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5 Tips For Weight Loss

2008-10-29T18:35:00.001-07:00

Are you ready to lose some weight? Perhaps you're surfing for the magic pill that will vanish your weight away. Maybe you're simply searching for the right information to help you lose and keep the weight off. Whatever the case, here's some surefire tips to help you with your weight loss.

1. Do your homework. As you start your weight loss plan, take the time to carefully evaluate your situation. What caused the weight gain? Pregnancy? Inactivity? Overeating and binging? Emotions? There are many triggers in our lives that will cause us to gain weight. Some can be prevented or eliminated, some can't. It's important as you begin your weight loss to understand and come to grips with the cause of your weight. Be honest with yourself. Don't cheat on this one. Obviously, you want to have your weight loss become permanent.

In order to keep off the weight in the future, you may have to make some lifestyle changes to stay slim. Don't give up before you start. There's usually more than one solution to any weight gain reason. Just remain open-minded, and be willing to change to get the results you desire. Don't hesitate to read and learn as much as you can about weight gain. It's really easy to understand, and you may be surprised at what you learn.

2. Avoid Hidden Calories. Here's an over simplified version of weight loss and weight maintenance? if you eat more than your body needs, you gain weight. If you eat less (reduce calories) than your body needs, you lose weight! While it sounds simple enough, just eat less ?.Right? Basically that's true. Yet, there are other things that come into play as one is trying to lose weight. One common mistake many people make as they diet is the fact they don't really understand how much is provided by the food they are eating. This is especially true with eating out and eating snack foods and beverages.

A serving as defined by the scientific communities on weight loss and a serving that your local restaurant provides is most often very different. For example, one serving of bread is typically one slice. Yet, the average bun in a fast food restaurant is actually almost three servings. A single serving of French fries is 15 fries. Just take a guess at how many servings are in a "Biggie" French fry container.

Also, don't be fooled into thinking just because a bag of popcorn is small, that it's a single serving. The same thing goes for beverages. The bottle may contain16 oz. Yet, the serving size may be 4 ounces. Pay attention to actually how many servings of food and beverages you are actually consuming. The amount may surprise you.

I'll give you an example, my son-in-law who's 28 was had put on several pounds. His favorite cola is Mountain Dew. Mountain Dew has higher sugar content than most other cola's. He didn't have a clue as to how may calories he was consuming by drinking 3 or 4 24 oz bottles a day. When my daughter told him, he was amazed. He replaced the cola with water and went from a 38" waist to a 34" waist in about two months. Be careful, you may be consuming more than you think.

3. Consider Diet Pills Carefully. Maybe one of your diet buddies has decided to buy diet pills, or maybe you've seen or heard a commercial for diet supplements promising easy fast weight loss. If so, please evaluate CAREFULLY! Even the most natural-sounding diet pills or weight loss supplements can be useless for weight loss, or dangerous, or both. Diet pills are very tempting things if you want to lose weight, especially if you have tried several conventional weight loss plans without success. The side effects and dangers of some diet and weight loss pills can vary enormously because many of these pills contain a cocktail of ingredients and because dosage instructions may be inadequate. Possible side effects include: nervousness, tremor, diarrhea, bulging eyes, racing heartbeat, elevated blood pressure even heart failure.

There are some instances when diet pills can be helpful. Usually these are indicated in the truly obese person. For the person wanting to lose 5 or 10 pounds, they usually aren't necessary. So you may ask, how does the diet pills work to cause weight loss, while I continue to eat the same amount? In recent years, it seems everyone has the PERFECT answer to help with your weight loss. There are almost as many weight loss methods and diet pills available as there are people who want to lose weight.

There are diet pills that stop your hunger so you eat less and burn more fat. There are diet pills that cause the body not to metabolize all the food you eat, so it's passed out of your system and not stored as fat. There's combination of these two. As you begin your search for the perfect diet pill, be careful as some can have harmful effects on your body. Diet Pills work by shifting levels of brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) that control satiety (fullness) and desire for food. Some also slightly increase your metabolic rate - the rate at which your body burns calories.

Examples of weight loss diet pills include:
Diethylpropion hydrochloride (eg. Tenuate)
Mazindol (eg. Mazanor, Sanorex)
Phendimetrazine tartrate (eg. Bontril)
Phentermine hydrochloride (eg. Adipex-P, Ionamin)

4. Monitor/Increase Your Activity - Regardless whether you're taking diet pills or not to help with your weight loss, it's still important to maintain a regular exercise program. This is beneficial not only for your weight loss, but also for your overall health. In many ways we in the developed country have a much more sedentary lifestyle than our bodies need. Obviously it's easier for us than in the era when people had to be very active simply to survive, yet it's not necessarily healthy for us not to be active. Start and maintain some sort of exercise plan no matter what your age. Especially for the middle-aged and older people exercise play a very, very important role in the quality of health and staying within normal weight ranges.

5. Develop a Plan for Maintenance. Even if you're taking diet pills to help with your weight loss it's important to keep in mind, that once you stop the pills, unless you maintain a balance between your activity level and the food you eat the weight will come back. While it may take some time to become accustomed to a change in diet and activity, the rewards are well worth the time and effort spent to reach and maintain a healthy weight.

Hilda Maria is a freelance writer with 5 children who knows the importance of a balanced diet for them. She enjoys providing useful knowledge about weight loss and regular exercise to her readers as well as to her children.

What Are the Nine Bodyparts of a Better Life?

2008-10-26T23:49:00.001-07:00

Your Head, think about what you want and move towards it
Everyday we have several opportunities to make a change for the better, the worse or just say the same and everytime we make a decision in one of these directions. At breakfast you could have oatmeal, or toast and jam, or you could have a coffee and a donut, your decision could often be better. When you get to work you could take the elevator only part way and climb a few flights in the very empty stairwell or you could choose to take an elevator to your floor. Don't feel too terribly bad about all of your decisions as you should know that not many others are making a great decision every time either. I ride my bike to work every day and in a building of 1000 people I am one of three bike riders. Look at these decisions one at a time and if it is a little easier carry around a notebook and write down things to do better. Try to resolve today to just do a few things alittle better than you did yesterday.

