Creating Possibility For Transformation

Creating Possibility For Transformation

 by: Dr Harry Henshaw

Transformational Counseling is about assisting another to transform his life. Transforming ones life is not about changing it. While life is much about doing differently, the genesis of the transformation is about a person altering or transforming his belief or thought of who he thinks he is. We tend to believe that our life is determined or influenced by people, places, things, situations and circumstance and that who we are is the mere accumulation of our past experiences but this is not so. Rather, it is our thoughts and beliefs that determine our experiences and life and also that we are completely and solely responsible for their creation. What we think and believe, especially about ourselves, determines our emotions and behavior in the world and it is our behavior that merely validates what we think and believe about ourselves. Furthermore, we believe or think that we know who we are in life but the reality is that we truly do not. Much of who we are really being we are simply not present to. Much of our life is spent in pretense and who we are really being is hidden from us.

Given that much of our life is lived in pretense, from the construct of ego, becoming present to that which is hidden, to who we are being in life, is absolutely necessary for transformation. It is in that which is primarily hidden from us that one will discover what is determining ones life, referred to here as ones self-limiting belief. The first component of the transformational process is for one to become present to the hidden thoughts and beliefs that have been limiting him in life and in particular to his self-limiting belief. It is in the being of the self-limiting belief that one will discover the primary constraint or barrier to his life, to him living a life that he loves and living it powerfully. We live life from who we think we are. Who we think we are forms the context for our life. Having the awareness or distinction of the self-limiting belief allows one the ability to not be it, to not have his life be merely the probable almost certain future from the past. Without the distinction of the self-limiting belief one will continue to create his life from the backdrop of this ideational barrier and as a result life will appear much as it did in the past.

Becoming present to that which has been hidden, to that which has been truly determining his being in life, allows one the opportunity to transform his life. Once one gets who he has been being in life, the second component of transformative process is for the individual to begin to create his life as a possibility. Once the distinction of the self-limiting belief is gotten, the individual is now able to truly create a new possibility for himself and his life. Getting the self-limiting belief creates the space or an opening for a possibility or possibilities to be invented not as a result or product of the barrier or constraint but from or out of nothing. It is only from nothing that possibility can truly be created. As with the self-limiting belief, possibility exists in language. Once one gets the language that he has been being, that has defined and limited him through being his self-limiting belief, it is at this point that he can begin to recreate himself through the power of his word. Who we are is our word. In is in ones language or word created out of nothing that one has access to possibility and transformation.

The technique described below is designed to assist an individual in becoming present to his self-limiting belief and in the process to create the space or opening for him to invent a possibility or possibilities for recreating his life.

1. Find a relaxing and comfortable space to sit in for approximately one hour. Arrange for this space to be free of any distractions. Just allow yourself to begin to relax. Become present to where and who you are. The use of therapeutic relaxation music can promote the development of a very profound sense of relaxation to enhance this experience.

2. Take a notebook and begin to write down everything that you believe describes or defines who you are. Let your mind wander and do not try to filter or block out anything. Just let whatever comes up about yourself, how you feel and what you think about yourself, to be written down. Who you think you are or that which bests describes you may appear in single words or short phrases. If in a group, share your description of yourself with others. Furthermore, make two lists as there will appear to be both positives and negatives aspects about who you think you are.

3. Sit your notebook down, close your eyes and begin to relax deeply again. Again, the use of therapeutic relaxation music will assist you in the process of creating a very deep state of relaxation. As you begin to move into a deep state of relaxation allow yourself to begin to drift back through time, back through your life, back through your adulthood, adolescence and into your childhood. Allow yourself to become present to how you were being, experiences, thoughts and feelings, through the various phases or stages of your life. Just become present to or notice what appears for you.

4. Open your eyes and return to work on your notebook. Take a look at what you have written and add anything that you became present to about yourself during the above mentioned relaxation exercise. Again, do not filter out anything but merely allow whatever there is to come to the surface, both the positive and negative words that best describes who you think and feel you are or were.

5. Once you have come to a completion of creating the lists, both positive and negative, consider that the positives of who you think yourself to be form the pretense of your life and that their design or function is to fix the negatives of who you think you are.

6. Allow yourself to become present to the negatives you have written down. Notice which one of the negatives best describes who you are, what you commonly believe and feel about yourself, what you have experienced in your mind in the past and even now. Declare the negative aspect that is familiar to you to be your self-limiting belief.

7. Place your notebook in your lap. Allow yourself to become fully present to the fact that what you have written is you, is who you believe yourself to be. Become present to an inauthentic way of being, the positive as pretense and the negatives as that which we hide from ourselves and the world.

8. Place the notebook into your past. If you are right handed place your notebook to your left. If you are left handed place your notebook to your right. Place the notebook approximately three feet from you.

9. Once you place your notebook into your past allow yourself to become present to where your notebook is in relation to your body, to your right or left. Allow yourself to again become present to that which you have written in your notebook is who you believe you are and that it exists to either your right or left.

10. Once you become present to who you believe yourself to be, to the description of yourself as you have written, allow yourself to become present to what now lies in front of you. Given that who you think you are is either to your left or right, become present to what exists in front of you is nothing, an opening from which everything and anything is possible and can be created.

11. Inside the nothing that appears in front of you, invent a possibility or possibilities for yourself and your life. Declare your possibility in language or word, of who you will take on being in life, for yourself. Furthermore, this declaration becomes your personal affirmation of who you will be in and for the world.

12. Repeat this exercise everyday. Repeating this exercise daily will allow one to continue to stay present to his self limiting belief so as to not be it and also to the possibility or possibilities that he has created and invented for himself and his life. Continuing this exercise will also allow the further possible unveiling of the self-limiting belief. The self-limiting belief that one initially becomes present to may reveal even deeper meaning for who one is or has been being.

The exercise outlined above is about the work of the first two components of Transformational Counseling and one beginning the process of transformation. Once one gets the distinction of his self-limiting belief and creates a possibility or possibilities for himself and his life, the third component of transformation involves learning the process of enrollment. Enrollment is a powerful technique for allowing one to stay living into his possibility and out of his self-limiting belief. The fourth component of transformation is about creating a daily plan. The daily plan allows one the opportunity to continue to live into or generate his possibility in his life on a daily basis. The fifth component of transformation involves a commitment to stay in the conversation of transformation. It is in staying in the conversation that one experiences the nonlinear nature of transformation thereby keeping the process alive in his life.

Harry Henshaw, Ed.D., LMHC

http://www.enhancedhealing.com

About The Author Dr Harry Henshaw is in private practice in North Miami Beach, Florida. http://www.enhancedhealing.com

Hurricane Katrina Donations Could be Many Millions More - eBay Sellers Try in Vain to Help

Hurricane Katrina Donations Could be Many Millions More - eBay Sellers Try in Vain to Help

 by: Dennis Becker

Yesterday I saw a mention in someone’s email ezine about a kind person who had an eBay auction with the proceeds going 100% to help victims of the horrible Hurricane Katrina.

It struck a chord with me because I had wanted to set up something similar, but found that the “eBay Giving Works” charity program seems to be terribly flawed for us small sellers. I had researched it the day before, eBay goes through Mission Fish to handle the administrative tasks and distribution.

Here in a nutshell is how I understand it works. You set up an eBay auction and pledge a percentage of the proceeds to go to a charity. You pick the one you like. If the auction sells, the buyer pays you, and Mission Fish charges your credit card, taking out $3.00 per transaction for their fees, plus 3% to cover credit card fees. That’s reasonable, they need to cover their overhead and payroll expenses. Then Mission Fish sends the balance to the charity.

The minimum donation per item has to be $10.00. Again, so far so good, I can understand that.

Now, I noticed in the auction that I visited that the seller had set up a dutch auction, with 1000 “lots” available, each for $1.00 each, with the proceeds going 100% to her favorite charity that would get food to the Katrina victims. I was about to place a bid for several $1.00 lots (a dutch auction lets you “win” as many of the item as you like, all at the same price).

Then it hit me, why couldn’t I do the same kind of dutch auction, maybe she had found the way to get around the $10.00 per item restriction, and found that it was a minimum $10.00 per auction. It would only make sense that it would work that way, since Mission Fish charges the seller’s credit card, if all 1000 lots sold, that would be $1000 for the charity, Mission Fish would take $3.00 plus 3%, the seller would collect (hopefully) the $1000 from the buyers, and all she would be on the hook for would be the eBay fees. Those fees, plus her hard work, would be her personal contribution.

So I went back to eBay and Mission Fish and researched the deal again. I found out that sure enough, in a multiple item auction, Mission Fish requires a $10.00 donation from the seller for EVERY ITEM that sells in a multiple-item auction (dutch auction).

