YanZone

Success quote of the day

2010-12-08T18:26:00.000-08:00

"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will." Vincent T. Lombardi

Top Eight Characteristics Of True Friends

2010-03-20T12:58:00.000-07:00

1. Friends listen. Whether you are relating a good or bad experience, friends listen. They don't interrupt or try to make suggestions or recommendations. They simply listen, letting you get everything off your chest. When you have vented, they may offer feedback or have a suggestion, but they also acknowledge that you have to follow what is in your heart.

2. Friends don't judge. No matter what you have done or what you are doing, friends may express their sentiments or offer their perspective, but they strive not to make any type of judgment. After all, they are not in your shoes and may have no idea what you are experiencing.

3. Friends don't abuse you. They won't belittle, or swear or yell at you. They don't like to fight; they would rather discuss and work through difficult issues and situations. They don't hit you. Abuse is not love; it is a form of control. Friends don't try to control each other.

4. Friends are there for you. Whether you are happy or sad, excited or exhausted, friends are always available. If you need to talk, they will listen, regardless of how long you talk or what time of day it is. If you are silent, they will sit next to you until you're ready to speak. Whether they go with you for a walk or hold you while you cry, they are there for you.

5. Friends accept you for who you are. They don't try to make you the kind of person they think you should be, they just accept you. They accept you whether you're having a good or bad day, whether you are loud and boisterous or shy and quiet, whether you are always early or late, whether you are organized and clean or unorganized and sloppy, or whether you are fashionable or frumpy. Real friends look beyond these things, as they are trivial in the long range. They simply accept you for who you are, and love you anyhow.

6. Friends can pick up where they left off, regardless of the time and distance that separates them. Real friends can go months without speaking, but when they do, it seems like yesterday. It doesn't matter who calls who, or who called who last, they are just glad to hear from each other. Time and distance can’t separate real friends.

7. Friends understand that friendship is a two-way street. When one friend has a bad day, the other will listen, knowing that when they have a bad day, their friend will be there for them. Friends listen to each other, share ideas and stories, brainstorm, and solve problems together. Their relationship is not one-sided; they both give and take.

8. Friends enjoy each other. When you are with a real friend, time passes quickly. You laugh, share stories and experiences, do things together, and like to be together. Friends are your favorite people to hang out with, as you really like them as people. They are stimulating and fun, not boring.

After reading the above characteristics, how many of these are important to you in your relationships? Are there other characteristics you desire or need in friendships? Whatever you desire or need most, make a list of those characteristics and see how many of your “friends” have them. In conducting this exercise, you may find that you're satisfied with your current friends or you may reassess what true friendship is. Either way, you deserve friends that listen, don't judge you, don't abuse you, are there for you, except you for you who you are, don't let time and distance stand in the way, understand that friendship is a two-way street, and enjoy you.

Trying to find a unique dating idea to give her or him a good time?

2010-03-20T12:26:00.000-07:00

I can demonstrate you a few of the most effective and unique date suggestions. You will be amazed to discover exactly how powerful doing something somewhat new and different could be for the two of you. Whether this is your very first night out or you are already a couple for a time there are dating ideas for everyone.

For those who have a very first date coming up, you will be probably doing everything you can to get ready. You may be contemplating hard about how exactly to dress, the way you wish to smell, and which kind of hair do you want to go for. You may also be considering conversation topics, interesting stories to tell, and things about yourself that you may want to share. But ultimately, all of this is determined by where you go on your date.Stop Search for the best dating ideas

Different situations demand different clothes styles, diverse conversations, and different goals. Once you make a decision about where to go, you're determining a great deal regarding what is going to happen. The success or failure of your date may be directly associated with this decision.

Does this stress you out somewhat? That is ok. If there is one component about date planning that needs to be stress filled, it is this. Figuring out where to go, you have to strike a difficult balance, and you will need to take into consideration what type of message you want to give.

On a first date, it's a good idea to maintain busy. This takes the pressure off, helping you steer clear of a lot of awkward silences or nervous conversational tics. You should also go somewhere where you and your date will surely have a good time without relying on one another to provide the actual fun. In this way, even if it's not a love connection, you'll both remember the date fondly. Finally, you want to make sure to go somewhere where you can and show some of your strengths. For example, are you a terrible dancer? If so, steer clear of concerts and dance clubs.

Where you decide to go is dependent upon you and your date, but here are a number of ideas to get started.

Theme park
The good thing about an theme park is that you and your date can have fun without relying upon one another as the primary sources of entertainment. That is what the rides and games are for. This permits you to step back, be casual, and permit your date to obtain its own momentum. For a smaller scale version of this, go to an arcade. It may be for kids, but so what? Show your date that you like to have a little innocent fun.

Coffee shop
In order to send the message that you are a low-key person who enjoys conversation and simple pleasures, take your date to a coffee shop. This is a great way to get to know your date face-to-face and to wow him/her with your conversational skills.

Flea market
In the event you live in a big city, there's probably a large flea market somewhere in town. But this is only a good suggestion if your date is into quirky things, antiques, and strange cultural artifacts. A flea market will give you the opportunity to walk around casually and talk, and the booths will allow you to share your interests and express your personality.

Picnic
Is there a beautiful park or beach locally? In that case, pack a lunch, and bring your date to a natural setting. This will allow you both to relax and to get to know one another in a relaxed and comfortable place. The only real problem is that if your date is just not an outdoors-y person, s/he may get bored quickly, so you'll have to be on top of your conversational game.

Moonlight Movie theater
Most cities offer a moonlight cinema during the summer months... its not a new concept but still there's something romantic about being outdoors watching a show... and you can pack your own picnic

Row Boat on lake
This date idea has the potential for being funny / or frustrating. In any event pack yourself food and nibbles to savor while you sit back and watch your partner struggle getting their rowing on.

Star Gazing
Star Gazing in the city is pointless... you gotta get out into the Country where it is dark and peaceful. This is definitely a summer time play thing. Pack food and drink to enhance your experience.

Comedy Club
Fun is great for the soul - nothing can beat comedy. You're going to need to take time out following the show to be able to muse over the nights events. Remember, the comedy show alone will not be enough - you wont have an opportunity to talk to your partner.

Spend the day at the Zoo
The Zoo isn't really the only place that will do. Aquariums, museums, and art shows are other great choices to consider for impressive first date materials. Build on what you know the two of you have in common to find the perfect solution for your first date and make sure that wherever you go for your first you plan to obtain fun.

A number of tips to make sure your date evening pans out well for you. Do some basic research to make sure the day will go off as planned. For example determine there is availability for things that need to be booked - don't wait till the event. Surprise is the perfect element to ensure your partner will not be disappointed - don't give them a chance to create expectations and they'll love it!

7 Ways To Build Trust In Your Relationship

2010-03-20T11:59:00.000-07:00

There are 7 solid ways to build trust in a relationship; these are the things you should devout your time into and not wandering around. These 7 ways gives assurance on improving the level of trust.

1.) Be Predictable and Consistent in a Relationship. Avoid being erratic! Going on shopping trips, giving surprise gifts and the likes of that can be nice but it is not the main issue. Above all, being reliable on a daily basis should be considered the basic work to be done.

2.) Do not be contradictory in any manner, your word must go along with your message. That is your partner must hear the words which is in tune with your body language (being happy with putting on a frowned face does not correspond). You build trust in a relationship when your words follows your body language i.e. when both matches.

3.) Competency is a fundamental and basic belief in partnership and it is required. If you do not agree that your partner is competent at some area that relationship cannot stand on trust. So if you do, you would have the trust in a relationship that you need.

4.) Let your partner know your secrets. Do not keep secrets because it can destroy the relationship when your partner later knows about it. Keeping secrets demand energy, so such energy should be diverted to erecting of trust in your relationship. So be honest and open.

5.) Let your partner know what you lack and that you are in need of. Let your partner know to avoid guessing. But do not be selfish.

6.) Say ‘NO’ when the need arises. When your partner has listed his/her needs, do not say yes to all. When you disagree to agree sometimes, it earns respect and such will actually build trust in a relationship.

7.) Be thirsty for growth at all times. For instance, you begin by digging the dirt which can be painful, before you plant a flower and such soil is also prepared for future growth. So also is building trust in a relationship.

