Wealth City

Cover Letters

2012-11-02T06:59:00.001-07:00

How to Write a Cover Letter

Writing a cover letter often seems like a particularly daunting task. However, if you take it one step at a time, you'll soon be an expert at writing cover letters to send with your resume.

A cover letter typically accompanies each resume you send out. Your cover letter may make the difference between obtaining a job interview and having your resume ignored, so it makes good sense to devote the necessary time and effort to writing effective cover letters.

A cover letter should complement, not duplicate, your resume. Its purpose is to interpret the data-oriented, factual resume and add a personal touch. A cover letter is often your earliest written contact with a potential employer, creating a critical first impression.

There are three general types of cover letters:

The application letter which responds to a known job opening
The prospecting letter which inquires about possible positions
The networking letter which requests information and assistance in your job search

Your cover letter should be designed specifically for each purpose outlined above as well as for each position you seek. Do not design a form letter and send it to every potential employer (you know what you do with junk mail!).

Effective cover letters explain the reasons for your interest in the specific organization and identify your most relevant skills or experiences (remember, relevance is determined by the employer's self-interest). They should express a high level of interest and knowledge about the position.

How to Write a Cover Letter

How to write a cover letter for a job application. Tips on how to write an effective cover letter to apply for a job.

Difficulty: Average

Time Required: One Hour

Here's How:

Take the time to write a targeted cover letter for each employer. This means customizing each cover letter you write, so it specifically relates your skills to the job you are applying for:
State why you are writing, indicating your interest in the job:
State where you learned of the position and the title of the position you are applying for. This way the person reading your cover letter will know which job you are interested in.
Explain the reasons for your interest in the organization. Let the cover letter reviewer know why you are interested in the company.
Express your enthusiasm for the job.
Identify your most relevant skills and experiences. Don't just duplicate your resume. Rather, include the skills that most match the job.
Refer to the qualifications for the position and illustrate how your abilities relate.
Communicate your interest, motivation, and strengths.
Emphasize your achievements.
Indicate how you will follow-up, typically with a phone call or an email. Thank the company for their consideration.

Tips:

Avoid cliches and meaningless or wordy expressions.
Your cover letter should complement, not duplicate your resume.
Your cover letter is often the first contact with an employer, make sure it creates a good impression.
Take the time to target your cover letter to the job you are applying for.

What You Need

Word processing software
Spell checker and grammar checker
Cover letter samples to review

Writing Targeted Cover Letters

What does it take for your resume and cover letter to make an impact when the employer has received hundreds of resumes for the position you have applied for? I've spoken to employers who receive hundreds of resumes for every position they list on a major job site like Monster or CareerBuilder. It seems like an almost impossible task to weed through them to find the best candidates to interview.

Making the Cut

Employers do manage to reduce the pool of cover letters and resumes to a manageable number. How they do it can give you some insight in to how to write cover letters that will make the cut. Because, if your cover letter doesn't pass muster, your resume won't even get a look.

If your cover letter and resume aren't perfect they most likely will end up in the reject pile. And perfect means perfect - there should not be any typos or grammatical errors.

Employers typically won't even consider a candidate that they cannot see is qualified at first glance. That first glance at your cover letter is your one opportunity to make a good impression and make it to the next round.

Targeted Cover Letters

It's certainly easier to write generic or blanket cover letters than it is to write a cover letter specifically targeted to each position you apply for. However, if you don't invest the time in writing cover letters you're probably not going to get the interview, regardless of your qualifications.

Here are some suggestions on how to write cutting edge cover letters that work:

Make a Match

This one takes some time and effort and it's not always easy, but, it's important. Take the job posting and list the criteria the employer is looking for. Then list the skills and experience you have. Either address how your skills match the job in paragraph form or list the criteria and your qualifications.

Sample Job Posting

BOX OFFICE MANAGER. Conduct, oversee subscription and ticket sales for events. Generate and maintain reports, perform accounting activities related to box office revenue, oversee operations. Requires customer service skills and accounting experience.

Cover Letter Example 1: Paragraph

As Box Office Assistant for the Light Opera Company I was responsible for customer service, ticketing patrons, and generating and maintaining box office reports. In addition, I maintained records and accounting reports for all box office transactions.

Cover Letter Example 2: List

Box Office Manager Requirements:

Conduct, oversee subscription and ticket sales for events
Generate and maintain reports, perform accounting activities
Customer service skills and accounting experience

My Skills and Experience:

Box office management including ticketing, maintenance of records and ticket database management
Maintain and generate reports
Box office accounting transaction and reporting
Customer service, seating, and ticketing patrons

As you can see, in both cases, the candidate has written a detailed cover letter that should pass the first screening. In order to pass that screening, you must specifically address the job ad and state why you are qualified for the position.

Given this competitive job market, it is critically important to target your cover letter and your resume. That way the employer knows exactly why you are qualified for the position and why they should consider you for an interview.

The Right Stuff - Or Not? What to do if you don't have the right stuff? It's a certainty that the person with ten years of child care experience, and no computer experience, who applied for an Oracle programmer position at a colleague's company won't get an interview. I hate to sound pessimistic, but, if your qualifications don't come close to matching the criteria for the job, I would save your time and the company's time and not apply. In most cases, there are too many qualified candidates whose cover letter and resume will make the cut.

Instead, focus on applying for jobs you do qualify for and spend some time gaining the additional skills or education (volunteer, take a class, etc.) you need to prepare to apply for positions that are a rung or two up the ladder.

How to Write a Research Proposal

2012-10-24T07:47:00.001-07:00

Most students and beginning researchers do not fully understand what a research proposal means, nor do they understand its importance. To put it bluntly, one's research is only as a good as one's proposal. An ill-conceived proposal dooms the project even if it somehow gets through the Thesis Supervisory Committee. A high quality proposal, on the other hand, not only promises success for the project, but also impresses your Thesis Committee about your potential as a researcher.

A research proposal is intended to convince others that you have a worthwhile research project and that you have the competence and the work-plan to complete it. Generally, a research proposal should contain all the key elements involved in the research process and include sufficient information for the readers to evaluate the proposed study.

Regardless of your research area and the methodology you choose, all research proposals must address the following questions: What you plan to accomplish, why you want to do it and how you are going to do it.

The proposal should have sufficient information to convince your readers that you have an important research idea, that you have a good grasp of the relevant literature and the major issues, and that your methodology is sound.

The quality of your research proposal depends not only on the quality of your proposed project, but also on the quality of your proposal writing. A good research project may run the risk of rejection simply because the proposal is poorly written. Therefore, it pays if your writing is coherent, clear and compelling.

This paper focuses on proposal writing rather than on the development of research ideas.

Title:

It should be concise and descriptive. For example, the phrase, "An investigation of . . ." could be omitted. Often titles are stated in terms of a functional relationship, because such titles clearly indicate the independent and dependent variables. However, if possible, think of an informative but catchy title. An effective title not only pricks the reader's interest, but also predisposes him/her favourably towards the proposal.

Abstract:

It is a brief summary of approximately 300 words. It should include the research question, the rationale for the study, the hypothesis (if any), the method and the main findings. Descriptions of the method may include the design, procedures, the sample and any instruments that will be used.

Introduction:

The main purpose of the introduction is to provide the necessary background or context for your research problem. How to frame the research problem is perhaps the biggest problem in proposal writing.

If the research problem is framed in the context of a general, rambling literature review, then the research question may appear trivial and uninteresting. However, if the same question is placed in the context of a very focused and current research area, its significance will become evident.

Unfortunately, there are no hard and fast rules on how to frame your research question just as there is no prescription on how to write an interesting and informative opening paragraph. A lot depends on your creativity, your ability to think clearly and the depth of your understanding of problem areas.

However, try to place your research question in the context of either a current "hot" area, or an older area that remains viable. Secondly, you need to provide a brief but appropriate historical backdrop. Thirdly, provide the contemporary context in which your proposed research question occupies the central stage. Finally, identify "key players" and refer to the most relevant and representative publications. In short, try to paint your research question in broad brushes and at the same time bring out its significance.

The introduction typically begins with a general statement of the problem area, with a focus on a specific research problem, to be followed by the rational or justification for the proposed study. The introduction generally covers the following elements:

1. State the research problem, which is often referred to as the purpose of the study.

2. Provide the context and set the stage for your research question in such a way as to show its necessity and importance.

3. Present the rationale of your proposed study and clearly indicate why it is worth doing.

4. Briefly describe the major issues and sub-problems to be addressed by your research.

5. Identify the key independent and dependent variables of your experiment. Alternatively, specify the phenomenon you want to study.

6. State your hypothesis or theory, if any. For exploratory or phenomenological research, you may not have any hypotheses. (Please do not confuse the hypothesis with the statistical null hypothesis.)

7. Set the delimitation or boundaries of your proposed research in order to provide a clear focus.

8. Provide definitions of key concepts. (This is optional.)

Literature Review:

Sometimes the literature review is incorporated into the introduction section. However, most professors prefer a separate section, which allows a more thorough review of the literature.

The literature review serves several important functions:

1. Ensures that you are not "reinventing the wheel".

2. Gives credits to those who have laid the groundwork for your research.

3. Demonstrates your knowledge of the research problem.

4. Demonstrates your understanding of the theoretical and research issues related to your research question.

5. Shows your ability to critically evaluate relevant literature information.

6. Indicates your ability to integrate and synthesize the existing literature.

7. Provides new theoretical insights or develops a new model as the conceptual framework for your research.

8. Convinces your reader that your proposed research will make a significant and substantial contribution to the literature (i.e., resolving an important theoretical issue or filling a major gap in the literature).

Most students' literature reviews suffer from the following problems:

• Lacking organization and structure

• Lacking focus, unity and coherence

• Being repetitive and verbose

• Failing to cite influential papers

• Failing to keep up with recent developments

• Failing to critically evaluate cited papers

• Citing irrelevant or trivial references

• Depending too much on secondary sources

Your scholarship and research competence will be questioned if any of the above applies to your proposal.

There are different ways to organize your literature review. Make use of subheadings to bring order and coherence to your review. For example, having established the importance of your research area and its current state of development, you may devote several subsections on related issues as: theoretical models, measuring instruments, cross-cultural and gender differences, etc.

It is also helpful to keep in mind that you are telling a story to an audience. Try to tell it in a stimulating and engaging manner. Do not bore them, because it may lead to rejection of your worthy proposal. (Remember: Professors and scientists are human beings too.)

Methods:

The Method section is very important because it tells your Research Committee how you plan to tackle your research problem. It will provide your work plan and describe the activities necessary for the completion of your project.

The guiding principle for writing the Method section is that it should contain sufficient information for the reader to determine whether methodology is sound. Some even argue that a good proposal should contain sufficient details for another qualified researcher to implement the study.

You need to demonstrate your knowledge of alternative methods and make the case that your approach is the most appropriate and most valid way to address your research question.

Please note that your research question may be best answered by qualitative research. However, since most mainstream psychologists are still biased against qualitative research, especially the phenomenological variety, you may need to justify your qualitative method.

Furthermore, since there are no well-established and widely accepted canons in qualitative analysis, your method section needs to be more elaborate than what is required for traditional quantitative research. More importantly, the data collection process in qualitative research has a far greater impact on the results as compared to quantitative research. That is another reason for greater care in describing how you will collect and analyze your data. (How to write the Method section for qualitative research is a topic for another paper.)

For quantitative studies, the method section typically consists of the following sections:

1. Design -Is it a questionnaire study or a laboratory experiment? What kind of design do you choose?

2. Subjects or participants - Who will take part in your study ? What kind of sampling procedure do you use?

3. Instruments - What kind of measuring instruments or questionnaires do you use? Why do you choose them? Are they valid and reliable?

4. Procedure - How do you plan to carry out your study? What activities are involved? How long does it take?

Results:

Obviously you do not have results at the proposal stage. However, you need to have some idea about what kind of data you will be collecting, and what statistical procedures will be used in order to answer your research question or test you hypothesis.

Discussion:

It is important to convince your reader of the potential impact of your proposed research. You need to communicate a sense of enthusiasm and confidence without exaggerating the merits of your proposal. That is why you also need to mention the limitations and weaknesses of the proposed research, which may be justified by time and financial constraints as well as by the early developmental stage of your research area.

Common Mistakes in Proposal Writing

1. Failure to provide the proper context to frame the research question.

2. Failure to delimit the boundary conditions for your research.

3. Failure to cite landmark studies.

4. Failure to accurately present the theoretical and empirical contributions by other researchers.

5. Failure to stay focused on the research question.

6. Failure to develop a coherent and persuasive argument for the proposed research.

7. Too much detail on minor issues, but not enough detail on major issues.

8. Too much rambling -- going "all over the map" without a clear sense of direction. (The best proposals move forward with ease and grace like a seamless river.)

9. Too many citation lapses and incorrect references.

10. Too long or too short.

11. Failing to follow the APA style.

12. Slopping writing.

Paul T. P. Wong, Ph.D., C.Psych.

Research Director, Graduate Program in Counselling Psychology

Trinity Western University

Langley, BC, Canada

DEVELOPING A GOOD SMALL BUSINESS IDEA

2011-06-13T09:19:00.000-07:00

Before a prospective entrepreneur goes into a business, he needs to develop a good business idea. From the point of a clear idea of what he wants to go into, he can then move ahead to do a feasibility study, from where he goes into seeking for funds. Businesses that are products of shallow ideas often die young. So, how can an individual trying to set up a business get the right idea that will later metamorphose into a strong business?

In the opinion of organisational experts, when one is thinking about a business idea, the first thing to think about is one’s passion. Can one’s passion become a money spinning venture? Attending business seminars and getting to discuss with small business experts can also help in fine-tuning one’s ideas.

According to an article on business proposals. Small-businessmarketinginfo.com, coming up with small business ideas may not be as tasking as making the same idea practical. It adds, “however, this is not to say that one should not come up with viable ideas or should rely on being employed by other people. There are so many business people who have put up enterprises and are doing well, though they will admit that it was not all that easy in the first place.

It explains that for viable business ideas, one has to carefully analyse the market trends, compare demand versus supply and determine just how much competition one is like to face, be it from other small ventures or big enterprises. One needs to examine its own compatibility with those ideas, it advises.

According to it, that is to say in other words that, a prospective entrepreneur needs to check to see if he has the skills or talent required in that venture. It adds, !people must be willing to pay for the goods or services that you offer and if that is not the case, then go back to your draft and see what changes need to be done. You, therefore, need to be keen on current events. Keep an eye on what interests’ people. In fact, watch the news on a regular basis so that you can identify new trends and fashions.

Your ideas do not have to be a replica of what other people have been doing over the years. You can invest a new service or product. This requires you to have a need assessment kind of survey, which will help you detect where there are loopholes between needs. For example, with the enhanced global aging concept with us now, how can you make lives of the old people who are living much longer nowadays, more enjoyable?

To an investment analyst, Mr Seye Adetunmbi, coming up with a good business idea is one thing but having the wherewithal to consummate the vision is another thing. He says, ”Wherewithal in this context may not be limited to start-up capital, the know-how and the enabling environment. Therefore, one must be able to match the basic prerequisites with what one has set out to accomplish.

He adds, “A good business idea should be driven on fundamentals not limited to the followings;

What am I producing or going to produce or what services am I going to provide?
Who are going to be my client/customers? Are they substantial enough for me to remain in business?
Who are my competitors?
How much capital do I have or would I have access to for the business to take-off effectively? If I am going to resort to borrowing, will the business returns be adequate to cover cost of fund and still leave something for sustenance as a going concern?
Is it going to be a regulated business concern prone to vagaries or inconsistency in government policy and what are the strategies in place to migrate such risk when it arises?

Also, according to a writer on ehow.com, one should subject his business idea to a SWOT analysis. The writer asks, ”What are the (S)trengths? What are the (W)eaknesses? What are the (O)pportunities? What are the (T)hreats? Do this with each business idea that you come up with.

According to the writer, an empirical and unbiased analysis of these critical factors is the platform for success in any business one goes into.

Facts about Eggs

2011-03-22T13:05:00.001-07:00

The information in this fact sheet answers many of the questions consumers frequently ask about the quality and wholesomeness of eggs and egg-rich foods (such as quiche and baked custard).

Handle with Care

Eggs are perishable and must be handled with care. If you handle them properly, you’ll reduce your risk of food-borne illness and insure good quality eggs.

Maintaining Shell Egg Quality and Wholesomeness

1. Keeping Eggs Safe and Healthy

Buy eggs from a refrigerated display case. If the trip home will take more than 30 minutes or if it is a very hot day, put the eggs in a portable cooler for the trip, if possible. Cold temperatures help maintain quality by slowing the loss of moisture and carbon dioxide from the eggs. The cold also slows the growth of any bacteria that might be present. Retail sales of eggs and the use of refrigerated display cases are governed by state regulations.

2. If the egg carton has an expiration date printed on it, such as “EXP May 1,” be sure it has not passed when you buy the eggs.

The expiration date on an egg carton has the same meaning as the “pull” or “sell by” date. It is the last day the store may sell the item as fresh. An expiration date may or may not be required by state regulations or by individual food stores. It is not required by federal regulations.

However, if it is used on a carton that also has a federal grade mark, the date cannot be more than 30 days from the date the eggs were packed into the carton. For example, eggs packed on January 1 may be labeled EXP JAN 30; packed January 2, EXP JAN 31; packed January 3, EXP FEB 1; and so forth.

3. Buy eggs that have clean, uncracked shells. Inspect the eggs in the carton before buying them.

If bacteria are present on the shell, they could enter the egg through a crack and contaminate the contents. Federal regulations require that eggs with dirty, prominently stained, or cracked shells be kept out of stores. There are small tolerances for slight stains and cracks, however, to allow for normal handling. For example, very small or light-colored specks or stains are allowed if the shell still has the overall appearance of being clean. Also, very fine hairline cracks in the shells of fresh eggs may escape detection during processing because they are very hard to see.