So, if the seller had 1000 lots at $1.00 each, and they all sold, Mission Fish would have charged her credit card on file for $10.00 for each lot, a total of $10,000.00! And they would have taken their $3.00 + 3% fee for each of those 1000 lots, more than $3,000.00 for their trouble!

At that point, I realized the seller either had deep pockets and was matching contributions 10 to 1, or she misunderstood what would happen to her. I sent her an email, and to end a long story, she indeed misunderstood, was obviously fairly upset at the prospect of paying $10,000, and ended the auction early.

Now, I’d like my readers to do one of two things. If you think that eBay and Mission Fish are mishandling the charity program, as I do, please contact one or both and point them to this blog entry, or just write your own letter with your thoughts.

You can contact Mission Fish here:

http://www.missionfish.org/Help/contactus.jsp

eBay is always more difficult to contact, but you can try starting here:

http://pages.ebay.com/help/contact_us/_base/index.html

The other thing you could do is support the eBay seller’s cause, she had to end the auction but she took the trouble to set up a web page for donations, you can access and support it here:

http://www.flipidy.com/secondharvest.htm

Perhaps with enough pressure on Mission Fish, they’ll get together with eBay and allow dutch auctions to be counted as a single donation, instead of multiple individual items, and encourage more charity in the future.

For those with homes, families, relatives or friends in the devasted area, my hearts and prayers go out to you. I hope this little blog entry will in some small way help someone somewhere.

About The Author Dennis Becker is author of a regular blog about different ways of earning money on the Internet, titled appropriately enough "Success On The Internet". You can find it at: http://www.fantastic-ebooks.com/index.php.

Speculators and Speculation

Speculators and Speculation

 by: Steve Gillman

Speculators get a bad rap. Speculation in stocks, currecies and commodities futures is a necessary part of our economy. Many people have the idea that there is no added value in people "gambling" on commodities prices, for example. The truth is, most people just don't understand of the role of speculators and speculation.

The Truth About 'Speculation'

Speculative trading is crucial to a modern economy. Let's use corn for an example. A farmer can plant his corn, and then see the price drop so low by harvest time that he loses his investment, and possibly goes bankrupt. How can he prevent this?

By selling some of his future production now, at a set price, he can plan ahead safely. The contracts he creates and sells will go up and down with the price of corn, but the risk is all in the hands of the speculators who buy them. They profit by re-selling them if the price goes up, and they lose money if it goes down. Our farmer, though, has his price, and can plan his business now.

Now, on the other side, a cereal company needs predictability in the prices of their basic commodities, in order to plan future production. They can't hire new employees and buy new equipment, only to see the price of corn triple, making consumers unwilling to buy their expensive corn flakes. Buy a contract for future delivery at a set price, and they can plan, and again, the speculators take on the risk. They sell a contract, planning to buy the corn necessary for delivery. They make money if the price drops, and lose if it goes up, because they have to deliver at a set price.

Not just farmers, but all industries based on basic commodities would go through terrible swings in fortune if it weren't for these "gamblers," who take on the risk. Without them, there would be more bankruptcies, and more dramatic swings in consumer prices. In all markets with speculation, speculators provide the liquidity and ability to plan ahead that is needed.

New Ideas In Speculation

Maybe we need more speculation, not less. Wouldn't it be nice if businesses and even individuals could guarantee that gas for their cars would be near the same price next year? Speculators could provide that guarantee, and some businesses would love that kind of predictability.

You buy a contract, for example, to get your next 1000 gallons of gas at $2.20 per gallon. You put down a small deposit, and pay as you go, but you know that the next 1000 gallons will be $2,200, guaranteed.

A speculators role is to back the other side of the contract (to sell it). He is the one guaranteeing your price, so if the average price for the next 1000 gallons is $1.80, you still pay $2,200 in the end, but his cost is $1,800, so he makes $400 on the contract. Now if the price averages $3.30, he pays $3,300. You still pay $2,200, so he gambled and lost $1,100.

Speculators, like most gamblers, will probably bet on almost anything. We need to find more ways for them to take on our risks. Just imagine the many contracts could be invented, based on speculation.

About The Author Steve Gillman has been exploring new ideas for decades. Visit his site for invention ideas, business ideas, story ideas, political and economic theories, deep thoughts, and more. Get a free gift too: http://www.999ideas.com.

How to Stay Young and Healthy

How to Stay Young and Healthy

 by: Knut Holt

The aging process is for the greater part no mystery anymore. It consists for a great part of daily damages done on the macroscopic, tissue, cellular and genetic levels. These add up as the years are passing. These damages have specific causes like oxidating agents, sun beams, mechanical wear and tear, psychological stress, lack of some nutritional components and too much of others, like fat.

Another component of aging is the reduction of the telomere chains at the chromosome ends, as each cell division occurs. When these are shortended enough, cells stop dividing. However, the body has means to repair these ends again, with an enzyme called telomerase. The rapidity of the aging process depends on lack of efficiency in this repair process. The above mention aging causes also slow down this repair process.

The factors causing aging, also causes other diseases like cancer and coronary heart disease. Both aging and these diseases can in great extend be prevented with the knowledge possessed today, and the damages can in great extend be reversed. The components to achieve this are:

-Adequate dayly food containing whole cereals, peas, beans, vegetables, fruit, fish, mushroms, fouls and seafood, and with just a moderate amount of red meat.

-Just a moderate amount of fat.

-Ideally most fat one eats, should be of the type mono-unsaturated. One also needs some poly-usaturated fat of the types omega-3, and omega 6, but not too much of omega-6. The consumption of saturated fat should be very little.

-In order to achieve right fat balance, most of the fat supply should come from sources like olive, peanuts, canola, fish, nuts, sun-flower, etc. Then you will get a good balance between mono-unsaturated fat (olive, canola, peanuts), poly-unsaturated fat of the omaga-3-type (fish) and poly-unsaturated fat of the omega-6-type (sunflower).

-Just a very moderate amount of butter, soya oil, margarine, corn oil and palm oil. A high consumption of these fat sources gives you too much saturated fat and poly-unsaturated omega-6-fat.

-Just a very moderate amount of sugar, refined flour or refined cereals.

-Do not add more salt to the food than you need. Most people consume too much salt. However, some salt is needed. If the weather is warm and you are in high activity, you need more salt than by cold weather and low activity. Prefere sea-salt, beacuse of its content of valuable minerals.

-Just a moderate consumption of tranquilizers/stimulants as alchohol and coffeine, but in moderate amounts these contribute to slow down the aging process.

-No smoking or tobacco usage.

-Supplements of specific nutritional components like vitamins, minerals, lecitin and some essential fatty acids.

-Adequate training, that both gives a muscular load, work up your condition and stretches out your body. To stretch out, yoga-exercizes are ideal.

-Adequate rest and stress-reduction. Daily meditation is a method of achieving this. Natural relaxing agents or spesific tools for meditation or relaxation may also be useful.

-Supplements of specific anti-aging agents like anti-oxidants or human growth hormone.

-Use of spesific anti-aging agents to apply upon the skin surface.

-To protect the skin against excessive sun exposure.

The amount one needs of nutritional supplements, like vitamins and minerals, differs very much according to a person`s health condition, work load and exposure to environmental stress. A person having a poor digestion, doing high performance sport or being exposed to a high amount of environmental stressors, may need more than a person in an average situation.

About The Author Knut Holt is an internet consultant and marketer focusing on health items. Please go here to find anti-aging supplements, medicines against acne, eczema, rosacea scars, wrincles, other skin problems and natural medicines against heart disease, hypothyroidism, hemorrhoids, depression and other common health problems. http://www.abicana.com Free to reprint as long as the authors name and his link follow.

A Wedding For What?

A Wedding For What?

 by: Richard Keir

Once the actual purpose of a wedding had much more to do with property, parenthood and moral propriety in the eyes of the community. And those 3 elements were strongly interlinked, particularly among those members of society who made the rules.

In most western cultures, inheritance passed from father to son. So who was the father of the child was an important question, generally answered by identifying the father as the mother's wedded husband. And the issue of moral propriety tended to have to do with the fidelity of the wife rather than the activities of the husband.

Those days are largely passed despite lingering remnants of a double standard and the more modern belief in marrying for love rather than to ensure paternity and the orderly handing down of property. While alliances between powerful families may still be built based on bonding through marriage, generally the participants have a little more to say about the process these days.

Statistics today suggest that not too many marriages are until death do us part. Many hardly last long enough to have a child, much less raise one securely to adulthood. And the belief in the sanctity of marriage? Well, the statistics do also indicate that most divorced people remarry. That may not say much about sanctity but clearly marriage is seen as desirable even by the divorced.

In industrialized countries the increasing numbers of single parent families, also indicate that marriage is not serving all that well to protect and nurture children.