It is bound to encounter a little pain or storm when you determine to work on trust in a relationship, but as time goes by you become stronger as an individual and also given strength to the relationship.

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2010-02-25T08:03:00.000-08:00

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Diabetes Types and Diet Plan

2009-05-23T20:14:00.000-07:00

To manage diabetes, one should have proper information about diabetes and should follow a diet plan to control blood glucose level.

Diabetes Types

Type 1 Diabetes

In type 1 diabetes (Insulin dependent diabetes), also known as juvenile onset diabetes, patients depends on insulin. Some important points regarding type 1 diabetes are -

1. There is usually sudden onset.
2. This form occurs mainly in the younger age group.
3. There is an inability of the pancreas to produce adequate amount of insulin. This may be caused by virus or due to autoimmunity.
4. The child is usually underweight.
5. Acidosis is fairly common.

Type 2 Diabetes

In type 2 diabetes (Non-insulin dependent diabetes), also known as adult onset diabetes, patients do not depend on insulin. Some important points regarding type 2 diabetes are -

1. It develops slowly and usually milder and more stable.
2. This form occurs mainly in adults. Women who have had large babies are also prone to develop this type of diabetes later in life.
3. Insulin may be produced by pancreas but action is impaired.
4. The person is usually overweight.
5. Acidosis is infrequent.
6. The majority of patients improves with weight loss and is maintained on diet therapy.

Diabetes Diet Plan

1. Dietary calorie should be 60-70% from carbohydrates, 15-20% from protein and 15-25% from fat. The minimum amount of carbohydrates should be 100g to prevent ketosis.
2. Fat with high poly unsaturated fatty acids like vegetable oil is preferred (sunflower oil, gingelly oil, corn oil) than animal fat and hydro-generated fat which contain more saturated fatty acids. Fish and chicken are preferred than meat and egg.
3. Simple sugars should be restricted since they are easily absorbed and have a high glycaemic index.
4. Whole wheat is preferred to rice because it contains ‘Ascarbose’ which allow carbohydrate to be absorbed slowly.
5. Food exchange lists should be followed to prevent hypo and hyperglycaemia. The exchange systems should be followed to avoid monotony, dietary constancy and flexibility.
6. Sodium intake is to be no more than 6g daily. Sodium is restricted to 3g in hypertensive diabetic patients.

Diabetes Foods

Foods that can be eaten as much as one wants – Green leafy vegetables, fruits except banana, lemon; clear soups, onion, salads, mint, spices, plain coffee or tea, skimmed and butter milk

Foods that can be eaten in moderation – Fats, meat, egg, cereals and pulses

Foods to be avoided – Simple sugars (glucose, syrup, sweets and honey), dried fruits, cake, fried foods, candy, alcohol and nuts

Nutritional Requirements for Diabetics

Carbohydrates – High carbohydrate and high fiber diet improve insulin binding and increase in monocyte insulin receptor binding. High carbohydrate diet is likely to elevate serum triglyceride levels (endogenous cholesterol). Hence carbohydrate is maintained to about 50% of total calories. Most carbohydrates should be in form of polysaccharides such as bread, cereals, beans, etc. Rapidly absorbed mono and disaccharides such as sweets, chocolates and sweetened drink should be avoided.

Proteins – A diet high in protein is good for the health of diabetics because it supplies the essential amino acids needed for tissue repair. Protein does not raise blood sugar during absorption as do carbohydrates and it does not supply as much calories as fat.

In patients with NIDDM, consumption of protein along with carbohydrate will lower the blood glucose concentration due to amino acid stimulation of insulin secretion; this help to compensate for the defect in glucose mediated insulin secretion seen in so many of these patients. Protein also promotes satiety and helps both types of diabetic patients to adhere to the carbohydrate allowance.

Fats – Low fat diet increases insulin binding and also reduces LDL and VLDL levels and lowers the incidence of atherosclerosis which is more common in diabetics. Fat content in the diet should be 15-25% of total calories and higher in polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Dietary Fiber – Diets high in carbohydrate and fiber improve glucose metabolism without increasing insulin secretion. They lower fasting serum and peripheral insulin concentrations in response to oral glucose administration in both diabetic and non-diabetic individuals. Fenugreek seeds which contain high fiber are useful to diabetics.

Artificial Sweeteners - High content of sugar consumption is undesirable for diabetics and for obese individuals. Non-caloric and high intense sweeteners are available as sugar substitute. These sweeteners are as sweet as sucrose, have a pleasant taste, are colorless, odorless, readily soluble, stable, functional and economically feasible.

Finding Natural Treatments for Diabetes

2009-05-23T19:50:00.000-07:00

Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness among adults in the United States. Thousands of people are blinded every year due to this disease. Hundreds of thousands of limb amputations have been done on patients to save their lives because of diabetes. And the majority of patients in hospitals that are waiting for liver transplants are in that terrible position because of diabetes. Diabetes, left untreated, can lead to impotency, nerve loss, hypertension, and many more serious diseases. So, it's no surprise that diabetes is considered one of the most lethal disease that we are living with today.

Usually when people are diagnosed with diabetes, their doctor prescribes one or more pharmaceutical drugs to help them control their disease. But many people are looking for natural diabetes cures as well. Here are a few that have been used through the centuries:

Bitter gourd - you can find this tropical plant in many health stores. It's also goes by the names bitter melon and kerela. It was originally grown in the soils of Southeast Asia, China, and Africa. Some health articles recommend taking one tablespoon of bitter gourd daily, on an empty stomach, to reduce your blood glucose levels. Alternatively, you can cook it and eat it as a vegetable along with your meal.

Cinnamon - this dried and ground bark has been used as a natural diabetes treatment for hundreds of years. People with diabetes have difficulty processing the glucose in their blood stream. In clinical trials, cinnamon appears to assist the body's fat cells in utilizing the glucose in the bloodstream which is why it appears to be so effective. Anything that helps the body to process glucose will be beneficial in normalizing blood glucose levels.

Chromium supplements - many wellness gurus conjecture that the soils that crops are grown in these days is seriously lacking in a lot of the trace elements that at one time naturally resided in the earth. One of these trace elements is chromium, which in some tests has shown to provide diabetes patients with substantial improvement from their diabetes symptoms. Chromium is believed to help the body produce insulin as well as to help the insulin already in the body to perform at a greater level of efficiency. As of today, however, there has been no government regulated trials to test the effectiveness of chromium on diabetes.

Kino - This medicinal herb has been used in Indian medicines for diabetes treatment for a long time as a treatment for diabetes.

Exercise - type 2 diabetes has become a real epidemic in this country. Many health experts lay the problem directly on the combination of them eating too much fast foods and lack of exercise. A theory, that many doctors subscribe to, is that too much body fat leads to diabetes in those that have a family history of diabetes. They believe that it is something about the excess fat that triggers the inability of the body to produce insulin or to use that insulin to process the foods they eat.

There's no doubt that tested pharmaceutical drugs are effective in treating diabetes. With natural herbs and supplements, however, there's usually no documented history of their effectiveness. Therefore, before taking any herbal treatment for diabetes, make sure you talk it over with your primary health care physician first.

How to Use Presentation Slides as tool of Public Speaking

2009-05-21T01:58:00.000-07:00

How often have you attended a presentation where great attention apparently went into designing the slides - and apparently none into how they were used? Or the speaker played with the slides as if to entertain rather than edify?

Such idiosyncratic presentation techniques have helped give rise to the calumnious phrase "death by PowerPoint". PowerPoint and other types of visual aids can significantly enhance a presentation if properly used. And significantly detract from it if improperly used.

It is normal for each person to have his or her individual style for using slides. Such individuality often adds to the effectiveness of the presentation; however excessive individuality damages clarity and comprehension, putting effectiveness at risk.

Fortunately, this problem can be easily resolved. By recognizing and applying three fundamental principles of slide presentations, you can make "death by PowerPoint" completely disappear.

Fundamental Principles of Slide Presentations

1. Use the slides; don't be controlled by them

It is important to recognize that slides are a visual aid. And the most important part of this term is "aid". Too many speakers seem to believe that if they show enough slides, their presentation will automatically be successful.