Your Heart, have passion in your life
There was movie a few years ago called "Pay It Forward" where the child in the movie gave something to a homeless man with the explicit command that he had to pay it forward. Pay it forward means that you do good things for others with the expectation that they will follow through and do good things for others as well. This is the way that great societies invigorate and continue to revitalise themselves. What are you doing through work of the heart to make things better for the others around you? Can you send an uplifting email to someone you have not seen in a while? Can you send flowers to an enemy, anonymously? Can you make sure that your family knows today as well as tomorrow that you love them? Resolve today to think of the feelings of others more often

Your Mouth, be careful of what you put in your mouth
Try to look at all of the food going into your mouth. Are you eating a lot of fatty foods that your body will have to fight to digest? Are you eating a lot of sugar that is making you THINK that you have a lot of energy? Are you drinking a lot of water instead of pop or coffee? And finally are you eating a lot of nice clean food, fruits, vegetables and lean meats? Changes in our diet are often hard but we forget about that after a week or so when we are feeling better than we have felt for years and have energy to burn to do great things with our life. And again the water, your mouth waters when you think about food for a reason, we need lots of water to help us digest and to keep our metabolism at an even keel

Your Arms, make sure you do exercise with your arms
Anytime that you exercise with your arms you are doing more work than usual. Riding a bike you use you arms to steer, playing tennis you are using your arms to toss and swing, swimming you are using your arms to propel yourself. You can see also that anytime you use your arms you are more engaged in the activity. I always think of wports that you use your arms in as being a lot more fun.

Your Legs, make sure you do exercise with your legs
Your legs are the part of your body that propels you. The biggest muscles in your body are in your legs and they are the key to improving your fitness. If you get started using your legs more you will be stronger, no overnight but in as soon as a week. You should begin by taking a leisurely walk for a half an hour in the morning or evening and then move up to a faster pace, a longer time or bothand before you know it you are looking forward to that quiet time as well as feeling great before, during and after your exercise.

Your Eyes, see what is possible
Some people look at changes in their lifestyle as being impossible, do not do that! Have some passion in living a better life. Too often we see people living a life of common destiny where they live within the lowest common standards. What if you stopped watching TV every night? What if instead of just reading a book you wrote one instead? What if you woke up one hour earlier in the morning every day and had some quiet time and a great workout while listening to music that only teenagers are supposed to listen to. Look at everything in your surroundings. What is possible? what are others doing? What do you currently think is possible? Just as we can make a decision on what we eat and what we do we can also go out and change our lives by making changes that we have seen. Any expectations that we have are ours alone. Today remember that we can do whatever we want just by deciding that "Yes, today I will see this as possible and do it now!"

Your Ears, hear everything and move the info to your head
Listen to your surroundings; make sure that you are listening and not just interperting what you want to hear. The truth is only our perception of the stories we hear and the things that we believe we have seen. Make sure that today you try to hear the other persons point of veiw and instead of thinking of a response in a disagreement try instead to see why the other person it thinking the way she is.

Your Stomach, your abs are the key to your core strength
Most people hate situps, there is something really uncomfortable about cramping up your stomach to get a stomach exercise to work. Instead of situps always do crunches, a crunch is done by putting your lower legs up on a chair, lying down like for a situp and then just raising your shoulders a few inches off of the floor. After you do this a few times you will feel it in your gut but over a couple of weeks of doing this three times a week you will feel much stronger and your posture and breathing will improve immensly.

Your Back, lie back and relax
Always take the time to lie back and relax. Sleep is always important especially when the regular and irregular stresses of life get you down or drive you crazy. Another important thing to do is just to lie back in a quiet room or a field or in the car on the side of the road and just let all of the stresses of life wash away. Think of the ways to fix for your lifes problems not when you are trying to fall asleep but after dinner on the couch or while lying in the backyard under a warm sun when you don't have anything pressing that needs to be done.

Bill Nadraszky is a lifelong fitness nut. You can read more health and fitness and motivation tips from Bill at http://health-fitness.xptechsupport.com

How to Protect Yourself & Your Business

2008-10-24T04:58:00.000-07:00

As a business owner, you already know how important it is for your customers to feel safe about doing business with you. After all, if a customer even suspects he may not receive everything he was promised, then chances are he's taking his business elsewhere. So to prevent that you offer guarantees, secure payment methods, prompt customer service, and more. You do whatever it takes to show each customer that you are sincere and trustworthy.

But what steps do you take to protect yourself and your livelihood?

Too many business owners spend all their time worrying about their customers' security without thinking of their own, even though small companies must often deal with customer fraud, non-paying clients, and more.

Just as you've taken steps to ensure that your customers are satisfied with their buying experience, so should you feel comfortable and secure by taking a few precautions of your own.

1. Get Everything in Writing

Written contracts are not just for helping customers understand what they can expect to receive for their money, they are about laying down the ground rules for your business relationship. When these guidelines are in writing, nothing is left up for a debate or becomes a misunderstanding.

Both parties can be assured that their interests are being protected and both should have a clear understanding of their rights and responsibilities in the event that something goes awry.

A good example would be if you sold a toy which a parent returned six months later because it was broken. Without a contract in writing specifying the time limits and conditions of your return policy, you might end up with an ongoing battle wit the customer which could result in lost business and even lawsuits.

Written contracts also don't need to be crafted by lawyers. You can write everything out yourself in ordinary, easy to understand language. When you and the customer sign it, it becomes a legal and binding agreement. It's really that simple.