Many trends in modern society can be pointed to that contribute to these challenges to a successful marriage. To be raised in a consumer oriented society can be a curse. Things, ideas and people all tend to be turned into consumable items. The incessant hammering of advertising insists on new, different, better. Television and movies portray a parody of life. It's a rare individual who experiences one hundredth of the excitement and glamour (or fear and terror) of a 2 hour movie in their entire life. Our lives, our selves, appear drab and uninteresting. And our loved ones become boring, tedious, unexciting and uninteresting. Glued to the TV, passively sucking up pseudo-existence, we are divorced from the possibilities of real life.

Sensation addicts (which every advertiser deeply desires to makes us) just don't do well with commitment. The fizzy magic of falling in love is delirious and mysterious. If that's what you want, don't do the wedding thing. You'll be disabused, discovering that the magic mysterious person you fell in love with has a lot of really annoying habits, is kind of boring (maybe really boring), actually doesn't like your kind of fun much and wants to watch different TV shows too.

We all want to believe that we want a permanent long-term relationship - or at least we all pretty much have convinced ourselves of that before deciding to get married. However, it is a lot harder to actually do it than to delude yourself into thinking that's what you want.

And you also have to consider that your partner may change his or her mind while you still want one of those permanent long-term relationships. Is there some way to be sure? No.

I'd love to say yes, there is a way and here it is, the perfect and infallible method of knowing, in advance, if you will have a wonderful lifelong marriage. Regret it as I might, no one can guarantee it.

What is clear is that there is only one way to find out. Get married. Know the pitfalls. Work on your relationship. Share. Communicate. Build your dreams for the future together. Take care of each other and never fail to appreciate each other and treat each other better than you would some stranger. Absurd as it may sound, be polite, say thank you, be grateful for every good thing and equally grateful that you survived any bad thing. Take each other seriously and never take each other for granted. If you can do even half of that, you'll be ahead of 87.3% of all married couples.

And here's the nearly impossible thing - learn to see your partner anew. We never really know another person fully. We come to believe that we do, but this is an illusion. Every person is a bottomless mystery. Our vision becomes clouded day by day as we go through the routines of life. Eventually we think we know it all because we have blinded ourselves to reality. Sometimes we even become our own petrified visions of our selves. At that point we are convinced that somehow we are done, completed, beyond the need or even the possibility of internal change. If that were true, then only an outer change - modifying something external to ourselves could change our lives. And that, rarely works for long. No matter where you go, there you are. If you can not change yourself, it's futile to change your circumstances. You'll simply recreate the same old problems. Check the statistics on how many divorced people who marry again, end up getting divorced again.

Sounds bloody awful, doesn't it? But think of this, the incredible joy of parenthood lies in seeing a child grow and change and become something new. Our nature as humans is to be not only capable of learning and expanding ourselves, but to find our meaning in learning and changing. Marriage is serious business, not to be entered lightly. It is the beginning of what can become an awesome journey of discovery, rich with rewards and, certainly, full of challenges, uncertainty and trouble. Growing within a commitment shared with an equal partner can be the most rewarding thing you can do. But never think it will be easy or without pain, doubt and suffering. Any road you take through life will present challenges. Walking that road, successfully, with your partner, may not be an easy thing, but ultimately it is most definitely what a wedding is for.

Copyright 2005 Richard Keir

About The Author Richard Keir writes from the perspective of both a background in clinical psychology and more experience with marriage than he really wants to share. Relationships have always been one of his primary interests. You can visit Elena's Completely Weddings at http://Completely-Weddings.com for more information and articles about weddings.

Smart Marketing Secrets Revealed

Smart Marketing Secrets Revealed

 by: Claire Cunningham

Don’t you just hate junk mail that screams at you about supposed secrets to success that can be yours for a mere $9.95, $19.95, $99.95 or whatever? Well, here are some real “secrets” for you – and there’s no price tag attached.

Ever wonder how other companies keep their sales momentum going? Smart marketing and communications programs are critical. Here are three key marketing strategies you can put to work for your business.

1) VISIBILITY Awareness is where the selling process starts. After all, it’s hard for someone to buy from you if they don’t know you exist. Or let’s say you’re Apple Computer. Your name may be well known, but you need to let people know about your newest product – the iPod.

Advertising creates visibility on a broad scale, but it may not be right for your company. To find a tactic that fits, start with these questions. Who’s your audience? How can you get your company in front of them? What can your company spend? What return are you looking for?

2) CONSISTENCY Brand and brand management are major buzzwords in marketing and communications. But what do they really mean? If you’re a company like Target or Goodyear, it can mean complex product naming schemes and identity standards

For many other businesses it boils down to consistency. Determine your message, look and tone and then stick with it. It’s a way to increase cost efficiency, plus it’s easier to make an impression if you look and sound the same over time.

3) REPETITION Forget everything you’ve heard about the evils of redundancy. The truth is that human beings learn through repetition. In this highly-saturated environment it can take seven or more repetitions for a message to sink in.

© Copyright 2005 Clairvoyant Communications, Inc.

About The Author Claire Cunningham, president of Clairvoyant Communications, Inc., has 20+ years’ experience developing and implementing successful marketing and communications programs. Sign up for Claire’s monthly e-newsletter, Communiqué, at http://www.clairvoyantcommunications.com Claire can be reached at 763-479-3499 (Fax: 763-479-2809, e-mail: claire@claircomm.com)

Preparing For An Interview

Preparing For An Interview

 by: Michelle Roebuck

When preparing for an interview, you need to know your skills, experiences and achievements, and how to answer interview questions.

Your Skills

Become an expert about yourself. Before you wrote your resume, you probably prepared a list of skills, experiences and achievements. If not, then it’s a good idea to take some time and prepare one.

This information will help you answer questions that are most commonly asked during the interview. There are all types of interview questions, but no book or web site can give you the answers. Only you can come up with answers to these questions, because you’re the only one who knows what your skills, experiences and achievements are.

The interviewer is asking these questions in order to find out how much of an asset you will be to the company if hired. Come up with real life examples that highlight how your skills and achievements helped you in your previous or current job. Think of situations where you:

• Solved a problem for your supervisor or manager

• Developed an action plan in order to meet a deadline

• Led team projects successfully

• Received some sort of recognition or award at your previous job

• etc…

Answering Interview Questions

When you come up with these examples, make sure your examples focus on what you can do for their company once hired. That’s what the job interview is all about…what YOU can do for THEIR company.

If you give example after example of how your skills and experiences will help their company, the more appealing you will become as a potential employee.

There is a danger of over-preparing for an interview. There are hundreds of books and websites that will give you the "most commonly asked interview questions and answers". You try to memorize the answers to these questions and when it’s time for the interview, you sound like you’re giving some canned response. You don’t sound like yourself.

The best advice I can give you when it comes to answering interview questions (especially difficult ones), is know your skills, experiences and achievements and be yourself. This way, you don’t go into the interview sounding like someone who memorized a canned answer out of some book. Just relax and be natural.

Trust yourself enough to answer questions in a natural and honest way. Keep your answers in the positive. When you’re relaxed and answer questions in an honest way, you’ll be able to think on your feet and provide answers that the interviewer wants to hear.

Ask yourself, "What skills, experiences and achievements do I have that will make me an asset to this company?" If you can answer that question while going through the interview process, you will be one step closer to landing the job you want.

About The Author Michelle Roebuck provides job interview tips and resume writing advice at her website http://www.job-interview-and-resume-tips.com Sign up for her Free newsletter at http://www.job-interview-and-resume-tips.com/newsletter.html

Guide to Natural Acne Treatments

Guide to Natural Acne Treatments

 by: Ruth Stattmiller

Acne is a problem for many people. There are a variety of products that are designed to get rid of or reduce acne. However, many people do not know that there are natural ways to reduce acne, or completely eliminate it. The best way to naturally get rid of pimples is to consider the causes of acne. By avoiding the causes of acne, you can greatly reduce the amount of acne you have.

Acne is caused by hormones. When trying to prevent acne it is advisable to try to reduce your body’s production of certain hormones. The body produces a large amount of hormones in stressful situations. People who are extremely stressed have an overproduction of hormones. Relaxation techniques such as Yoga, T’ai Chi and deep breathing can help reduce stress and limit hormone production. Additionally, avoiding caffeine can help because caffeine stimulates hormone production. Finally, exercise is very beneficial for reducing acne. Exercise reduces stress and works to rebalance hormones.

Diet is a very significant factor in the presence of acne. Certain foods can foster the presence of acne. Consumption of these types of foods should be reduced or completely avoided if possible. Dairy products such as milk and cheese can contribute to the formation of acne. Additionally, refined and cooked carbohydrates such as flour, bread, and rice can also affect acne. Other foods that should be avoided are cooked fats, such as fried food, and meats like beef and pork. The foods that should be avoided are acid-forming foods in the body. In order to reduce acne, you should attempt to eat more alkaline-forming foods. Fresh vegetables, fruit, and nuts (sparingly) are very good to eat when trying to reduce acne.

