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What does it mean be a fashion designer? What are his most important skills and jobs? What is the path i have to follow to be a great fashion designer?

Being a fashion designer means designing clothing and accessories as well as overseeing the planning, marketing and production of those designs. Many high-fashion designers work for individual clients and are self-employed. Individual clients who work independently may be in the market for certain high-fashion designers. The work is accessible to a mass market.

What must I have in order to ready myself for the job?
Having artistic insight and talent is an important part to success in the field of fashion design. You need a good sense of aesthetics and an eye for detail to work successfully in fashion design. It may not be as important to have a formal education as a great designer’s portfolio when finding a job.

Formal training is still expected for designers. A degree from a school or college that offers many different fashion design courses is what you will need. It’s possible to get a bachelor’s degree in either art or science with an art major and an emphasis on costume design. Note: Program only offered in California.

Congratulations! You are the president of your own nation, and it is called “Imagination”. This particular nation is the driving force behind your life and is the underlying factor for your future. You need to realize that you have an enormous responsibility as the President of this Nation, because you need to always focus on the future and strive to have the ultimate nation. You need to internalize the power you have as the President of your own nation. Among many things that you have is the power to choose and/or consider. You are the one who holds the votes on who is allowed to live in your nation!

As I have written about in the past, you must create and begin to maximize your mastermind team. This team will empower you to build an unreal imagination and make others wonder why you are achieving such an awesome level of success. As the President, you will inspire others to create other phenomenal imaginations of their own. The world needs many people who are proud of their own “Imagination”.

Each of us has the ability to imagine such powerful dreams for our future, which can change the destiny of millions of people. Let’s think about a few people who had unreal imaginations — Henry Ford imagined an 8-cylinder car and then achieved it. The Wright Brothers imagined men could fly and then discovered a way to make that possible. John F. Kennedy said that we would have a man on the moon and then achieved it. Ask yourself right now, “Where did they all dream of those achievements first?” The answer to that question is…They did their dreaming in their own nation called Imagination!

You need to take some personal time and evaluate how you are handling your nation. Are you proud of what you are imagining you can be or what you can do? If you answer that question truthfully, you will either be enthused or disillusioned. You truly need to re-examine your nation. I suggest that you brainstorm, which means to take some time for yourself and just write down all the dreams that you have but never even wrote down. I also recommend that you write down 100 of them and then put them away for 2 days so that they can sink in a little. When you go back and read them, your inner spirit will direct you to the one that you need to focus on and begin to design with your own “Imagination”. Each of us is empowered to create wealth for ourselves in every aspect of life — spiritually, physically, and financially!

I challenge you right now to utilize your God-given imagination and imagine whatever you want to be then you will empowered to run your nation in the most productive methods possible. This alone will entirely change your life for the better, because now you have a responsibility as a President of a nation - your “Imagination”.

Find Your WHY and FLY!

John Di Lemme

John Di Lemme, a Former Clinically Diagnosed Stutterer, now the
World’s Leading Motivational Expert *shocks millions globally*
by exposing the truth they’ve been searching for in order to
achieve monumental life success through his Award Winning Live
Seminars, Power-Packed Training Programs, Live Tele-Classes,
Motivational Club and Weekly E-zine. Take action now and join
tho.usands of others that have used John’s proven methods to
live their life to the Maximum! Visit www.FindYourWhy.com
and discover how you can finally create monumental success
in your life today and achieve all your goals, dreams and desires.

1. Focus your fax marketing on one objective

Fax is a flexible medium, and is being used by Adestra clients to sell off-the-page, to conduct research, for broadcasting newsletters, for generating prospects and for database cleaning. Avoid diluting your message by keeping it simple and being clear about what you are trying to achieve.

2. Collect clean fax contact data

When collecting fax numbers, split out the international and regional code from the main number to encourage accuracy of collection. The strongest offer will not get a response if it never reaches your target due to bad data!

3. Keep compliant within the fax preference service

Within the UK, all fax recipient databases must be run against the fax preference service to suppress those who have opted out. Many fax broadcast agencies provide this as part of the service, but failure to do this can result in a significant fines. See www.fpsonline.org.uk for more information.

4. Broadcast fax communications effectively

Use specialist fax providers to broadcasting simultaneously to both the UK and internationally in bulk, quickly and easily.

5. From the fax machine to the contact

Address your communication to your contact using mail merge fields or if they are not known, use ‘title-slugs’ (e.g. FAO Marketing Director) to get your message to the most appropriate person within an organisation.

6. Design your fax messages for delivery

Your message will be delivered in black and white and your images will be reproduced with varying quality. You should design your message like an effective DM cover letter- make USPs stand out and ensure the key messages are communicated at a glance. Keep images large and simple enough to be legible on delivery.

7. Spend wisely on fax promotions

Fax marketing is priced per sheet with different costs based upon where the recipient lives. Faxing a contact within the UK is much cheaper than using direct mail or telemarketing. These budget savings can now be invested in increasing the number of faxes you send or by repeating the campaign based upon ROI.