4. Consider using pasteurized egg products when you’re going to serve a large group or take eggs on a trip.

When making and serving eggs to a large group, use pasteurized egg products if possible. They eliminate the risk posed by bacteria that may have been present and are easy to use. Pasteurized egg products are sold by food brokers or wholesalers, usually in large-size containers, and are not generally sold in regular food stores. Pasteurized egg products are liquid, frozen and dried forms of eggs that have been separated from the shells and have undergone heat treatment for a short period of time. Commercial pasteurization kills bacteria but does not cook the eggs or affect their color, flavor or nutrients.

The egg’s ability to make baked goods rise is one function that might be slightly affected. Federal regulations require that egg products be prepared under inspection to ensure wholesomeness and proper labeling. When taking eggs on a trip where no refrigeration is available, such as camping or boating, take dried egg products. They are lightweight, easy to pack, and can be reconstituted with clean water and used as you would use shell eggs. Small packages are often sold at sporting goods stores.

5. Put eggs in the refrigerator as soon as possible, and keep them refrigerated until used. Then, remove only the number of eggs needed from the carton and return the carton to the refrigerator immediately.

Egg quality can decline more during one day at room temperature than during one week in the refrigerator. Refrigerator temperatures (40 degrees or below) not only help maintain quality by slowing the loss of moisture and carbon dioxide from the eggs, but also keep bacteria that cause food-borne illness from growing. When cold eggs sit in a warm room, moisture from the air will condense on the shell surface and the eggs will look like they are sweating. This speeds up the loss of quality and can allow bacteria to grow.

6. Do not wash eggs before storing them.

Most eggs sold commercially have been washed, sanitized and sprayed with an oil coating to help preserve quality and wholesomeness. Washing eggs at home will remove the coating and, if done improperly, any bacteria present could be drawn into the eggs through pores in the shells. The extra handling also increases the chance of accidentally cracking the shells.

7. Leave eggs in their original carton in the refrigerator.

Moving eggs from their carton to a refrigerator storage area increases the chance of accidentally cracking the shells and transferring bacteria from your hands to the shells.

8. Keep eggs away from foods with strong odors, like fish and onions.

Strong odors can penetrate eggshells and may give the eggs an unpleasant smell or taste.

9. If an egg accidentally freezes, keep it frozen until needed, then thaw in the refrigerator. If the shell cracked during freezing, discard the egg.

When a raw egg freezes, its contents expand and may crack the shell. When thawed, an egg with an uncracked shell may be hard-cooked successfully, but other uses may be limited. Freezing causes the yolk to become thick and syrupy, so it will not flow like an unfrozen yolk and blend very well with the egg white or other ingredients.

10. If you accidentally crack the shell of an egg before you plan to use it, break the egg into a clean container, cover tightly, refrigerate, and use within two days in a recipe that is baked.

Do not use an egg if the shell is cracked; if the egg’s contents are leaking through the shell; if the egg is stuck to the carton; or if the eggshell is dirty, very stained, or has foreign material sticking to it. If bacteria are present on the shell, they could enter the egg through a crack and contaminate the contents.

11. Use eggs within a reasonable amount of time. Raw shell eggs will keep in the home refrigerator without much quality loss for up to three weeks.

Separated egg whites and yolks should be refrigerated in tightly covered containers and used within four days. Cover the yolks with cold water before storing and pour the water off before using. Hard-cooked eggs, in the shell or peeled, should be stored in the refrigerator and eaten within one week after cooking. Hard-cooked yolks should be used within five days. Eggs held in the refrigerator too long may develop a bad flavor. Over time, they will gradually lose quality

and some of their functional properties, such as the ability to thicken sauces and make baked

goods rise. If organisms that cause food spoilage are present, eggs will spoil. The rate at which these changes occur depends on many things, including the temperature and how the eggs are handled and stored.

12. Follow good hygienic practices when preparing eggs and egg-rich foods. Wash hands, utensils, equipment and work surfaces with hot, soapy water before and after they come in contact with eggs and egg-rich foods.

Protect food, utensils, equipment and the work area from people with infections and respiratory illnesses, pets and house-hold pests. Cleanliness during food preparation helps stop the spread of any harmful bacteria that might be present. Dirty hands, utensils, equipment and work surfaces can contaminate any food they touch and should be cleaned before food is handled. This will prevent cross contamination of food—transferring harmful bacteria from one food to another, usually from a raw food to the same food after it is cooked, or to another raw food, or to another cooked food.

13. Break eggs into a clean container before cooking or mixing with other ingredients. If any shell fragments or blood spots are present, remove them with a clean utensil. Do not add eggshells to beverages or other dishes.

If any bacteria are on the surface of the eggshell, they can contaminate the entire dish and increase the risk of illness. Eggshells may also give the dish a gritty texture. Blood spots, while unappetizing to see, are harmless. They do not indicate a fertile egg. Blood spots usually occur when a blood vessel ruptures in the hen when the egg is made. Some breeds lay more blood spotted eggs than other breeds. Federal regulations require that eggs with large blood spots be kept out of stores. Small blood spots are permitted in Grade B eggs. Small tolerances for blood spots are allowed in Grades AA and A eggs, however, because very small blood spots can be difficult to see during processing, especially in eggs with brown shells.

14. When preparing and serving eggs and egg-rich foods, keep them out of the refrigerator no more than two hours total (not including cooking time). If serving time is more than two hours, as for a buffet, serve these foods from small dishes and refill them with hot or cold food from the stove or refrigerator.

To serve eggs and egg-rich foods hot, serve immediately after cooking, or hold for serving at 140 degrees F or higher for a short time. To serve them cold, put hot foods into shallow containers and refrigerate immediately after cooking so they will cool quickly. Cold cooked foods can be held for serving at 40 degrees F or below for a short time. Leftovers should be refrigerated in covered containers immediately after serving. Do not mix leftovers from the serving table with other food that is still on the stove or in the refrigerator. Use within four days. If harmful bacteria have enough time at the right temperature, they will grow or form a harmful toxin, either of which could make people sick. Most harmful bacteria survive and grow fast at room temperature, between 40 and 140 degrees F. Most are killed at temperatures of

160 degrees F or higher. Their growth is inhibited at 40 degrees F or below.

If food has been held at unsafe temperatures for more than two hours, it may become contaminated with harmful bacteria that are not destroyed by ordinary cooking. Heating this food to 160 degrees F will not make it safe to eat after exposure for more than two hours at an unsafe temperature.

15. Thoroughly cook eggs and egg-rich foods to minimize the risk of harmful bacteria, such as salmonella.

Cooking eggs and egg-rich foods to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F will destroy any salmonella bacteria that may be present. Use a cooking thermometer whenever possible to find out when this temperature is reached. Otherwise, follow the rules of proper food handling and the cooking directions. The cooking times and temperatures needed for food to reach 160 degrees F, and for bacteria to be killed, are affected by the types and temperatures of the ingredients and their degree of acidity or alkalinity (pH value), as well as the total volume of food cooked, the amount of bacteria that may be present, and the accuracy and efficiency of the cooking appliance used.

“Thoroughly cooked eggs” include eggs cooked until the whites and yolks are not runny, hard-cooked eggs, baked eggs, eggs used in recipes that are baked, and other egg-rich foods cooked to an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees F. Stirred (soft) custards, for example, reach serving consistency between 175 and 185 degrees F. Homemade ice cream and eggnog can be made with cooked, custard-type bases.

16. Be aware that there is a risk of becoming ill if you eat raw eggs and foods that contain raw eggs, as well as lightly cooked eggs and egg-rich foods. If you are vulnerable to infections caused by bacteria like salmonella, avoid these foods.

Although food-borne illness is not usually a major health problem for most healthy individuals, it can be very serious, even life-threatening, to people who are vulnerable to bacterial infections. These people include the elderly, whose immune systems weaken with age, infants,

whose immune systems are not fully developed, chronically ill people with weakened immune

systems, and pregnant women because of risk to the fetus. Raw eggs are used in Caesar salad, homemade mayonnaise, uncooked hollandaise and béarnaise sauces, fortified beverages, and homemade ice cream and eggnog made with uncooked bases. Eggs in cookie dough and cake batter are raw until after baking. Raw eggs added to a previously cooked dish are not sufficiently heated unless the entire dish is reheated to 160 degrees F.

Lightly cooked eggs are eggs served soft-cooked, soft-poached, soft-scrambled, and sunny-side-up. French toast is also lightly cooked. If you choose to eat raw or lightly cooked eggs, use special care to reduce the risk of illness.

17. Take care with hard-cooked eggs that are hidden for an egg hunt to prevent cracking. Hide them in places that are protected from dirt, pets and other sources of bacteria.

The total time for hiding and hunting the eggs must not be more than two hours. Eggs must be refrigerated until they are eaten.

Hard-cooked eggs will eventually spoil if not refrigerated and should not be eaten if they are exposed to room temperatures for more than two hours. Since cooking will remove some of the protective oil coating sprayed on the shells, bacteria can enter the egg through the pores or cracks in the shells. The Egg Design Nature designed the egg to fulfill one main purpose—reproduction. This design also helps protect the quality and wholesomeness of the egg on its trip from the hen to the kitchen—if everyone handles the egg properly.

The eggshell is nature’s packaging for the egg’s contents. Thousands of tiny pores form passageways through the shell. The cuticle or bloom is a protective coating that covers the shell

as the egg is laid and blocks the pores. Two shell membranes are located between the inner surface of the shell and the egg white. An air cell forms between the shell membranes after the

egg is laid, usually in the large end of the egg. Twisted, cordlike strands of egg white, called chalazae, are on opposite sides of the yolk and hold the yolk in the center of the white.

Most eggs sold today are infertile because there are no roosters housed with the laying hens. Fertile eggs are often found at roadside stands or health foods stores. There are no nutritional differences between fertile and infertile eggs. If fertile eggs are not incubated there will be no development of the embryo and no way to distinguish them from infertile eggs. If fertile eggs are properly incubated for a few days, development of the embryo or a blood ring should be visible when the eggs are candled. Federal regulations prohibit their use as human food.

Egg Quality Egg quality is defined by USDA grade standards that are based on factors such as the condition of the white and yolk, the size of the air cell, and the soundness and cleanliness of the shell. The color of the shell and the nutritional value of the egg are not quality factors. When an egg is laid, the white and yolk are at their peak quality. A newly laid egg is warm. It immediately begins to cool, and its contents contract slightly. Some air penetrates the shell through the pores and the two membranes separate to form a small air cell. If broken open, the egg’s contents would cover a small area; the white would be thick and stand high; the yolk would be firm, round and high; and the chalazae (twisted, cordlike strands) would be very prominent. Over time, the white and yolk lose quality. The yolk absorbs water from the white. Moisture and carbon dioxide in the white evaporate through the pores, allowing more air to penetrate the shell, and the air cell becomes larger. If broken open, the egg’s contents would cover a wider area; the white would be thinner, losing some of its thickening and leavening powers; the yolk would be flatter, larger and more easily broken; and the chalazae would be less prominent and weaker, allowing the yolk to move off-center.

Eggs sold today are fresh, usually moving from processor to retailer within a few days after being laid. Refrigeration and proper handling help maintain their quality. For eggs to be identified as fresh on the carton, federal regulations require that they have not been held in refrigerated storage more than 30 days. Freshness affects the cooking quality of eggs. Very fresh, high-quality eggs are best for poaching and frying because they hold their shape and look

most attractive. However, when they are hard-cooked, the white may stick to the membranes inside the shell and the eggs may be difficult to peel. When hard cooking, buy eggs a week to 10

days ahead of time for best peeling results.

Grading Eggs

Federal regulations define three quality grade levels that apply to all eggs sold to consumers: Grades AA, A and B. Grades AA and A are mostly sold in grocery stores. Grade AA is the highest

quality grade level. Processors who pay for USDA’s voluntary shell egg grading service have their facilities and procedures federally approved and monitored and are authorized to use the USDA grade shields on their egg cartons. Other processors operate according to state regulations that conform to the federal regulations. These processors use terms like “Grade A,” without the shield, on their egg cartons. Cartons with the federal grade mark must also have a three-digit lot number printed on them. This number is the consecutive day of the year on which the eggs were packed. For example, a carton with number 031 was packed on January 31; 032, on February 1; 033, on February 2; and so forth.

Egg Wholesomeness

Bacteria occur naturally in the environment. While some are helpful, such as those used to make vinegar from apple juice, others are harmful. Salmonella, for example, is one harmful bacteria that may be found on foods of animal origin—raw meat, poultry, fish, milk and eggs. These harmful bacteria can be controlled so they do not cause illness. Salmonella bacteria can be killed by cooking raw meat, poultry, fish and eggs, and by pasteurizing raw milk and liquid eggs. Bacteria can adhere to the surface of the eggshell or hide in the pores, and can penetrate the egg contents through cracks in the shell or through the pores. Scientists strongly suspect that certain salmonella bacteria can be transmitted from an infected laying hen directly into the interior of an egg before the shell is formed (transovarian transmission). However, the risk of contracting salmonellosis from eggs contaminated with salmonella bacteria is very small, especially if the eggs are handled properly.

The Processor’s Role

Processors take steps to be sure that eggs are fit for human consumption. Most eggs are automatically washed, sanitized and dried. Washing removes dirt and bacteria from the surface of the shells. Washing also removes the natural protective cuticle, which many processors replace with a thin film of a colorless, odorless, tasteless, edible mineral oil. The clean eggs then pass over a light in mass-scanning (candling) equipment, which detects unmarketable eggs. These eggs include “checks” (where the shell is cracked, but membranes are intact so contents do not leak), “dirties,” incubator rejects, inedibles, loss, and leakers. Federal regulations prohibit restricted eggs from being sold as raw shell eggs. Automatic scales weigh the clean eggs, packaging equipment puts them into cartons, and the cartons are placed into coolers until they are shipped. The size printed on the carton indicates the required minimum weight for a dozen eggs, not the weight of each egg in the carton. Extra large, large and medium are the sizes most often found in grocery stores. Most recipes are based on large eggs.

INGREDIENTS OF A GREAT LIFE by Ubong Essien

2011-03-22T13:01:00.001-07:00

A great life is a distinguishable life. It is a life remarkable for its ability and character. And when we talk of great men, we refer to the competent, the well-informed and fully-deserving characterized only by a ranking considerably above the normal or average. They command our admiration. The very reason great men have come to be our favourites-folks we consider as the best in their fields. People, who by their example inspire us with a view to bringing out the best in us. This piece x-rays the ingredients common to great lives. Each is considered very important in the entire greatness mix.

Great Men are Focused Men

Great men understand in the words of Bobb Biehl that, “focus precedes success.” They realize they can only be renowned for a specifics and not generics so they bring all their energies to bear on the purpose at hand – the one that matters. In the words of Andrew Carnegie, “they put all their eggs in one basket, and then sit to watch that basket.” Not dissipating their resource and energy on too many things, no matter how lofty. That is why we know them. Henry Ford is remembered for his achievement in the auto world; Faraday in electricity; Walt Disney for his animations; Philo Farnsworth for the electronic TV.

These men who see themselves primarily as being on an assignment, with an object in view. To them, the main thing must always remain the main thing. And just like Seneca remarked, “they know the harbor to which they are headed. So they position themselves accordingly to catch the winds to take them there.” Little wonder they become specialists. We are still in the era of the specialist. And the management gurus of our time are today telling organizations to cut down on many and varied interests and gravitates towards key area of strength. The admonition is very simple: focus, focus, focus. In their view it is better to be strong somewhere than become weak everywhere. There’s no point trying to become too many things at all, when you can become one outstanding thing to all.

My counsel to you, if you ever desire to be great, is “never want many things.” Even Jesus told busy Martha that, “one thing is needful.” And God hates the unfocused. He describes such as being double-minded, undecided and uncertain in all their ways; that become so unstable and are unable to keep a steady course. The consequence is that he should not hope to receive anything from the Lord. Beware of divided loyalty. Determine exactly what you want in life. And in so doing, you will have made the most important decision of your life. “for you have to know what you want”, remarked Douglas Lurtan, “In order to attain it.” Conficus observed that “he who chases two rabbits catches none.” So, find your purpose or business and then mind it. Be warned therefore that “he who wishes to fulfill his mission in this world must be a man of one idea, that is, of one great overmastering purpose, overshadowing all his aims, and guiding and controlling his entire life.”(Julius Bate)

Great Men Let Go of the Past

The past, whether good or bad; success or failure; does not hold much significance in the life of great men. The renowned Apostle Paul said, “forgetting the things that are behind me.” Paul lived in a state of constant forgetfulness of past victories, defeats, faults etc. this is one character worth emulating. Great men see their past experiences whatever – as guideposts, not as hitching spot. They understand that the failures of yesterday are not worth brooding over as they drain the impetus for the future. Neither are the triumphs gone by to be endlessly relished as they cloud the need the future progress. They simply put the past right where it belongs – in the past! This is worth following.

So many today consider their background and conclude their unfitness for greatness. This ought not to be. Had Philo Farnsworth considered he was merely a peasant farm boy who later became an orphan; his dream for the TV would have died with him. What about Abraham Lincoln, his past record is perhaps one of the worst I have ever seen. Failing I business, losing all kinds of election and even losing his wife – all over a period of nearly 3 decades – yet he became one of America’s most outstanding presidents. So why the much ado about the past? Just let yesterday go! Even God has no interest in man’s past. He doesn’t enjoy recalling the former things. He even buries man’s sin in the sea of his forgetfulness. All he wants is to do a new thing. God’s view of the former is that it isn’t worth comparing to the latter, so deprive the past of the much emphasis.