Dehydration is also a very important factor in the formation of acne. The skin needs to be hydrated from the inside in order to prevent blocked pores. Drinking great amounts of water is a good practice when attempting to reduce acne. Eating water-rich foods can also help with hydration.

Finally, avoiding yeast is a great practice for reducing acne. Studies have shown that people with severe acne often have a build-up of yeast in their bodies. In order to avoid yeast build-up, you should avoid sugary foods and yeast products such as beer, bread, and mushrooms.

Acne can be a large problem for many people, but there are natural ways to reduce or eliminate pimples. Avoiding stress and exercising regularly while eating healthy and avoiding greasy foods can greatly reduce the amount of acne one has. After trying the natural ways to reduce acne, then it is a good idea to use acne medicines. But if medication can be avoided, you will save money and be healthier.

About The Author Ruth Stattmiller writes about natural health maintenance topics, including acne treatments. See http://www.myvitaminguide.com/public/603.cfm for more information.

Email "Toll Booths" Coming Soon

Email "Toll Booths" Coming Soon

 by: Jim Edwards

The end of the free ride for email marketing looms on the horizon.

The days of building up or buying a big email list and freely using it to market and sell online are numbered like the dinosaurs heading for an ice age cold snap.

The technical and time costs of dealing with email traffic (primarily driven by rampant illegal spam) will soon break the back of both Internet service providers (ISPs) and online email services.

Major online players like AOL and MSN are currently wrestling with two solutions to the problem, but I personally think the almighty dollar will win out in the end.

The two solutions proposed to stem the tide of commercial spam once and for all revolve around either "white listing" email senders or charging a "toll" (typically .25-1 cent per email message) to allow email through.

Currently, ISPs and email providers can either maintain their own white lists, as in the case of AOL, or the can share one.

In the "old" days, companies could (and still do) subscribe to "black lists" (like SpamHaus.org) which exclude email senders based on reports of spamming and other factors.

Though the "black list" method rates the least accurate, it's currently the most popular simply because it requires the least effort by companies trying to block spam.

However, as spammers get smarter, black listing has proven an ineffective spam deterrent and ISPs must get proactive if they hope to survive.

However, an inherent weakness in the "white list" system makes charging for commercial email inevitable.

Since white listing requires effort on the part of the ISP or email provider (they must ultimately pay real people to manage the list), this means additional cost.

Unlike a relatively inexpensive subscription to a "black list service" which gets implemented automatically by software filters, white listing requires people to do work which carries a real world cost.

Bottom line: most ISPs and email services will not be able to create, maintain or implement a white list for very long without charging.

Yet, consumers tired of the avalanche of spam are demanding effective protection by those they pay for Internet and email access.

Thus, any service hoping to survive long-term must adopt a hybrid of both the white list and "toll booth" approaches.

This means not only evaluating the legitimacy of every commercial email sender's methods, but also charging them for the email they send through a particular service or network. It's inevitable.

Now, the cry that immediately goes up at this point sounds like this, "What about the "little guys" who can't afford to pay the fee or the family newsletters that aren't commercial? What about them?"

In a perfect world, their email would go through.

In the real world, their email will get lost even more frequently in the future than it does now in the existing tangle of email filters and inconsistent white and black listing.

The hope of survival and prosperity for the "little guy" lies squarely in the hands of blogging and RSS feeds.

Since blogging and rss feeds enable consumers to subscribe directly to information using an RSS "reader," they completely bypass the need to send email.

This eliminates the "middle man" of an email provider and puts control over what content gets received squarely in the hands of the consumer.

Though this technology has existed for several years now, awareness by mainstream consumers of what RSS feeds are and how to subscribe to them has been relatively slow.

The biggest contributor to the slow adoption in the mainstream has been the absence of a universally distributed RSS "reader" on every computer (similar to how Outlook or Outlook Express on every Windows PC helped make email universally understood).

But that should also change shortly as more RSS readers get included in Web browsers and email programs in the near future.

So while the "big guys" will push their messages to consumers by paying what will surely amount to an ever- increasing "toll" to get their emails through, the "little guys" will "pull" consumers to them with subscriptions to blogs and RSS feeds.

Whether it happens this year, next year, or the year after - make no mistake - the email "toll booth" is coming for commercial emailers and newsletter publishers.

So, if you depend on sending email for your company's profits, either get ready, plan, and budget for the new tolls, or start making arrangements to distribute your content via blogs and RSS feeds, because the market will shortly force you to make a choice.

Copyright 2006 Jim Edwards

About The Author Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and co-author of an amazing program that teaches you how to use free articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website, affiliate links, or blogs... without spending a dime on advertising! Click Here> http://www.turnwordsintotraffic.com.

Building a Home Addition

Building a Home Addition

 by: Mark J. Donovan

Besides providing your home with more living space, a home addition can be a terrific investment. However, before embarking on such a project the homeowner should first consider several important items. These items include: home market values in the neighborhood, financing, size and scale of project, architecture, timetable for completion, personal disruption/inconvenience threshold and the sweat equity commitment level.

Size of Addition and Market Value

Prior to actually breaking ground on a home addition, it is best to first determine what you are looking for in terms of additional living space. For example: How many square feet? What types of rooms? Once this is understood, it is then important to find out the market value of homes in the local area with similar size and features to the new and improved home. With this information the homeowner can then calculate the difference between their current home market value and the new and improved home market value. This difference should represent the maximum budget for the new addition if a positive investment is desired. For example, a homeowner would not want to spend $50,000 on a new home addition that provides only $25,000 in increased market value to the improved home.

Financing

The next important question involves how to fund the home addition. Unless the project is being funded via cash/savings then financing will be required. If current mortgage rates are higher than the existing mortgage, then a home equity loan will probably make the most sense. If current mortgage rates are lower than the existing mortgage, then refinancing the entire home, including the cost of the home addition project, may make the most sense.

Architectural Considerations

Once the financial items have been addressed it is then time to focus on the size and scale of the project, as well as the architectural and aesthetics of the new addition. The addition should be of size and scale such that it aesthetically melds into the original house. It should not be too small or too big. Frequently, homeowners get carried away and add large amounts of new living space without sufficient thought on the outside appearance. From a market value, there is more to a home than just pure living space. A home needs to maintain its exterior aesthetics as well. It is important to consider such items as siding, doors, windows, rooflines, and elevations. All should meld into the existing home exterior seamlessly and aesthetically.

If an architect is not planned for the project, then the homeowner should at least make some sketches of the home exterior with the new addition. The building inspector will probably require them anyways during the permit process. Also, there are many Home Design software packages on the market today that can help create such drawings.

Schedule and Sweat Equity Commitment

The next two items that should be considered include the timetable for completing the project and the homeowner sweaty equity commitment level. Many homeowners assume they can do a lot more than they are either skilled to do or have the time to do. From personal experience, I would suggest contracting out the site/ground work, rough framing, roofing, siding, heating/cooling, and the drywall. All of these tasks require skill, time and brawn. If local laws permit, electric and plumbing may be tackled by the homeowner. However, both require skill and can be life threatening if not performed properly. Other tasks that a homeowner could tackle include installing interior doors, finish trim, painting, cabinet installation, tiling and hardwood flooring. Prior to a homeowner signing up to any specific task however, they should first honestly assess their skill and available time, and compare them to their project schedule. If they don’t match, hire the contractor.

Threshold of Inconvenience and Disruption

Finally, a homeowner should consider their threshold for inconvenience and disruption. A home addition, particularly if it involves the kitchen, is very disruptive to today’s busy lifestyles. It is also a dusty, dirty and noisy endeavor. In addition, dealing with subcontractors can be challenging at times. For a typical addition anticipate several months of effort and inconvenience.

If after assessing all these issues you are still willing to move forward with the project, contact your subcontractors, pull your permits and get ready for an exciting time. For most homeowners tackling a home addition is a positive experience that provides both new living space and a great investment.

About The Author Over the past 20+ years Mark Donovan has been involved with building homes and additions to homes. His projects have included: building a vacation home, building additions and garages on to existing homes, and finishing unfinished homes. For more home improvement information visit http://www.homeadditionplus.com and http://www.homeaddition.blogspot.com.

Daytona Beach Florida is a Golfer’s Paradise

Daytona Beach Florida is a Golfer’s Paradise

 by: Rose Lenk

If you say the words Daytona Beach to a person with even a minimal amount golf knowledge, more than likely their mind's eye will draw up images of unending, gorgeous golf courses and fantasies of some of the best golfing that can be found anywhere in the world. And there is a good reason why that is so.