The opposite is true. No matter how good the slides, if they assume center stage, the presentation will almost certainly be less effective than it could be.

2. Show that you are in charge

Keep in mind that the greatest visual aid is YOU. People come to hear what you have to say because they believe that you have something important to impart to them. So they want to see you, hear your voice, and watch your facial expressions, and observe body movements in order to better understand and evaluate your ideas and information.

If you start your presentation by immediately turning off the lights, and keep them off until the presentation is finished, it is almost as if you are not there. It would be easier and more convenient for everyone just to send the audience the presentation as a videocassette or DVD for them to play at their leisure.

3. Present a "win-win" situation

To be truly effective, slides must:

• Help the speaker deliver a better presentation

• Help the audience better understand the presentation

It is not a question of either/or. The speaker and the audience must both benefit; otherwise, neither one will. This means that you must deliver a good presentation both in terms of content and slides.

It is generally a good idea to prepare the first draft of your presentation without any slides, then return to your text to see where slides are really needed. This will ensure that you do not drown the audience in slides - and that each slide is truly useful.

If you take these three fundamental principles fully on board, you are already well on your way to an effective presentation. Here are a few practical suggestions to make your inherently good presentation even better.

A. Use build-up slides

Let’s try an experiment. Open a newspaper or magazine to any page. Keep looking at it, but try not to read anything on the page. It is virtually impossible. The moment the eye is confronted with text, there is a natural urge to read it.

Putting too much text on a slide has the same effect. The speaker may expect the audience to pay attention only to the part of the text he is talking about and ignore the rest. In reality, while the speaker is talking about the text at the top, the audience will almost certainly be reading the text below.

The result is significant loss of attention. Since attention ensures better comprehension, using text-heavy slides is detrimental to speakers and listeners alike.

To maintain attention, introduce text gradually, not all at once.

In the days of 35 mm and overhead transparencies, this was achieved by using “build-up slides”. For example, instead of showing five bullet points on a single slide, the speaker prepared six sides. The first slide showed only the title; the rest of the screen was left empty. The next one showed the title plus bullet point 1; the rest of the screen was left empty. The next slide showed the title plus bullet points 1 and 2. The same was done for each succeeding slide. It was only on the last slide that the full text (general statement + bullet points) became visible.

Producing six slides was of course considerably more expensive than producing only one. But it was also considerably more effective.

You should use the same technique with computer-generated slides. There is essentially no additional cost. Moreover, you can use animation to highlight each new bullet point as it appears on the screen in order to reinforce its importance. For example:

Slide 1

Title

Slide 2

Title

• First bullet point

Slide 3

Title

• First bullet point

• Second bullet point

Slide 4

Title

• First bullet point

• Second bullet point

• Third bullet point

And so on.

Illustrated slides such as diagrams, flow charts, etc., work essentially the same way. Introduce the illustration piece by piece so that the audience will not be drawn to one part of the image while you are talking about another. There are three possible variations to this approach.

1. Introduce the illustration piece by piece, with commentary, until the illustration is complete

2. Show the full illustration to give an overview. Then re-introduce it piece by piece, with commentary, until it is complete.

3. Show the full illustration to give an overview. Then re-introduce it piece by piece, with commentary, until it is complete. However, occasionally revert to the overview to remind the audience of where the piece-by-piece build up is leading.

Read the Text to the Audience

Another common mistake is for the speaker to continue talking while the audience is reading. Once again, this results in significant loss of attention.

The remedy is quite simple. The speaker should read the slide aloud to the audience. This ensures that:

• The attention of the listeners is first focused totally on the text.

• Next, it is focused totally on the speaker.

If the speaker reads the slide aloud, the audience is not forced to do two things at the same time: reading the slide while trying to listening to the commentary. Attention is maintained, and everyone benefits.

B. Use your laser pointer correctly

My bête noire (black beast) is in fact red. It is the horrendous way many speakers use their laser pointers. Like old-fashioned stick pointers, lasers should be used to:

• Help the audience identify and better understand the importance of key words and phrases in text slides.

• Help the audience identify and better understand the importance of key elements in photos, drawings, diagrams, flow charts, and other illustrations.

Pointing is all that is necessary. Don’t keep circling key words or visual elements. Don’t keep swinging the laser beam back and forth across the screen. The eye will naturally follow these movements. Since they add nothing to the presentation, they subtract from it.

The best way to avoid making these damaging gestures is by using the pointer as name implies. Just point to identify the key word or element you want to talk about, then turn it off. When you want to point to something else, simply turn it on again.

C. Pace your slides

Slides support what the speaker is saying. Therefore, they should:

• Appear on the screen only when needed.

• Stay on the screen only as long as needed.

The first point is obvious. You don’t want to show a slide before you are ready to talk about it. And of course hardly anyone ever does this.

Immediately removing the slide from the screen when it is no longer needed apparently is less obvious. Many speakers leave a slide on the screen while they talk about something else just to have something there until they are ready for the next one. Worse, they create “filler slides” they don’t really need just to have something there.

Both tactics damage the presentation. As long as something is on the screen, the eye will be attracted to it. This significantly reduces attention on what the speaker is saying, and so hurt comprehension.

When you don’t really need a slide, don’t show one. Either leave the screen blank or project a soft background color until the next slide is needed. Don't project a logo or any other illustration, which can only serve as a distraction.

If it will be several minutes before the next slide, turn the lights up so the audience can see who is talking to them. Remember, you are the star of the show, not the slides.

Properly used, slides can significantly boost the interest and effectiveness of a presentation. Poorly used, they can significantly damage a presentation. It takes only slightly more effort to do it well than to do it poorly. You owe to yourself and your audience to make this minor investment for this major return.

About Meditation to Improve Mental and Physical Health

2009-05-21T01:18:00.001-07:00

Meditation is a group of mental training techniques. You can use meditation to improve mental health and capacities, for spiritual development, to improve your motivation for your goals and also to help improve the physical health. Some of these techniques are very simple, so you can learn them from a book or an article; others require guidance by a qualified meditation teacher.

WHAT IS MEDITATION

Most techniques called meditation include these components:

1. You sit or lie in a relaxed position with closed eyes.
2. You breathe regularly. You breathe in deep enough to get enough oxygen. When you breathe out, you relax your muscles so that your lungs are well emptied, but without straining.
3. You stop thinking about everyday problems and matters.
4. You concentrate your thoughts upon some sound, some word you repeat, some image, some abstract concept or some feeling. Your whole attention should be pointed at the object you have chosen to concentrate upon.
5. If some foreign thoughts creep in, you just stop this foreign thought, and go back to the object of meditation.

The different meditation techniques differ according to the degree of concentration, and how foreign thoughts are handled. By some techniques, the objective is to concentrate so intensely that no foreign thoughts occur at all.

In other techniques, the concentration is more relaxed so that foreign thoughts easily pop up. When these foreign thoughts are discovered, one stops these and goes back to the pure meditation in a relaxed manner. Thoughts coming up, will often be about things you have forgotten or suppressed, and allow you to rediscover hidden memory material. This rediscovery will have a psychotherapeutic effect.

THE EFFECTS OF MEDITATION

Meditation has the following effects:

1. Meditation will reduce stress and give you rest and recreation.
2. You learn to relax.
3. You learn to concentrate better on problem solving.
4. Meditation often has a good effect upon the blood pressure.
5. Meditation has beneficial effects upon inner body processes, like circulation, respiration and digestion.
6. Regular meditation will have a psychotherapeutically effect.
7. Regular meditation will facilitate the immune system.
8. Meditation is usually pleasant.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HYPNOSIS AND MEDITATION

Hypnosis may have some of the same relaxing and psychotherapeutic effects as meditation. However, when you meditate you are in control yourself; by hypnosis you let some other person or some mechanical device control you. Also hypnosis will not have a training effect upon the ability to concentrate.