8. Resource call to actions

Fax marketing is delivered minutes after being sent meaning your responses begin almost immediately. Ensuring the back office is resourced and ready to deal with these replies are essential in meeting customer expectations

9. Make your fax marketing pay

Measure the performance of the campaign to improve and refine. Personalise each fax with a unique number, use a unique web address (e.g. www.adestra.com/mediaweek) or ensure that reply vehicles are easily identifiable to track performance

10. Mix it in

Many Adestra clients integrate fax within their media plans. When integrated amongst a variety of media, fax works most effectively and in one recent client test led to an up lift in sales of over 5%.

Adestra’s fax marketing tools

Many marketing professionals are using Adestra’s fax broadcast capabilities to reach conference attendees, report buyers, theatre attendees and more. Working with our in house fax marketing specialist, your campaign receives the benefit of an expert eye optimising your creative. For more information, please contact us on http://www.adestra.co.uk/fax or browse our fax marketing best practice centre at http://www.adestra.co.uk/best_practice_fax_marketing

Paul Crabtree is presently Marketing Director of Adestra (http://www.adestra.com), a UK based digital marketing agency that specialise in inbound and outbound email, fax and SMS broadcast solutions. Adestra’s client portfolio includes many UK based publishers including Janes Information Group, Informa, Lexis Nexis, OUP, Blackwells and others.

If you’ve ever tried to find a skin care product to deal with the skin care concerns of aging skin, you’re probably as confused as the average person. There are so many products and ingredients that tout ‘increase in this’, ‘decrease in that’ , ‘revitalized this and revitalized that’ and on and on and on. Many empty promises or over-hyped formulations.

In order to understand what anti-aging skin care products are intended to do, you have to first understand about what the aging process is for skin. Aging skin has the condition where the structural proteins that bind and support the skin, collagen and elastin, lose their resiliency and cohesion, causing the skin to wrinkle and/or sag. The body’s ability to produce new collagen and elastin also diminishes with age while the cells in the various layers of our skin decline and thin, loosing the ability to adequately maintain moisture. Without proper hydration, the healing mechanisms of the skin cease to function, adversely affecting the skin’s ability to receive nutrients and repair itself. The result is rough, lose, wrinkled skin.

Of course, we all want to have the best skin possible at any age and are searching for solutions to maintain our skin’s youthfulness. In our quest and with the constant marketing and advancements in skin care, it can sometimes be difficult to find an affordable and effective solution for great skin care.
However, what you need to know is that it doesn’t have to be that complex (as many of the product name suggest!). What you should consider is that what any skin care program should be is simple. That’s it, just simple. The results that we all want are simple: soft, smooth, clear, radiant, younger-looking skin.

Too much of the time now days, skin care marketers are trying to convenience consumers that they need formulations that no average consumer can understand, or day and night products, or formulations that highly successful, well-known personalities would use. If you think about it, how many products do you currently have in your storage that were purchased because of these marketing strategies?
With these types of advertising, there are so many re-touches and questionable representation of the product effectiveness because the personality also receives so many other types of services and procedures that impact the condition of skin that you really cannot know the true results that the highly marketed products will bring.
The positive side of the situation is that there are constant and ever evolving advances in skin care and we all have the option for our skin condition improving with age.

If you are looking for a skin care program, there are some guidelines you may want to consider when making your skin care choices:
Protect your skin while you are in the sun and extreme weather. Use properprotection.

Drink lots of water. It’s so important for proper skin hydration and keeping your body clean from toxins and other chemicals that could cause adverse reactions in your skin.

You should know what you are using on your skin. If you can’t pronounce the majority of the ingredients or there are more than 5 or 6 ingredients, then it may be too complex for what your skin actually needs. Skin care that uses these types of formulations are full of fillers, coloring, preservatives, and chemicals that are not beneficial for your skin and come with a high price where the consumer is paying for the filler more so than the active ingredients. These types of ingredients are only needed to fill up the bottle and make it appealing to smell or touch. Sometimes products will contain multiple active ingredients but in order to formulate these ingredients, it requires that other ingredients be added. You end up paying for something your skin cannot use. The cheaper ingredients are filling up the bottle. Try a similar approach to how you would choose your food (skin is ‘live cells’ and needs nourishment). Watch the labels and choose products with skin healthy formulations where the active ingredients are 80% of the ingredients.

You should use a good and effective cleanser. This is the most important step in your skin care process. Many cleansing products do not leave your skin feeling smooth and deeply cleansed. Find a product that goes deep into the pores, provides light exfoliation and conditioning, and does not leave any residue. Applying moisturizers and treatments on top of skin that is not completely clean will just make the problem worse by clogging pores and showing a rough, uneven skin texture.