Great Men Reach Out With Anticipation – Looking Forward

They are men who live a life of constant yearning. The longing for what is ahead is what makes life worthwhile for them. The essence of forgetting the past is to be enabled to have a proper sense of anticipation. These two cannot be carried out simultaneously. You must first forget the past in order to look forward to the future. The Apostle Paul remarked “…forgetting the things that are behind and straining to what lies ahead, I press towards the mark”. It is only focused men with the nerve to let go of their past that have what it takes to advance towards their goal in life. You must look forward to what lies ahead of you always and with enthusiasm. You must strain towards attaining your purpose in life. Be like the athlete whose only goal from the starting blocks is the breasting of the tape - even the winning of the gold. Life isn’t worth anything if there’s nothing to look forward to. Begin to live life full of expectations and high expectations. Because according to Sam Walton, “high expectations hold the key to everything”. Let your hands be outstretched daily for what is to come (greatness and achievement). And then, strain ahead for it. Press for the home stretch. Do your best to reach what is ahead of you. Be like David Livingstone whose singular motto was, ”I’ll go anywhere, provided it is forward”.

THE ART OF TITHING ON DONATING 10%

2011-03-22T12:49:00.001-07:00

A famous forex trader was sharing his experience with his class,

In 2002, when I was 20 years old, I went to a consulate to open Visa to Canada, and I saw a monk sitting in that waiting hall. He was shaved, wearing robes. I was very curious, as I’ve never seen a live monk before, so I sat next to him, and started asking him questions, basically trying to find out the reason to his madness. He explained to me that he was traveling around the world with his master, basically some other big and famous monk. But his master had Cancer, and this monk was a healer, so he was traveling around with his master, basically prolonging his master’s life as long as the could. I offered this monk a ride, and went to his temple. We met several times after, and he introduced me to some very interesting people, one of whom became my teacher. The guy who became my teacher was amazing. He was extremely wealthy, owning several large factories in his country. On the other hand he had a very deep spiritual side about him. He was a famous healer, and I’ve seen this guy and his students, perform miracles. I’ve seen and personally participated in cases of AIDS and Parkinson’s permanently healed with medical tests before and after, proving it, but I am not even going to go there, because I’ve gotten into enough trouble over that, and most people won’t believe me anyway. We are talking about forex here, but the reason I brought up this story is very important. I was lucky enough to be a business partner of this teacher for a year, and he drilled into me something that completely transformed my financial life. He taught me to tithe, or donate at least 10% of my income regularly. You see, it seems like from my story before, I was making a lot of money with whatever I was doing, and I was, but somehow I could never keep much of it. Somehow I would make bad decisions and lose some of it, other times I would get screwed out of large sums by other people, other times I would go through some dry periods, where I wouldn’t make much, and simply spend what I had.

My teacher basically taught me that the most important thing in life if you want to generate wealth, is to donate at least 10% of your income regularly, and the keyword here is regularly. So being kind of dumb and naïve as I was, I just did what I was told to do, and I still do it. Since the day I started donating regularly, my income has been growing exponentially, and I’ve accumulated large sums of money.

I’ve experimented with donating as much as 30%, and I went through periods of donating absolutely nothing. Life becomes much tougher and a lot more problematic, when I stop donating. Yet, when I start donating as much as 30% of my income, a lot more opportunities come than I can handle, and to be honest, I think I am not saintly enough to be able to donate 30%. No matter how much I believe in this principle, it just seems like to much, and I can’t full heartedly give away that much yet, but 10% seems very natural to me now. And I can’t even tell you enough about the emotional rewards that come along with it.

You may think that this is some kind of voodoo, bullshit belief about 10% donating, but it’s really not. I can tell you from my experience, and I can tell you from experience of some very wealthy people that I know, unless you practice tithing, or donating 10%, life is a lot more difficult, making money is a lot more difficult, and keeping and accumulating money s a lot more difficult. All you have to do is try it for at least 6 months, and then stop doing it for 6 months, and you will see huge difference. Donating 10% is like a magic trick of attracting financial ease and luck into your life.

USING WHAT IS IN YOU BY E. W. KENYON

2011-03-14T14:40:00.000-07:00

There is a gold mine hidden in every life. Nature never made a failure. Every man has success hidden away in his soul. No one else can find it but himself. He holds the key to the hidden room. Failure comes because we never sought out the hidden treasure. Failure comes because we tried to find it somewhere else. You can’t find it anywhere else.

Success, victory and achievement are in you. The exceptional people are those who develop what is within them. That quartet is winning fame and success because they developed what they had in them. Singly, they could not do it, but united, they make a harmony that thrills the heart. The soloist had it in her. It was there and she developed it and made it a commercial value.

I have seen three great baritones. One was a miner who, had he been not lazy and loved the companionship of drinking men and useless women, would have been known the world over. What a voice he had. I picked him up drunkard. I tried to make him a man of him. I bought him clothes. When it was known that Scotty was going to sing, the building could not hold the crowd. I said to him, “I don’t know whether my pianist can play the pieces that you want to sing without looking them over.” He looked at me with a peculiar expression and said, “I need no accompaniment.”

He stood by the piano that first night in his old mining cloth and sang. I closed my eyes and I could locate him because his voice utterly filled the whole room. He seemed to be everywhere in it. That great voice was strange, sweet and wonderful music. He made songs all over that he sang that night. I raised the money and sent him back to his own land. He promised to sing again. As a boy, he sang in Drewry, but he confessed he was drunk it took a man to hold him up. But he never amounted to anything. He did not develop the thing that was in him.

Genius has grown up to weeds about it, just because they did not develop the thing they had. I know it is hard work. There are no great gold nuggets lying on top of the earth now. You have to go down the earth for them; you must dig for them. You want the applause of the world? You want money to buy fine clothes and splendid houses? Awaken young men. Go find that hidden place in your nature. Dig and dig until you have conquered.

A father was dying, he had two sons. The boys had always felt that he had gold that he had hidden away somewhere. He had never been a strong, healthy man so his farm was not developed. At the back of the house, there was ten acres of stump land. When he was dying he said, “the stump lot”. Again and again he said, ”the stump lot”. As soon as the funeral was over, the boys said, “the gold is out in the stump lot”. How feverish they worked. They tore up every inch of it. But they found no gold. Then the older said, “we have the land in good condition, let’s put in corn”. In the autumn, they found in the ripened corn, the gold.

You have a stump lot in you, dig it up, clean it up and you will find the gold in it.

MAXIMIZING YOUR MOMENT BY UNDERSTANDING TIME AND CHANCE

2011-03-09T17:15:00.000-08:00

Solomon who was considered the wisest man in his time, once remarked that he had looked through the whole earth and saw that the swiftest person does not always win the race nor the strongest man the battle. He had realized through his personal experiences and by observing the experiences of others around him, that life would never really appear fair. There is a factor in the equation of life that would make those who appear less qualified, less skilled for the job or for the promotion many a times get it ahead of the others. This factor is called rhythm.

He remarked that all things seem to happen by time and chance meaning that time will always present opportunities. Those that see them and maximize their moments would come out on top. This factor made him conclude that those who understand the principle of timing and know the importance of dictating the right moment, seeing the hidden opportunities in every season would ultimately be on top. There are those who have learnt to stand back in preparation when the time is not ripe and to strike fiercely when it has reached it fruition.

You would find that those people are adaptable, pleasant in uncomfortable situations, diligent in their work even when it might not be what they would ultimately want to do. Even Jesus who came as one greater than Solomon on the subject of wisdom and in the understanding of the affairs of life emphazised the principle of timing to the extent that he made it clear that those who miss the opportunities in the season they go through life would ultimately be punished by life itself. Every season you go through has a purpose. Not all are pleasant but when you discover the ways of God and fall in line, you will move out of the ‘rat race’ and the ’struggle’ into the place where you are carried by a flood into a position prepared for you. It is all about understanding in rhythm. Three things are important in seeing and maximizing you moments.

1. 1. You must be a diligent person in whatever your hand can find to do today.

2. 2. You must always keep yourself busy and work hard. Laziness and idleness would dull your perception and stifle your inner faculties.

3. 3. Idleness and laziness attracts negative spirits that brings poverty into your life. It affects your inner man.

You might right now not have the positioning to decide on the type of job you would really want to do but you must work diligently in whatever your hands can find with joy in your heart and this attitude would prepare you for the future. You might find yourself by ‘accident’ in the midst of situations and people that are undesirable and thorny where you can’t of your own will change. You must discipline your heart to find joy and take pleasure in all of it.

This is where you learn the rhythm in the dance of success and destiny which no man can teach you. If you don’t have the rhythm of success in you, you just don’t have it. You may read books, listen to tapes but catching the rhythm is a different science. Association with those that understand the spirit of the times and who reflect the character required would help, but no man can transfer the rhythm. You must learn it yourself. Not all seasons ordained by God are pleasant.

In the natural world winter might not be particularly pleasant but there is nothing you can do to change it. It is part of the cycles of life, a season with a purpose and necessary for continuity of life. There would be time when you would have to go through things that are unpleasant but there is nothing you can do to change it. There would be times you would have to go through things that are unpleasant, when you would have to work at jobs you don’t like, but you get to learn to be diligent and learn joy during those times for through them, you would come to learn the rhythm of God in the dance of success, peace and joy in your life and that is the truth.

THE TWELVE MOST IMPORTANT LESSONS FROM GREAT MEN ON MONEY AND CAREER

2011-03-08T12:46:00.000-08:00

1. BE TENACIOUS:

“Anybody who can be a halfway, man but the one who rises above this class, is the one who keeps everlastingly pushing.”- J Ogden Armour.

More than any other , one lesson stands out from the books I have read: Never Give Up. If you have a goal or a dream, pursue it. If there is a cause that you truly believe in, then fight for it. That is not to say you should doggedly chase greed or gluttony, but that you should do your best to achieve those things that are important to you. Great men struggle through daunting obstacles to reach their destinations. In everything that you do, do your best. And remember, the road to wealth is paved with goals.

2. EXERCISE SELF-CONTROL:

“Tis easier to suppress the first desire than to satisfy all that follows it”. Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin famously attempted to codify his quest for self-control. Franklin committed himself to thirteen virtues and he developed a system for tracking how disciplined he was in his daily pursuit of these ideals. There is nothing wrong with an occasional indulgence. But when the indulgence become a habit or worse, a vice this can affect your life. Even destroy it. If you have habits that prevent you from fulfilling your potentials, find a way to boost your self-control.

3. DO THE RIGHT THING:

“To be truly rich, regardless of his fortune or lack of it, a man must live by his own values. If those values were not personally meaningful, then no amount of money gained can hide the emptiness of life without them”.-John Paul Getty

Have a code of honour and live by it. Your code of honour might come from your faith, or from your education or from your family. Whatever soured, live by these values. Life is filled with temptations. The more you accomplish, the more people will tempt you with offers for quick gains or passing pleasures. Many men succumb to these but those who rarely achieve what they might have if they had stuck to their principles. The books I have read are filled with stories of men who have resisted the urge to compromise and who believe that this has been a key to their success. Don’t cheat, be honest, work hard and embrace the golden rule.

4. EMBRACE THE GOLDEN RULE:

“Good will is one of the few really important assets of life. A determined man can win almost anything that he goes after but unless, in his getting, he gains good will he has not profited much”.- Henry Ford

Success could be measured by how a man treated others (James Penny). In his book, Fifty Years with the golden rule, he describes his life-long adherence to this maxim: “Do unto other as you would have then do unto you”. Other great men believed the same. They believed that their fortune came not from pursuing money itself, but by producing something of value to others. But this principle also holds true outside of business. In your dealings with your friends, your family and with a stranger, treat others as you would like to be treated. Doing so builds social capital, strengthening the fibre of the community.

5. PAY YOURSELF FIRST:

“Many a man is poor today, although he has worked like a slave, simply because he could not save”.- Orison Marden

Another common thread in most of these books and in personal-finance classics like the richest man in Babylon is the importance of saving. “Pay yourself first” the old adage goes and it’s a great advice. If you will set aside ten or twenty percent of all that you earn, your fortune will grow far beyond that of your peers. Some of these money should be invested in a manner that makes you comfortable. (You should be able to learn about the concept of asset allocation and diversification, if you haven’t already) some of your money should be set aside on a high-interest savings account to act as an emergency fund. When you save, when you pay yourself first, you are using the strength of your youth to insure your uncertain tomorrow.

6. AVOID DEBT:

“Be assured that it gives much more pain to the mind to be in debt than to do without any article whatever which we may seem to want”.- Thomas Jefferson

Debt is slavery. When you owe money to another man, you are obligated to work for his benefit, not yours. Many young men struggle with debt. I did so myself. But those who are not able to overcome their spending habits are likely to find themselves always poor. When you pay interest to some else, you cannot earn interest for yourself. When you’re in debt, your options are limited. You cannot choose, you cannot quit a job you hate. If you do, how will your bills get paid? To be sure, a certain amount of debt is useful in business but make it a policy in your life never to borrow for something that will decrease in value. And if you’re already behind, make it priority to get out of debt as soon as possible.

7. KEEP WELL:

“The foundation of success in life is good health: that is the substratum fortune; it is the basis of happiness. A person cannot accumulate a fortune very well when he is sick”.- P.T. Barnum

Your health is your greatest asset. If you lack health, you cannot work and cannot produce an income. Health allows you to engage in productive activities at work and at play. It allows you to enjoy the company of your friends and family. And it allows you to live with vigor. Guard your health. Do not neglect your body. Eat well. Exercise regularly. If you drink or smoke, do so in moderation. You will not live forever but with some care and foresight, you may get a little closer.

8. DO NOT COVET:

“By wishing to be what he calls up-to-date as his friends or boon companions, many a young man mortgages his future”.- Orison Marden

If never pays to compare yourself to others. For one, you can find yourself longing to own the same things they do. Your best friend buys a new ford mustang and suddenly you want one too. The guys from work go out for drinks on Friday night but your are broke, the temptation to join in, to have what others have can be unbearable. Focus on only yourself and how the things you own and do relate to your goals. Don’t be jealous of others. (This is one message in the famous essay, “Acres of Diamonds”: instead of looking elsewhere for wealth, look at your own life.)

9. LIVE MODESTLY:

“This, then is held to be the duty of the man of wealth… to set an example of modest, unostentatious living, shunning display or arrogance”-Andrew Carnegie.

This is the flip side to “Do Not Covet”. Just as you should not allow the behavior of your friends to influence your spending decisions, so too, be conscious of your influence on them. If you have money don’t flaunt it. And if you don’t have money don’t pretend you do. It’s fine to buy quality products, but don’t be flashy. Live simply and well.

10. PRACTICE PATIENCE:

“No matter how great the talent or the effort, some things just take time: you can’t produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant”- Warren Buffet.

Too many men want to “get rich quick.” They are on the lookout for fast money. They also want to lose weight now, to be great golfers now, to be in management now. This obsession with “now” is a problem. In his new book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell writes that the difference between those who succeed and those who don’t is in 10,000 hours. That is, those who achieve mastery have patiently practiced their craft for at least 10,000 hours which is the equivalent of five years of full-time work. When people ask me why my personal finance blog is so successful, one of my responses is that I have worked at it 60+ hours a week for the past three years. Practice may not “make perfect” but it certainly breeds success.

11. GIVE GENEROUSLY:

“Thrift does not end with itself but extends its benefits to others it found hospitals, endows charities, establishes colleges and extends educational influences” – Samuel Smiles.

I was not raised in a culture of giving. Its only something I am beginning to learn in middle age. But as I read about the choices of men have come before me, it is clear that they have derived satisfaction (and done a lot of good) by giving generously not just money but also of time and knowledge. Do not hoard the things you have. Share them so that others might profit too.

12. LEARNING FROM THE AVERAGE JOE:

Over the past few months, I have enjoyed reading the real-life stories of how great men became great. But I have also found it enlightening to read about the experiences of the average day guy the fellows like you and me. One book I strongly recommend (especially considering the state of the economy) is Hard Times by Studs Terkel. Hard Times is an oral history of the Great Depression. Terkel interviewed scores of men and women about their experiences during the 1930s. their stories are amazing and they can offer great insight about how we can live better lives today.

Go forth my friends and do great things.

Our Deepest Fear

2011-03-06T18:31:00.000-08:00

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond
measure.
It is our Light, not our darkness, that most frightens
us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God. Your playing small does
not serve the World.
There is nothing enlightening about shrinking so
that other people won’t feel unsure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God
that is within us.
It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.
As we let our own Light shine; we unconsciously
give other people permission to do the
same.
As we are liberated from our own fear; our
presence automatically liberates others.
—Marianne Williamson

Who Am I?

2011-03-05T20:11:00.000-08:00

I am your constant companion.
I am your greatest helper or your heaviest burden.
I will push you onward or drag you down to failure.
I am completely at your command.
Half the things you do, you might just as well turn over to me,
And I will be able to do them quickly and correctly.
I am easily managed; you must merely be firm with me.
Show me exactly how you want something done,
And after a few lessons I will do it automatically.
I am the servant of all great men
And, alas, of all failures as well.
Those who are great, I have made great.
Those who are failures, I have made failures.
I am not a machine, though
I work with all the precision of a machine
Plus the intelligence of a man.
You may run me for profit, or run me for ruin;
It makes no difference to me.
Take me, train me, be firm with me
And I will put the world at your feet.
Be easy with me, and I will destroy you.
Who am I?

I am habit!

Speak to Boost Your Business and Career

2011-03-05T16:03:00.001-08:00

Forget that speaking in front of others is the Number One Fear. Instead, look at it as an opportunity to get your message to many people simultaneously and sell yourself within your organization and to clients and customers. It can be one of your most effective marketing tools when you have honed your message and know your target market. It can also be a good way to grow your network and your database, with permission, of course.

Become a subject matter expert. Your first task is to define your areas of expertise. What do you do? How do you it differently? If self-employed, what service or product do you sell? If employed by someone else, do people seek you out as a resource or for advice on a topic? When I was at AT&T (the first one!), my name became synonymous with public relations. Today, my areas of expertise are business networking and communication skills. What’s your area?