A SIMPLE FORM OF MEDITATION

Here is a simple form of meditation. By this meditation technique, you should concentrate in an easy manner. This will allow foreign thoughts to pop up. These are handled one by one as they appear. You proceed as follows:

1. Sit in a good chair in a comfortable position.
2. Close your eyes and relax all your muscles as well as you can.
3. Stop thinking about anything, or at least try not to think about anything.
4. Breath out, relaxing all the muscles in your breathing apparatus.
5. Repeat the following in 10 - 20 minutes:

-- Breath in so deep that you feel you get enough oxygen.
-- Breath out, relaxing your chest and diaphragm completely.
-- Every time you breathe out, think the word "one" or another simple word inside yourself. You should think the word in a prolonged manner, and so that you hear it inside you, but you should try to avoid using your mouth or voice.

6. If foreign thoughts come in, just stop these thoughts in a relaxed manner, and keep on concentrating upon the breathing and the word you repeat.

As you proceed through this meditation, you should feel steadily more relaxed in your mind and body, feel that you breathe steadily more effectively, and that the blood circulation throughout your body gets more efficient. You may also feel an increasing mental pleasure throughout the meditation.

THE EFFECTS OF MEDITATION UPON DISEASES

As any kind of training, meditation may be exaggerated so that you get tired and worn out. Therefore you should not meditate so long or so concentrated that you feel tired or mentally emptied.

Meditation may sometimes give problems for people suffering from mental diseases, epilepsy, serious heart problems or neurological diseases. On the other hand, meditation may be of help in the treatment of these and other conditions.

People suffering from such conditions should check out what effects the different kinds of meditation have on their own kind of health problems, before beginning to practise meditation, and be cautious if they choose to begin to meditate. It may be wise to learn meditation from an experienced teacher, psychologist or health worker that use meditation as a treatment module for the actual disease.

Effects and Benefits of Meditation

2009-05-21T00:33:00.000-07:00

There are many health benefits of meditation. Simply by meditating on a regular basis you can improve your physical and mental health.

It sounds too easy to be true. So what’s the catch? Can anyone gain the health and physical benefits of meditation?
Quite simply, meditating on a regular basis helps you to quiet your mind. You’ll know when you reach this quiet spot as everything takes on a calmness that isn’t necessarily there in your day to day life.

You can use your meditation sessions to concentrate on one particular part of your body. When you concentrate your mind, you will start to feel the health benefits of meditation work their way through into whichever part of your body you are concentrating on. Amazing as it may sound, simply concentrating on one part of your body will increase the flow of blood (and therefore oxygen and other vital nutrients) to that body part.

Meditation is a process of emptying out accumulated clutter of the mind by quieting and stilling the flow of thought. The Hindu yogis of India developed it more than two thousand years ago. They succeeded in mapping the auric or subtle body, and divided it into seven centers known as the chakras. The auric body is the energy field associated with the physical body that is not ordinarily visible and the energy itself is known as the “aura.” There are various meditations designed to make meditators aware of their auric body to cleanse it of all negativity and enable complete well-being. There are various benefits attached to meditation, ranging from the ordinary to the miraculous. The benefits of meditation can be availed of by anyone who decides to practice this art.

Breathing exercises are great and can be done almost anywhere. Simply take a deep breath in and then slowly exhale out. The key is to only think about your breathing and not let external thoughts enter your mind. This can be tough at first as it is easy to get distracted but if you do find other thoughts entering your mind then simply return your mental focus on your breathing. The idea is to quiet the mind and reach that peaceful state of a silent mind that offers many benefits including stress reduction.

There are many types of meditation practices you can choose from and it can get quite complex. Chakra mediation is a popular meditative practice. Our health is founded upon a relationship between body, mind and spirit – and the wellness of each part – and the physical body itself is only one component in the overall equation of well-being. This principle of holistics recognises that a stress free and happy mind and a blossoming spiritual life are major factors in our physical health. Just as stress and negative emotions silently erode our life force, so too the practice of meditation releases a new and positive life force – borne of inspiration, happiness, peace – into every part of our existence, creating the optimum conditions for vitality and health.

Other useful forms of meditation include zen meditation and guided meditation. People that suffer from stress can benefit greatly from meditation as it can be very effective at reducing stress as well as helping you to develop greater mental clarity and focus. Consider meditation as a daily part of your life to help you live healthier and longer.

Meditation to put an end to your problems

2009-05-21T00:26:00.000-07:00

Nowadays, there is a huge list of problems in everyone’s life such as marital problems, financial problems, lack of job satisfaction, health problems and inflation to name a few. Sometimes dealing with all these problems at the same time becomes very difficult for an ordinary person. For, after all we are human beings only and we have our limitations in dealing with these problems single handedly. When we are down we reach to god by visiting a temple and praying to god to give us strength to deal with these problems in a better way. We do so because of two reasons, number one we visit temple because we think that god abodes in temple, number two, we pray because we are suffering.

This is not acceptable because if you are religious you should pray regularly to stay connected to god. If you will pray to god only when you are suffering from problems in your life it is nothing but meeting your selfishness. You are seeking blessing of god because you have adversities in your life. It means that it is not important for you to stay connected to god at other times when you are free from problems in your life. This is not done as far as reaching closer to god is concerned, in other words, your act is just not enough and shameful to some extent. The bets way to reach closer to is by becoming a spiritual person.

In contemporary hectic life, we tend to get very tired at the end of the day both physically and mentally. It is very important to relax mind and body for the benefit of your health. But due to numerous issues revolving in our mind at all the times we find it difficult to relax our mind by sleeping. To overcome this problem and to relax your mind one should learn meditation. Apart from relaxing your mind meditation enables you to experience spirituality. Osho, defined a number of active meditation techniques which are easy to learn and helps you improve your awareness and concentration.

The idea is to search for god within you as god resides inside every living being. Thus, your search for god should begin from you only. God is represented by your soul which is unique for every individual. So, to reach closer to god you are required to discover your soul which however is another difficult task for you. If you can manage to build a close connection with your souls all the problems which are disturbing your life will go away automatically. This is because the only way to reach out to your soul is by cleaning your mind of unwanted thoughts which are root cause of your problems.

And there is no other way to get rid of your thoughts than meditation which is aimed at improving your concentration and silencing your mind. When you are learning meditation through traditional techniques you are suppose to focus on your breath. When you exhale you will feel warm air leaving your body and when you will inhale you will fell the cold air entering your body through your nostrils and throat. There are people who find it difficult to learn meditation through breathing exercise for these people there exist other techniques such as tai chi and modern meditation technique known as active meditation introduced by famous spiritual leader Rajneesh Osho.

Yoga: A Beneficial Exercising Regimen

2009-05-19T10:57:00.000-07:00

Yoga is an ancient proven tradition that exists for thousands of years and also one of the most ancient cultural heritages in India. The word yoga means, "to unite". But it does not only mean contemplation but also communion and yoking all powers of the body, mind and soul to God. It is a very ancient and efficient system of disciplines and controls designed to produce the integration of the body, mind and spirit. It also achieves higher states of awareness and self-realization by methodical efforts to attain perfection. Even at the workplace, yoga has become extremely popular in many companies, worldwide. Working eight hours a day, five to seven days a week is really stressing. And yoga can just be the answer to this. Yoga reduces stress. It improves flexibility and muscle tone, increases circulation, relieves chronic pain and alleviates anxiety-related disorders. Best of all, it cultivates physical awareness, refreshes your energy, and offers a little vacation from the everyday grind.

There are seven divisions of yoga. Hatha yoga is concerned primarily with the body and the asanas. Bhakti yoga focuses on the path of love and devotion. Mantra yoga has something to do with recitation and repetition of words and verses. Karma yoga is a service through action and work. Janan yoga is on the intellectual path. Raja yoga is a synthesis of Bhakti, Karma, and Janan. And Laya yoga is the secret path or known as the “Yoga of Dissolution”.

Yoga has many advantages over other methods of maintaining health, such as aerobics, athletics, gymnastics, games, and various other forms of exercise and is often described as the best form of health insurance for all from the age of seven to seventy seven or more because it has a lot to offer to everyone. The two main advantages of yoga are prevention of disorders and ailments and maintenance of health and fitness in daily life. Other advantages include supple joints, flexible muscles, relaxed and tension-free mind and efficiently working vital organs such as the heart, lungs, endocrine glands, liver, pancreas and good balance between various functions. When doing yoga, you will not need any costly equipment and materials, or playgrounds, gyms, etc. And you don’t have to worry when is the right time to do it because you can do yoga all throughout the year. It can also be practiced inside the house or in the open, just alone or if you want, in groups. The only thing you need is a thick carpet spread on the floor and covered with a clean sheet of cloth. Remember that yoga should only be practiced on empty stomach although you can do it at any time during the day.

