be quite different from one another, but most also share common characteristics. As mentioned previously, most are infinitely curious. They seldom take for granted what they are told. That’s why sometimes they may get on people’s nerves or appear to be “difficult.” They are independent in the way they think and act. They take risks, take advantage of the unexpected, and are not afraid of being wrong or falling on their faces.

A large number of creative people have told of being highly influenced by another person. It might have been a parent, grandparent, teacher or some other mentor. The influencer communicated to the creative person: you are somebody; you matter; you have worth as a unique human being.

Sometimes we get the wrong idea of what true creativity is. You don’t have to write soul-stirring novels, create music that moves people or paint scenes of pure magic. As a creative person, you can stir souls, move people and show your magic by, as Henry David Thoreau said, “affecting the quality of the day.” You can be creative in business, family, community and life. You can be a creative parent, spouse and friend.

Creativity is not limited to a particular field or profession. In fact, it is possible that a writer, musician or artist can be less creative than a salesman or auto mechanic, because a work of art created by an uninspired, routine formula is really less creative than an imaginative sales campaign or an ingenious solution to a mechanical problem. Artistic output may be one expression of creativity, but it’s not necessary to be a writer, musician or artist to be creative. A person involved in creative programming, creative management or showing creativity as a teacher is just as creative. The only difference is the ball park.

I once worked in a place where there were three lines of words, placed just before employees went from backshop to front of shop. These said:-

• Smile!
• Remember - you represent your Company
• Delight your customers.

I realised I had choices right here.

• I could play a great part and have fun - make a customer’s day (checkout this article here).

• I could show my feelings on the day and behave accordingly or…

• I could be charge neutral - a robot, doing my stuff - passing the time.

Which one of those would be the best for me, for my employees and my business. How cool is it to be able to leave my troubles backshop and play my part. How freeing!

We can be happy or sad. We can find our daily roles fun, boring or dreadful.

It is a choice, and not an imposition. So tomorrow, or whenever you read this - what if I could promise it to be a great day, whatever you are doing? What if you could smile and have fun with everyone you come across? What if you chose differently than maybe you feel?

Give it a go and see what happens.

And if you feel inclined, seek out the ‘Weather with You’ Lyrics and hum that tune all day.

You’ll be truly surprised the difference you make to your own day!

Martin Haworth is a Business and Management Coach. He works worldwide, mainly by phone, with small business owners, managers and corporate leaders. He has hundreds of hints, tips and ideas at his website, http://www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com.
(Note to editors. Feel free to use this article, wherever you think it might be of value - it would be good if you could include a live link)

…helping you, to help your people, to help your business grow…

Do we all really need a laptop? It certainly looks that way because demand is sky high. I am concerned that like last year we will have problems getting our hands on the newest technology too. Many have forcasted laptops to be in demand but its surprising that theres been no slide. New devices are hitting the shelves all the time that litterally create new sectors in the laptop computer business.

Gaming notebooks are one of the sectors that have seen an increase. You can actually get a good spec for your money these days because even the top notch technology is sliding into the mass market area very quickly. Laptops can now naturally be used for gaming by us due to the better performance of new systems. What stuck me the most is how slim and stylish a few gaming notebooks are becoming compared to the past. Still there is a massive difference between the power of portables and computers however desktops are more spacious to provide for special cooling and such things that all help. Everyone always yearns to squeeze massive amounts of speed from small packages so I would predict thats where gaming notebooks are headed.

There are always going to be a few individuals that require a laptop custom built because they require to use it for specialised work. The benefit with a handful of custom notebooks is that you get improved after market parts put in them. Choosing what you require plainly is the core advantage. The vast number of laptops are spec for the modest user which means you may not find what you’re searching for. Custom built notebooks serve everybody despite their particular requirements. I think one also gets improved customer care when buying a custom laptop. Big companies are actaully being ignored because of this.