Describe your topic. Choose a title or titles (use your creativity!) and write a short overview and learner benefits. Show people you are for real. Look as if you are an expert on the topic and a seasoned presenter. Never say, “I am thinking of speaking on thus and such topic.” Instead, “I speak on thus and such topic.” While employed at Bell Labs, a friend challenged me to develop my first class in communication. It was his opinion that I knew a lot; however, I didn’t have a beginning, middle or end. I picked up the gauntlet and developed an internal 10-week communication course for employees. And one thing lead to another …

Determine your target market. This is a major marketing ingredient that takes forethought and time. Make sure the people in the audience can use your services/products or refer you to people who can. Internally, choose audiences that can help further your career and enhance where you are and where you want to go.

Approach groups, organizations and internal entities that include your target market. If you are willing to speak for free (and most beginners do), you will find infinite opportunities. Suggestions include:

Chambers of Commerce. Usually, you need to be a member to be considered, and you are a prime candidate since many chambers choose not to pay their presenters.

Service Clubs. There are a plethora of Rotary, Kiwanis and Lions clubs that meet frequently and are looking for pro bono presentations.

Not-for-profits (and their boards!). I cut a few teeth speaking on behalf of AT&T for the United Way in Chicago. These are eager audiences, and you also get satisfaction from giving as you get.

Networking groups. Seek out local groups that are not part of a national, multi-chapter organization. They frequently are looking for specific subject-matter presentations at no cost.
Other industry/professional/sorority-fraternity/interest-specific groups that meet monthly. Almost all of them offer programs to their members and most have a meager speaker budget, at best.

Internal opportunities. Volunteer to head projects like the United Way, blood drive, and other outside activities your company supports. You’ll gain valuable experience and exposure speaking in front of your team and, sometime, the entire company. Also, jump at every chance to do business presentations in front of peers, managers, vendors and customers.

Benefits are myriad. First of all, it will help you conquer your fear of speaking. Secondly, it will increase your visibility and credibility as a subject matter expert. Thirdly, it will probably lead to more sales and more career success. It helps put you in the drivers’ seat!

The 30 second secret to blasting your energy levels through the roof in the morning

2011-03-05T15:58:00.000-08:00

There is an underlying inner sleep system which the quality of your sleep and your daily energy levels highly depend on. It’s this inner sleep system that plays a key role in:

• When you go to sleep and when you wake up.

• How energized you feel in the morning, and throughout the day.

• When your body produces feelings of “sleepiness” to send you a signal that you later interpret in a way like… “I feel tired, I better get to bed…”

Most people don’t know how to use this system to their advantage…

You’re about to discover how you can use a simple ‘little-known-about’ method in the first 30 seconds after waking up to your advantage and boost your energy levels in the morning dramatically. You’ll be able to learn how this works very easily (you’ll fully understand in a moment), and notice results immediately when you apply it into your life.

Your body’s natural body temperature rhythm plays a key role in how much energy you have! In case you don’t remember let’s first review your body temperature rhythm. In grade 5 science class, most of us are taught that our body temperature stays at a constant 98.5 degrees Fahrenheit (36.6 Celsius). In reality, this is false. Your body temperature varies by about 6 degrees every day.

Your body temperature rises and falls by about 6 degrees every-day, this rise and fall of your body temperature is known as your body temperature rhythm, or as some like to call it your “circadian rhythm.” Your body temperature usually rises in the morning around 6 AM, and begins to rise until the afternoon, where it takes a slight “slump.” It then recovers from this slump and continues to rise until the evening hours, where it drops all through the night as you sleep.

Believe it or not, it’s this rise and fall of your body temperature that plays a major role in

• When you feel sleepy

• When you feel energized.

When your temperature is dropping, you feel “sleepy” and more towards the “tired” side. This is like a cue for your body to create feelings of sleepiness. When your body temperature is rising, you tend to feel energized, alert, relaxed, and more “awake”.

The 30 Second Method To Boosting Your Energy In The Morning

There is a hormone in your body called melatonin. It’s also sometimes called as the “vampire” hormone, or the “sleep” hormone. The longer your eyes are exposed to darkness, the more of this hormone is released inside of your blood. The instant your eyes are exposed to light, the level of melatonin in your blood begins to decrease rapidly.

It’s this hormone that contributes a lot to the drop in your body temperature. Melatonin also makes you feel “sleepy.” When you wake up in the morning, you have A LOT of melatonin inside of your blood. This is the main reason why you may feel like a “zombie” when you wake up. Combined with a low body temperature in the morning, most people are so low on energy that they mistake the tired and drowsy feeling in the morning as the need to sleep, and end up sleeping longer and doing more damage to their sleep systems. In reality, this is not the need to sleep, but actually the result of sleeping!

The 30 second trick to rapidly lowering your melatonin levels, and boosting your body temperature in the morning here it is…

When you wake up, you MUST expose your eyes to natural sunlight within 1 minute of waking up for AT LEAST 30 seconds. As you do this you will notice the drowsy and tired feeling you usually get in the morning fading away, as your body feels more and more energized. At first glance this sounds very simple, but hundreds of people who apply this technique from the Powerful Sleep system achieve incredible energetic results instantly in the morning.

Here’s How And WHY This Works

As you already know, when you expose your eyes to light your melatonin levels begin to drop and your body temperature begins to rise, as you slowly feel more awake in the morning. But… have you ever wondered why you feel less energetic on cloudy and rainy days?

Why does this happen?

Because LIGHT Comes In Many Intensities Most people don’t realize that spending the day in-doors is the equivalent for your eyes as spending the day in darkness. Let me explain… Light intensity is measured in units called “luxes.” 1 Lux is about the light your eyes would get if you were to sit in a pitch dark room with 1 candle.

• During sunrise and sunset, your eyes get about 1,000 to 5,000 Luxes of light!

• During the afternoon on a sunny day your eyes get about 100,000 luxes of light!

• Inside your home, or in an office, your eyes get about 100 to 500 luxes of light.

The level of melatonin in your blood always depends on the light intensity coming into your eyes.

For your eyes, being in-doors and not being exposed to high intensity light is the equivalent as being in complete darkness. This has huge effect on your melatonin levels and your body temperature rhythm. When you expose your eyes to high intensity light such as natural sunlight in the morning you drastically lower your melatonin levels right away, and your body temperature begins to rise as a result.

However, most people spend the first hour or two of the morning sitting in-doors, and wondering why they feel “so tired” while they gobble down another cup of coffee.(Later on, you’ll be shocked when you find out what coffee really does for your sleep system.)

When you’re sitting in your home in the morning, half of the light outside is being blocked by your windows, drapes and shades. Your eyes get at most maybe 200 to 300 luxes of light. This keeps your melatonin levels high, stops your body temperature from rising and keeps you low on energy. This does further damage to your sleep system in a perpetual loop, lowering your energy and immune system day by day.

I hoped you really enjoyed the information in this special report. This is just one of the MANY techniques and inner sleep system secrets you’ll learn in Powerful Sleep which you’ll use to supercharge your sleep system and blast your daily energy levels sky high, so you can wake up fully energized and live your whole day with passion!

The Powerful Sleep System also teaches you how to reduce your sleep and have more time and energy than when you slept longer.

Don't Get Caught With Google Adsense Click Fraud

2011-02-28T19:11:00.001-08:00

Many web site owners are getting their Google Adsense account terminated when they have done nothing wrong to deserve the punishment. Considering the money that they are getting from Adsense, they would certainly want to get back into it.

Considering the money to be made with Adsense, it is no wonder that they would want to get back into it.

It is that same consideration why the Google Adsense click fraud is thought of and why many people are getting into it.

Click fraud is the act of clicking on ads for the purpose of costing the advertiser money. It is simply the same as paying out cash for false leads. Many people website owners are aware of this fraud and are sharing the same sentiment that this is the one big problem that Adsense is facing.

How do you prevent being involved in this fraud?

Majority of web hosts are offering access logs. Once this is offered to you, it is necessary that you hand it over to Google as well. This allows them to look for any suspicious activity on your site. Problems like this are very serious and giving it to them is saying that you would want to help them in any way you can in solving the problem.

It can also help if you have a click monitoring software. If you do not have one yet, you should try and get one. There is absolutely no major factor preventing you from having one because most of this software is free.

As usual, all the information you have received should be turned over to Google. This is showing Google that you too are fighting against click frauds and is in no way a part of it.

Study your server logs and watch for any activity that seems suspicious. Report anything that you may find odd, may it big or small thing.

You may want to consider disabling ads for your own IP address and local geographic area. This will certainly prevent accidents and will not make Google mistake another user as you. You can do through a htaccess file. This will avoid Google mistaking as clicking on your own ads and be kicked out because of it.

Keep your Adsense off on pop ups and pop unders. Your ads should not be displayed on content sites that promote illegal activity or tampering of the legal rights of other people or business. Included in this are the content that is considered adult and gambling ones. If you think that you may be breaking this rule, immediately remove your content or Adsense from the web page.

Be truthful and confess up to Google about times when you might have clicked on your own as, whether accidentally or intentionally. Or the times when you have done something that is against the Terms of Service that they are implementing. Be honest about anything that you may have done that is wrong. Confessing is way better than Google learning about it eventually. It would mean eventual termination and no getting back what you have worked so hard for.

Do not tell your family or friends about Adsense on your website. Chances are they may start clicking on them to help you make money without you knowing it. They may be doing more harm to you than help by trying it in the first place.

If ever someone you know chanced upon your Adsense, make sure they understand that they cannot click on your ads under any circumstances. It would be wise to brief them on important things about Adsense and what not to do with them.

Most pay per click networks have different measures in hand to protect website owners against click frauds. Other search engines can track more than 50 data points, IP address, browser’s information, user’s session info and pattern recognition. They also have “systems” available that detects fraud. Not to mention the specialized teams monitoring how things are going and helping advertisers stop click frauds.

Google offers suggestion on how to avoid click fraud. Using “negative keywords” can be used to keep your Adsense showing on products and services that are in no way related to yours. Adding tracking URLs to your links so you can track the traffic coming from Google.

Do not be caught in the Google click fraud. Be aware and be wary.

THE TEN WEALTH SECRETS

2011-02-26T13:41:00.000-08:00

1. Find a Need in the Market and Provide Products and/or Services to Fill that Need
There are very few people who feel completely satisfied - experiencing that they have everything they need and want. Twenty to twenty-five years ago, the average American family was much more prosperous than today. Most husbands could easily bring in enough money to maintain the whole family in relative affluence. Today, in most families, both husband and wife have to work - and they often struggle to pay the bills. Furthermore, about 90% of Americans over 65 are technically bankrupt - their debts exceed their assets.

2. Increase Your Ability to Earn - LEARN!
To earn more money, you may need to acquire additional knowledge and skills. You may need to improve your ability to recognize opportunities and take advantage of them. You may need to overcome your negativity and increase your personal power. You may need to increase your personal freedom and power. Every hour invested in this respect can make you many more dollars in the future.

3. Leverage Your Efforts - Earn More for the Work You Do
If you work for hourly pay or on a salaried job, your earnings are severely limited. (Except if you're a top executive of a large company.) By accident or design, our economic system in America today is such that most people simply seem unable to get ahead. After all, if you're just getting by today on your income, even a generous raise of 20% won't get you much further along.

The way to get ahead is to leverage your efforts. In other words, find ways to get more money for less work. With Investor's International, not only do you do things that bring in more money, you also do things that help others to bring in more money - for which they pay you. This is win-win cooperation.

4. Gain Wealth through Multiple Income Streams
Terra Libra's main earnings come from selling helpful information: books, reports, manuals, tapes, and seminars. The companies which we promote provide us with additional income streams.

Eventually we want a dozen or more such income streams. Each income stream is a "money machine." By participating in these programs, you can create similar multiple income streams for yourself.

5. Pay Yourself First
One of the most important principles of wealth is to take at least 10% of your earnings and set it aside as your payment to yourself. This is not spending money. It's money you set aside to work for you. One way to let it work for you is to put some of it into the Investor's International program.

You may want to put some of this money in precious metals. Consider the possibility that paper currencies -even the US$ - will eventually get wiped out and lose all their value. Historically, this has happened to every unbacked government paper currency. This wealth secret of paying yourself first represents one side of the Most Basic Wealth Principle: Produce more than you consume.

6. Control Your Expenditures
If you're like most of us, you spend all the money you earn "hand-to-mouth." It's an operating basis that keeps you stuck and prevents you from accumulating wealth - a formula for poverty! You can break out of this trap by using the strongest criteria for spending are: "Do I really need this?" and "What's the minimum I can pay to get it?"

This wealth secret of cutting your expenses to the bone represents the other side of the Most Basic Wealth Principle: Produce more than you consume.

7. Make Your Assets Multiply
One way to make your assets multiply has already been mentioned: Put some into the Investor's International programs - see #TL13B: The Millionaire's Secret (II) - which also contains more information in answer to the question: What do you do with your surplus (excess of production over consumption) to maximize the growth of your wealth?

8. Guard Your Assets against Loss
Assets can be wiped out in several ways: (1) The institution in which they are invested could go bankrupt; (2) The currency in which they are denominated could collapse - for example, if the US$ collapses, pensions, insurance policies, retirement funds, bonds, etc. could all become worthless; (3) The government can seize your assets with or without cause; (4) Someone can sue you and take all your assets.

A secret of the superrich is to not own anything, but to control assets held in trusts. For more information regarding trusts and asset protection, see The Pure Contract Trust Package.

For many people, taxes constitute the single biggest drain on their assets. Consider the possibility that most of the money you pay to government is either wasted or actually used for harmful purposes. Consider the second possibility that you can lawfully reduce your taxes to way below what your accountant says.

9. Make Your Home a Profitable Investment
Most people, when buying a house, first look for one that they like. Then they find out the price. Then they find out how big a mortgage they can get and how much the down payment has to be.

The more wealth-conscious do it differently. They look for a house that is appraised at, say, $200,000 that they can buy for $150,000. They get a mortgage for $190,000 and invest the $40,000 difference for a higher return than the mortgage interest rate.

10. Discover Your Deep-Seated Attitudes and Beliefs about Money and Correct Them if Necessary
Many of us have limiting - even debilitating! - attitudes and beliefs about money. Some of these are culturally widespread - for example: "filthy lucre" = "money is dirty"; "money doesn't grow on trees" = "money is scarce and difficult to get"; and some people believe that "money is the root of all evil" and "you must have money to make money." Correcting your attitudes and beliefs about money is one of the most important wealth secrets and is covered extensively in the 'Millionaire' report series.

The process of strengthening your attitudes toward money, and correcting any limiting beliefs you might hold, may take a giant leap forward as you study Special Report #TL13B: The Millionaire's Secret (II).

Being Comfortable With Negative Feelings

2011-02-26T13:34:00.000-08:00

As human beings, we all move towards that which is familiar. It’s a natural instinct to seek out familiar things because we are comfortable with them. The same is true of feelings. Being comfortable with negative feelings.

Feelings that are familiar give us a sense of security. Our brain tells us; I know this feeling! This is familiar. This is safe. The feelings we are familiar with were shaped by our families when we were growing up.

If you lived in a family where the motto was Stand up for yourself, or when someone insulted you, chances are you learned to fight back, and you are familiar and comfortable doing so.

However, if your family upbringing was don’t make trouble, then it’s more comfortable for you to not say anything and accept the insult. If you want to change the way you feel, you must first understand why you feel the way you do.

Feelings can lead you to act in self-defeating ways. If you fill your head with depressing and negative thoughts, and you allow yourself to feel shameful and angry feelings, you will never be able to act confidently.

Many of us have picked up negative feelings growing up that become the normal way for us to feel. If we learned to feel ashamed to express interest in girls when we were young, it wont get any better as we get older. So whatever negative feelings you experienced growing up are considered normal by you, so that when good feelings come along, we may feel insecure and scared. When this happens, we actively seek out those negative feelings we’ve become accustomed to, even if they are painful.

Each of us naturally assumes the emotional traits of his own family. Your family is the one that sets the starting point of your development. Whenever you feel good or bad, you are basing that on the standard your family set for you.

When things go bad, we work to try and raise our feelings back to that set point. When things go good, we also work to lower those feelings back to the same point. There’s an internal barometer we all have that lets us know what we’re feeling, and we’re always working to return to what feels normal to us. Its the times where we feel too good that can be the most uncomfortable.

When this happens, we will actually WORK to spoil a good time for us. For instance, lets say you meet a really beautiful woman that you really like, and its a great opportunity for you to hook up with her! But based on your comfort zone, you might think:

Wait, this girl is too wonderful, she’d never go for a guy like me. This type of reaction reduces the good feelings you were having and brings you back down to what you’re familiar with; a feeling of unreservedness that you probably grew up feeling accustomed to.

Remember: familiar feelings = a sense of security. This is why so many people are more comfortable feeling bad about themselves than good! They have actually trained themselves to feel comfortable feeling bad! They would rather not seek pleasure than avoid feeling pain.

When your familiar feelings are negative, they will damage your confidence.

The interesting thing about this is that we *logically* know that what we’re feeling isn’t right, or healthy, or even true! But for some reason, our logical brain is out of sync with our emotions, and we accept what we feel over what we think.

For many people, their feelings of shame are a form of logic. Our feelings literally shame our brain into accepting those negative and untrue thoughts, even when it knows better!

But remember that shame comes from self-criticism. Those who are self-critical imagine that everyone else is just as critical of them as they are of themselves! When you think like this, any type of confidence is almost impossible to achieve.

So what are the origins of your negative habits? What are the root causes of the feelings you experience? Chances are it can be traced back to your parents, but be careful not to blame them! Its more important to understand your parents’ influence on your feelings so that you can stop blaming yourself for your current situation, rather than trying to figure out who to pass judgment on.