Everyone can benefit from yoga. It will benefit you irrespective of whether you are young or old, lean or heavily built, highly educated or unlettered, rich or poor, from higher or lower middle class, busy, over busy, or retired or worker in the factory or in the field. However, this benefit may not be possible if one does not practice the correct technique of yoga or practice it irregularly. Yoga has a wide range of technique and this can fulfill needs in almost people especially those who really have the determination and the motivation to do the techniques in a regular basis. Yoga can fulfill this need irrespective of your work, or your lifestyle. This can help everyone play his or her roles more efficiently, more smoothly and more comfortably.

By: Michael Sanford

3 Major Mistakes in Public Speaking & the Tips

2009-05-19T10:10:00.000-07:00

1. The audience will listen because I'm a subject matter expert and what I have to say is interesting.This is probably one of the most frequent mistakes made by speakers. We all like to think that we know our stuff, and many people do. But that alone will not engage your audience. Albert Mehrebian the US Educational Psychologist's research demonstrated that only 7... This is worrying for subject matter experts. You could prepare for weeks, select the best words and key messages, you could have the best introduction, middle section and ending than any speaker on the bill, but your impact could be negligible. A few year's ago I became a school governor and as such, I was offered training sessions by my local Education Authority. The general standard of the 2 hour presentations was good. One evening, the guest speaker, a man who had worked in education all his life with a career that spanned being a headmaster, Ofsted inspector and a senior role in the Ministry of Education and Science; what this fellow didn't know about the history of secondary education was not worth knowing. However, he ended every sentence with a pronounced hmmmmmmmmm. Imagine that 6 times per minute, for two hours.... I nearly lost the will to live.
Tip - Listen and react to feedback from your colleagues. I'm certain that over the course of this fellow's long and distinguished career, many people must have mentioned his verbal mannerisms. If your company culture prohibits you from giving constructive feedback, seek professional help. Advice from consultants is more likely to be accepted because it is seen to be given objectively.

2. Speaking too fast.Nervous and inexperienced speakers always remind me of the 100 metres sprint. They hear the gun, they're out of the blocks fast and they can't wait to get it over with. This is not unusual - it is the normal reaction to any potentially stressful situation. Let's close our eyes, do it, and get it over with. It's a bit like going to the dentist. However, some speakers do not even devote themselves to such minimal preparation.
Tip - for each minute of your speech, spend ten minutes of preparation on it. Watch yourself on video and ask yourself if you're delivering too fast.

3. Keep it short and simple and always leave them wanting more. The best way to maintain the attention of an audience is to start with a gripping opening, develop a maximum of three themes or key messages, and conclude with a message that pulls the introduction and key messages together with impact. An experienced speaker can make this look simple and seamless, but we're looking at perhaps 0.001 of what an audience remember is down to the effective use of tonal variety. A massive 55% relates to your body language. If you send a mixed message, don't be surprised if the message is dropped. A key factor in any speech or presentation is simply this:
Tip - It's not what you say. It's the way that you say it.

Scenario 1: You're trying to find the channel with the live football. Suddenly, your wife sitting in the opposite armchair says, ‘Do you love me?' You continue flicking through the channels, you don't look back at her and you eventually say the words, ‘Of course, I love you.'Scenario 2: You're trying to find the channel with the live football. Suddenly, your wife sitting in the opposite armchair says, ‘Do you love me?'You stop flicking through the channels with the remote and put it down. You walk across the room and take your wife by the hand, gently and sincerely you look her in the eyes, caress her cheek and say, ‘Of course, I love you.'Notice that the same words are used, but which do you think conveys the stronger message?

5 Tips for Public Speaking

2009-05-19T09:35:00.000-07:00

The presenter reaches the head of the room and takes a seat at a table in a way that people at the back barely can see and hear him,as he begin with a paper in his hand and with a soft monotone.you have to struggle to hardly understand the gist of his topic.long sentences,miserable metaphors filled with jargon.as time goes by,your resistance start to shrink and shrink till it vanishes then and only then, you fall asleep.Now,the question that we have to ask ourselves is whether we want our audiences to experience what is described above ? rather,what would you expect out of them when they live the miserable moment as our friend lived?

Of course,nobody wants to even think about it.do you ? well,the reason why I dedicate this article is to tackle this problem before your next presentation opportunity.I have gathered for you some proven techniques that will brighten you as a speaker and leave the audience ruptured toward your performance.too good to be true? Let’s dive right in and see ...

1)Do you know that you can impress your audience significantly even before you utter a word? YES you can do so through your body movement.before you speak or make any contact with them,take your full time to set up properly and confidently as it sends a burning and aflamed message that you are the right guy to stand up there and no one else.in this particular moment,make sure the stage is organized in a way that suits your needs,put your notes together so that they are easily accessible and prepare your individual equipement.

2)Let the power of first impressions astonish the audience as it strengthens your appearance.make sure you found out what clothing is appropriate for the occasion.Just dress a bit more formally.this will be enough for them to understand that both the presentation and the audience are important to you.

3)As you know,body language consists of appearance,facial expressions,postures,movements,gestures and eye contact.perhaps,this latter is the most influential one among these components.You may heard the saying “the eyes are the windows of the soul” ,in our case, the eyes are our keys to get our message across efficiently and effectively.make sure to maintain a constant eye contact with all the viewers ranging from the front to the back,and from the left to the right.

4)As important as eye contact,facial expressions can make an enormous difference in the audience’s receptiveness.proper facial expressions invigorate the content of the speech.you can show your good intentions with a smile at the beginning and during the speech process.also express your perplexity, puzzlement and unpleasantness with the respective expressions.

5)Another influential factor in the speech-making process is the use of voice.It is crucial that one should varies his or her pitch,rate,volume and speed as he or she speaks for dynamism and lethargy avoidance sake.we use pitch to stress on the importance of a word and add emotions to it as the best way to boost the attractiveness of the speech.an additional factor to pay more attention to is the rate of speech,it includes the pause and the speed.use pause when you want to emphasis a thought that you have just uttered.

All in all, the success you will receive depends largely on whether you apply what is mentioned above or not.I guarantee that you will achieve more that you ever expected out of your presentations once you implement these strategies that the most skillful presenters all over the world are implementing to maximize there efforts.

by: DR. Simon Garmah

Bing Yu - Andy Lau (pinyin lyric)

2009-05-13T09:22:00.000-07:00

Wo shi zai deng dai yi ge nv hai
Hai shi zai deng dai chen lun ku hai
Yi duan qing mo mo guan gai
Mei you ren qu guan hua xie hua kai
Wu fa ken ding de ai Zuo you yao bai
Zhi hao ba xin suan wang shen xin li sai

Wo shi zai deng dai ni de hui lai
Nan dao zhi huan hui yi ju huo gai
Yi ge ren jing jing fa dai
Liang ge ren que you bu tong wu nai
Hao hao de yi fen ai a zen me hui man man bian huai

Leng leng de bing yu zai lian shang hu luan de pai
Nuan nuan de yan lei gen han yu hun cheng yi kuai
Yan qian de se cai Hu ran bei ying gai
Ni de ying zi wu qing zai shen bian pai huai

Ni jiu xiang yi ge kuai zi shou ba wo chu mai
Wo de xin fang fu bei ci dao hen hen de zai
Xuan ya shang de ai
Shei hui yuan yi jie shou zui tong de yi wai

Xuan ya shang de ai Shei hui gan qu cai
Hai shi yuan yi jie shou zui tong de yi wai
Zui ai de nv hai

See video (youtube)

Xiang Si Cheng Zai - Andy Lau (pin yin lyric)

2009-05-13T08:50:00.000-07:00

Duo shao meng sui feng er qu Shi chen da hai de shi ni
Ni dai lai hua de xiao xi Pian you diao ling Zhuan yan jiu cheng mi
Duo shao ai hua cheng chun ni Duan hong can lv Yu sheng zhong ting de jian wei qu
Jiu jing shi wo hai shi ni Ren xin fu qi jue qing duan yi