2. Don't Be Naive

So many people in business get burned by their customers simply because they are too trusting. For example, some of you may have shipped products before the customers' payments cleared. Or you may have completed agreed upon work without asking for a deposit. Both are risky propositions as many new entrepreneurs discover the hard way, especially if they do business online.

You can protect yourself by always asking for a partial payment in advance and by always waiting until a customer's payment has cleared before you ship their products. Another method of protecting yourself and your customer is by using a service such as Paypal.com to handle your transactions. The service protects you from non-paying customers and offers your customers protection for lost, damaged, or unshipped products.

3. Know Your Local Laws

One of the best ways to protect yourself is by becoming informed. When you know your legal rights, you'll have a better understanding of how to effectively deal with troublesome customers.

For example, some states don't allow you to limit a customer's right to return a product beyond a certain time limit, so you may not legally be able to enforce a guarantee of only one week. On the other hand, if you know your rights, then you'll also understand what steps to take in case legal action on your part is necessary.

For instance, you may want to send a certified letter demanding payment before you file a lawsuit. Additionally, if you appear knowledgeable about your rights, many customers might think twice before failing to pay or committing fraud.

The bottom line is that you deserve to be protected just as much as your customers. A few advance precautions now can ensure that you'll have a long and satisfying business relationship with your customers.

Vishal P. Rao is the owner of: http://www.work-at-home-forum.com/ An online community of people who work at home.

Beware of Becoming a Professional Online Dater

2008-10-21T10:13:00.000-07:00

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people find their "perfect match" through online dating services. And every year hundreds of thousands more become discouraged from their experiences. One of the contributing factors to those who have problems with online dating is the emergence of the "professional online dater", a term coined by Online Dating Magazine to describe a person who acts serious about finding someone, but without the intention of taking any date or relationship "too seriously" because the next match "may be better."

A professional online dater usually possesses three or more of the following habits:

> Communicating with more than six people at the same time.

> Member of three or more online dating services at the same time.

> Relists profile within 24 hours of a relationship breakup.

> Lets several communications just "end" in order to put time into new communications.

> Checks messages and dating services several times a day.

> Always believes that the next match "may be better".

> Several times a year will have more than one date, with different people, set up in a week.

> At the first sign of trouble in a potential relationship, lets things break off to return to online dating.

> May hide profile, but doesn't delete it, when steadily dating one person.

> When returning from a date, immediately checks mail for new messages from others.

Generally, a person doesn't consciously say "I want to become a professional online dater" then pursue it as a life goal. It is something that develops as a result of the person's online dating experiences. He/she sees how "easy" it is to get a new date and is introduced to new faces virtually daily. Before the person knows it, he/she is communicating with half a dozen (or more) people at the same time. When a date is arranged with one person there are still six prospects waiting in the person's Inbox when he/she returns from the date. This, in turn, starts to develop a subconscious mentality that the next person may be "better," therefore it is easier to leave a relationship or dating experience at the first sign of trouble rather than work through those problems.

A professional online dater will generally 'hide' a profile versus deleting it when entering into an exclusive dating relationship. Subconsciously, the person isn't truly giving his or her 100% to the relationship because they have formulated an easy escape route back to the planet of dates.

Professional online daters, without realizing it, are having a negative effect on the people they come in contact with during their expeditions. For example, a professional online dater may be writing seven people at the same time, when another new interesting prospect shows up. In turn, the professional online dater allows communication with one (or more) of the other seven people to suddenly stop, leaving that person without answers and wondering, "where did he/she disappear to?" The other problem professional online daters bring to online dating is their lack of true commitment. They may have three, four or even more relationships a year. The relationships are generally short-lived and the professional online dater has a new date lined up (with someone new he/she met online) within several days of a breakup.

A person who possesses three or more traits of a professional online dater may not want to admit that he/she is a professional online dater, but doing so is the first step to solving the problem. Other steps to solving the problem are:

> Completely delete your profile(s) when entering into a relationship. There's no looking back, only forward.

> Commit yourself to your relationship with a strong determination to work through the problems. Working through issues in a relationship is what helps people to grow. Running away is not the solution.

> If you stop communicating with someone, don't do it cold turkey. At least send that person a polite note so that he/she knows why. The person will respect you more for this.

> Find one online dating service that you like and stick with it. This isn't a game to see how many new people you can communicate with. Every person you communicate with is a real person with real feelings. Don't lead them on.

> Only communicate with a small number of people at a time.

> Don't fall into the mentality of "the next one might be better." Instead, focus on the person you are with and know that they are "the best". Then make it work.

Professional online daters unintentionally hurt many people during the course of their "adventure". But perhaps what's worse is that professional online daters hurt themselves because they never learn to work through relationship issues that produce long-term relationship success. Luckily, with determination, professional online daters can change and when they put the same intense focus on a relationship (like they did with online dating) then the relationship generally turns into an amazing and long-lasting experience. And that produces another success story from two people who met online.

Joe Tracy is the publisher of Online Dating Magazine (http://www.onlinedatingmagazine.com) and editor of the Online Dating Newsletter (http://www.onlinedatingnewsletter.com).

Online Dating Magazine provides authoritative insight into the world of online dating while the Online Dating Newsletter focuses on dating advice and romance tips to help build better relationships.

Little Girl from Huancayo [a poem/in English and Spanish]

2008-10-18T15:21:00.001-07:00

Little girl from Huancayo

Do you really, really know? Just how fast those feet will grow,

On the streets of Huancayo.

Little girl with jumping jacks

On the street, looking back; Back to see whose watching her,

A little boy with a bird.

Little boys and little girls,

Playing in the Huancayo world

Do you really, really know?

Someday you will have to grow?

Grow-up to, be-big like me

Then you will know many things; But tell then, I've got to go

See you soon in Huancayo.

Little Girl from Huancayo

Do you really, really know?