Daytona Beach is fast becoming recognized, not for its beaches and unsurpassed nightlife, but for the fun that it offers on the green. In fact, Daytona Beach is so interconnected with this sport, that it is rapidly becoming known as Florida's golf capital and is the new home of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), which recently moved their headquarters to Daytona from Texas.

Boasting of more than 30 golf courses including 20 championship golf courses, one could view Daytona as a sea of green and a golfer's paradise. From beginner courses to advanced courses, Daytona's golfing scene has an attraction for every golfing enthusiast no matter what his or her experience level.

Daytona's championship golf courses line the 23-mile expanse of the Daytona Beach coastline. With temperatures averaging little more than 70 degrees, Daytona's golf courses are ideal for spending an entire day on the green. And with great restaurants, resorts and area attractions nearby, a golfing vacation to Daytona is one that the whole family can enjoy.

One of the most popular golfing spots of the Daytona Beach area is Pelican Bay. This 18-hole champion golf course, designed by Lloyd Clifton, winds through a wilderness area complete with a series of water canals and lakes. This course is also visited often by area wildlife so you may just find yourself enjoying more than a relaxing round of golf under the Florida sun.

Another popular course among golfers is the Spruce Creek Country Club. Consisting of nearly 7,000 yards of fairways, lakes and greens, the Spruce Creek Country Club's course, designed by Bill Amick, sports 18 holes and perfectly manicured grounds.

And golfing at one of the more than 30 golf courses in the Daytona Beach is very affordable when it's not free. That's right, free. During the months of May through October, Daytona hosts a free golfing program where you can golf for free on many of the premier courses in the Daytona Beach area. This program is sponsored by the Golf Daytona Beach organization and is a favorite among die-hard golfers because greens fees can really add up if you golf everyday. The program works like this: If you stay at a participating hotel for two or more consecutive nights, you'll get a free round of golf for each day of your stay. You must play after noon, and cart fees are extra, but with greens fees averaging $30 per day, the free golf program is an exceptional deal.

While golfing for free everyday would be nice, it's not always possible. Some actually have to pay to play a round of golf. But when you have to pay in Daytona, it is more affordable than what you might think. With more than 20 champion golf courses designed by pros such as Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Arthur Hills, Rees Jones and Lloyd Clifton, you might expect to pay an arm and a leg to golf these exceptional courses. But in fact, many offer very affordable rates, and when combined with accommodations packages, you can save an unbelievable amount of money.

You can even golf one of two premier courses of the LPGA for a reasonable price. One of those courses is known as The Champions Course and is the site of the prestigious LPGA Mercury Titleholders event. The second course, The Legends, just opened for public play last October. The LPGA facility also features a teaching academy with practice holes, greens and a driving range.

In addition to all of the great golfing to be had in the Daytona, Florida area, there are beaches, shops, fine restaurants, museums, attractions and entertainment galore. And who could forget that Disney World is less than an hour away. So, if you are looking for a dream vacation getaway for your family and a relaxing week of golf for yourself, Daytona may be just the spot to make all of your vacation dreams come true.

About The Author Rose Lenk For more articles and info about Florida visit www.Access-Florida.com.

Walking is the Best Exercise

Walking is the Best Exercise

 by: Marilyn Pokorney

Running, jogging, weight lifting, calesthenics. These are

all good for keeping in shape but walking is still the most

simple, and effective, of all exercises to lose weight and

stay in shape and maintain good health.

Approximately 67 million Americans of all ages walk for

exercise regularly. Walking can be done with friends or

alone. And it can be performed outside or inside.

Walking helps the metabolic system to control weight,

regulate blood sugar, and cholesterol levels. A brisk walk

burns up to 100 calories per mile.

Walking is an aerobic exercise meaning that it uses oxygen.

A brisk walk increases oxygen intake to the blood,

strengthens the heart, improves circulation and lowers blood

pressure.

For people with poor circulation in the arms and legs,

walking can help to increase the size and improve the

efficiency of the tiny blood vessels that supply blood to

the cells.

Walking slows development of all forms of arthritis,

degenerative joint disease, stops loss of bone mass in

osteoporosis, and tones the muscles.

Walking helps recovery from back pain.

For women walking reduces premenstrual and pain during

periods.

Regular walking also relieves and prevents constipation.

Psychologically, walking generates an overall feeling of

well-being because it produces endorphins, a natural

tranquilizer. This aids in relief of depression, anxiety,

and stress.

To get the most benefit from walking, 30 minutes of walking

must be done at a brisk pace without stopping. Gradually

increase time to 40 to 60 minutes for each session.

Always stretch muscles and warm up before walking.

Wear walking or running shoes that fit snugly but not too

tight, support the arch and lift the heel slightly. Replace

your walking shoes every 6 months or 600 miles, whichever

comes first.

In hot, cold and inclement weather consider getting a

treadmill for walking indoors.

For more information on walking and treadmills visit:

http://www.apluswriting.net/health/bestwalking.htm

Copyright: 2005 Marilyn Pokorney

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About The Author Marilyn Pokorney Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and the environment. Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading. Website: http://www.apluswriting.net

Internet Marketing and Public Speaking. The Murder Board Practice

Internet Marketing and Public Speaking. The Murder Board Practice

 by: Larry Tracy

I recently posted an article titled “Internet Marketing and Public Speaking: Ten Tips for When the Twain Shall Meet.” One of the tips concerned a means to practice your sales presentation with a “Murder Board.” I received several emails requesting a fuller explanation of this practice method.

I decided to write two explanatory articles, so vital is this method to improve one’s public speaking, specifically in preparing a presentation aimed at selling off-line your on-line product. In this article, I’ll provide an in-depth explanation of this practice method; in the second, I’ll cover the seven steps need for a successful Murder Board.

Simply stated, the Murder Board is a realistic simulation of the actual presentation to be made. Colleagues role-play the audience, asking the type of questions they believe this specific group is likely to ask. It is intended to be more difficult than the actual presentation.

If you want to become an effective and persuasive presenter to boost your on-line marketing, this realistic practice session is the most effective shortcut to speaking excellence. It allows you to make your mistakes when they don't count, increasing the odds that you will shine when the actual presentation is made.

The Origin of the Murder Board

The term Murder Board has its origins within the U.S. military, specifically within the extensive training system of the U.S. Army. When a person has been selected to be an instructor at an Army school, he or she must go through a demanding instructor training program.

Graduation and designation as an instructor is dependent not on a written test, but successful delivery of a 50 minute class from the curriculum of the school.

The audience for this crucible can be instructors who have gone through their own Murder Board, and are determined that this would-be instructor will experience the same frustration and humiliation they did. They ask tough, realistic, questions, the type of questions their students are asking.

At the end of the 50 minute class, the aspiring instructor gets a a thumbs up—meaning he or she can now join this band of brothers and sisters as an instructor, or a thumbs-down, meaning another “opportunity” to go through a Murder Board.

Lessons from the Pentagon

This realistic simulation has permeated the military culture. As an example, when I ran the Defense Intelligence Agency's (DIA) briefing team, we had three Murder Boards before the daily briefing to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The first one was at 5:30 AM, the second at 6:30 AM, the third in front of two General officers and all the analysists, one hour later. By the time my briefer or I was standing in front of the Chairman, those intense sessions had provided the right answers to virtually any conceivable question the Chairman was likely to ask.

Why have a Murder Board?

This painstaking practice session has two overriding objectives:

1. Hone delivery skills

2. Anticipate probable questions and objections so succinct, accurate answers can be developed.

Many presenters, while accepting the need to sharpen delivery skills, reject the idea of a Murder Board, confident they can anticipate the difficult questions likely to be asked, and need not practice in front of others, especially their peers. These people may actually be displaying a false bravado to mask their discomfort at speaking in front of a group, perhaps exposing their lack of skill in the presentation art, and/or their apprehension at giving a less than sterling performance in front of their colleaqgues.

They are also very mistaken. I have given more than 3000 presentations, and always find it beneficial to conduct a Murder Board before an important talk. No matter how hard we try to think of tough questions that may be asked, a little censor in our mind generally provides only questions to which we already have answers. In my executive training workshops, I always emphasize the importance of a Murder Board, and the practice presentations made by my clients are set up as Murder Boards to get them accustomed to this simulation.

I am in good company in believing that we need other minds to assist us in preparing for a sales or other presentation.. The man who possessed perhaps the greatest mind of the 20th Century, Albert Einstein, realized that even he needed help. He once said:

"What a person does on his own, without being

stimulated by the thoughts and experiences of

others, is even in the best cases rather paltry and

monotonous."

The Murder Board is the presenter's version of the actor's dress rehearsal, what lawyers do in preparing a witness to face cross-examination in a trial, what the flight simulator is to the pilot.