HOMEWORK:

Sit down and think of how your parents would describe themselves. Are they using any of the five myths? Write down how your parents would describe themselves in those terms.

Would your mother consider herself Old and Ugly?

Would your father consider himself Stupid or a Loser?

Now look at how they describe you. Do any of these statements sound familiar?

Your brother is the smart one.

Don’t be so stupid!

You’re too fat! You need to lose weight.

Don’t miss out on life like I did.

You’re too old to start over.

You’re short, like my side of the family.

Enjoy your hair while it lasts, because you’ll be bald like me some day.

You will never amount to anything.

Prepare for the worst.

Some families only predict dark times in the future and discourage their children from all types of positive habits, such as ambition and success. This is especially true when it comes to your sexual development. Do these sound familiar?

You better not have sex before you’re married.

Just settle for what you can get.

Don’t date out of your league.

You better not let me catch you with a girl in your room.

You’ll never get a good woman looking like that.

If you don’t have a good job, you’ll never be able to get married.

The list could go on. But you get the idea. Your parents, when they said those things, were instilling negative feelings about yourself and women in your head. They made your starting point one where you were never good enough, or attractive enough, or you had to feel guilty

about your desires.

Having Trouble Saving Money? (This System Works for Any Income Level!) By: Paul Barton & Barry Spilchuk

2011-02-25T19:19:00.000-08:00

Thinking of her youth, Donna can recall many fond memories of time spent at her Grandparents farm. Donna would help her Grandmother with the annual fall ritual of making things like relishes and jams, and preserving them in jars for the winter months.

It took a lot of time and effort to preserve the various fruit, vegetables, relish, jams, and pickles. Many jars were needed to preserve the harvest from the growing season. Each jar was carefully labeled with the contents inside, and of course, the secret recipe for each preserve was kept safely hidden!

In a way, saving, managing, and preserving money is somewhat similar to how Grandma would preserve the many items from her garden. Putting money aside in various jars, or cans, or envelopes, or whatever is available to hold money, is a great way for anyone, at any income level, to establish saving habits.

Using visual aids, such as a money jar, may be especially helpful for parents looking for an effective way to demonstrate to their children how to set aside money for various goals. In one case, David was planning a trip to Boston with his family. The kids were involved with the planning of the trip and a “Boston Jar” was placed in plain view for the family to see. Each day, mom or dad, and sometimes even the kids, would place spare change into the jar. Within a few months, enough money was saved to pay for return airfare tickets for the whole family.

To some, the use of money jars may seem unnecessary; after all, with automation today, wouldn't it be easier to simply establish monthly transfers to various accounts using an automated pre-authorized method of saving? The short answer to this question is yes! Those that already use an automated method of saving often don't miss the money coming directly out of their bank account. However, for those that don't use preauthorized savings, then a money jar system may be the answer to help develop effective saving habits.

Part of establishing new habits is through repetition. If saving money has been a struggle for you, seeing your goals labeled on several jars sitting where you can see them daily is a great way to be reminded to set money aside in each jar. Even a few cents a day can add up over time.

T. Harv Eker, founder and master trainer of Peak Potentials based in Vancouver, teaches a form of money management using a simple jar system. Mr. Eker's explanation of his jar system is highly entertaining, and most memorable. Many people have written to Mr. Eker with testimonials describing how easy saving and managing money became once adopting his money jar system.

Even though you can probably imagine what we mean by using a money jar system, we have outlined below how you could label several jars for specific purposes. The labels shown are for illustration only. Label your money jars with whatever is appropriate for your situation.

Jar #1 Long-Term Goals Money in this jar could be for any number of reasons, such as; travel, saving towards a new vehicle, or accumulating money to pay down debt.

Jar #2 Education This could be for your children preparing for post secondary education, or it could be for you upgrading your skills. Some people dread going to work at a job they don't enjoy. Perhaps they have limited skills to work in a job they would truly love. Setting aside money to upgrade skills may help land that desired job!

Jar #3 Personal Use When was the last time you treated or pampered yourself…without feeling guilty? Setting funds aside for you to use any way you choose is a very good way to achieve balance in your life. Saving without ever spending is no recipe for happiness; however, spending without ever saving is a recipe for disaster.

Jar #4 Giving/Donating Some people donate anywhere from five to 10 percent of their monthly income to a worthy cause, and/or to their place of worship. How much should be placed in these jars each month? Many thoughts exist on how much money should be allocated. Some will be able to put larger sums into each jar, and others may only be able to put a few cents in each jar.

Every person's financial situation is unique, therefore, it may be hard to place set rules on how much money should go to various spots. If in doubt, remember to seek the guidance of a licensed financial advisor to help get you on track. Anyone could easily adopt a money jar system of saving…all it takes is action!

“Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action!”- Benjamin Disraeli

Living on a fixed income

2011-02-25T19:08:00.001-08:00

Living on a fixed income can be a challenge. Each person’s financial situation is different. Spending without a financial plan can lead to financial ruin. Financial plans work best when individuals make choices they are willing to put into action. By making informed choices you can create a financial plan that works for you.

Wants, Wishes, and Needs

Knowing what we want is not always easy. It may be helpful to know that others have found it takes some thought to answer this question in a meaningful way. A major factor in getting what you want is knowing the difference between needs and wants.

Have you ever thought, “If I just had more money …”? More money is not an instant cure. Wishing for money does not make it exist. When we allow money to control us, conflict and uncertainty increase. We need to be realistic in our expectations.

It is very important to learn to recognize the difference between needs and wants. A need is something you cannot live without, such as food, clothing, and shelter. A want is something you would really like to have, but you could substitute something else for it.

Thoughtful planning is the key. Planning what you want and how to get there helps you to be in charge of your own financial situation. Knowing what you want can reduce some of life’s stress and provide you with a sense of security.

Know What You Have

Be aware of what you have. Having more things is not necessarily better. Do you need the things you have? Does having these things cause you to spend more money for upkeep? Take an honest look at current income/ pensions, investments, and savings. Do you have an emergency fund? Know how much money you have and where your money goes.

Know Where Your Money Goes

Write down every item purchased and the amount spent. Keeping a record of exactly what is spent can help you to know exactly where your money goes. Then you can consider possible options. Be sure to track your spending for a few weeks before creating a plan. Be sure to track fixed, flexible, and occasional expenses. Fixed expenses are costs that are the same each month. Flexible expenses are costs that vary. Occasional expenses are quarterly, yearly, seasonal, planned, and unplanned costs.

Remember to include charge accounts and loans as expenses, too. In 1996, 1.1 million Americans filed bankruptcy. Many of these cases of bankruptcy were due to personal overspending. Credit can be easy to get. Credit overuse may make it harder to carry out your plan. Having credit does not mean you have to use it.

Choose Your Action Plan

Compare dollars available and dollars spent. Set priorities for spending. Know your limits and adjust your spending. Seek creative solutions. Then put your plan in writing. Setting short-term and long-term goals gives your plan purpose. Rethink your current buying habits. Do you buy because you have a need? Do you shop because you might find something to buy?

Remember it is okay to say no. If you are barely able to pay for minimum necessities, saying no to things you would like, but do not need, can be helpful. You may be able to think of other choices. Having a financial plan may help you say no when it is necessary.

Each person’s financial situation is unique. Do what works for you. Think positively. Avoid comparing yourself to what others are doing. Be realistic in your choices. Plan ahead. Consider substitute activities—things that you could do for little or no cost. Perhaps a part-time job or a hobby could bring in some extra income.

Once you choose your action plan, try it for a month or two. Rethink and adjust your financial plan to make it work for YOU. Keep the part that is working. Decide what needs to be adjusted to make your plan work. Your action plan will need to be fine-tuned periodically as changes occur in your life.

A major factor in getting what you want is knowing the difference between needs and wants.

Summary

Financial planning should begin 10 to 15 years before retirement or earlier. The earlier financial plans are made the better. Financial planning will not always prevent all problems, but it can prevent some and make others easier to deal with.

Ask Yourself These Questions

■ Can I find a way to spend less than my income?

■ What do I need to change?

■ What am I willing to change?

■ Did I plan to save for emergencies?

■ Are my wants and wishes realistic?

By making informed choices, you can create a financial plan that works for you.

Managing the Family Finances (Should You Have Separate Bank Accounts, Or Will One Do?) By: Paul Barton & Barry Spilchuk

2011-02-20T17:40:00.001-08:00

Is it better to have one main bank account for your family, or should each spouse operate from their own account?

In our travels, we have occasionally been asked such a question. Sometimes, this question seems to arise when a husband and wife disagree on whether or not one main bank account is better than each spouse having their own account. One spouse feels his theory of operating one main bank account for the family is the more effective system and looks for validation for his theory, hence the question!

First of all, in our opinion there is no right or wrong answer to the above question…either system can work effectively. The decision to maintain one account or two accounts for the family finances often derives from personal preference and comfort level on how the family finances should be managed.

Pete and Mary maintain one main bank account where they each have their pay deposited directly into this one account. The mortgage payment, the car loan payment, and preauthorized payments for insurance and retirement savings plans, all flow out of this account.

In Pete and Mary's situation, Mary looks after the family finances and takes care of paying the bills. Mary finds it much easier to reconcile one bank statement each month and likes the idea of seeing all of the family income and expenses flowing through one account. As well, a monthly “discretionary allowance” is deposited into their own separate saving account, which allows Pete and Mary to spend or save their own money as they wish. Pete calls this his “mad-money” account.

Before Pete was married, he never paid much attention to monitoring his personal finances. As long as he had money in the bank after he paid his bills; that was all that mattered. When he and Mary were married, Pete was more than happy to let Mary handle the family finances. For Pete and Mary, the one account system works fine!

Another couple, Rick and Judy, prefers instead to operate from their own account separately. At one point, Rick and Judy tried to operate one main bank account, however there were many situations when one of them took money from the account without telling the other, or without recording the withdrawal in the cheque register. In one instance, this lack of communication resulted in their bank account being short funds and a cheque Judy wrote to a friend was returned non-sufficient funds. Judy was embarrassed Living the single life for a few years prior to marriage, Rick and Judy had developed a comfort level and a routine in terms of managing their own finances. With Rick and Judy each having their own preferred way of handling the finances, having one main bank account just didn't work for them!

Rick and Judy now have their pay deposited directly into their respective accounts and have decided to divide the monthly expenses equitably. The mortgage payment and property taxes come out of Judy's account and all the other monthly utility and household expenses come out of Rick's account.

Rick and Judy each wanted to be in control of their own finances. Their first priority was to ensure the bills were paid, and any money left over from their own pay cheque was available for them to do as they each wished. Both Rick and Judy feel that operating their own account provides them with more control of their own finances.

Whether you operate one account or two, as long as the bills are being paid, and as long as money is being set aside for short term and long-term goals…then it becomes a matter of personal preference regarding how the family finances are best managed. Bank account fees would be something to consider in your decision.

Regardless of which type of bank account system you use in your family, here are three tips on how you might minimize bank account fees:

· Use your own bank's automated banking machine rather than another institution's machine. This could save up to $65, or more, per year, assuming one withdrawal per week.

· Investigate packaged services for bank account usage. Depending on your usage patterns, you could save money with properly suited packaged account services.

· When paying your bills, either through the bank machine or at the bank wicket, bundle all your bills together and withdraw only one amount for the total. This means you would only have one cheque or withdrawal coming out of your account.

“Even differences prove helpful; where there are tolerance, charity and truth.”- Gandhi

Understanding the Role of Money! (How Many Cows Are In Your Bank Account?) By: Paul Barton & Barry Spilchuk

2011-02-20T17:34:00.000-08:00

Exactly what is money? What is wealth? Answers to these questions usually provide typical responses such as money means power, control, security, comfort, happiness, satisfaction, enrichment, etc. These responses simply represent feelings or experiences from exchanging something of perceived value for goods and services.

In reality, money itself is a means of exchange, and nothing more! Over time, wealth has been measured in many ways. In ancient times, wealth was measured by ownership of such diverse items as gold pieces, seashells, animal furs, crops, and, yes, even the number of cows an individual owned. Some of these measures of wealth still exist today in some parts of the world.

For people who use what we think of as primitive forms of monetary items, the same feelings of power, control, security, comfort, happiness, satisfaction, and enrichment are experienced when something of perceived value is exchanged for goods and services. In previous times, the wealthy farmer needed enough cows for barter in order to sustain life and provide a comfortable lifestyle for his family. Today, the paper and coins we call money does the same thing.

Have you ever wondered how the use of paper currency became accepted as a means of exchange? You may not realize that Canadians were the first in North America to use paper currency. In North America's early days, settlers here were often cut off from their previous homeland for months at a time. During such prolonged periods of isolation, coins became in short supply while waiting for the next supply ship from the “motherland” to cross the Atlantic.

By the late 1600's, silver coins were scarce to the point where the authorities of the day were unable to pay the soldiers wages. Enter Mr. De Meulles to devise a solution to divert an economic collapse, not to mention a mutiny from the military! Mr. De Meulles came up with the idea to write a monetary value on ordinary playing cards. He signed each card as evidence of their authenticity and the modified playing cards soon became widely circulated and accepted as legal tender.

The experiment in the use of paper money was deemed to be such a huge success, playing card money continued for many years, and eventually evolved through various forms of paper money to the point of currency we use today. In thinking of money and wealth, how much different is society today versus generations ago? Perhaps not as different as one might think! The main difference between life today and that of previous generations, as we see it, is in the way present society defines what living a comfortable lifestyle means.

We currently live in an era where technology and communication play a very big part of our everyday lives, much more so than experienced by previous generations. Most of us have televisions, radios, computers, household appliances, cars, and other modern conveniences we feel we need to have in order to live a comfortable lifestyle.

As a result, society has categorized us into the “haves” and “have not's.” It seems many people feel that if they cannot afford some of today's so-called luxury items, they are not wealthy, at least in terms of society's current definitions of wealth. One suggestion as to why people so readily use loans and credit cards today is to purchase goods and services, which in turn help individuals to feel wealthy, at least wealthy as seen from their point of view! This has caused some people to have difficulty in sorting out, in their own minds, the difference between “need to have” items and “nice to have” items.

Certainly, we need the paper and coins we call money to survive in today's world, just as people of earlier generations needed cows, gold, and furs to survive. An important issue to consider lies in how we are defining our perceived wealth. One dictionary defines the word “wealth” as:

“Riches, feeling of enrichment, being rich, rich people; abundance, having an abundance of money!”

From this definition, we can see that wealth does, indeed, make reference to money; however, it also makes reference to abundance and enrichment. Abundance could be money, but it also could be an abundance of love, or perhaps an abundance of family harmony. Enrichment is not just about money, either. Enrichment could also be simply how you feel about your life at the present time. Many people feel enriched because of their friends and family, or, perhaps, by their contribution to the community.

Money does not equal happiness! This is perhaps one of the most common money myths experienced by many people today. Happiness is the experience or moments you create for yourself, whether you actually use money or not. Happiness is not a destination; it is an ongoing journey, which sometimes, but not always, requires money!

“Happiness sneaks in through a door you didn't know you left open!” - John Barrymore

What do you know about sugars?

2011-02-20T17:26:00.001-08:00

Estimates indicate that Americans use, on the average, more than 130 pounds of sugars and sweeteners a year. This includes sugars and syrups in jams, jellies, candies, cookies, soft drinks, cakes, and pies, as well as sugars found in products such as breakfast cereals, catsup, flavored milks, and ice cream.

When sugary foods make up a large portion of your daily calorie intake, they may replace other foods which offer necessary nutrients. Therefore, consume sweetened foods in moderation after you are certain that you have included adequate servings from the Basic Food Groups and if you can afford extra calories.

The major health hazard from eating too much sugar is tooth decay. The risk of dental caries is not simply a matter of how much sugar you eat. The risk increases the more frequently you eat sugar and sweets and if you eat foods that stick to the teeth. Obviously there is more to healthy teeth than avoiding sugars. Careful dental hygiene and exposure to adequate amounts of fluoride in the water are especially important.

Too much sugar in your diet does not cause diabetes. There is also no convincing evidence that sugar causes heart attacks or blood vessel disease. However, if energy needs are less than energy consumed, excessive sugar consumption contributes to overweight or obesity. If you’re concerned about the amount of sugar in your family’s diet, or if you are looking for ways to cut back on calories, here are some suggestions.

1. Read food labels to learn which products contain sugars and other sweeteners.

Ingredients are listed in order by weight: the item in the greatest amount is listed first, the item in the least amount is listed last. Dietary sweeteners appear on food labels not only as table sugar (sucrose), but by a variety of other names: dextrose, corn syrup, honey, molasses, fructose, lactose, fucose, maltose, maple syrup, brown sugar, corn sweeteners, natural sweeteners, invert sugar.

2. Substitute non-sweetened fruit juices, low-fat milk or water for sugary soft drinks, punches, fruit drinks and ades.

3. Cut down on obvious forms of sugar such as candies, cakes, pastries and cookies. Set your own limits. Confine sweets to special occasions or a few times a week. (Three simple desserts a week.)

4. Make the desserts you do eat count nutritionally. For example, custard, bran muffins or a baked apple provide nutrients as well as fewer calories than a jelly-filled doughnut. Serve fruits for desserts or snacks.

5. Fruits packed in heavy syrup contain a great deal of added sugar. Drain well before serving for big calorie savings. Try to serve fresh fruit or those canned in fruit juices or light syrups.

6. Many cereals are presweetened. Check the label. Buy unsweetened cereals so you can control the amount of sugar added.

7. Use recipes that require small amounts of sugars or sweeteners or reduce the amount of sugar in your own recipes.

8. Cut back on sugar slowly with high rising cakes and yeast breads; they need sugar for texture and height.

9. To give your foods interest and enhance the impression of sweetness, use spices and flavorings such as: cinnamon, vanilla, cardamom, ginger, clove, allspice, pumpkin pie spice, almond or peppermint. Some of these spices and flavorings may contain small amounts of added sugar, but it won’t equal the amount of sugar they replace.