Note: While visiting Huancayo in April of 2005, I noticed a little girl on the street playing; jumping from square to square. And she had a few kids around her, and so she was my inspiration for this poem. I even took a picture of her, and did a drawing. It is a fresh, fresh feeling to see young people enjoying the simply things of life. #665 5/15/2005; it's a simply poem with a little beat, but a pleasing one for my soul.

in Spanish

Ni?a de Huancayo

?Realmente, realmente tu la conoces? Justo como creceran tan r?pido aquellos pies,

Sobre las calles de Huancayo.

Ni?a con gatos saltadores

mira hacia atr?s, Detr?s Sobre las calles para ver quien esta mirandola, un ni?o con un p?jaro.

Ni?os y ni?as,

Jugando en el mundo de Huancayo ?Realmente, realmente tu los conoces?

Un d?a tu tendr?s que crecer ?

Crecer para ser - grande como yo

Entonces usted conocer? muchas cosas; Pero cuente entonces, tengo que ir

para mirarte pronto en Huancayo.

Ni?a de Huancayo

?Realmente, realmente tu la conoces?

Nota: Visitando Huancayo en abril de 2005, not? a una ni?a jugando en la calle; saltando de cuadro a cuadro. Y ella ten?a unos ni?os alrededor de ella, y entonces ella fue mi inspiraci?n para este poema. Hasta tom? una foto de ella, e hice un dibujo. Esto es un fresco, fresco sentimiento ver a gente j?ven disfrutar de las cosas simples de la vida. *665 5/15/2005; es un poema simple con un poco de golpe, pero una complacencia un para mi alma.

Dennis Siluk, poet who spends a few months out of the year in Peru, recently went to the Andes, and to the city of Huancayo, and here is a poem from that city, the most loveist city in Peru. http://dennissiluk.tripod.com

Network Marketing Tips - Helping Strangers First Makes No Sense

2008-10-15T20:37:00.001-07:00

Network Marketing business is the opportunity of the 21st century and we have accepted that by joining the business. After we signed up for the business opportunity or simply to buy our products at a lower discounted price, we are told to make a list (200-2000 names) of people that we know.

Many new people in the business don't want to go throught this process. They find it hard to approach those they have relationship with. You will hear different excuses why they cannot approach them until they have started to make enough money. Is that understandable? No. Should you start from approaching people that don't know you? No.

Your mindset will either make or break you. Wrong mindset will kill your business very fast.

Imagine this, millions of people around the world want a change in their life. Millions are not happy with their income. Millions are seeking personal freedom and better lifestyle, better health, material things, time and money to enjoy the basic needs of life and so on. They need us. They need network marketers to show them the way to achieve these things. They need us far more than we need them (not really true :-))

I see many business builders using wrong approach, and wrong mindset, to build their business. Most business builders feel as if they are about to rob a prospect off of their money by telling them to sign up for the business. You don't have to feel inferior talking to anybody about our great industry no matter their status, unless they have already became very rich and have all the time in the world to enjoy their wealth. if any of 'enough time' or 'enough money' is missing, then you still have a upper hand.

We help people. We change lives. If you have that kind of mindset you won't have to worry about who to approach and who not to approach. You will build your confidence with the right attitude and mindset.

So why does it not make any sense helping strangers first? The answer lies in the fact that we help people change their lives. If you are given a chance to save either your friend or a complete stranger, who would you choose? I don't know about you but for me, it'll be my good friend.

The people in our circle of influence trust us and will do anything to make us happy. They will be easier to convince, if they are ready to listen to our business presentation, than a complete stranger.

Try help them out of their financial situation. In network marketing business we get rewarded for helping people. The more people you help, the richer you become. Make your warm contact list and go for it.

Aliyu Odumosu

Free Network Marketing Tips Online
Author of Beginner's Guide To Network Marketing
Read my previous articles from here

Making Your Mark With The Millennials

2008-10-13T01:51:00.000-07:00

Generation Y--The second-largest crop of young people in America's history, offspring of the Boomers-80 million of them, nearly 27 percent of the U.S. population-are in their late teens and 20s, and already a market force to be reckoned with.

The Millennials are here big time! "They're demanding their own music, defining their own trends and starting to matter to advertisers, to retailers, to politicians," chirped a recent Chicago Tribune editorial. What's more, they are (or soon will be) buying cars and homes, getting married, starting families--and are going to matter very much to American business.

Neo-traditionalist in many ways, the Millennials are not cynical about marriage and having families. These young people value such intangibles as personal fulfillment, family well-being, freedom, security-lives on track. As a result, count on the Millennials to step up to the issues and needs most of us have no matter which generational cohort, market segment, or stage of life we're in. "They don't want to make the mistakes of either Generation X or the Boomers, to wait until the panic stage to have babies," writes columnist, Suzanne Fields.

A High Dose of Reality

But no matter how great their marketing potential, Millennials with ground-floor incomes may be struggling to negotiate rent and other living expenses on top of college loans that the Christian Science Monitor estimates average $17,000. Or they may still be living with Mom and Dad!

So all is not a bed of roses, and even the most astute members of this (or any) generation will find the choices marketers ask them to make confusing. Or (worse) they may think they know it all or imagine they can get everything they need online, and don't need help.

With so much at stake, indecision, inaction or mistakes born of misplaced self-confidence ("It can't happen to me") can be expensive--especially in periods of economic uncertainty. Yet this generation, which has known nothing but prosperity, is not used to doing without. Handed the choice of paying health insurance premiums or maintaining their savings and other financial security plans--and forgoing their cell phones or hanging up their social lives, many of these young people make the wrong call.

Setting priorities can be critical and shouldn't be ignored no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in, That's one reason why realistic expectations should be communicated to consumers in this or any other age group. A difficult pill to swallow, but exactly the advice young families in that difficult position should hear.