Just as with the actor, the witness, and the pilot, this simulation permits the presenter to learn from his/her mistakes, so that the actual presentation is (1) more responsive to the informational needs of the audience, (2) answers are developed for likely questions to be asked, and (3) overall speaking confidence and competence enhanced.

The Murder Board enables you to visualize the presentation in advance. Not only is proficiency in speaking increased by such a meticulous practice, so too is self-confidence. Public speaking ranks high in the pantheon of phobias because, in large measure, of the apprehension that one is going to be embarrassed by not being able to answer questions from the audience.

If you have been able to anticipate questions, then you can develop answers ahead of time. Think back to when you were in college or graduate school. Your GPA would probably have been higher if you could have seen the questions before the final exams. The Murder Board permits the presenter a look at the audience's probable "exam questions."

The only obstacle to developing a question-anticipating simulated presentation is your imagination and willingness to take hard hits in practice so you can be more effective in the actual presentation.

Copyright 2005 Larry Tracy

About The Author This article is excerpted from Larry Tracy’s book, The Shortcut to Persuasive Presentations. Larry, a retired Army colonel, has been cited in numerous publications as one of the top presentation skills trainers in the US. His website is at top of Google for “persuasive presentations. Visit it for FREE tips and additional articles: http://www.tracy-presentation.com

How To Accept Credit Cards

How To Accept Credit Cards

 by: Matthew Coers

If you plan to do business online, then your website will need to accept credit cards. For many, the idea of applying for a merchant account sounds like a daunting task, but the truth is that building an online store is incredibly easy these days. The major credit card processing companies have improved and streamlined the process of setting up accounts, and software companies have had several years to improve their software to the point that it is easy for non-technical business owners to create and operate an online store effectively.

3rd Party Processors – The inexpensive way to start

For the beginning web entrepreneur, the most important issue in credit card processing is how much product you think you can realistically sell in a month. If you are selling less than $1000 per month, then you will want to go with a “third-party processor”. PayPal is the most widely known and reputable third party processor, and you can easily set up an account with them.

Unlike traditional merchant accounts, PayPal accounts are free to set up and cost nothing on a monthly basis. You will pay more per transaction with PayPal than you would with a traditional merchant account, but for low-volume start-up businesses making less than $1000 per month, you will gladly choose higher transaction costs over account set-up fees, monthly account fees, minimum charges, interchange fees, gateway fees, and perhaps worst of all, account cancellation fees (just to name a few).

Steps You Need To Take To Set Up A PayPal Account

Bank Account – you will need a bank account for PayPal to deposit your funds into.

Apply for a PayPal Account

Traditional Merchant Accounts

If your processing volume will be higher than $1000 per month, then you will probably want to go with a traditional merchant account. Credit card processing companies generally charge a minimum monthly fee that is approximately equal to the amount of money you would pay to process $1000 per month. Generally speaking you can expect to pay around $50 per month in minimum charges for a merchant account. As you process more, your costs will go up, but the percentage of your gross sales that you pay for processing should go down.

Steps You Need To Take To Set Up A Traditional Merchant Account

It is not difficult to set up a traditional merchant account, but you will need to follow several steps in order to pull it off.

Get a business license

Get a business bank account at your bank

Make sure your web host supports your shopping cart system (you might even be able to get your shopping cart system bundled in with your credit card processing services for free).

Try to determine the amount of business you will generate. Your credit card processing company will want to know how large each transaction will be, and how many transactions you expect to have per month.

Negotiate with merchant account providers and establish your merchant credit card account (see list of merchant account providers).

Following are several merchant account providers you may be interested in contacting:

www.paypal.com

PayPal allows you to accept payments instantly without the need to set up special accounts or sign long-term contracts. You will want to strongly consider using this one if you are processing less than $1000 per month.

www.totalmerchantservices.com

Total Merchant Services is one of the largest resellers of merchant accounts both on and offline, and are trusted by literally tens of thousands of businesses of all sizes. They use First Data as their back-end processor.

www.merchantexpress.com

This is a well-respected processor that services both on and offline businesses.

www.expandyourbusiness.com

CardService International provides a very helpful eBook that you can download for free

Some Issues You Want To Consider

Generally speaking you will be more concerned with up-front and recurring fees rather than the discount rate that processing companies will quote most prominently. The hidden fees generally eclipse the discount rates – especially for low volume start-up businesses.

Try to accurately estimate your business volume when you fill out your applications. The risk department at your processing company can put a freeze on your account if your volumes move significantly outside the estimates you have provided them.

If you do experience a sudden spike in orders, you should contact the risk department of your processing company to make them aware of the spike BEFORE it hits their system. They may want to have you send them details about the orders and provide proof that the orders are legitimate. As inconvenient as this is, it is far better than getting your account frozen.

Make sure you understand what fees you will be responsible for if you need to cancel your account before the end of your contract. You may find that you need to shut down your account for a variety of reasons, and you don’t want to find out about exit fees after you get the bill!

In conclusion, you should start off your search for credit card processing by making a realistic estimate of your processing needs. If you believe you will be processing less than $1000 per month, then you will probably want to work with a third-party processor like PayPal. If you will be processing more than $1000 per month then you will want to work with a traditional credit card processing company (see list of processors above). You should be more concerned with upfront and recurring fees than with the discount rate. Once you have selected a processing company, you will want to make sure you have your business license and business bank account. Finally, you will need to make sure that your shopping cart system supports your processing company.

About The Author Mr. Coers specializes in helping entrepreneurs build effective web businesses. His website, http://www.profitchoice.com contains useful articles and "how-to" guides to help organizations build their brands and sell more effectively. mcoers@profitchoice.com

Explode Your Google Adsense and Affiliate Commissions Through Niche Blog Content Sites

Explode Your Google Adsense and Affiliate Commissions Through Niche Blog Content Sites

 by: Cory Threlfall

Content as we know it is the Life-Blood or FUEL, if you will, of the Internet.

That was and still is the Internets sole purpose, except only now it's commercialized, giving the online entrepreneur the world at their fingers tips.

And the facts are that usually when people first come online it's not to go purchase something, it's to look for Information that will answer a question they might have about a particular product they're interested in and/or to a problem they are dealing with and are searching for a solution.

Ask yourself this, "Why do I go online?"

Does it resemble anything like what I just stated?

Only you can answer that.

These are simply the facts with out a doubt... Period!

Now that you have an idea of WHY people come online, I'm now going to explain to you how you can...

"Explode Your Google Adsense and Affiliate Commissions Through Niche Blog Content Sites"

Did you notice the last two words within the quotations?

That's right, Content Sites.

What are Content Sites?

I think it's pretty self explanatory but the basic definition of a Content Site is this - it's a site that contains targeted content that targets a particular niche or many niches.(niche examples: cars, fitness, hobbies, etc.)

Not quite up to speed on what a blog is, here's a quick definition of a blog - a blog(A.K.A. Web-Log) is simply a place to go and post your personal thoughts that you can share with your subscribers and/or readership and receive feedback.

Now that you know the basic definitions of a Content Site and a Blog lets continue.

Content Sites can contain Hundreds-to-Thousands of pages of keyword rich content, which by the way is exactly what the Search Engines love and will come back for if New content is added on a frequent basis giving the owner of that site lots of opportunity to benefit from the Free traffic inwhich the content pages, or what I like to call Feeder Pages, generate.

So, now that you have an idea of what a Content Site and a Blog is it's now time to tell you how you can build your own Niche Blog Content Site Empire, no matter what your niche is, using Blogs, Google Adsense and ClickBank affiliate products.

Bare in mind that the steps outlined below are only going to be a summarization of the actual process involved.

So, with that said, here it is.

Step #1. Set up a Blog.

The first step is quite simple. All you have to do is set up a Blog either through...

Blogger.com - http://www.blogger.com

or...

Wordpress.org - http://www.wordpress.org

This blog your setting up is going to be the foundation of your Niche Blog Content Site and is where the rest of the pieces of the puzzle are going to be added to once you've set it up.

(Quick Tip: Make sure you use your Target Keywords within your URL of your niche blog and in the Title and Description. VERY Important!)

Once you have your niche blog set up move on to Step #2.

Step #2. Adding your Google Adsense code.

Depending on your experience with scripting and html, it's now time to add your Google Adsense code to your new niche blog in 3 strategic places.

Google allows you to add 3 Google Adsense blocks only to one page, no more than that, so I recommend one at the Top, one in the Right or Left sidebar depending on the template you choose and one at the Bottom of your blog.

By doing this your almost forcing your reader to click on a link within the Google Adsense block, which is of course, is exactly what you want and where your going to make the money.

The other great thing about Google Adsense is the ads are targeted to the content that you post, giving the reader even more reason to click through.