The future of upcoming portables looks exciting. The in thing along with those discussed looks to be inexpensive ultra portables. This sector is already receiving stern competition and is becoming full. I would like to see a larger version of these budget ultraportables. I think it should be a big success. Ignore speed and price and we could already have this. It would not shock me to see ultra light gaming notebooks in the next 4 years time. New notebook computers are seen every couple of months and I’m sure the next year already contains a lot of promise for us techies.

For the performance these are the best laptops.

Christmas.

The Holidays.

New Years.

What can you do to accelerate your mlm business during the Holiday season and get it going during what most folks perceive as the “slow down time” of the year for network marketing?

First off, get this:

INFERNO Secret:

REFUSE to participate this year in the slow down that most network marketers fall prey to. You do not have to, as we never did, and neither should you.

Here is a list of the top 10 things you can do for MLM Recruiting Success during the holidays:

1) Fruit baskets.

You can get inexpensive small fruit baskets, and put your samples or coupons in, and decorate it in the colors of your network marketing company. Include an audio or dvd, and also an invite to a seminar that they can attend at not cost. Give them out to friends, neighbors, associates, clients, customers, and family. You will glad you did.

2) Holiday audio cards.

Send out with your Christmas cards a CD you recorded especially for that person, and wish them happy holidays, and then tell them you would love to chat with them the first of the year, as you want to give them the gift of success. This is a great way to introduce the concept of network marketing success to folks.

3) Hold a Holiday Customer appreciation luncheon or reception.

You can do this at your home. Simply invite your best mlm customers to a holiday appreciation event, and make them the superstars of it. Have small gifts for them, and let them know how much you appreciate their business, and then ask them the first of the year for 2 referrals. You will get them from every single person who was at that event.

4) Holiday Upline Open House.

If you have an organization, you should either open your house, or someone who has a sizeable home, and invite your mlm distributors to an open House. Have them bring guests, and have a party that celebrates the holidays, but is sponsored by your company. Let it be a fun social with music and games, and then connect with the guest to follow up with in January.

5) Miniature Christmas Tree gift.

Get some small, miniature Christmas trees (usually at a dept store) that can sit on a table, and then attach product samples and your card to it, and then take it to your local bank as a gift, your CPA, your dentist, doctor, real estate agent, and whoever else you know that has an office. Have free coupons on the small tree to try your service or product, and have some fun visiting your friends.

6) Mall blitz.

Go to a mall on saturday, and see how many people you can start a conversation with, and then give them a card or CD. Talk to them about their kids, what they are doing for Christmas, the weather, the crowds, etc. See if you can collect 10 names, and do it in teams. The team that collects the most names, the other teams, have to buy them lunch or dinner.

7) Neighborhood Holiday mailer.

Go to the library, and look in the cross reference index for your address. You will notice there are a ton more in that index that are in your neighborhood. Make a copy of the addresses, as they are your neighbors, and then send them a Christmas card introducing yourself as the ABC neighborhood rep, and wish them a Merry Chrismas and Happy new year. Then follow up in January and see if you can set an appointment to chat with them about your products. Telephone numbers are inlcuded on the cross index reference guides found in your library. You are their neighbor, and that gives you some instant connection with them.

Give away “As a man Thinketh” books by James Allen.

You can get this paperback book very inexpensively, and give out to prospects, and you truly are giving the “gift of success.” This little book changed my life, and millions of others. You can also find free ebooks online that folks can download. This is a great gift to give folks that you meet, as it truly is an eye opening book, and will be appreciated, and you will be remembered.

9) Visit Community Holiday Functions.

CONNECT! CONNECT! CONNECT! You need to connect to new prospects during the holidays, and community functions are a great way to do this. Get out and become a “holiday networking machine.” Network and meet people and make new friends and give away something to them as a holiday gift. Make sure every person you talk to has a gift and your card, and you have some form of contact info as well. There are a TON of folks at community event- BE THERE. Check your sunday newspaper for where these events are.

10) The Holiday Success Card.

Send people you know, and also prospects a seasonal card, and include within it an article about success, goal setting, leadership, time management, or any other success oriented topic. This not only will set you apart, but also will set you above, as Success is a gift rarely given, and people love these types of reading to improve next year.