How to Reach The Millennials

Generation Y is generally more comfortable using the Internet as a research tool to aid in making saving and investment decisions, rather than as a means for on-line banking or trading. "To effectively reach the youngest generation of adult Americans, whose lives are being shaped by digital media, marketers must deliver smarter, more sophisticated messages and build brands with them rather than for them," a study by advertising firm, Saatchi & Saatchi suggests.

As described by Jane Levere in "Generation Shaped by Digital Media Presents Fresh Marketing Challenges," in the The New York Times: "Saatchi & Saatchi, a unit of Saatchi & Saatchi PLC, based its study on interviews by child psychologists with 84 people ages 6 to 20 across the United States. They were asked what they thought about digital media like personal computers, the Internet, CD-ROMs, video games and cellular phones and other communication devices, and how these media affected their lives. Cultural anthropologists also observed 10 families at home for 50 hours each.

According to the agency, the digital media have several functions for the 80 million Americans born since 1977, the largest generation in the nation's history. "The media serve as toys for these young people but also provide developmental challenges. Digital media also function as a virtual hearth at home," the study said. It found that "most families have their digital media set up in a public room of the house; consequently, a lot of digital activities are shared by the family, making these media a center of family life.

"In addition, the study learned that the new media could function as a 'cool library' for the new generation."Generation Y uses digital media as an extension of self socially, intellectually and emotionally," the study said. 'By extending the self in these ways, the new media help young people find their identity.' It concluded that digital media act as "power tools" for the Millennials, giving them tremendous access to knowledge.

Generation Y is generally more comfortable using the Internet as a research tool to aid in making saving and investment decisions, rather than as a means for on-line banking or trading. "To effectively reach the youngest generation of Americans, whose lives are being shaped by digital media, marketers must deliver smarter, more sophisticated messages and build brands with them rather than for them," a study by advertising firm, Saatchi & Saatchi suggests.

Social Security Reality Check

Despite Democrat and MSM protestations, many young adults are pushing for a privatized or partially privatized Social Security program, which would maximize their two greatest wealth accumulation assets -- time and compounding returns.

Prediction: Petulently refusing any mention of privatizing Social Security won't cut it for long. Washington must find the stones either to a) call time-out and switch over to a privatized Social Security system for everyone over a certain age, b) permit wage earners to invest x-percentage of their payroll tax into personal accounts, or c) come up with some other fiscally feasible, politically palatable version of Social Security reform.

Failing that, the discontent of Millennials and Generation Xers will become the political time bomb for future presidents and Congresses that Social Security had been until George Bush's bold 2005 initiative.

Want More? Send questions and comments to w.willard3@knology.net.

Bill Willard has also been writing high-impact marketing and sales training primarily for the financial services industry for 30 years. Through interactive, Web-based "Do-While-Learning?" programs, enewsletters and straight-talking articles, Bill helps small-business owners and independent professionals get the job done: profitably improving performance, helping grow your business, skipping expensive mistakes, making the journey to small-business success faster, smoother, easier. And fun!

Aggressive Marketing

2008-10-10T07:05:00.000-07:00

If you get an email with a title like 'Don't Ever Trust Me Again!' and continues along the lines of '... then you don't have to take my advice ever again!'

My advice is - Don't *

Perhaps it's because I'm skeptical of the number of "miracle" products, "great deals", 'limited time offers' or 'incredible packages' that are advertised online every day. Perhaps it's because I have bought more products than I can possibly use for now. Perhaps it's because there are probably more people trying to sell this particular package than the number of packages that are available. Or, perhaps it's because I received an email with almost identical content from too many different sources. Whatever the reason, don't make the same mistakes as I have in the past.

* It may be a good deal. It may be exactly what you are looking for. But if you receive emails with exactly the same content from different sources, think carefully before you buy.

There are some good internet marketers that I have every respect for. However, there are an increasing number of 'marketers' that show little thought or consideration for others. They will take from you but offer nothing in return. You may disagree with the last statement. If you buy a product from them and you are happy with that product and they are happy with the money earned from selling you that product it's a win-win situation.

That's all well and good until you look more closely at the process. To do this, other factors must be taken into account. These include cost, value, convenience, time, and most importantly trust. You've probably heard of the phrase. "The money is in the list". I wouldn't disagree with that and it's easy to see why many of the "big list" hitters are successful in the percentage game. But unless they offer you something more than somebody else's 'sales pitch' ignore them. Many of these people come and go. Make sure they don't go with your money.

With regard to the email in question, here is a quote from a 'trusted' ezine that I subscribe to "This is only of interest to you, Bryan, if you really need some brand new products to sell. If not, don't bother." At least, this is honest and straight to the point. I know who I'd buy from. On occasion, time may be more important than trust. If this is the case, then make sure you have a use for the product before you buy it. We are all guilty of impulse buying. It can be all too easy to buy something that will seldom, if ever, be used.

If you subscribe to an ezine or newsletter, it's often useful to keep tabs on the sender. By doing this you will learn to recognize if the content is original or simply a copy of someone else's work. You'll also quickly discover if the sender is only interested in using you as a means of earning a 'fast buck'. This is obvious if there is little or no content, excessive affiliate URLs, or emails that are repetitive or delivered more often than necessary.

If you like the newsletter or email subscription, that's great. If you don't, you can usually 'unsubscribe'. If this fails, then try 'whitelist' filtering to weed it out. If you think the email is from a spammer, then be careful. Don't click on any URL or 'unsubscribe' option, and unless you are absolutely sure of the originator, never open an attachment.

If you use eBay or PayPal, you will no doubt be aware of the fake or spoof emails that are periodically blasted out. Well, the spin cycle has begun again. A good tutorial on spoof emails and how to recognize them can be found at http://pages.ebay.com/education/spooftutorial/index.html

Tip - If you have your own website, don't use your default address for your PayPal or eBay account. Use a different address and you will quickly spot the spoof email in the 'To' line of the email.