Here's a few resources for you that will show you how to add the Google Adsense code to your blog using the services I mentioned above if your not sure how to yourself.

Blogger.com: http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=964

Wordpress.org: http://www.acmetech.com/blog/adsense-deluxe/

Simply follow the instructions and you'll have Google Adsense installed on your niche blog in no time.

Step #3. Find a related ClickBank product.

Now it's time to go shopping at ClickBank.com - http://www.clickbank.com - for a related information product that targets your niche.

Once there click on the link Earn Commissions at the bottom.

This will bring to to their directory where you'll find many products to choose from that will target any niche your blog is about.

(Quick Tip: The first 10 listed under each category are the TOP converting programs, meaning... their the ones making the most money.)

If you don't have a ClickBank.com nickname you'll have to sign up for one. It'll only take you a few minutes.

From there, once you've chosen a program to join your going to want to collect all the affiliate materials available, like Articles, Banners, Text Links, etc., because your going to place these on your NEW niche blog site with your affiliate link linked to them so when your reader clicks on them and decides to buy the related information, you get the commission.

Well... there you have it, 3 steps to "Explode Your Google Adsense and Affiliate Commissions Through Niche Blog Content Sites".

Now the only thing left for you to do is to start building an audience by promoting your Blog.

Here's a few resources for you to get started with.

Ping-O-Matic - http://pingomatic.com

RSS Top 55 - http://www.masternewmedia.org/rss/top55

Remember this is just a summarized version and is only going to give you the basic steps, so good luck to you and your Niche Blog Content Site Empire.

Copyright 2006 The IWE, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

About The Author Cory Threlfall is the Editor and Publisher of a online webmaster publication called... The Internet Wonders eZine, where you'll receive 'Daily' via the Web or RSS syndication Expert Articles, Product Reviews, HOT Tips, and More on how to Promote and Build your business online. Go NOW to ==> http://www.internetwondersezine.com

Don&#39t Fall For The Latest Internet Identity Theft Scam

Don't Fall For The Latest Internet Identity Theft Scam

 by: Tim Knox

Q: I use PayPal to accept credit cards for my online collectibles business. I recently received an email that my PayPal account was going to expire in five days if I didn't click a link in the email and give them my PayPal account information. Being naturally paranoid I decided not to give this information and I'm happy to say that my PayPal account did not expire. Was this a scam? -- Brenda A.

A: Be thankful that your paranoia kicked in, Brenda, because you were about to fall victim to the scam of the week, this one aimed at the 35 million merchants and individuals who use Paypal.com as their online payment processor.

The email you received was not from PayPal, but from an Internet bad guy behind a forged email address using the PayPal.com domain. You should understand that no reputable online company will ever ask you to provide your account information. Think about it. They already have this information. Why would they ask you to provide it.

Since I use PayPal for several of my online ventures, I, too, received the email in question. The email first seeks to instill fear in you by saying that your PayPal account will be closed if you do not provide personal information. You are then directed to open an attached executable file and enter your PayPal account information and other personal information that PayPal doesn't even require, including your social security number, checking and savings account information, driver's license number, and other personal information that can be used to clean out your PayPal account and perhaps even steal your identity.

If you're not familiar with PayPal, it is a hugely successful, web-based company (purchased by eBay in 2002) that many online retailers and eBay sellers use to accept electronic payments for everything from newsletter subscriptions to consulting services to just about any product for sale on eBay.

The allure of PayPal is that it does not require the seller to have a bank merchant account through which to process credit cards. Anyone with a verifiable email address and bank account can use PayPal and the service can be implemented almost immediately after registering. When someone places an order on a website that uses PayPal for online payments, that customer is directed to PayPal.com to complete the payment process using a credit card or electronic check. The merchant can transfer the money collected in his PayPal account to his checking account any time he likes. Since many larger merchants make this transfer just once a week or so, their PayPal accounts are ripe for the picking from those who have the cunning and lack of ethics required to gain access.

The shear number of PayPal customers is one reason it has become a popular target of scam artists trying to steal personal information from individuals and businesses alike. Identify theft is on the rise. Thanks to the Internet stealing someone's identity has never been easier. At any given moment, there are any number of Internet thieves using all manner of high tech wizardry to steal personal and business information from unsuspecting souls, and many times they can gain access to this information simply by asking the person to provide it through fraudulent means.

The PayPal scam is just the latest in a long line of sophisticated attempts to steal personal information through online means, Amazon, eBay, Dell Computer, and many others have been the brunt of many such scams in recent years.

Identity theft is what's known as "a knowledge crime," which means that the criminal doesn't have to break into your house to rob you blind. If you have a bank account and a social security number, you are susceptible to identity theft.

While most people are familiar with identity theft, most business men and women never think about it happening to them, at least on a professional level. Consider this: if a criminal can learn your business checking account number or the number of your company credit card, they can steal far more from your business than if they had simply knocked down the door and carted off your desk.

The Internet aside, most business and personal identity theft is still the result of stolen wallets and dumpster diving. You should guard your business records closely and be very careful what you throw away. Stop and think for a moment what a criminal might find in the dumpster behind your office.

There's a good chance that dumpster has, at various times, contained scraps of paper with your social security number, driver's license number, credit card number, old ATM cards, telephone calling cards, and other pieces of vital business information like bank statements, invoices, and purchase orders. A dumpster-diving thief could literally rob your business blind in a matter of hours.

Here are a few ways to protect yourself from business and personal identity theft.

· Never give out your first name, last name, business name, email address, account passwords, credit card numbers, bank account information, PIN number, social security number, or driver's license number.

· Change your online account passwords every 30 days. Believe it or not, a hacker who steals your personal information can guess your online account passwords in about two minutes. If your Charles Schwab online account password is your birthday or the name of your first born or family pet, count on a hacker cracking that code faster than you can say "Bill Gates."

· Never provide personal information in response to an email or telephone call. Just because someone calls and says they are from Dunn & Bradstreet and need to confirm your business information does not mean they are really from Dunn & Bradstreet.

· Never give your business credit card number over the phone to place an order with someone who has called you unsolicited. If you are interested in what they are selling get their number, check out their company, then call them back to place the order.

If you think that you have become the victim of identity theft or think someone is trying to steal your identity or personal information you should report them immediately to the Federal Trade Commission. You will find more information on their website at http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/. For more information on what to do if identity theft happens to you visit http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs17a.htm.

So, if you ever receive an email from PayPal, Amazon, eBay, or any other ecommerce website asking you to update your account information by email you can pretty much bet the farm that it is a scam.

Here's to your success.

Tim Knox, Founder For more information on starting your own online business visit http://www.dropshipwholesale.net, the website for online entrepreneurs.

About The Author Tim Knox Entrepreneur, Author, Speaker http://www.prosperityandprofit.com http://www.dropshipwholesale.net http://www.smallbusinessqa.com http://www.timknox.com

Minimizing Interest on a Loan

Minimizing Interest on a Loan

 by: John Mussi

Interest is a major factor in process of looking for a loan… you don't want to pay too much in interest once you get your loan, but it can be difficult to tell if you're getting the best interest rate that you can.

The amount of interest that you pay is governed by several factors… the decisions of the loan officer, your credit score, and even rates that are set at the national level.

There are things that you can do to help keep your rates as low as you can, however… even if the odds might seem stacked against you.

Determining the Loan Amount

The first thing that you need to do when trying to keep interest rates low on a potential loan is to make sure that you're not asking for too much more than you need. Take the time to consider exactly what it is that you need the loan money for, and calculate the least amount that you can get by with and still accomplish your goals.

It's wise to add a bit of a buffer onto that amount, in order to make sure that nothing unexpected comes up that you won't be able to handle otherwise, but still try to cover as much of the expense without a loan as possible.

Being able to show that you're investing some of your own money into the purchase or project can be a big help in keeping interest rates down.

Maximizing Your Collateral Value

Next, you need to look at what you're planning on using as collateral. Secured loans tend to have lower interest rates than unsecured loans, but the interest rates can still be rather high… that's why choosing the right collateral is critical. It should be a high-value collateral with an easy market for the lender to determine it's value, if possible… cars, houses, equity, and other common types of collateral are well accepted for just this reason.

You should also make sure that your collateral is worth more than the loan amount by at least a bit… this guarantees the lender that they'll get all of their money back, no matter what happens. Using high-value collateral can get better interest rates even for individuals with bad credit.

Exploring All of Your Options

When looking for a loan, it's important to remember that traditional banks aren't the only lenders out there… finance offices, mortgage companies, and online lenders all provide various types of loans to the public for a variety of different interest rates.

Taking the time to investigate other loan options might help you to find a lender who's willing to offer you a lower interest rate for your collateral than the bank or traditional lender that you were originally considering.