Ceng jing xin wu ai Qing ru hai Yin wei xiang ai rang bi ci cun zai
Ru jin feng bu lai Hua bu kai Sheng yi pian xiang si cheng zai
Zong zai ye wei yang Tian wei bai Deng zhe ai hong hong lie lie zou lai
Yu ni chong you xiang lian ru da di chu kai

Cong ran xin wu ai Qing ru hai Wei liao qing yuan zai xin zhong du bai
Zhi pan ye wu cai Ye bu guai Bu zai rang xiang si cheng zai

Yu ni chong you xiang lian ru da di chu kai

See video (youtube)

Tian Yi - Andy Lau (pin yin lyric)

2009-05-13T08:37:00.000-07:00

Shei zai hu wo de xin li you duo ku
Shei zai yi wo de ming tian qu he chu
Zhe tiao lu jiu jing duo shao qi qu duo shao kan ke tu
Wo he ni zao yi mei you hui tou lu

Wo de ai cang bu zhu Ren ping shi jian wu qing de bai bu
Wo bu pa tong bu pa shu
Zhi pa shi zai duo nu li ye wu zhu

Ru guo shuo yi qie dou shi tian yi
Yi qie dou shi ming yun Zhong jiu yi zhu ding
Shi fou neng zai duo ai yi tian
Zai duo kan yi yan Shang hui shao yi dian

Ru guo shuo yi qie dou shi tian yi
Yi qie dou shi ming yun Shei ye tao bu li
Wu qing wu ai ci sheng you he bi

Wu qing wu ai ci sheng wo ren ming

See video (youtube)

Wang Qing Shui - Andy Lau (pin yin lyric)

2009-05-13T08:18:00.000-07:00

Ceng jing nian shao ai zhui meng Yi xin zhi xiang wang qian fei
Xing bian qian shan he wan shui Yi lu zuo lai bu neng hui
Mo ran hui shou qing yi yuan Shen bu you ji zai tian bian
Cai ming bai ai hen qing chou Zui shang zui tong shi hou hui

Ru guo ni bu ceng xin sui Ni bu hui dong de wo shang bei
Dang wo yan zhong you lei Bie wen wo shi wei shei
Jiu rang wo wang le zhe yi qie

A Gei wo yi bei wang qing shui
Huan wo yi ye bu liu lei
Suo you zhen xin zhen yi Ren ta yu da feng chui
Fu chu de ai shou bu hui

A Gei wo yi bei wang qing shui
Huan wo yi sheng bu shang bei
Jiu suan wo hui he zui Jiu suan wo hui xin sui
Bu hui kan jian wo liu lei

See video (youtube)

Wo De Xin Zhi Ke Rong Na Ni - Andy Lau (pin yin lyric)

2009-05-13T07:56:00.000-07:00

Zhe tu di Wan wu bu bian de yi yang zai hu xi
Zong ran shi ri zai tui yi
Zhe tu di Xiang chuan er guo shui wu hen ji
Yin cang qian yi ge hui yi Wo xiang qi ni

chorus:
Ni shuo guo Hai jiao tian ya Ling ju li
Si nian jiu shi yuan dong li La jin ni wo de xin
Tian da di da ye zhi you ni
Suo yi wo Kan dao shen me zong hui xiang dao ni
Jue dui bu yong qu huai yi
Wo de xin zhi ke rong na yi ge ni

Zai zhe li Zai zhe li ke yi gan jue ni de xin
Si nian mu yu hua xiang li
Zai zhe li Zai zhe li zi ran de jue ding
Ai jiu xiang chuan liu bu xi Wo ji xu ai ni

chorus (2x)

Wo de xin zhi ke rong na yi ge ni (2x)

See video (youtube)

Chan Mian - Andy Lau (pin yin lyric)

2009-05-13T07:40:00.000-07:00

Shuang shou qing qing peng zhe ni de lian Chui gan ni de lei yan
Meng hai you kong jian wo hai zai ni shen bian Bu ceng zou yuan
Ba ai dao jin ni de xin li mian Pei ni zui yi qian nian
Xing lai hou gan jue yi ru cong qian

Wo he ni he ming yun zhi jien Zhu ding liao bu neng gai bian
Wo de qing gan re qie wei xian
Duo kan ni yi yan jiu hui dian ran wo xin zhong
Wu fa pu mie de huo yan

Ai de yue shen yue nong yue chan mian
Hui bu hui rang tian hong le yan
Ai de yue shen yue nong yue chan mian
Bu wen you mei you ming tian
Ai de yue shen yue nong yue chan mian
Zai duo gei wo yi dian shi jian
Ai de yue shen yue nong yue chan mian
Neng bu neng zai jian ni zhe zui hou yi mian

See Video (youtube)

Top 5 Tips For Effective Email Marketing

2008-06-14T10:35:00.000-07:00

Over the past few years, research has continued to prove the benefits of e-mail marketing for business: low costs, high conversion rates and detailed tracking are all notable features. But e-mail marketing is becoming much more than just a tool for spammers and e-businesses. Consumers are becoming increasingly savvy on the differences between spam and permission-based emails, and more and more of them are accepting permission-based e-mail marketing as a positive replacement for direct mail.

The best news is that the majority of people who receive permission-based e-mails open, on average, 78% of them.

Jupiter Research reports effective email marketing campaigns can produce nine times the revenues and 18 times the profits of broadcast mailings. But crafting an effective business email is both an art and a science. Here is a list of factors, potential problems and effective solutions to keep in mind:

1. Spam! Spam! Spam! I don't need any Viagra!
The average consumer receives more than 300 emails a week, 62% of which are spam. No wonder there's such hostility towards the industry. But spam filters, bulk folders and "report spam" features are helping consumers become more at ease about the perils of spam. While 89% of users cited spam as a major concern in 2003, that number dropped to 85% in 2004, proportionally to an increase in the use of spam-fighting tools.

So as a permission-based business email marketer, what can you do? One tip is to remind your subscribers to add you to their "safe senders" list. The second, and most important, tactic is to make sure your email marketing service provider has a good relationship with ISPs. This will ensure that your email marketing campaigns go into your subscribers' inboxes, not their junk mail folders. When choosing an email marketing software, make sure the company has strict anti-spam policies and complies with the guidelines of Can-Spam.

2. Images and formatting: Why do my emails look broken?
Broken email campaigns are an increasing concern among email marketers, especially since several companies and web-based email providers now block graphics as a measure to combat spam. In fact, according to ClickZ, 40% of email marketing messages delivered to inboxes are "broken."

So what's the solution? Some email marketing programs publish all your sent email campaigns to a secure location on the web (a location only original recipients of the email can access, thanks to encrypted technology that automatically authenticates the user). In some programs, the technology also ensures you can track your users' behaviors, even if they are reading your email campaign at the secure web location.

3. Personalization and relevant content: In a business e-mail, one size does not fit all.
In a recent study by DoubleClick, email users were 72% more likely to respond to a business e-mail if its content was based on the interests they had specified. That number points out the absolute importance of allowing users to choose their own interest groups and have control over which business e-mails they receive. The most popular interest categories, according to the study, are coupons and household goods.

But you're coupon is no good unless the user opens the email. Users in the study said the most compelling reason for them to open a business email is the name in the "from" field. So it's a good idea to make sure your company name is clearly stated there. Another major factor is the "subject" line. Users cite discount offers and interesting news as the most compelling subject lines, followed by new product announcements and free shipping offers.

4. Click-through and conversion: Show me the money!
So the user has opened your email and read the content. Great. But where's the sale? There's good news here. For one, consumers are increasingly likely to make purchases as a direct result of a business email campaign. One-third of users in the DoubleClick study had purchased something by clicking a link on an email. Another 42% clicked on an email link for more information, then purchased the product at a later time. Second, online couponing is booming: 73% of consumers have redeemed an online coupon for an online purchase, and 59% have redeemed an online coupon offline.

In terms of industries, the top performers are travel, hardware/software, electronics, apparel, food, home furnishings, gifts/flowers and sporting goods. All companies sending business emails in those categories said between 71% and 80% of recipients have purchased their products because of an email campaign.