Bryan Quinn
ebook-site.com
Offer a variety of useful resources for creating, reading, and publishing ebooks. A members' area is provided for ezine subscribers where a selection of ebooks and reports can be freely downloaded.

http://www.ebook-site.com

Samanthas Bay Leaf Ritual for the New Year

2008-10-07T12:21:00.000-07:00

HI would like to share with you a ritual I do every New Year's that is quite involved and requires a lot of thought and meditation time. It is derived from an ancient Greek ritual for prosperity and fertility. As you may recall, ancient Mediterranean Kings and Queens used to wear garlands of bay leaves (as well as olive leaves) as crowns. Bay leaves, and often bayberry leaves, are often used in Alexandrian magic as well, as well to draw success in business and finances. I like this ritual because first of all it is very "white" and it also involves the writing down of your wishes. The writing down of your wishes on 108 bay leaves works in the same way as a positive affirmation. The stating of your goals and desires allows you to properly manifest them in real life. Every year I pull out my old bay leaves and sort through them and I am always astounded by how many of my wishes have actually been granted.

For this you will need:

a blank check

a gold or silver pen (but a green will do if you can't get those colours)

Cinnamon incense

a green, an orange or a yellow or GOLD candle (whichever colour attracts you the most)

Orange oil, bergamot or success oil or Horn of Plenty oil a package of bay leaves (whole)

an envelope

pretty ribbon

This ritual is for multiple wishes and is best done when you have at least two hours to spare in meditation and quiet. It is best done within ten days before or after the New Year's. After the New Years or on New Year's Day is preferable.

First of all, take a bath in your favourite bubbles (Calgon, take me away!) and put yourself in a calm and peaceful state. You can play some steady rhythmic music if you like - anything that puts you into a bit of a trance (chanting, new age.)

The first thing you are going to do is light the cinnamon incense. Cinnamon is related to the planet Mercury and symbolizes communication and quick results. Then I want you to scratch your name and birth date on the side of the candle. Put the candle plate that is wrapped in tin foil (to represent the moon).

Then I want you to take the blank cheque and write the amount of money that you think you would like to make this year or the amount you need to get out of trouble using a gold or silver pen. Make the cheque payable to the order of yourself and be sure to add a few more bucks in there as fun money.

The idea here is to make this cheque as pretty as possible. Decorate it with lucky symbols such as dollar signs, hearts and flowers so this money is brought to you with a sense of joy. Once you are happy with your cheque, and have signed and endorsed it and everything, I want you to anoint all four corners of the cheque with one or more of the oils mentioned above. To make it even more person adds a dab of your personal perfume.

Place the cheque you wrote to yourself under the dish. Light the candle and say:

"In the name of the I Am that I Am I pray to the Archangels and their legions of light, I pray to the blessed Virgin and her angels of compassion for the following assistance and blessings"

Now open the package of bay leaves. There are two ways of doing this spell -- in a really BIG way or in a more efficient manner. It depends how much time you have. When I did this on my birthday I used 108 bay leaves (or fragments of leaves because sometimes they crumble in the package) but you can use less if you like. I used 108 because it is a real magic number, but you can just do as many bay leaves as you can.

As the candle burns and the incense is burning too, I want you to write on each bay leaf, a single word that represents each thing you would like to happen in the near future. For instance, if you are looking for immigration status thing write the word "Citizenship" on the bay leaf. If you owe the dentist money write, "dentist bill paid". If you would like a lover to return write "lover returns". Each leaf has a wish written on it. On the leaf after write "high paying job", on the next one "safety", "security", "soulmate"... Place the leaves in a circle around the candle in the shape of wreathe so that it looks pretty and keep on doing this until you are all wished out. Your candle should be circled by bay leaves each with a wish written on it.

This usually takes most people quite a while, and before they know it, the candle has burned down.

If you finish writing the leaves early that is ok too, keep burning the candle down to the bottom (so don't get a candle that is too big.) After you have written a wish too, it helps if you "let go of it" and resign your self to the fact that the higher powers are taking care of it.

After you are done writing all of your wishes, I want you to say:

"I consider this done in this hour, in full power according to the will of God, helping all and harming none Amen."

After the candle burns out, I want you to take the leaves and the cheque and put them in an envelope. Seal the envelope, wrap it with a nice ribbon, kiss it and put it in a safe place. Don't look at this again for a year. Just rest assure that all is unfolding in the Universe as it should.

Blessings to all of you this New Year. xxx Samantha

Samantha Steven's articles have been published in many high-standing newspapers and she has published several books. If you wish to buy Samantha's books about metaphysics click here http://www.insomniacpress.com/author.php?id=110 You can meet Samantha Stevens at http://www.psychicrealm.com where she works as a professional psychic. You can also read more of her articles at http://www.newagenotebook.com

Internet Merchant Accounts For Innocents Abroad

2008-10-04T17:37:00.001-07:00

If you want to sell on the internet, your need to accept credit cards. To accept credit cards, you need a merchant account, or access to one. There're two ways of getting this: Get your own merchant account, or 'pimp' off someone else's.

The latter is the option most new merchants choose. You use a third-party to process your payments, and they take percentage. Here are a few popular ones:

PayPal.com (http://www.paypal.com)

I don't recommend them as your main processor. See http://www.paypalsucks.com. PayPal is popular because it was 'firstest with the mostest' on auction sites. For this reason, eBay bought them out. PayPalSucks.com alleges that if you have a bad order they freeze your account, and can even dip into your bank account to make up any shortfalls. Mitigating circumstances are not taken into account. I've read enough complaints about PayPal on webmaster forums to heed them.

The usual rejoinder is; "But I've never had any problems with PayPal". To which is usually retorted "Just wait 'till you get a chargeback!"

A chargeback occurs when someone asks their credit-card company for a refund. They say they didn't get the goods, or they never made the order, or the goods were not as advertised. This is passed on to the processor, who in turn debits the merchant. Or drops him entirely. You don't want too many of these.