Master the Foundations For Persuasion

2011-02-20T16:59:00.000-08:00

Assertiveness Aids Persuasion

We own ourselves - body and soul. This ownership grants us specific rights -- they endow us with dignity. Dignity demands an obligation to safeguard our rights. No one can impinge upon them. Others possess these very same rights. We cannot encroach upon these rights. While we expect others to respect our rights, we must also respect others. This principle enshrines the core of assertive behavior.

Assertive behavior sows confidence. Confidence prevents us from yielding weakly in the face of pressure and it puts our needs forward. Anytime, anywhere. We feel good about ourselves because we send a

clear message as to how people should treat us. Assertive behavior requires that we act politely, reasonable and objective. Assertive behaviour requires that we let others know exactly what we want and feel.

As a natural consequence, persuasion cannot occur in the absence of assertive behavior. To convince others, we must be naturally assertive. A weakling cannot sway the mind of an opponent. Victorious persuasion can be easy. First, know your rights. Be aware of where you stand. Then deploy the tools of scientific persuasion. Be forcefully assertive. The first shot fired in the war of wills comes only after invoking the proper mental disposition - through assertiveness. Assertiveness is the first golden key to successful persuasion.

How can you be assertive?

Being assertive is not being passive or being aggressive. It is the balance. It is honoring yourself enough to defend your rights. Timidity is a widespread malady; as a result, many to fail to speak-up when the situation calls for it. Thus, the more dominant individuals steam roller over those with mild-mannered personalities. Everyone has rights that must be held inviolable. As human beings we are all called upon to defend these civil liberties. What rights are these? Etch the following to memory and you will live a life in full command of yourselves.

The Bill of Inalienable Rights

I ALWAYS have the right to:

· State what I want regardless of whether I can get it.

· Express my opinion and feelings.

· Make my own decisions and change it if I wish.

· Decline from explaining my actions or refuse to give an excuse for it.

· Turn down a request with out guilt. I can say NO.

· Accede to a request but put boundaries upon compliance.

· Not be discriminated against.

How does one act assertively? When defending your bill of rights remember to take four steps

1. Be Direct. Don't beat around the bush. State your mind (thoughts, ideas, needs) without excuses.

2. Take full responsibility. Specially when giving opinions, make it clear that it is not a universal truth but your opinion. This step allows people to be more receptive to you. It also enables them to see you as unwavering. Preface your statements with "My feeling is that", "I think...", "In my opinion..." "My understanding....".

3. Be calm and in control. Let your words, tone, and body language show restraint. Do not let others influence your response,

4. Be objective and polite. Make no personal or character attacks

Assertive Strategies to Deal with Problem Situations

Difficult people make it hard to assert our rights. The following techniques enable you to parry such people and deal with common tough situations.

Getting Compliance to a Justified Request (The Broken Record Technique)

Have you ever stated a request and were turned down? Did it frustrate you to receive a no to a perfectly legitimate petition? The Broken Record Technique allows you to gain compliance. Many of us have unknowingly employed it before.

Applying it is easy.

Here is the secret: simply decide on the desired outcome then unceasingly repeat the request or statement geared to spawn that desired outcome until you get it. While using this verbal tool, maintain firm determination and an unwavering tone tempered with politeness. Where possible, rephrase the

statement each time to avoid awkwardness. Through brute repetition, you wear down resistance to your request, statement or order.

Handling Criticism (The Clouding Technique)

We all hate criticism. It stings, it scathes. It hurts. It comes our way at least once a day. We can deal with it emotionally, escalate it and risk fraying a relationship. The alternative is to handle it assertively. The

Clouding Criticism Technique defangs fighting words. To "cloud" the criticism is to diffuse it's potential for all out verbal war. The criticism is taken, absorbed, and rendered impotent. Rolling with the punches in this manner yields more results than countering with outright denial.

To cloud the criticism takes six steps:

From the very beginning, focus on the content of the criticism , not the behavior of the critic. Listen emotionlessly. Yielding to emotion leaves you vulnerable to further criticism. Anger and fury attract further criticism as blood lures sharks.

· Calmly let the opponent talk till satisfied. Allow him to vent his ire into the stream of criticism. Do not interrupt. Be stone-cold silent. This allows him to assuage his fury and gives you the time to assemble a well crafted rebuttal, if need be. Allowing the opponent to lash out unhindered drains him emotionally, leaving him open to a well planned counter-attack.

· Eliminate all embers. To further decreases his emotional turmoil and kill the fire, ask if there is anything else they might want to add.

· Acknowledge having heard it. State "I understand that you are concerned about..." This negates the danger of letting the criticism looming indefinitely in everyone's mind.

· Cloud the Statements. Take the criticism and AGREE with it partially or in principle. This is a very effective method to derail any follow up attacks meant to reinforce angry words. By rolling with the punches instead of countering, you foster a friendlier environment.

Agree with some truth in the criticism. Here's the technique:

· Clouding the Criticism by Agreeing Partially entails taking his criticism and agreeing with some parts of it. This is effective when being criticized with words that involve sweeping adjectives like "always, never, and forever. Through partial agreement, the attacker's fury diminishes and this leads to more open discussion.

For example:

Criticism: You're always out of town. You never see your friends anymore.

Reply: I agree. I have little time for my friends these days. (agreeing partially)

Clouding the Criticism by Agreeing in Principle, entails fully agreeing with the principle of the criticism but not with the accusation leveraged against you. You admit that the principle is valid, but you nimbly sidestep blame. Agreeing in Principle lessens conflict because the critic gets confused with the quick acceptance of his point. He is thrown off balance and is unsure how to continue. Before he can think of a reply, you can work to defuse further conflict.

Criticism: You're always out of town. You never see your friends anymore.

Reply: I agree. Distance takes away much time for friends. (you agree that out of town trips minimizes time with friends; however you don't accept fault.) Finally, after clouding the criticism, ask what would make things better. Tell him "What would make this situation better for both of us?" Listen to the reply and give your own input. The last step snuffs all residual negativity and focuses the situation of problem

solving. If outright lies pepper the criticism use a secret technique.

The technique of Presuming Innocence parries the criticism while allowing the critic to save face.

The Technique:

Rapport cannot be built by pointing out errors in the logic of the criticism leveraged against you.

Allow your prospects to save face by asking questions until you lose imagination or control.

Presuming Innocence calls for incessant interrogation of the opponent on the reason, motive, factual basis, etc. for his accusation. Say, for instance, "How does that relate to the . . ." (then state the apparently conflicting information). Sometimes, you might find you were wrong, and you "save face." Or, by continued non threatening questions, you can gently corner the other person into self-correcting.

Saying No and Setting Boundaries

Acceptance and Refusal

Saying "yes" when a "no" is meant erodes self-esteem. Remember always, that each one has the right to say no. When pressured for an unwanted "yes", practice the Broken Record technique when declining

with a no. Repeat your no's with as few excuses as possible. While doing so, keep in mind the cost (such as time, stress, resources) an unwanted "yes" might extract from you. Hang on to your no firmly. Ensure that the "no" is accompanied with a calm posture and even tone of voice. To build up your capacity to say no, practice stating no in easy situations to build confidence.

In cases where an outright yes or no is not required, such as when there is partial agreement, state a qualified yes. Simply put, agree to the request but set clear boundaries as to what is acceptable and not

acceptable to you. This is your right. For example, your boss requires that you stay overtime. You agree, but only until 9:00pm, so you state, "Yes, I can take some extra work tonight. I'll stay until 9:00pm tonight."

Situations which call for the expression of boundaries include instances when generosity is taken advantage of and welcome is overstayed.

27 OF THE BEST HEALTH “TIPS”

2011-02-17T19:05:00.000-08:00

1. How to fight aging

Did you know that just walking for 30 minutes, 3 or 4 times a week is enough to combat aging?

According to researchers at the University of California, one of the principle causes of deterioration of the human organism’s physical faculties is its diminished ability to metabolize glucose. And they showed that even leisurely exercise, like taking a walk, plays an important role in keeping glucose metabolism functioning smoothly.

Do you spend the whole day sitting at your desk or in front of a computer screen? Why not get up occasionally and do a few minutes of physical exercise? Don’t worry about what other people think. In some Japanese companies, it is even become a collective habit. Every twenty minutes a bell sounds, and everybody gets up to do some stretching exercises, after which they sit down again as if nothing had happened. Japanese managers are convinced that their employees are more productive when they are relaxed.

2. Are you anxious?

Is worrying one of your characteristics? Well, stop! It is okay to worry, but at the right time.

Psychologists at the University of Pennsylvania tell patients who suffer from anxiety to regularly do a daily twenty minute “worry session,” always at the same time and in the same place. Collect your head full of worries during the day (don’t suppress them!) and then pour them out during your daily worry session. Exaggerate your worries to the point of absurdity - knit your brows, make faces, let the sweat flow, shake and cower as much as you like. In other words, make a caricature of the part of yourself that is always worried, and in so doing exorcise it.

Eliminating worry will help prevent numerous psychosomatic illnesses, which result from living in a state of permanent anxiety.

3. Care for your heart while you sleep

In which position do you sleep? If you sleep on your stomach or on your left side, you are putting pressure on your heart with the extra body weight, while the heart has to continue pumping blood as usual. This additional burden wears the heart out more quickly. Think about it - you spend more than one third of your life sleeping! To reduce the strain on your heart, sleep on your right side, or on your back. This simple technique will add years to your life.

4. How to avoid cancer caused by smoking

If you smoke, you can greatly reduce the risk of contracting cancer by drinking carrot juice. This according to the German Doctor Hans Nieper, founder of Eumatabolic Medicine, a new alternative mode of treatment which has become very popular in Germany. The carotene found especially in carrots prevents and can even cure cancer.

Dr. Nieper states, “If you smoke 60 cigarettes a day but drink 4 glasses of carrot juice, you will still be less prone to contract cancer than someone who doesn’t smoke but who doesn’t drink carrot juice.” Of course, if you don’t smoke and do drink carrot juice all the better!

5. Avoid eye problems caused by T.V. and monitors

The eye was not made to be constantly focused on close objects. If your work requires that you stare at a computer screen all day long or if you watch a lot of television, stop from time to time to do a few eye exercises. For example, roll your eyes in large circles in both directions; look over to each side as far as possible and then go from up to down; or scan an imaginary text on the wall from left to right; or look out the window as far as you can following the horizon then return to a point right in front of you and begin again. In this way, you will avoid long term eye problems, you will enlarge your inner space, and relax both your eyes and your mind.

6. How to beat asthma

Asthma partially obstructs the bronchial tubes, making breathing difficult. The cause of asthma is still not known. But if you are an asthma sufferer, you can, through natural means, considerably reduce the number of asthma attacks you get.

A placebo study has shown that asthmatics who consume 1 gram of vitamin C per day had 4 times fewer attacks. When they stopped taking vitamin C, the attacks resumed with the same frequency as before (Trop. and Geog. Med., Vol. 32, Mo. 2, 1980).

As for magnesium, it also works wonders! Dr. Zack H. Haddad of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Southern California conducted a study on thirty children suffering from asthma associated with allergies. Twenty of them drank a daily amount of mineral water rich in magnesium, while the others received no magnesium supplement.

After three months, the first group had a higher level of magnesium in their blood, and they were able to breathe more easily. So taking vitamin C and magnesium is an excellent way to prevent asthma attacks. But what can you do to breathe more easily during an attack? Simply drink 2 or 3 cups of strong coffee. By activating blood circulation, it eases respiratory blockage.

In addition, the American Lung Association recommends the following exercise:

l. While standing, contract all your muscles. Keep them contracted for a few seconds.

2. Release the muscles, like letting the air out of a balloon. Relax all your muscles completely until you feel like a limp cloth.

3. Let yourself fall to the floor, and stretch out. Close your eyes and relax your face and your feet.

4. Imagine that you are floating on water. Concentrate on the effect the earth’s gravity has on your muscles and on the pleasant feeling of being completely relaxed.

5. Breathe gently and quietly, as if you were about to fall asleep.

6. Open your eyes.

Practising this exercise when you feel an attack coming on, or once it is already started, will help you overcome your asthma condition.

7. Losing weight: The Pakistani method

Pakistani women have an amazing trick they use to stay slim: they keep a string permanently tied around their forearms. According to Dr. Drupas, a gentle but constant pressure on the nerves in the forearm stimulates certain glands, particularly those involved in weight control (thyroid, suprarenals). Why don’t you try it? Find two ordinary rubber bands and place them around your right forearm, one third of the way up between your wrist and elbow. The rubber bands should exert noticeable pressure without cutting off blood circulation and should not slip or slide when you move your arm. This is not a tourniquet! For best results, you have to wear the rubber bands constantly, even at night when you sleep. It is also recommended not to wear any other jewelry on the right arm.

8. What to do when you get something in your eye

Got some dust in your eye? Or some other irritant like an eyelash or cigarette ash? You can use the following technique to help others as well as yourself. Before doing anything, make sure you don’t do what you absolutely shouldn’t: rub or press the eye, lift the eyelid, or remove contact lenses without washing your hands.

How to proceed?

· Examine your eye. Is it red? Swollen? Is it tearing? What do you feel? Does it itch? Burn? Is your vision blurred?

· Let nature do its work - it is usually effective. Tears and natural eye movements will usually get rid of the irritation.

· Try rinsing your eye with some warm water, or with drops. You can pull on the skin around the eyes, but don’t touch the eyelid.

· If this doesn’t work, wash your hands, and then lift both the upper and lower eyelids to locate the irritant. Is it on the inside of one of the eyelids, or is it stuck to the eyeball itself? Pour some sterilized, warm water on your eye to flush the irritant out.

· If you can’t locate the irritant or if the discomfort persists after you have removed the particle, you would better consult a doctor.

9. A few tricks for treating insect bites

You don’t have to sit back and just passively put up with insects, especially those that like to bite (mosquitoes, wasps etc.). Eat asparagus and your sweat will develop an odor that repels insects. Or apply lemon oil to your skin.

If you are bitten, there are natural substances to soothe the irritation. Aloe vera has extraordinary powers of soothing skin disorders. It is available in forms for both internal and external application in most health and beauty stores. If you have one of these amazing plants growing at home, cut the tip off one of the leaves (the leaf will heal itself). Apply the pulp and juice to the itching or swollen area.

Lightly boiled cabbage or leek makes an excellent analgesic poultice. Of course, if you are hiking in the woods, you might have a little trouble finding cabbage! Plantain also works well. Cut it and rub it to get to the juice then apply it to the affected area.

10. How to get rid of liver spots

If you have liver spots, it is up to you to get rid of them. May be you took too much sun, without using the proper precautions like sunscreen, gradual exposure, etc. If you continue ignoring your skin in this way, you might end up looking like a lizard! Liver spots can also result from a thyroid deficiency. The thyroid gland must therefore be stimulated through a variety of means. For example, brown seaweed tablets: take one a day every morning, for fifteen days a month.

Or apply a cream composed of 1 teaspoon oxygenated water and 4 1/2 tablespoons lanovaseline every morning and night. Aloe vera (see previous chapter) is very effective in treating skin disorders. Daily application of aloe vera over a period of time can eliminate liver spots completely. Also take a look at your nutrition: the real problem might lie in what you do or don’t eat, like a diet too high in fat.

11. Treat diarrhea without medication

If you have ever been to a tropical country, you have probably experienced diarrhea: frequent and uncontrolled evacuation of liquid stool caused by bacteria in local water, milk or food.

Diarrhea can also be caused at home by excesses in diet (a diet that is too rich) or an allergic reaction to certain foods or medication or even by stress.

To treat diarrhea, avoid all solid food on the first day. Drink liquids like water, apple juice, meat or vegetable boullion and tea. These will compensate for your loss of water - dehydration being one of the main dangers of diarrhea - and will give your intestines a period of rest.

If you have stomach cramps, rub your hands together for about a minute. Then place both palms on your abdominal region. The heat will soothe the pain. On the second day, eat small quantities of solid food. Among the least irritating are cooked cereals (especially rice), biscuits and soft boiled eggs. You can also try charcoal. It comes in tablet or capsule form (you can also get it off burnt toast!) Chinese medicine has always considered ginger one of the best remedies for diarrhea. Dilute a tablespoon in hot water and add honey.

12. Use seaweed to stimulate your immune system

Japanese seaweed possesses remarkable immunizing properties, especially in fighting cancer. Japanese researchers at the University of Kitasato have discovered 6 kinds of seaweed which inhibit the growth of colon cancer cells in rats, notably two types of Laminaria. Laminaria extract has proven 70% to 84% effective in suppressing intestinal tumors.

Wakame, another Japanese seaweed, is now familiar to many Westerners, thanks to the arrival in the west of Japanese macrobiotic cooking, which uses it a lot. Pharmacologists at the University of Hawaii injected rats with an extract of this substance. They found that the seaweed helped prevent and cure cancer. The researchers claim that Wakame fights cancer by

activating and strengthening the immune system. It can be found in most health food stores.

13. How to prevent motion sickness - naturally

Did you know that half a teaspoon of ground ginger is more effective than chemical medication in suppressing motion or sea sickness? And unlike most medication, it will not make you drowsy. Ginger has been used in the Orient for centuries to prevent sea sickness. Researchers asked subjects who were especially susceptible to motion sickness to sit in a reclining chair that spun around at high speed. All the subjects who ingested a well known medication or who took a placebo experienced violent nausea and/or vomiting.

On the other hand, six of the twelve subjects who took ginger twenty minutes before the test experienced no discomfort. They consumed only 840 milligrams of ground ginger, which is the equivalent of half a teaspoon. The Japanese have a very curious method of treating all kinds of

motion sickness. They use an adhesive plaster to fasten an “umeboshi” (a very salty fermented plum, available in most health food stores in the West) to their navel. The idea may seem a little strange, but what have you got to lose!