These are just a few of the many ways that you can rock your mlm business during the holidays. Pick one, and start with that.

You will be glad you did, and suprised at what might happen in your MLM and Network marketing business.

Blessings… Doug

(c) 2005/ all rights reserved- PFI

Doug Firebaugh is one of the top MLM Network Marketing Trainers in the world. Over a million people a month read his training ezine. He spent the last 7 years traveling the world speaking and training on Success.
He lives in Birmingham Michigan, and you can receive a FREE subscription to his training ezine - The MLM Success HEAT- at:
http://www.passionfire.com/pf_heat_9.html
http://www.passionfire.com

Your federal government grants agency telling you no on your federal grant proposal? I know how discouraging that can be. You have a great grant proposal to help you business, community or social group. You have spent time finding the right federal government grants agency to submit your federal grant proposal to and “”BAM”. That discouraging letter in the mail.

When it comes to getting my federal grant proposal I do not take no for an answer. I am used to my girlfriend saying it everyday. I do not have to settle for that when it comes to my federal grants.

Here are some of the things that you have in your favor.

You already have the hard part done!

Giving up now would be a crime to society and yourself.

Here are some great tips for redoing your proposal.

Know that before you even approach and agency that they want to make a difference in the world.

Help them do that.

Know what the goals are of your funding source are.

They will be all too happy to tell you. They will also tell you if they give funding to your local area and what institutions they fund for.

Know the person who will be looking over your federal government grants proposal.

Are they a person who knows nothing of your field? Or are they someone who knows a lot about your field and what is going on in it. If they know nothing about your field you need to stay away from technical information that they may not understand. Write to their level of understanding. If they know your field than it is acceptable to use the more technical definitions.

Always follow their instructions.

They will give you clear guidelines to go by. If you want funding do not deviate at all.

Know your funding source.

It will help you to know how to sound and feel in your proposal. Always back things up in fact and a clear understanding of the need for the funding.

Prepare a budget that is easy to read and clear on what it is you want to do.

Always fully explain everything that is going to cost and include other match funding from other organizations

At all cost never, ever slop together a proposal and hope for the best.

It never works and they see this right away.

Do not spend a lot of money going all out on the presentation. It almost never impresses the funding agency.

If you do not receive a federal grant. Ask in writing why. This will help you do further applications. It will help you do a better job redoing your proposal.

Never give up! If you are put on a waiting list or denied outright, don’t wait. Revamp and polish your federal government grants proposal and hand it in somewhere else. Each time your federal grant proposal gets better. You may also appeal some federal government grants agencies. This gets you into a face to face meeting with the the department head. I have overturned denials this way.

I am a college student and single parent who relies on federal grants everyday.
I built this free website that helps find grants.
http://www.federal-grant-news.com/federal-grants.html

As time passes, eventually all pains will have their own names. Just like the term fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition associated with pain in the muscles and soft tissues surrounding the joints. There are only theories as to the causes of fibromyalgia. Some people believe that a continual disturbance in sleep may promote the development of fibromyalgia. Depression may also be a factor in fibromyalgia. Some people get fibromyalgia after they’ve experienced a trauma or accident and this is called, reactive fibromyalgia. Lack of exercise and the brain not producing enough growth hormones are also potential causes of fibromyalgia.

The effects of fibromyalgia can encompass the whole body. Most people will feel the pain in their muscles, back, neck and soft tissue. The severity of the pain can bring on fatigue and the combination of both could be debilitating. Other symptoms related to fibromyalgia include headaches, problems concentrating, irritable bowel syndrome and stiffness in the mornings. Symptoms have a tendency to come and go. For some people, the symptoms maybe worse during cold and damp weather, but not all people will have all the symptoms.