There's no need to fret if your company doesn't fit in to one of those industries. The overall landscape for email marketing conversions is looking brighter every day. The average click-to-purchase rate has increased nearly 30% since 2004 and the average orders-per-email-delivered rate has increased more than 18% since last year.

5. Stats tracking: Who are my real consumers?
E-mail marketing is an increasingly popular tool in effective CRM, and it's about time more businesses recognize that. First off, if your provider's email services for business do not include detailed, real-time tracking, you're getting a raw deal. Real-time tracking is now an industry standard, and it's highly valuable, as it allows you to see the exact moment a user opens your campaign, clicks on your link and makes that purchase. Studying your users can help you improve your communications efforts, so each campaign performs better than the last (several email service providers also let you compare the performance of your campaigns).

But many marketers are still in the dark. According to a recent WebTrends research, only 5% of marketers are very confident in the measurement of their online marketing efforts, while 26% admit they're "flying blind." WebTrends says the low confidence comes from a lack of knowledge when it comes to measurement, which means there's still a lot of work to be done.

In email marketing, a blind shot won't take you very far. But if you aim properly by following these essential rules of play, you should soon be reaping the same major results as so many online and offline businesses.

7 Small Business Marketing Tips

2008-06-14T10:15:00.000-07:00

Here are 7 low-cost but highly effective marketing tips to help any small business find customers and generate sales quickly.

1. Don't Advertise Like a Big Business

Big businesses advertise to create name recognition and future sales. A small business can't afford to do that. Instead, design your advertising to produce sales ...now. One way to accomplish this is to always include an offer in your advertising - and an easy way for prospective customers to respond to it.

2. Offer a Cheaper Version

Some prospective customers are not willing to pay the asking price for your product or service. Others are more interested in paying a low price than in getting the best quality. You can avoid losing sales to many of these customers by offering a smaller or stripped down version of your product or service at a lower price.

3. Offer a Premium Version

Not all customers are looking for a cheap price. Many are willing to pay a higher price to get a premium product or service. You can boost your average size sale and your total revenue by offering a more comprehensive product or service ...or by combining several products or services in a special premium package offer for a higher price.

4. Try Some Unusual Marketing Methods

Look for some unconventional marketing methods your competitors are overlooking. You may discover some highly profitable ways to generate sales and avoid competition. For example, print your best small ad on a postcard and mail it to prospects in your targeted market. A small ad on a postcard can drive a high volume of traffic to your website or generate a flood of sales leads for a very small cost.

5. Trim Your Ads

Reduce the size of your ads so you can run more ads for the same cost. You may even be surprised to find that some of your short ads generate a better response than their longer versions.

6. Set up Joint Promotions with Other Small Businesses

Contact some non-competing small businesses serving customers in your market. Offer to publicize their products or services to your customers in exchange for their publicizing your services to their customers. This usually produces a large number of sales for a very low cost.

7. Take Advantage of Your Customers

Your customers already know and trust you. It's easier to get more business from them than to get any business from somebody who never bought from you. Take advantage of this by creating some special deals just for your existing customers ...and announce new products and services to them before you announce them to the general market.

Also, convert your customers into publicity agents for your business. Develop an incentive for them to tell associates and friends about the value of your products or services. An endorsement from them is more effective than any amount of advertising - and it is much cheaper.

Each of these 7 marketing tips provides a simple, low-cost way for any small business to find customers and generate sales quickly.

7 Reasons Why You Need A Website

2008-06-14T09:44:00.000-07:00

Currently there are around 60 million domain names registered globally. Industry experts are predicting that in the next ten years, more than 500 MILLION web sites will be active annually. Any single area that experiences that level of growth should cause you to sit up and take note.

Imagine owning an automated online business that earns you money 24 hours a day - 7 days a week, without you even lifting a finger. Set it up once, feed it occasionally and watch in amazement as it grows. If you had a chance to stand in front of 10 million people with something to sell, would it be worthed? I think so. How do you stand in front of 10 million people?

If you have a shop in your local center you may get exposure to 100 - 200 people per day. If you are in a a major center this number could be higher, but you will have trouble exeeding 1000 visitors a day, would you agree?

with a web presence you can reach astounding number of people, and it can be anytime, day or night.

So that is reason 1, and it is a big one!

Now I am happy to stop there, the argument is clear for me, but lets continue with some other reasons.

If you don't have a website, then you might not realise all the great things they can do for you. Maybe you think there wouldn'b be any point, because your business is too small - or you don't even have a business! Perhaps you think it'd be a lot of work for little reward. Or maybe you paid big buck's for a site back during the dot-com 'boom' days, only to get nothing but trouble out of it and shut it down a year later. Whatever your situation is, though, you need a website, and i'm here to tell you why.

2. People Will Look for You Online.

Sooner or later, someone's going to type your name into a search engine. What do you want them to find? Nothing? These are people who want to find you, and if you don't have a website then you're letting them down – they expect you to be online. For many people, you might as well not exist if you can't be found with a search engine. Not having a website is like not bothering to get listed in the phone book. Whether it's customers or old school friends you're hoping for, very few people are going to find you if you aren't online.

3. Websites Cost Next to Nothing.

Once, it cost a lot to run a website – but those days are long gone. There are 'pay as you go' services out there now charging as little as $1 per gigabyte of bandwidth. If you're sensible about the size of your pages, that dollar could last you a whole month, or even longer! If you don't want to pay for design, it's never been simpler to do it yourself, or find FRE*E software to do it for you. Really, it's never been cheaper to have a website than it is today.

4. Websites are Great Advertising.

Whatever you're advertising – your services, your products, or just yourself – a website is a great way to do it. Every other kind of advertising going costs a premium, especially if you want to target a specific kind of person, and there's no guarante*e that they're paying attention. Websites are like brochures that are FRE*E to reproduce, interactive, and quickly distributed to people who are already looking for them. No advertising medium even comes close to the ease-of-use and effectiveness of a website.

5. A Website is a Worldwide Presence.

On the web, it doesn't matter whether someone is next door to you or on the other side of the world – they can see your website just the same as anyone else can, at no extra cost to you or to them. Phone and post both cost enormous amounts long-distance, but a website lets you send information anywhere without any extra effort or expense. You can make friends and contacts in places you've never been and will never go – suddenly, working globally is no more effort than working locally.

6. Your Website Can Make You Money.

There's a lot of money on the web, and it's not hard to get some – the longer you're online for, the bigger your share can get. If you have something to sell, you can sell it worldwide, thanks to credit cards. Doing business online eliminates almost every overhead there is: all you need to do is have the goods. If you've written something useful, you can put it out there with a few ads. You won't get rich overnight, but you can set up a steady trickle of income... and there's no limit to the number of trickles you can set up.

7. Your Website Can Save You Time.

Giving out information takes time, whether it's on the phone, or in brochures, or even if it's just emailing your family. Websites are designed to save you time. All your family and friends can read your online diary (known as a weblog), but you only had to write it once. Customers can see your whole product catalogue without ever needing to talk to you or visit you. This is the power of the web: things on it are written only once, but can be downloaded endlessly – a good website runs itself, and keeps being useful to people for much longer than you'd expect.

Good Luck !!!

Laughter Is The Best Medicine

2008-06-14T09:38:00.000-07:00

Author: Stewart Levison

Researchers show that if we can laugh for fifteen minutes each day that it helps our blood flow, which in turn helps our heart. I have heard this saying all off my life, and I am sure you have too, "laughter is the best medicine". Well, I guess it really is. Can you imagine going to the doctor's office and instead of a prescription you get a list of comedy videos or a couple of names of good joke books? Wouldn't that seem strange? Studies and researchers have discovered that laughter affects the body in many, many, good ways and we don't even realize it.

Have you ever thought that your blood pressure can be lowered, laughter reduces stress, and laughter even helps your immune system? Why do more people not use this very pleasant pain free "drug"? I think this will be my drug of choice from now on. We just need to get more people turned on to it. Would you agree? Don't think you can replace eating right and daily exercise with laughing for fifteen minutes a day. You still need to continue this, but next time it is raining or cold out-side and you can't get in you day of physical activity, just go to your local video rental store, or turn on the comedy channel on your TV and have yourself a really good belly laugh. The endothelium, the inner lining of a blood vessel has a great effect when it comes to regulating blood flow. The purpose of the endothelium is to regulate the thickening of the blood and secrete certain chemicals in response to wounds, infection, cuts, or irritations.