14. The anti-allergy vitamin

So much has been said in praise of Vitamin C. So it is not surprising that it is also effective in treating allergic reactions like hayfever. We recommend taking Vitamin C in the form of ascorbate rather then ascorbic acid. When taken in ascorbic acid form, it can cause gastro-intestinal disorders.

To fight an allergic reaction, you should consume up to 8 grams. 5 grams are necessary, on average. Start with a dose of 3 grams. Every three hours, take another 1 or 2 grams, until the symptoms disappear completely.

15. How to prevent Flatulence (Aerophagy)

Aerophagy results simply from “eating” air. The condition is not dramatically serious, but it does bloat the stomach and can prove embarrassing (stomach gurgles, etc.)

How to prevent it? Above all chew your food properly and savor it fully. Swallowing too much is a direct cause of aerophagy. So don’t swallow needlessly. Don’t drink a lot when you eat. Avoid tobacco and alcohol, cabbage, radishes, doughy bread, strong spices and bubbly drinks.

Don’t eat food that is too hot or too cold. And pay attention to the kinds of food you eat together: make a note of any combination that seems to provoke an attack and avoid it in future.

16. How to put an end to heartburn

Heartburn usually results from excess acidity in the stomach, or from improper functioning of your digestive system. At the point where the esophagus and stomach join, a special muscle opens and closes the esophagus. When we swallow food this muscle relaxes to let the food pass into the stomach after which it closes again.

But it can happen that the muscle malfunctions. The contents of the stomach then rise back up the esophagus, irritating the area. And this results in the infamous feeling of heartburn.

How to stop it? Avoid acidic foods (lemons, etc.), alcohol, fat or fried food, food that is overcooked, coffee, juice, tomato base products and chocolate. But don’t deprive yourself too much. Rather, observe which foods bring on heartburn and avoid them. Also, don’t go to sleep right after eating (you should eat supper around 7 o’clock) and don’t smoke, especially after meals.

17. A miracle remedy

If we offered you a miracle remedy that prevents cardiac disease, certain types of cancer, diabetes, obesity, tooth decay and varicose veins, would you buy it? Certainly you would. There is such a product. But it is not a recent discovery and you won’t find it in a pharmacy but at the grocery store. We are talking about fiber.

A study conducted in Holland on 871 men, over a period of ten years, showed that subjects who had a low fiber diet were three times more susceptible to mortal disease - causes notwithstanding - than those who ate a lot of fiber (Future Youth). This said, it cannot be confirmed at present that fiber prevents the above mentioned diseases in all cases. But there is conclusive proof that they occur more frequently in populations with low fiber diets which is precisely the case in the west.

According to The Lancet (the British Medical Journal) a diet which contains at least 37 grams of fiber per day (the equivalent of one cup of bran, one apple, one potato and a half cup of cooked

spinach) can effectively protect the organism against chronic illnesses common to western society. So fiber is useful in combatting many disorders besides constipation.

LOW FIBER FOODS:

Notably white bread (since fiber is removed in white flour), beef, pork, chicken, milk, butter, cheese, sugar, processed meats, desserts, fish, seafood and noodles.

GOOD SOURCES OF FIBER:

· Fruits: especially apples and prunes. Vegetables: potatoes with their peel, spinach, artichokes, cabbage, peas.

· Whole grains: barley, whole wheat (you should eat whole wheat bread because of the bran it contains), oats, corn.

· Nuts: peanuts and almonds. Dried fruit: apricots, plums, figs, dates.

· Legumes: soy beans, lima beans, lentils, chick peas.

Note that there are numerous types of fiber, and that you should alternate between them. For example, the fiber contained in apples and the fiber in cereals are both essential, since they don’t have the same digestive function.

18. Reducing your cholesterol

To reduce cholesterol:

· First cut down on saturated fats. To do this:

· Eat lean meat. Select lean cuts and ask your butcher to cut off the fat.

· Drink skim milk instead of whole milk.

Do the same for all dairy products. Note that vegetarians have a much lower cholesterol level (almost twice as low as average) which is perfectly understandable, since cholesterol is only found in products derived from animals.

· Alcohol - in moderation. Not more than two glasses a day.

However, it does appear that drinking a moderate amount of alcohol raises the number of HDL lipids (the good ones!), which break down cholesterol. (Moderation = two 4 oz. glasses of wine or two 12 oz. beers.)

· Do regular exercise, for example walking.

· Take Vitamin E. It reduces the risk of coronary disease.

· Calcium brewer’s yeast, Vitamin C and Vitamin B-6 also combat the accumulation of cholesterol. And don’t forget lecithin, which helps fight excess cholesterol, arteriosclerosis, hypertension and angina (as well as psoriasis, anxiety and diabetes - and reduces the likelihood of contracting cancer). Losing weight is a good way to raise your HDL level.

· Use poly-unsaturated, non-hydrogenated, cold pressed oil: corn oil, sunflower seed oil, soy, flax etc. A mono-unsaturated oil like olive oil can even raise your HDL level.

· Daily consumption of fish would be ideal for preventing cardio-vascular problems, as demonstrated conclusively in a number of studies on fish-eating populations (Eskimos for example). Ideally, you would eat fish twice a day. And as strange as this sounds, you should select the fattest kinds: mackerel, sardines, herring, salmon etc.

As for the oil in the fish, it is used to treat arterial disorders. Its effects can be felt in about six weeks. Fish oil contains two poly-unsaturated fatty acids which are very beneficial for the arteries.

19. Digest better

There is a plant for each type of digestion problem.

· AIGREMOINE is useful when the stomach problem is accompanied by enteritis, diarrhea and/or chronic liver infection. It helps tone a lazy digestive system. And it also helps regularize acidity and soothe ulcers by improving metabolism. 3 or 4 cups a day. 3 1/2 to 4 tablespoons per quart of water.

· ANGELICA is a digestive, an aperitif, a stimulant, a tonic. It decongests and soothes stomach pains and swelling. Prepare an infusion (tea) preferably using the fresh plant: 3 ½ tablespoons of roots per quart of water. If your stomach is very swollen, prepare and drink 3 cups per day made of 5 tablespoons of seeds per quart of water.

· ANISE is a soothing digestive. It aids digestion and the elimination of intestinal gas, it soothes stomach cramps, aerophagy, dyspepsia (contractions of the digestive organs, dizziness and a heavy feeling after eating). 2 or 3 cups per day, after meals: 2 tablespoons of seeds per quartof water.

· CAMOMILE: a digestive, sedative, anti-inflammation agent and tonic. It helps painful or difficult digestion, stomach cramps, gastro-intestinal spasms, loss of appetite, and it helps expulsion of gas (carminative). Particularly recommended for persons who suffer from stomach cramps (and/or who are irritable, temperamental, angry etc.) One cup of infusion, a half hour before meals, or one hour after. To prepare the infusion, add 5 1/2 tablespoons to a quart of boiling water and let stand for five minutes.

· CHERVIL: digestive, depurative and diuretic. It also acts as a stimulant. For difficult digestion, drink 2 or 3 cups per day. Prepare an infusion with one teaspoon of dried leaves per cup of water, and let stand for 10 minutes.

· SAGE: The ancients had a saying - “Why die when your garden is full of sage!” It is a digestive, diuretic, antispasmodic and helps combat hypoglycemia. It stimulates the appetite, fortifies the stomach and aids digestion, especially when digestion is difficult. It is also a general tonic. 2 or 3

cups of infusion per day. 1 1/2 tablespoons of dried leaves per quart of water. (Practical Guide No. 6, Vol. II).

20. Menstrual cramps - suffer no more!

To reduce the intensity of menstrual symptoms, you can change your diet:

· Less sugar, and slightly more protein.

· Diuretic foods such as eggplant, cucumbers and parsley can help diminish water retention.

· Calcium supplements (1 gram per day) and magnesium (500 milligrams) can help reduce anxiety (always take both).

· Vitamin B-6 (not more than 50 milligrams per day) can alleviate symptoms of anxiety and tension.

· Vitamins E and C also help reduce the intensity of cramps.

· Aspirin has a mildly soothing effect.

· And once again you can turn to plants to relieve your pains:

* ANGELICA in infusion: 3 1/2 tablespoons of root per quart of water.

* MATRIX (derived from the Latin for womb): 2 teaspoons of flowers per quart of water.

* MILFOI OR YARROW which soothes and reduces overly abundant menstruation: about 5 1/2 tablespoons of flower tops per quart of water.

* SAGE in infusion: I 1/2 tablespoons of dried leaves per quart of water.

In extreme cases, ask your doctor for medication to alleviate pain.

21. Stop catching colds

As much as possible, avoid coming into close contact with infected persons, especially if they cough or sneeze. A person with a cold is extremely contagious: he or she fills the air with fine particles of saliva or mucous which transport the virus microbe. Even if the person is careful to wipe his nose with tissue or a handkerchief, the microbes will be transported to his hands.

And studies have shown that these viruses are transmitted through hand contact. So if you have to shake hands with someone who has a cold, you would better wash soon after!

What can you do if you do catch a cold? It is useless to take antibiotics: they have no effect on viruses.

However, there are certain substances found in alcohol which help decongest sinuses, that is why a good hot toddy can work wonders. But take care of your liver: a toddy is just as good with a little rum as with a lot. You don’t have to get drunk to get better. You don’t even have to

drink it - just sniff some strong alcohol like cognac or brandy and breathe in the fumes.

22. Use heat to cure

Everyone has heard about how good a sauna feels, and of the relaxing effect of a steam bath which bathes you in hot vapor. But there are other heat treatments which are equally beneficial. Heat relaxes the muscles and ligaments. When applied locally, for example, with hot towels, it can ease muscle spasms. It can also reduce arthritic pain. Heat dilates the blood vessels, which in turn activates circulation. Applied to a wound, it can prevent infection by helping white blood corpuscles and fresh oxygen surround the area more quickly.

23. How to combat fatigue

First make sure you are sleeping enough. Is your nutrition sufficient? In general women need at least 1200 calories per day and men 1500. Avoid monotony: a varied diet will be more likely to provide the nutritive elements you need to conserve your energy. The sensation of fatigue may be stress-related, especially when you experience emotional stress. Do you feel tense at work or at home? Lastly, don’t neglect physical exercise. Tired or not, get out in the fresh air every day. Walking is the minimum effort necessary for staying in shape.

24. Protect yourself against cancer

Radical liberals are not a political group, but a kind of very active molecule that is suspected of being one of the causes of cancer. How can you protect yourself? Diet plays an important role here, especially in the absorption of anti-oxidants. The strongest anti-oxidizing agent is Vitamin E, which is found in wheat germ oil and sunflower seeds.

Next comes Vitamin C (oranges, grapefruits, lemons, red peppers etc.).

Beta carotene also absorbs large amounts of radical liberals.

This substance seems to act as a protecting agent against most types of cancer.

Where do you find it? In red vegetables (like tomatoes), orange ones (carrots), yellow (squash), and dark green (broccoli). All these are rich in beta carotene. So make them a regular part of your menu!

25. Prevent high blood pressure

Research has shown that people whose diet is rich in potassium (vegetarians for example) are less likely than others to develop high blood pressure. Calcium is also beneficial. Fortunately, potassium and calcium are abundantly present in a large variety of foods. Fruits, vegetables, beans, fish, fowl and lean meats are full of potassium. Calcium is a little more restricted. Foods rich in calcium usually also contain large amounts of sodium and fat, which can increase blood pressure. However, moderate amounts of milk are recommended, as well as yogurt, almonds, bananas, grapes, broccoli, potatoes, beans, tofu and sardines.

26. Iron strong health

Without iron, there would be no hemoglobin in the blood. Hemoglobin gives red corpuscles their color. And it is the hemoglobin that carries oxygen to all parts of the body. If you lack iron, an insufficient supply of oxygen in your hemoglobin will produce sensations of fatigue, headaches and shortness of breath. Men don’t have to worry too much: most men have a reserve of iron stored in their body that could last 3 years !

But women, because of the menstrual cycle, need twice as much iron as men.

And the amount is even higher for pregnant women. Vitamin C doubles the amount of iron the body absorbs: so it is a good idea to add a glass of tomato or orange or grapefruit juice to every meal. On the other hand, tea reduces the amount of iron absorbed by 50% and coffee by about 39%.

27. Aging with a healthy body and mind

Did you know that sexual activity can keep you looking good as you age? Studies conducted in Sweden have shown that elderly people who have sexual partners have much more vitality and a better memory than those who do not. So don’t let your golden years deprive you of the pleasures of sex! Just forget about the obsession of having to “perform” - the final result is less important than the stimulation itself.

The Five Most Important Words in the Human Vocabulary

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In the human vocabulary there are five most important words.

These words represent an ever-present disposition that dictate the way we behave the way we do. The words are:

What's In It For Me?

A government employee spends hours sorting files to get his daily wage. A philanthropist donates huge sums to charity in order to get that "good-feeling." A missionary worker travels into jungles to achieve a

divine sense of fulfillment. A chief executive duels with tremendous pressure to acquire a fortune.

We do things because we have something to gain. Whatever this gain is, it is the reason we go through the trouble of stressful labor. The temptation of a reward spurs action. Understand now the prime importance of those five powerful words. If you can answer "What Is In It For Him." every time you enter a dialogue, you can win over anyone. To win a debate or argument or to gain concessions you must make the other person see that he has something to gain from doing as you ask. Speak of what you want in terms of what your prospect wants. Make him see that agreeing with you satisfies his self-interest. This principle can be restated in the Leverage

Formula:]

If B = N then P

Translated to English, the formula declares, "If the Benefits you offer (in exchange for his agreement to your idea or request) Equal his pressing Needs, then you can Persuade.

The Top Ten Human Needs –Satisfy Them to Gain Compliance

Human beings possess ten psychological needs. At specific times, some needs press more heavily than others. To persuade, first attempt to discern which general need preoccupies your prospect the most. Upon identifying the general need, discern the specific need spawned by the general need. When you discover the needs that press most strongly, word your request, proposal or idea in such a way that

agreement to your proposal will satisfy his needs. This is the second golden key of persuasion.

The general needs are:

Affection: a desire to belong

Excellence: the drive to win

Esteem: a passion to be admired

Security: a need for protection

Greed: a want for more than the right amount

Recognition: a need for personal worth

Power: a desire for supremacy

Privacy: an urge to protect personal space

Ego: a sense of pride

Liberty: a craving to control one's fate.

Feeding the Feeling of Importance

Of all the needs, one burns brightly almost all the time. Esteem. Should you fail to identify a specific need, work on the need for esteem. Feed your prospect's feeling of importance. You can get anyone to do virtually anything if it makes him feel important. Arrange matters such that someone can achieve that feeling only by acceding to a request you give.

The acronym PRiNCeS arms you with a toolbox to use whenever seeking to satisfy the Feeling of Importance. Feed this need for importance, and doors open to you.

Praise. Praise someone sincerely to boost his esteem. When requiring better work quality from a subordinate, announce that he works in a unique and efficient manner and say that you expect better output from his unique process. Stand back and watch him prove you right. Remember that praise works best only when complimenting a characteristic or trait that is not obvious. When praised, the target of your praise basks in the compliment and does everything in his power to live up to the praise, and to acquire more praise. Subconsciously, he fears doing something that will retract the praise. For you, the persuader, the implication is that your prospect will fulfill your requests or accede to your ideas simply to be worthy of the praise. If someone constantly criticizes your manner of dress, kill further criticism by praising his good style and taste. This paradoxical behavior has a 75% chance of killing any further reproach from him How can he criticize you for something you laude him for?

Reputation. Giving someone an alleged 'good' reputation to live up to is a powerful technique to gain concessions. A common example would involve a subordinate requesting for a raise. He may appeal to the boss's good nature by saying: "I've always known you to be a fair man and that you reward the diligence of your employees. Today, I would like to request for a salary increase because of the sudden bills that piled up." By declaring the boss to have a reputation of fairness, the subordinate boosted his chances of getting what he wanted. The boss would find it hard to turn down a just request when he realizes that he holds the distinction of being a rewarding and fair employer.

Need. We love to help when we feel needed. If we know that our personal actions contribute greatly to a cause or effort and are noticed by those we help, we are more than willing to give in to a request. When attempting persuasion, make your prospect feel that his help is very much desired; that his hand is vital to the success of our endeavors, that he contributes a great deal. Politicians understand this principle. During campaign runs, they visit each and every supporter and personally assure them that without their individual efforts - whether cutting posters, or organizing mass gatherings - the crusade would fail. This 'personal touch' increases the morale of even the lowliest supporter to give his all for a victorious election. Being needed is a wonderful thing.

Challenge. What's our reflex when someone doubts our ability to do something? Prove them otherwise! Throwing a Challenge is a manipulative tool whereby you politely voice doubt about someone's ability to accomplish a task. This doubt spurs zealous action to prove it false. To persuade a lagging supervisor to, say, whip his employees into shape, you might say: "I'm not sure you have the capacity to get those bums of yours to increase production, so I'm thinking of getting a consultant to do the job instead." Watch the recipient of this reverse psychology get right down to work! To prove his capabilities, your

unwitting supervisor will exhaust all resources on his own initiative.

Superiority. If you need someone's staunch support or competent help, acknowledge their superiority. For the moment, assume that you are running a production deadline. Your men are behind schedule and you badly require assistance from a think tank in another department. Inter-department rivalry normally hinders such cooperation so you attack the matter smartly. You approach an able and quick thinking candidate who may just solve the bottlenecks and say, "I've always admired your work; you're the best project manager this entire division has and no problem has ever stumped you. Right now, I need your expertise which I cannot get elsewhere. May I have a few hours of your time?" Play on someone's pride this way, and you're bound to reap bountiful concessions. When someone is acknowledged as superior, he'll go all the way to prove it.