There is no single test that the doctors can give to diagnose fibromyalgia, but there are two major factors that are considered, when trying to diagnose fibromyalgia. One is the presence of widespread pain, which is defined as pain on both sides of the body, above and below the waist. And the other is tender points. There are 18 designated tender points on the body so if someone feels pain in at least 11 of the tender points, then there’s an increased possibility that it could be fibromyalgia. However, before fibromyalgia can be concluded as the condition certain other ailments that produce symptoms similar to fibromyalgia, have to be ruled out. Ailments such as thyroid disease, lyme disease and chronic fatigue syndrome.

There is no cure for fibromyalgia. The best anyone can do is to try to treat and control the symptoms. Some of the things people can do for themselves are exercise regularly, eat healthily and reduce stress and find ways to improve sleeping habits. Some people can get temporary relief by applying heat to their painful areas. Of course, there are also drugs that can be used in treatment. Tricyclic antidepressants have shown to be effective in improving sleep problems. New drugs like gabapentin and meloxicam are appearing to be effective in dealing with the pain of fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia appears to be a mystery disease. Nobody knows what causes it, even though it’s been around for some time. Unfortunately for females, the condition affects them more than males. Because so much is still unknown about fibromyalgia, there’s no way to prevent it. Trying to live with fibromyalgia appears to be the only thing people can do. The difficulty in trying to live a normal life is that the pain can be so bad that some people aren’t able to work and the condition can destroy a person’s social life as well. Fibromyalgia appears to be another one of life’s obstacles that people must overcome.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Fibromyalgia

Have you ever spent hour after unproductive hour fishing on a lake with nothing to show for it? I doubt there’s a serious angler anywhere who hasn’t had that happen to them. So, if you can relate to that, this article about the advantages of a fish finder might be just what you need.

Fish finders utilize sonar. These devices use sound waves to detect the bottom of the lake, calculate the depth, and will also detect anything between the surface and the bottom, such as fish. This technology gives the angler a huge advantage by letting you know right away whether or not there are any fish present.

Fish finders have become increasingly more sophisticated in recent years. Early fish finders simply flashed to indicate the presence of fish. But, today, with improved electronics, you can get things such as LCD’s with a wide variety of LCD types and resolution. The best fish finders today are similar to watching a color display of the water you’re fishing in and show everything with great clarity.

Fish finders vary widely in price and, like everything else; you get what you pay for. Larger units with more features will cost more. Generally, units with higher resolution will cost more than those with lower resolution. Higher resolution will give you greater detail as to what is in the water.

Many of the most popular fish finders are wrist-mounted devices and are worn just like a wrist watch. They will only have basic functions but are very mobile and easy to use. Other fish finders utilize large displays and can be mounted to your boat.

Fish finders can be found for as little as $100 and as high as several thousand dollars. There are many brands available with a wide variety of features, so it pays to do your research before you buy. You can check locally or do what most people are doing nowadays… check them out online. It faster and easier.

You can also find fish finders that include a Global Positioning System (GPS). GPS technology is great for anglers as it provides accurate information about your location. This will help you to return to that great fishing spot with ease. All you have to do is simply record the GPS coordinates of any location and you can easily find it again. The accuracy of GPS is about 9 feet so that should be good enough to find those fish again.

And one of the best benefits of GPS is the safety factor. You will never get lost as you can program your starting point and then easily find your way home… even on the largest of lakes and even in dense fog. Don’t underestimate the importance of this feature.

So, having a fish finder is a great way to increase your catch each time out. It will tell you where the fish are (and are not), give you depth information, and return you to your favorite fishing hole. And, with GPS, it will get you back home easily and safely. Do your research online and find the best fish finder to suit your needs and budget. You won’t regret it.

This article courtesy of http://fishingway.com

You may freely reprint this article on your website or in your newsletter provided this courtesy notice and the author name and URL remain intact.

Tummy fat. Some of us have it, others don’t. Is there anything special about a big belly compared to a large bottom? Well, surprisingly, not all body fat is created equal! According to a study carried out by researchers from MacMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario it seems that gauging your heart attack risk depends on where your fat is, rather that how much fat you have.

These types of findings are not unique to MacMasters. Dr David Heber, Ph.D., from UCLA’s Centre for Human Nutrition reports that distribution of body fat is a more important predictor of heart attack risk than the traditional measurement of Body Mass Index (BMI), which is a measurement based on the ratio between your height and weight.