I've used them for years for small amounts, with no problem, but on the basis of others' complaints in webmaster forums, I wouldn't use them for large ones. Don't leave large amounts 'on deposit' in any internet-based company; they're not banks, and even banks go bust occasionally.

The best use for PayPal is to entice customers who already use it. Find another provider to be your main one. One like ...

2Checkout.com (http://www.2checkout.com)

This is a factoring service like PayPal. Unlike them, they have a pretty good reputation with webmasters. Like PayPal, they don't provide you with a merchant account; they process your orders through their own.

This is why such sites have to be very stringent; they are answerable to their own merchant account provider. Too many bogus orders, and they go out of business.

This is why third-party factoring services like 2Checkout are very useful to a newbie merchant: fraud prevention. They can screen out suspicious orders.

Most merchants would like to think they can sell worldwide. The fact is most of the world is poor; MOST countries can't afford your goods. So some citizens try to get them fraudulently.

A smart merchant would bar most of the world from accessing his cart, and only accept orders from the USA, Canada, western Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and his home country. Harsh, but you'll sleep better at night.

WorldPay (http://www.worldpay.com)

A well-regarded service. I found adding it to the Oscommerce cart (http://www.oscommerce.com) a bit of a chore, but it worked. More expensive to join than 2Checkout. You don't hear many gripes about WorldPay, which is rare in webmaster circles.

ClickBank.com (http://www.clickbank.com)

Handy if you're selling a few items of inexpensive software to start off your business. They'll let you up the price once they're sure of you. I managed to get them to go up to $150 (whoo!). I was very jealous of their system. It's well designed and extremely 'viral'; they're basically a huge affiliate program. Join ClickBank, and others will try and sell your product for you.

They allow you to block whole continents from trying to buy your product, and that is good. The odds are that a $25 order for an ebook, from a third-world country, is fraudulent.

If an order looks dodgy, it probably is. Contact the customer by 'phone or email. If you don't get a satisfactory reply, refund the card.

When you're making $1000+ a month, get your own merchant account.

MerchantSeek (http://www.merchantseek.com)

A useful collection of affiliate links to merchant account and processing providers. Scroll down their front page to their search tool. You can find an account that suits your needs. This is most helpful to non-U.S. merchants, or those seeking 'international merchant accounts'.

In the UK, look for 'merchant services' at:

Barclays bank (http://www.barclaycardmerchantservices.co.uk)
NatWest (http://www.natwest.com)
Bank Of Scotland (http://www.bankofscotland.co.uk)
Royal Bank Of Scotland (http://www.rbs.co.uk)
Streamline (http://www.streamline.com)

UK processing services are:
Secpay (http://www.secpay.com)
Netbanx (http://www.netinvest.co.uk)
Protx (http://www.protx.com)

Having one's own merchant account means paying less in processing fees.

IMPORTANT: You should specify up-front that you are looking for an internet merchant account. Internet transactions are viewed as higher risk than those by bricks-and-mortar businesses. The technical term is 'card not present'.

Some things you may need, if applying for an internet merchant account of your own:

Business bank account;
Photocopy of a voided cheque for said account;
Copy of the articles of incorporation of your company;
Photocopy of your return policy information;
Trade references;
Photocopy of your driver's license or passport.

In short, you need to prove that both you and your company are what you say they are. Your account provider is taking a chance on you. You might send them a ton of bogus orders. A bank is a business too, not a community service. Help them to make the right decision! The more you can establish that you are bona-fide, the lower the cost of your account.

Things to avoid, if you can:

a) Expensive credit-card processing software rental or hire-purchase.
b) Monthly fees.
c) High discounts (the % of your sales they keep).
d) Fat fees up front (anything over $500 is a joke).
e) Salesmen calling you up with a spiel.
f) Getting lumbered with hiring their shopping cart as well.

Things to look out for at sites offering merchant accounts:

If you need to maintain a U.S. presence - full U.S. incorporation, U.S. server, U.S. offices, U.S. bank account - or NOT.

Also if they want a deposit, and the size of their application fee. And the usual monthly minimums, discounts etc.

Avoid getting into any software purchase or equipment rental. You can sort all that out later, for less money. There are plenty of good payment gateways, like Authorize.net (http://www.authorize.net) just itching for your business.

PS: Don't accept a merchant account from an Eastern European bank. I did, some years ago. The bank went bust. One guy wailed on Usenet that he'd lost $10,000 dollars. Luckily for me, business was bad that year!

About the author: T. O' Donnell http://www.tigertom.com is an ecommerce consultant in London, UK. His latest projects are a mortgage calculator and ebook, available at http://www.tigertom.com/mortgages-uk.shtml

Identify Your Two Rich Horses

2008-10-01T22:43:00.001-07:00

The naked truth of person is that we are still slaves to our mind; means we are still a "bounded slaves" to our mind. The use of mind in constructive way or in some stepping-stone turning way is still not being revealed by human being. This is the only catalyst which leads to become the " the so called body and the body holder" famous and illustrious and it is the same catalyst which can lead to other floating vices right across us.

This is very true and very believable that human brain is actually a size of his/her right fist but the same hand can lead to actions like the actions taken by some famous politicians and the same hand can lead to charity or some misconduct.

How many of us ever tried to take control of our mind and thereafter the body? How many of us are very independent of all the commands to follow as given by our mind irrespective of its consequences?

The controlling of mind and body leads to some great results if applied correctly. Yes, we can feel and hear that there are two voices inside human being one of God-Angel and one of Satan. We can reach out to any voice, which is at our discretion. Believed that the first voice is the voice of God. The normal outburst and a clash between these two voice is at young age only where new definitions and terms are being embedded into ones mind and which due vary from persons to person. The basic outlook towards life and the career do makes its impression at this age only.