Shopping for the Best Rate

Once you've seen which types of lenders are in your local area and online, it's important to request loan quotes from several different ones so that you can compare the interest rates and loan terms against each other.

Looking at the various quotes in terms of interest rate, repayment time, monthly payment, and any fees or charges that are associated with the loan will help you to decide which of the quotes are the best for you and which would simply be a waste of your time.

Even though it might take more time than you were originally planning on devoting to loan research, it may pay off in the end with a much lower interest rate and more of your hard earned money going towards the things that you enjoy.

You may freely reprint this article provided the following author's biography (including the live URL link) remains intact:

About The Author John Mussi is the founder of Direct Online Loans who help homeowners find the best available loans via the www.directonlineloans.co.uk website.

Inkjet Printers Getting in Demand

Inkjet Printers Getting in Demand

 by: Karen Nodalo

Inkjet has grown widely and it is commonly used by most of the printing companies. For all we know, inkjet ink is a complex formulation that formulates on any porous surface and enables us to print different kinds of printing. Even homeowners have printers at home. it can either be an inkjet or a bubble jet printer that perfectly meets the standards of good printing.

There are two types of inks, which is the water-based, and the solvent-based inks. In addition, there are user-friendly print delivery systems. A lot of ink manufacturers have spent a great time and money to research the development of the inks in order to produce characters with the crisp. These new-age printers have a quicker drying time and they stay permanent on porous surfaces.

Inkjet has a lot of advantages if you are on the business. Although it is quite expensive, it can give you prints that are long lasting and permanent. However, the expensive days of buying inks have been over. You can buy inks at lower prices for all your printing demands and needs. You can use it dependably without the worries and it can fit into almost everything.

The principles of printing have been drawn out from great ideas, technology and use of chemistry, electricity, mechanics and the use of the different types of software and hardware to enable us to create practical applications that are needed for the industry.

The concept of inks can be very simple which is just spraying ink on the surface, but it’s not all that. Inks have to be absorbed perfectly and penetrate on paper permanently. In this case, ink-manufacturing companies need to create inks with the highest quality. ink quality should never be sacrificed because there are a lot of people that make use of it as a means of promoting their products and services.

Poor production of inkjet inks can mean failure and low quality processing. Since inks are treated as a vital part, it should be enhanced to meet the requirements of a good quality printing, which is enough to deliver the services to the people properly and brilliantly.

People do not need a lot of options for inks because they are after one which is the inkjet ink. They use it mainly for printing catalogs, brochures and other forms. Go and see for yourself the magic of using inkjet inks.

For more related articles, you may visit http://www.catalogprintingexperts.com.

About The Author Karen Nodalo has graduated from the Bicol University specializing in Computer Science, she graduated with flying honors being one of the top notch students of the graduating class. She has been into writing for almost 5 years now, and has been into different topics. She has also been into student publications since her elementary years, giving her the much coveted exposure that writers of her kind battles for. karen@rushprintingservices.com

14 Ways To Persuade Your Web Site Visitors To Give You Their Email Address

14 Ways To Persuade Your Web Site Visitors To Give You Their Email Address

 by: David Riewe

1. Ask visitors to subscribe to your e-zine. It's a good idea to also give them a freebie when they subscribe.

2. Have them sign-up to get access to download a free ebook. The subject of the ebook should be related to your target audience.

3. Give your visitors a free membership inside your member's only web site. Have them sign-up to receive a user name and password.

4. Hold a free contest or sweepstakes at your web site. Ask them to give you their contact information to enter.

5. Offer your visitors free consulting via e-mail. Have them fill out a web form to e-mail you with their questions.

6. Hold an interactive poll on your web site. Ask your visitors to e-mail you their vote or opinion.

7. Ask your visitors to sign-up for a chance to get a web site award. Have them e-mail you their contact and web site information.

8. Have visitors fill out a survey on your web site. Give them a free gift as an incentive to complete the form.

9. Offer a free online service from your web site. Have visitors fill out their contact information to sign-up to the free service.

10. Ask visitors to sign your guest book. Tell them they will get a free gift in return.

11. Offer a free affiliate program for your visitors. They will have to sign-up in order to receive marketing materials and commissions.

12. Allow visitors to submit a free classified ad on your web site. Require them to give a valid e-mail address in order to post an ad.

13. Give people who visit your web site a free course sent via autoresponder. Just ask them to fill out their contact information to receive the free course.

14. Offer your visitors free software to download. Have them sign-up to get an access code to unlock the software.

About The Author David Riewe "Not Only Will I Give You the Secret Blueprint that I Use to Make Six-Figures Per Year Online, I'll Also Provide You with the Products, Resources and Services Needed to Do It Yourself!" http://www.push-button-online-income.com/pbp

Life Insurance – Why Does Less Than Half The UK Population Have Cover?

Life Insurance – Why Does Less Than Half The UK Population Have Cover?

 by: Michael Challiner

Less than 50% of the UK population has any form of life insurance cover, says Swiss Re, one of the largest insurance companies in the world. In their latest annual report they estimate that £4.2 trillion worth of insurance cover is needed whereas only £1.8 trillion has been taken up. That leaves an insurance gap of £2.3 trillion.

But in all probability, the gap is not that large. Firstly, there's the people who are ruled out from having life insurance due to their age - just over 1 in 5 are under 18 years of age, the minimum for life insurance cover, and 1 in 6 are over 65 and they're effectively uninsurable. Then there's a raft of single folks aged between 18 and 65 without dependents, and for whom life insurance is just not necessary. Having said that, without doubt, there are still many families who desperately need life insurance but who don't have cover.

Why do they hold back?

There are still plenty of people who have no idea what life insurance does and because it's never top of their minds and they don't care, nothing ever gets done. After all life insurance isn't exactly a thrill to buy, there's no pleasurable window-shopping or sense of enjoyment about it. The likelihood is that unless a financial advisor sits down in front of these people and talks about life insurance, they'll remain totally uninsured and uninterested.

The media coverage given to the insurance industry also tends not to help. The press is regularly full of stories about one company or another that has turned down a claim. These stories make headlines as behind them, there's always a sad story of personal tragedy and distress. It all gives the industry a tarnished image and creates a feeling that they can't be trusted.

Then there are those who realise life insurance is needed but just can't be bothered or say they can't afford it. More realistically, for many “can't afford” actually means, “I choose not to afford”. They might be happy to spend £2,000 a year on a 20 a day smoking routine but are unwilling to cut back to afford the monthly premium that protects their family's future.

Of course, there is no disputing the fact that some people will have applied for life cover and found the final premium truly unaffordable. Whilst for the majority, life insurance at normal rates is okay, over the last seven years we've seen a huge rise in the number of people who have seen the price substantially increased once the insurer has seen their application form. It's a result of the life insurance companies making it increasingly hard for people to meet the insurers definition of “healthy”. Seven years ago half as many people were seeing their premiums increased as a result of the insurance companies rating them as an above average health risk.

Even three to four years ago it was pretty obvious who'd have trouble getting insured at normal rates – someone with a history of heart or circulatory problems, former cancer suffers and diabetics for example. How the situation has changed. Insurers' application forms are now much more detailed and health problems that were previously considered acceptable are now only accepted with increased premiums. Take your weight – insurers are clamping down when they judge a person's weight to be a risk to their longer-term health. And it's not just the obviously over weight that attracts the insurer's notice. Insurers are now using a measurement called the Body Mass Index to identify weight problems. This is a persons weight divided by the square of their height. Insurers now want a BMI of no more than 29, whereas previously up to 40 was fine. This means that a woman weighing 83 kilos and 1.66 meter tall would now face higher premiums.

People can also be put off by the application process. Whilst about 30% of applicants will receive a decision almost straight away, for others the process can become one delay after another. As if a 16 page application form were not enough, some people are being faced with more forms to complete plus medical examinations. The whole process can take up to 8 weeks, even more, before the applicant knows precisely how much their premium will be. If that works out more that they can simply afford, they're often too fed up of the whole application process to start again with a new insurance company. That leaves yet another family without insurance.

Despite these problems, the life insurance companies claim that thanks to more sophisticated underwriting procedures, premiums are lower today that they were a few years ago. Furthermore, around 10% of life insurance is bought on the Internet where discounting has become the norm. This too has helped push average premiums down.

Nevertheless, in the author's view it will take many years to get people covered by life insurance above the 50% mark.

About The Author Michael Challiner writes for Brokers Online ( http://www.life-assurance-bureau.co.uk ) who offer life insurance cover and most UK financial services including mortgage payment protection ( http://www.life-assurance-bureau.co.uk/mortgage-payment-protection/ ). Visit our finance blog for useful tips on uk finance ( http://www.life-assurance-bureau.co.uk/family-finance/ ) michael@andromedawebs.co.uk