The endothelium is the first place doctors look when evaluating a condition of the hardening of the arteries. As a result of this study, could it be possible to tie laughter to the healthy functioning of the endothelium, and therefore to healthier blood vessels? Many members of the medical field are admitting that it is a distinct possibility. Laughter offsets the impact of mental stress which is harmful to the endothelium. A group of men and women, equally divided with an average age of 33 participated in a study to try and prove or disprove this theory. They were all non-smokers with relatively few other medical conditions, and had received average results for blood pressure checks, cholesterol checks, and glucose levels. The subjects were asked to watch two movies: one that produced laughter, and one that produced mental stress. The movies were shown 48 hours apart, and the subjects were monitored for blood flow changes such as blood pressure, blood flow levels, and vessel relaxation. What happened? The subjects' bodies behaved as though they had partaken in physical activity, without the usual pain of exercise. As you can see, researchers have gone to great lengths to check this out.

The results of the studies point to the laughter/health connection. Once again we can see where laughter plays a very important role in our health and happiness. Like I said earlier, laughing does not take the place of exercise but can be used as an exercise. Suppose you had a day when it was thundering, lightning and raining cats and dogs. It would be tempting to curl up on the sofa with a book or watch TV. Well that might not be so bad if you got the right book or the right TV program. You will need to spend a little time and find something that will be funny. It will be best if it can give you a large amount of belly laughs. If it is not raining today and you have the time, go ahead and plan for your rainy day by getting your movie and book ready.

Who knows you may even want to use them when you return from your walk. Another little hint: if you have family or friends include them in your laughter exercise. It certainly won't hurt anybody and could possibly turn into a regular habit. We all know that physical exercise is a must if you are to enjoy good health. We also know that some of us do not particularly like exercise everyday. That's where laughter comes in as a big helper. Whether we have to exercise, by that I mean walk, jog, ride a bike or lift weights, we can make the time pass quicker with laughter included. Don't you feel better when you are down and out and can watch a good comedy show or a good funny movie, I know I always do. Try it you might like it.

Of Love and Hate

2008-04-30T11:56:00.000-07:00

I see no feeling in your eyes
The only thing there
Is the black colored things
That portray your hurt and hate

Your eyes penetrate deep into me
I can feel the storm in your soul
The great conflict
Of Love and Hate

You steal my breath away
With your deepened gaze

I can feel the storm begin to roll
The thunder of our souls
Crash against our hurt hearts

Your gaze stuns every movement of mine
I can't move or walk away from you now
You've stolen my mind
Now I'm stuck in your hateful eyes

I can see my fear reflected
Through the mirror of your glassy eyes

I still see no feeling in your eyes
The only thing still there
Is the black colored things
That portray your hurt and hate

Your eyes penetrate deep into me
I can feel the storm in your soul
The great conflict
Of Love and Hate

The Meaning of Life

2008-04-06T11:56:00.000-07:00

Have you ever feel like all alone in the universe with no one to talk to
no one with which to share the beauty of the stars
to laugh with, to touch, what would be your purpose in life?
It is others life, it is love, which gives your life meaning.
We must discover the joy of each other, the joy of challenge, the joy of growth.

Feel the Harmony, enjoy the feel, share the joy
This what we call "The Meaning of Life"

Give Out Your Love

2008-04-01T09:51:00.000-07:00

Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regret.
So love the people who treat you right
and forget about the ones who don't and believe that everything happens for a reason.
If you get a chance, Take It !
If it changes your life, Let It !
Nobody said that It would be easy.
They just promised it would be worth it

Secrets of Effective Affirmation

2008-03-29T11:09:00.000-07:00

It has made many miracles happen in the history of human evolution.
However, the majority of people who use affirmation find that it doesn’t work.

Why is this the case?
What are the elements that people have missed when they use affirmation techniques?
I constantly ask myself these questions, and seek for the answers.
The result is, no one book gives the complete answer. Some tips given in one book work for a specific situation, but not for others. Other books give other tips that work for other situations, but not for this.

I have tested and filtered out the ineffective ones, and left only what I call the ultimate effective technique secrets. The purpose of affirmation:

Before I give you the effective techniques, I must make you understand the true purpose of affirmation. Simply stated, the purpose of affirmation is to pass a command from the conscious mind to the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind has the ability, in anything it accepts as true, to do whatever it takes to turn it into reality. The purpose of an affirmation is to pass a message to the subconscious mind, and to make it believe the message is true. So this brings us to the first element of an effective affirmation.

1. The affirmation must be believable to the subconscious mindMost of the affirmations people use, fail at this first stage. They tend to give an unrealistic message to the subconscious mind, hoping for a positive response. If you are financially broke, and you say to yourself “I earn $100,000 per year”, is this believable to your mind ? If your body is totally out of shape, and you say to yourself “I am very attractive”, is this believable to your mind ? I doubt it. What if you are currently broke, and you want to make $100,000 per year ? What if you are out of shape, and you want to make yourself attractive ? I find the best and easiest way is to use the word “I choose” in your affirmation. Instead of saying “I earn $100,000 per year.” Say “I choose to earn $100,000 per year” Instead of saying “I am very attractive” Say “I choose to feel that people find me attractive” Do you feel the difference ?

2. The subconscious mind seeks for proofThere is a misconception that the affirmation must be repeated thousands of times before it can be installed in the subconscious mind. This is not necessarily true. You can use the repetition method to embed your affirmation, but there is an easier way. It is, at the time you find the proof, state your affirmation. Many people stay in poverty because they associate pain with money. Whenever they spend their money, they think of their bills, loans etc. This will automatically lead to ultimate pain. It is the feeling you attach to money that makes you rich or poor. How can we turn this to our advantage ? Instead of feeling pain when spending money, what if we associate pleasure with it ? Next time when you go out shopping, at the moment you take out your money or credit card, say this affirmation to yourself “I always have more than enough to spend.” See how you feel. This works because the subconscious mind sees the proof. As long as you have some money left in your pocket, this affirmation is always true, so the subconscious mind will believe it. How about if we combine the first and second methods together and make an affirmation like this: “I choose to feel that I always have more than enough to spend.” Say this at the time you spend your money. See how you feel. You don’t have to repeat it thousands of times, a few times of real life proof will make your subconscious mind believe it.

3. The affirmation must trigger feelingsA fact about the subconscious mind is that it does not speak in words, you can only communicate with it through feelings, and emotions. There are two methods that you can use to trigger your feelings. The first method is to use words that involve feelings. Words like “fun, enjoyable, comfortable, delightful” will work effectively. The second method is to use imagination. Visualize that the situation stated in your affirmation has already come true. See yourself in that situation and feel the feelings.

4. The affirmation must obey the 3 Ps factor.The 3 Ps are Positive, Present Tense, and Personal. Affirmations must be stated positively. Instead of saying “I am not fat”, say “I choose to stay slim”. The reason for this is that before the mind knows the meaning of, “I am not fat”, it must think of what fat means first. So saying that statement will inevitably lead to the feeling of being fat. Affirmations must be in the present tense. Many books mention this. However, I only agree to some extent. If you say “I have a luxury car”, your mind will not believe you. The reason I include this here is that once it is combined with the first technique, it will work perfectly. Now say “I choose to have a luxury car”. Your mind will do its best to bring it into reality. Affirmations must be personal. Your subconscious mind only works for you, not for others. If you say “Ann loves me”, it will not be effective, because you have no control over Ann. Now say “I choose to feel that Ann really loves me”. This time you are in control, because you can control your own feelings.

5. Personal development affirmations should be stated in the comparative“I am confident” may not be as effective as “I am becoming more and more confident”. An even better affirmation might be “I choose to feel more and more confident”. The reason for using the comparative, is because there is no end to how much more confident you can become. Otherwise, your mind may think you are already confident enough, and it will not need to do any more work. These 5 techniques are the most effective ones that I have found from my research on affirmations. If you can use all the 5 techniques, I guarantee your results will be amazing. Even if you only use one or two of the techniques stated here, you will find your affirmations will become far more effective.