It appears that a more accurate predictor of the impact body fat has on your health, is your overall body shape. You may be more like an apple or a pear, or evenly shaped top and bottom. You may have large thighs, fat hips and a huge bum and have a lower heart attack risk than someone with skinny legs and a big belly.

A more accurate and telling predictor of heart attack risk, is the waist-to-hip ratio.

What is your waist-to-hip ratio?

Divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement. For example, if your hips measurement is 40 inches and your waist is 34 inches your hip-to-waist ratio is 0.85. If you are a man, that’s great, if you are a woman, that’s OK (but you are right on the limit of healthy).

- A man’s ratio should not be over 0.90

- A woman’s ratio should not be over 0.85

Don’t fight nature

If you were born an apple you will stay an apple and if you were born a pear you will continue to be appear. Accepting your natural body shape is the first step in losing weight. In a study led by Glasgow, Scotland, psychologist Dorothy Hefferman, Ph.D., researchers concluded that women whose actual body shape differs from their desired one may find losing weight frustrating and have more trouble sticking to a weight-loss program as a result.

If this sounds like you, accept your overall shape as nature intended, but pay attention to reducing fat around your middle and tummy areas. Circumference is much more important to your health than how you look in relation to your bust and bottom.

Kim Beardsmore M.B.A., B.Sc. (Biochemistry) writes for the online weight loss, health & fitness magazine Weight Loss Health. For free resources, tips and healthy recipes to help you lose weight and gain energy, visit weight-loss-health.com.au

What does it cost you to acquire and maintain a client?

During my 25 years in business, I am continually surprised that small business owners, entrepreneurs, sales personnel and even executives in larger organizations cannot quickly identify what it is costing the organization to secure new clients and to maintain existing ones. Ongoing efforts through a variety of vehicles including marketing, referrals and cold calling are never truly measured to accurately determine client acquisition cost(CAC). Without knowing CAC, you are ignoring return on your investment (ROI) for not only your fixed marketing costs, but more importantly your customer relationship management focus may be on the wrong customers.

So how do you determine client acquisition cost?

Simply speaking for every client, you delineate all costs associated to initially acquiring that client outside of fixed asset costs such as utilities, rent, equipment, support salaries, etc. This becomes the initial customer acquisition cost and serves as a base.

Then you total up all the sales for the most recent year or quarter, if you prefer, along with the gross profit (total sales less costs of direct products and services). Also in a separate column, total up any new client acquisition costs. New client acquisition costs include sales personnel salaries and all those expenses associated with customer relationship management or CRM. Then add initial client acquisition costs to any new client acquisitions costs and subtract the gross profit from this total. The resulting sum whether positive or negative is your current return on investment in dollars. If you click here you can scroll down and download a free tool located in the Business Marketing section to help you with this task.

Now you have established your baseline for return on investment. Next keep track of all referrals from each client including the gross profit sales as well as gross sales. What you will see that in many cases a client may have a substantial negative return on investment especially if you are trying to get your foot in the door or make a name for your company. However as sales and referrals grow that negative return on investment should turnaround and become a positive one.

The real purpose of this article and activity is for you as the small business owner to begin to measure and then manage your ever growing customer base. Without knowing your CAC, you could be investing thousands of dollars in clients who have low return on investment and potentially ignoring those clients whose value was unknown. And in some cases, you may need to fire a client because the additional CAC is draining your bottom line. Again taking from a very old adage, if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.

Leanne helps individuals, small businesses and large organizations to double performance in real time. Click here to learn the Secret of Success and sign up for a free monthly newsletter. Please feel free to contact Leanne at 219.759.5601. If you truly don’t believe doubling your results is possible, read some case studies where individuals and businesses took the risk and experienced unheard of results.

One quick question, if you could secure one new client or breakthrough that one roadbloack, what would that mean to you? Then, take a risk and give a call at 219.759.5601 to experience incredible results.