As you read the previous paragraphs, and realize that man possesses certain innate psychological needs, you acquire mastery of the human driving force. Knowledge of how people think and act is important; more significant is knowing that people act to fulfill specific needs. This knowledge enables you to convince effectively. By knowing what others need and crave for, and by putting your position, or idea in a deftly worded request that compliments someone's needs, your chances for successful persuasion skyrockets. Remember this key always. Elicit the belief that your idea is to his or her benefit. Create this belief in his or her mind by feeding their feeling of importance: use praise, show that they are needed, acknowledge their superiority, give them a reputation to live up to, or give a challenge to prove their skills.

The Arsenal of Verbal Persuasion (Proven Verbal Magic to Charm, Wile and Beguile)The Arsenal of Verbal Persuasion (Proven Verbal Magic to Charm, Wile and Beguile)

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The Verbal Toolbox of Persuasive Tactics

The proper mental disposition as well as the techniques for rapport composed the first golden keys for persuasion. To complete the persuasive arsenal requires knowing how to make the "sales pitch", so to

speak. These verbal techniques forge the last golden key to persuasion. The sales pitch is what you say to sway others to your idea. They consist of properly formulated phrases and sentences. Following powerful patterns geared to elicit belief, these formulas take off where rapport ends: it makes clear in the mind of your listeners what you want them to believe or to do.

In this book, many techniques await your deployment. The first deal with powerful phrases that in themselves, can be used to generate belief - sometimes irrational. The last discussed technique employs whole conversational tactics; paragraphs of carefully sequenced statements with the objective to firmly implant an idea. Each technique will be followed by a brief theory; some will have example applications.

The successful application of a technique depends on the situation. Some work better than others for a given scenario; your discretion for its deployment dictates its success or failure.

Time Distortion

Sometimes the best way to influence is to act as though what you want had already happened. This method, the simplest of all the persuasive techniques, consists of three steps.

· Presuppose that what you want has already been agreed upon, and that the outcome is good. Word your pitch using the past tense.

· Presuppose that your prospect has accepted the proposal.

· Presuppose that your prospect enjoyed the proposal.

An example can elaborate this technique. Assume that you want to ask someone out. To word your elevator speech using the three steps might go along the following lines:

"Won't it be great after we've had dinner at the Ritz? The dining would be superb, with the glimmer of candles, sparkling wine and soothing music. After dinner, you'd smile to yourself and think that this must be the highlight of your week. See! You're already thinking about how much fun we'll have. The more you try to think of reasons why you can't accept my offer, the more you realize how much you'd love to come."

This method energizes a powerful picture in your prospect's mind. Putting it in the past tense and in such glowing images make it hard to resist. By further presupposing that your prospect already accepted and enjoyed the idea makes the persuasive technique unbeatable. An ideal situation to apply this would be in business proposals. Businessmen enjoy dynamic, moving images painted in their minds.

The Principle of Reciprocity

Being human, we feel the need to repay favors given to us. It's our nature. A favor can trigger a feeling of indebtedness, and in effect, we develop a great need to relieve ourselves of the psychological burden of debt. To unload this burden, we become more than willing to return a favor almost larger than the one given us. The Principle of Reciprocity states that if someone grants us favors, invited or uninvited, an overpowering need to repay that favor immediately blooms within the recipient of that favor. This human trait transcends all cultures and races.

Consider the following example: A child you don't know walks up and hands you a flower. It would be considered impolite to reject such a thoughtful action, so you take it. Shortly after, the child asks if you would like to buy a cookie for her Girl Scout class. Because you just received a "favor" from the child, saying no to her request would have been tough because it would go against natural cultural forces favoring reciprocation arrangements. You buy a boxful of cookies.

Notice how when someone smiles, you smile in return, or when someone compliments a personal characteristic, you return in kind? This is the power of reciprocation. A favor granted must be repaid.

How often have we received small gifts through the mail: small keys, greeting cards, personalized address labels.... usually attached with a note requesting for funds to a popular charity? Big organizations have discovered that by giving a small favor or gift, the recipient of the gift develops a more pressing need to repay the favor. Repaying the favor entails complying with the request. The rule of the principle is simple:

Give a favor, expect a return-favor.

Business meetings tend to produce more favorable results if the project proponent treats the client to lunch. The lunch is a favor extended, and what is implicitly requested in return is a favorable contract.

To use this Principle, one simply extends a small favor or gives a small gift prior a negotiation. Gifts are usually accepted since cultural norms dictate that recipients accept out of courtesy. Once accepted, the

psychological need to repay the debt germinates. This raises the chances of later gaining what will be asked. The ethical overtones of using this principle, must be taken into proper perspective, however.

Favors can constitute anything given "out of good will":

· Little material trinkets.

· Compliments

· Food

· Promises

· Smiles

· Drinks

· Physical labor

· Concessions

Door-In-The-Face Method

Another way to use the Principle of Reciprocity is by deploying the Door-In-The-Face technique. More devastating than the straightforward approach of giving a gift and receiving a return favor, this technique takes a subtle approach. Supposing you want to make a request "B." One way to increase your chances of receiving compliance to that request "B" is to first make a much larger request "A." Request "A" is similar to request "B", except that because of its magnitude, compliance to it is almost impossible. This much larger request is expected to be rejected. After the rejection, you immediately retreat to your originally planned request "B". Statistically, the request "B" has an almost 95% chance of receiving compliance because of this linguistic framework.

This so effective because social norms dictate that a concession must be exchanged with a concession. By allowing your request "A" to be rejected, you gave a concession. Therefore the person you persuade

must respond with a concession.... that of complying with your allegedly smaller request "B"! Why does it work so well? Cultural norms tend to override even logic and inner resistance.

The Door-In-The-Face Method takes two steps:

First Step: Make a large request (this elicits a No!)

Second Step: Make the real, and smaller request: (this gets the Yes!)

Labor negotiators frequently deploy this tool. They begin with extreme demands expected to be turned down. Abruptly, they repeat to a series of smaller demands, or concessions which will then be more easily accepted. These smaller demands are the real target of the labor group. The larger requests were merely decoys meant to provide smokescreens. Children use this technique very well. Sometimes, a child may desire a small item like a cassette. To increase his chance of getting it, he makes huge requests, like a CD player or arcade game. The parents expectedly turn it down. What does the child do then? He retreats to his real request and says that if he can't get a CD, can he get a cassette tape instead? The response to such a comparatively trifling request is evident.

The Principle of Commitment and Consistency

We all fool ourselves from time to time to keep our thoughts and beliefs consistent with what we have already done and decided. When we publicly take a stand on something, our subsequent actions must be in harmony with what we have previously made manifest. This quirk in human behavior is described by the Commitment and Consistency Principle. We commit to something that we willingly make known and then, we remain consistent in behavior to it. Inconsistent behavior produces psychological tension that must be avoided at all costs. The Foot in the Door technique applies this principle.

The Foot-In-The-Door Technique

To use this technique, you must first decide on an outcome you want (this is your major request). Upon deciding your outcome, you create a series of small, related requests that are easy to say yes to. After stating these two or three requests, you pop the big question. Because of the first "yes's" that were easily solicited, your prospect is mentally conditioned to say yes to the primary and real request. The small requests are created to elicit "commitment" to a certain related idea or request to be given in the end.

This technique works by conditioning the mind to be consistent with the previous stance of saying yes repeatedly. It's that simple. The series of small requests create commitments to a certain action. The final request requires an action of similar nature, and thus, to be consistent, compliance with the final request is necessary. First get someone to commit (say yes!) to a series of thoughts, ideas or actions. Your prospect will then automatically comply with any final thought, idea or action that is related, just to be consistent. The technique is simple:

1st Step: Make a very small request (Get an easy yes response and first commitment!)

2nd Step: Make another very small request (Get another easy yes response and the second commitment!)

3rd Step: Make your real request, a bigger one. (Get a yes response!)

The important step is to ensure that all the requests are related in nature. If the last request is environmentally themed, so should the previous two requests. This allows the Principle to be mustered effectively. Sometimes, prior to making the request, it is good to give an "enticing motivator" to set the stage. Car salesmen have been guilty of using this technique to sell cars. What they do is to advertise a car at a magnificently low price (the "enticing motivator") A buyer comes, drawn by the price. The salesmen and the buyer start discussing terms of payment, signing documents and filling forms. These acts of discussion and writing constitute the various "small commitments" leading to the act of closing the deal (the major request of the salesman). By discussing and writing for at least an hour before the end of the sale, the buyer is subconsciously committing to consummate the transaction. Before the consummation, the salesman disappears and comes back with news that there was an error in calculation. He reveals that the car had a price tag a few hundred dollars more. Despite the sudden price increase, and because of the various little commitments made, the buyer has no choice but to push forward with the deal.

Pacing and Leading Method of Persuasion (The Rhythm To Success)

The method of Pacing and Leading derives its power from the Principle of Consistency. Similar to the Foot-In-The-Door Technique, it follows a rhythmical pattern of pace and lead statements designed to create almost irrational beliefs in a proposed idea. Like the previous technique, the theory involves eliciting enough 'yes' during the course of the conversation so your prospect will automatically agree when you make the primary request/s.

Verbal pacing and leading sets up an unconscious yes-set which contribute to its effectiveness. By making a series of statements or questions that elicit a yes, you condition your prospect's mind to continue saying yes even up to the point of your real request or idea. It works even if the request is hard, or the idea is abhorrent.

The Pace-Lead Method associates things that are obviously and irrefutably true with what you'd like people to believe as true. When you use this technique you first create Pace Statements. These statements are statements or questions that can immediately be proven as true or are commonly accepted as true. You also create Lead Statements. Leads are statements or requests that you want your prospect to comply with.

Lead statements talk about things you want your prospect to believe in and that hasn't been commonly accepted as true. Once you arrive at the appropriate pace and lead statements, you link the pace statements to the lead statements in the following manner to generate belief and compliance:

Pace, Pace, Pace, Lead

Pace, Pace, Lead, Lead

Pace, Lead, Lead, Lead

Lead, Lead, Lead, Lead

By mixing the Pace statements with the Lead statements in this manner, you blur the distinction between what is obviously true and what is not really so true. This framework makes everything appear patently true. These are examples of Pace Statements:

Being healthy lets you enjoy life.

Safeguard your health with proper care of your body and you can live happy.

Food usually contains health robbing toxins.

Poisons harm us and lower resistance.

Lower resistance reduces health.

Note that these pace statements all need no verification. Common sense dictates these to be true.

Lead statements are different. They are not obviously true, and require hard evidence to prove its veracity. These are examples of leads. Leads are your requests.

Our product will ensure your health

By introducing a dietary supplement containing our patented formulation, you safeguard your resistance against disease. It really works!

These lead statements can be made more convincing if placed in the previously illustrated framework of pacing and leading. Using the formula, here is how it would come out:

(P)Your health allows you to enjoy your life.(P) Safeguard your health with proper care of your body and you can live happily! (P)Unfortunately, we know that our food usually contains toxins that rob us of health. (L)By introducing a dietary supplement containing our patented formulation, you safeguard your resistance against toxins. (P)Poisons harm us, and make us sick, right? (P)This lower resistance reduces our health. (L)Our product can ensure your health. (L)It really works!

Notice that in the pace-lead framework, belief in lead statement becomes easier because of its placement. Each time we hear a pace statements, we silently say, "yes" to ourselves. By the time we come to the leads, it's easier to say yes without noticing that the leads are no longer undeniably true.

Remember that you should not sound stilted or artificial. When speaking in this manner, make the conversation as spontaneous as can be. Ask for short responses from your prospect for your pace statements. Select pace statements that he or she is almost guaranteed to believe in.

Here's a final example. This time the pace statements utilize facts that are observable sensually (visual, auditory, kinesthetic). Hence they create a powerful influencing effect. (P)As you sit and (P)listen to me, you start to (P)wonder. (P)You think....

You (L)realize that what I say is very important and could be applied in real life. (P)And as you think about it some more, as (P)you lean forward and listen, (L)you realize that the knowledge of this lecture will definitely enrich your personal relationships and (L)make you a more competent person.

The Principle of Attribution (Giving Explanations to Invoke Sustained Behavior)

People frequently do something because they believe in a certain truth about themselves. An internal attribution about who they are causes certain types of behavior. If someone makes an internal attribution ("I will sign this petition because I am this kind of person") then he will most likely perform a future, related action because, "I am still that kind of person." A person who believes himself to be neat will pick up trash today, tomorrow and next month.

Additionally, he will do all kinds of orderly things. He does this to be consistent with the internal attribution he creates for himself. The Principle of Attribution allows us to modify people's behavior by

merely giving an attribution. If you want someone to do something, not just now, but always, proclaim to him a certain "perceived" attribution. He will come to see himself as that type of person and behave accordingly. To create an attribution, apply it in a situation where people are thinking about why things are happening. Second, give an explanation that is an internal attribution for the desired behavior. State that things are happening because "that person is like that." The Explanation you give is the attribution that will enforce the desired behavior from that moment on.

For instance, a teacher hopes to increase the grades of her students. After a successful quiz, she makes an attribution, saying, "My! These quizzes have been well answered! I wonder... I think you've all been

studying very hard and you've gotten brighter!" With this simple sentence, the teacher attributes the quiz scores to initiative and studying hard. The students realize this might be so, and regardless of whether they studied before or not, they do start studying to be consistent with the attribution. They think, "I got a good grade coz I study hard. Therefore, I must study hard for the next quiz."

A boss can also elicit greater productivity from his workers. He might say to an employee, "Mark, you've been at this desk for hours and I can see results. You must be a hardworking person with your sights on your goal! Keep up the good work." The boss attributes the good business results to hard work and prioritizing. Mark will subconsciously make the internal attribution that he is indeed hardworking and act consistently with this belief. A simple declaration yields a field of surprises.

The Charmer Method

This last technique, unlike the previous methods, does not rely on sleight of tongue or verbal acrobatics. It works because you openly offer concessions, manifest a willingness to listen, and validate your prospect's beliefs. Your prospect has a free choice to decide. You do not cloud his mind with verbal mists. Of all the techniques discussed, it is the most ethical. Additionally, it takes the longest to carry out, but it can produce lasting relationships. Like the previous systems, this method is also devastatingly effective. Mastery of this method can lead to satisfying friendships as well as giving you what you want.

The Charmer can be applied in four steps.

Step 1. Create the Initial Benefit Statement (The Initial Benefit Statement, or IBS consists of two parts).

First, you state an Opener which consists of a current need, problem or desire that your prospect would like to satisfy. Second, you close with a Benefit Statement that includes specific idea or solution (your request) that answers that need. Stating the IBS is done using the pace-lead rhythm previously discussed in order to maximize its effectiveness.

The IBS acts to whet the appetite of your prospect to listen and pay heed. When you formulate your IBS, you can use the following examples:

Openers:

"It is my understanding that you...."

"We've found that most people are looking for..."

"I hear you have a problem in the area of..."

"What most people want..."

"What if I could show you a way..."

"It's hard to be unproductive because...."

Benefit Statement:

"This is why many normally do this...."

"X works specially well in this scenario..."

"In such situations, x is the best possible solution..."

"In other words, what you're looking for is...."

When making the initial benefit statement, be certain to point out that your idea does solve his problem. If you can accomplish this, you have enticed your prospect. This would be a sample IBS using the Pace-Lead Rhythm.

"Mr. Richards, times have been bad and money doesn't flow so well anymore, specially for small firms such as yours. We know that your operations are no longer very efficient and it cuts back on your profits. We can provide you with the necessary computerized networking solution that can cut wastes 90% and boost profits 70%. How does that sound to you?

The IBS certainly grabbed his attention, didn't it? He saw that he had something to gain.

Step 2. Ask questions to elicit information on his needs which you seek to address.

No matter how well worded your IBS, your prospect holds many pressing needs begging to be filled. By careful questioning, you can get people to reveal their hidden needs and reconsider their position in light of what you have to offer. It is important that you choose your questions well. Raise questions that

will lead to revealing hidden needs which your idea, proposal or product can directly address. Raise questions that will direct you to proclaiming more of the benefits of your idea.

Step 3. Agree Agree Agree.

Whenever the other person responds in such a way that offers you an opening to reinforce your proposal's benefits, agree with his remarks, and develop his thought with the benefits that logically flows from his statement. Ensure that your benefits include feeling benefits, such as feelings of security, comfort, pride...etc. Benefits such as these persuade very strongly.

To illustrate Step 2 and Step 3, assume that you are selling brand new computers, so you ask a question that will lead to a specific benefit you offer.

You: "So Mr. Richards, I can see that you distrust computerization. Why is this the case?"

Richards: "I've tried it before and it was a nightmare. Something always broke down! Whenever we called technical support, they placed us on hold. We ended up with a white elephant."

You: "I agree with you. Computers do break down and most companies fail to respond to their customers. It's a big problem in the industry. We can guarantee you against this problem because we have over 350 technical staff on our roster working night and day. You'll never have a problem again.

The agreement with your prospect's statements clarify in his mind that you are considering his concerns very carefully. This heightens his receptivity to your proposals. Each time you agree with his concerns, and raise a benefit to absorb his anxiety, you edge a step closer to successful persuasion.

Step 4 Ask for what you want.

Finally, when you sense a good deal of rapport and agreement to your proposal, make the request. Close the deal. A positive mind set helps. Make the assumption that the deal has been accepted prior to asking. Behave in a confident manner.

First, summarize the benefits you offered.

Second, state the confident request using the following formula:

"Based on what you've told me... I'm going to suggest that the best course of action for us is...." Or

"I can see you've reached your decision... I guess what we should do now is....."

Take heed of the italicized words. Emphasize that the decision flows logically from his facts. Emphasize also the us/we involvement. The prospect will feel more at ease knowing that both you and he embark on that decision together.

From there, you can cap it all up with this standard close:

“We guarantee that you'll love the results. It's so easy. It's really works, its your best option not just now, but in the future.”