The Rat race to follow and the race to make money any how do comes to all the humans whereas; the whole point revolves around the way to make some money. Turn any biography and see that the zeal to make some thing in life or that fire to do something comes at the young age only. So this crucial stage of life cannot be neglected by humans-parents and guardians. As one of the famous writer has said " beware that you should be alert about what books you read" rather the same categorically goes for humans too that what clouds of thoughts and patters a young human gets from his surrounding, the moudling shape is thus designed in the mind.

It's very easy to comment and add a quoting line to the fallen pillar that the base of that pillar was not strong whereas; making that pillar stand erect firmly would make any body sweat from teeth.

To be continued?.. Vinay Ghimiray

About The Author

Working as a Analyst with slightly creative bent of mind in Metaphysical poetry and an ardent fan of Dale Carnegie and Vincent Peale.

gvin19@indiatimes.com

Aromatherapy For Babies

2008-09-01T23:43:00.001-07:00

Before reading this article keep in mind that most doctors don't recommend the use of aromatherapy on babies that re less than three months old. This is because the nasal and skin tissues of an infant are very sensitive and easily irritated by anything but the blandest of substances. Once your baby is past that age consult with your doctor to make sure that the use of essential oils is right for your child.

Traditionally essential oils are used to purify the air in a nursery and calm and relax the infant. The safest and gentlest way to introduce essential oils into the nursery is to put the oils in a diffuser so the molecules of the oil are dispersed through the air. You can also dilute about ten drops of the oil in a bottle of distilled water and mist that around the nursery and the baby's bedding. Remember always that if your baby starts sneezing, tearing or fretting that it may not be time to introduce aromatherapy into your baby's life.

For best results try to choose high quality oils. The inexpensive stuff is cut with crude substances and alcohols and can be overwhelming to the delicate system of a baby.

Try to choose oils that are organically grown as they are usually of the highest quality. Avoid purchasing oils in plastic or clear bottles as light and other factors can cause the oil to degrade and lose efficacy. The highest quality aromatherapy oils are usually sold in dark brown bottles that protect them from disintegrating light rays.

There are several oils that are highly recommended for use with babies. Some are mood enhancers, some are room disinfectants and many are a combination of both.

Lavender and roman chamomile are the best two oils that you can use in a mist or a diffuser to calm a fussy baby. A blend of vanilla and orange oils is a favorite blend for mothers who just want to keep the baby in a happy mood as both oils have the reputation of being mood elevators for children. Peppermint or spearmint oils are stimulating to the brain. and may help babies learn faster.

You can also add a few drops of chamomile or lavender oil to a baby's bath to help prepare them physically and psychologically for naptime. Keep in mind though that all oils added to a bath must first be generously diluted in carrier oil such as almond or olive oil. Never pour essential oil drops directly into a bath as that can irritate a baby's sensitive skin.

The safest aromatherapy oils to use as disinfectants and purifiers for the air are geranium, lavender and eucalyptus. Lavender sprayed directly onto your babies bedding and allowed to dry before placing the baby back in the crib also helps get rid of allergens and dust mites. Eucalyptus is best used for babies who have a cold or respiratory problems.

Used in a cautious manner, essential oils can not only help you calm and cheer your infant, but they can also mask any unpleasant odors that are always a part of a mother's life.

Liz Santher is a aromatherapy enthusiast and freelance author.

http://www.AromaTherapySecret.com *******

Five Essential Hiring Practices

2008-05-11T22:06:00.000-07:00

Jan B. King

Recruiting and hiring are often done in haste, leaving the company to repent in the long run. Today, there’s a reason to be concerned about negligent hiring. Negligent hiring means you and your company can be sued if one of your hires injures other employees, especially if you could have foreseen a problem but did not do a thorough check of the new employee before hiring.

The following list of five essential hiring practices establishes the minimum you should follow:

1. Require outside testing. Allow a competent, impartial professional interviewer to administer both paper and pencil and verbal tests. Professional testing firms can administer valid psychological tests for intelligence, stability, even determinations of addictive or dishonest personalities, as well as skills tests of important technical abilities in your workforce. I find testing often validates a suspicion I already had but wasn’t yet ready to come to terms with.

2. Conduct a rigorous personal interview. This includes asking general attitude questions, how you would manage your boss questions, how you would manage your staff questions, questions relating to the applicant’s understanding of the financial workings of a business and your department’s role in the business’s overall success, questions relating to the applicant’s ability to set goals and his or her expectations about achieving goals, questions relating to specific skills required for the job, and general communications required by the job.

3. Arrange a peer group interview. This part of the process encourages applicants to speak more freely and helps determine how comfortable they will be in working with their peers. Follow up with a meeting of everyone involved in the hiring decision to determine if there is a group consensus about the applicant’s suitability for work at your company.

4. Do a background check. Don’t neglect this, even if it is an employee’s cousin or your competitor’s best salesperson. It’s very easy to set up an account with an investigative firm online and to relatively quickly and inexpensively find out if the applicant has a criminal record or a history of DMV problems, lawsuits involving previous employers, workers’ compensation claims, and so forth.

5. Do a reference check. You can conduct these over the phone, but they may involve a request in writing. Reference checking is less effective than it used to be, although you may still find a few people who are willing to talk. Most former employers play it safe and verify only dates of employment and salary.

Document that you took all of these steps and you’ve gone a long way toward protecting yourself against a charge or negligent hiring. And more importantly, you’ve taken the first steps toward finding an employee who can trust and with whom you can establish a successful employment relationship.

About The Author

Jan B. King is the former President & CEO of Merritt Publishing, a top 50 woman-owned and run business in Los Angeles and the author of Business Plans to Game Plans: A Practical System for Turning Strategies into Action John Wiley & Sons, 2004. She has helped hundreds of businesses with her book and her ebooks, The Do-It-Yourself Business Plan Workbook, and The Do-It-Yourself Game Plan Workbook. See www.janbking.com for more information.

You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the byline is included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

janbking0191@sbcglobal.net