You should be able to adjust your program to meet your skin’s daily needs. If you can’t adjust the use of the products to match what your skin needs on a particular day, are you really getting what you need? Your program should be able to hydrate, heal, and renew your skin. You should see this gradual improvement everyday and not have to wait 30 to 60 days for results. It’s like watering a plant. A plant that needs water as a critical nutrient will respond immediately to the water being absorbed through its roots and perk up within a few hours. Watch your skin for a week or so and you’ll know how effective the program can ultimately be for your skin care needs.

You should be able to quickly go through your regime. It should not takemore than 5 minutes. A skin care program should include the steps to cleanse, exfoliate, treat and/or moisturize. You should be able to pick and choose what you need based on you skin’s current condition for that day.

You should not be able to feel the product on your skin. In order for skin care to really be effective, it must penetrate the skin cells. Product sitting on top of your skin is product that is not penetrating the skin layers. Products with fillers and other unnecessary, complex formulations will may not get deep or directly enough to provide the treatment and results you are looking for. You should not know that you are wearing your skin care.

You should feel comfortable with makeup optional skin. If your skin care is really working, your skin will improve and you will not want to put makeup on it if you don’t have to. Most skin problems are correctable to a large degree. You should be able to go out feeling confident that your skin is at its best (with minimal makeup) no matter what your age is. Also, by using makeup less, you are giving your skin more time to repair and restore itself without the interruption of other product chemicals on your skin.

Karen Reiter is a certified, advanced skin care specialist who works with a number of skin care companies and has her own client based. She is recognized for her consistent service and skin care advice to improving skin conditions. Karen Reiter provides consultation for skin care rejuvenation. If you are looking for an effective natural skin care system that delivers what it promises, consider the Natural Treatments for Skin care Rejuvenation at Comforts of Home Spa on http://www.comfortsofhomespa.com. These products deliver fast, effective results for dramatically improved skin. It features some of the most intensive and pure formulations for hyaluronic acid, argireline, oxygen serum, glycolic acid, Vitamin C, squalene oil, and Vitamin E.

Karen Reiter is a certified, advanced skin care specialist who works with a number of skin care companies and has her own client based. She is recognized for her consistent service and skin care advice to improving skin conditions. Karen Reiter provides consultation for skin care rejuvenation. If you are looking for an effective natural skin care system that delivers what it promises, consider the Natural Treatments for Skin care Rejuvenation at Comforts of Home Spa on www.comfortsofhomespa.com. These products deliver fast, effective results for dramatically improved skin. It features some of the most intensive and pure formulations for hyaluronic acid, argireline, oxygen serum, glycolic acid, Vitamin C, squalene oil, and Vitamin E.

Massage oil is a great addition to any massage experience. It enhances not only the relaxing nature of the massage therapy session, but also adds to the healing benefits of the massage.

The use of massage oil is not a new idea. Homer, Plato, Socrates - all of these men referenced the use of massage oil as an aid for pain relief in their writings. Today, pain relief is one reason for using massage oil. Others include the facilitation of more gliding massage, skin nourishment, and the promotion of good health in general.

How do you choose a massage oil for massage therapy? First, choose an oil that is cold-pressed or expeller-pressed. Both of these have had the least amount of processing and will last longest. Prevent them from spoiling by keeping them in a cool place and adding 300 IUs of vitamin E per pint of oil monthly. In addition, essential oils, or oils that are distilled from various plants, roots, or seeds) can be added. Seek the aid of a professional to advise on a good combination.

Some oils to choose from for massage therapy include:

* Sweet almond oil - Anti-inflammatory, light, and good for most skin types, especially dry skin.

* Apricot kernel oil - Reduces stress, provides balance, and good for all skin types, especially prematurely aging skin.

* Avocado oil - This is a heavy oil best diluted at a rate of 10% in a lighter oil.

* Borage oil - Good for eczema and psoriasis, it penetrates, regenerates, and stimulates.

* Castor oil - A thick sticky oil good for drawing out toxins and for use on scar tissue. Best used in a poultice.

* Coconut oil - A thick, heavy oil that should be warmed before use. Good for cracked skin.

* Emu oil - Anti-inflammatory and used for arthritis, sore muscles, bruising, and eczema. May block pores.

* Grapeseed oil - Non-allergenic and good for all types of skin.
* Jojoba oil - A penetrating, anti-bacterial oil for eczema and acne.

* Kukui nut oil - Anti-bacterial, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory that is light and has a slight warming effect.

* Olive oil - Has a warming effect and relieves stiffness.

Different skin types will fare better with different types of oil. As such, it will be a good idea to experiment with different kinds for massage therapy. If one doesn’t work, try another. Also, some may personally prefer the smell or the effects of one massage oil to another. The selection of massage oils is pretty wide; so there is bound to be a preferred one for just about anybody.

Caroline Colby publishes information, tips and resources on Massage Therapy. Her site includes information on shiatsu massage, foot massage, massage techniques, massage oil, massage chairs and other massage equipment. For more details and latest news updates, please visit http://www.Massage-Therapy-Central.com

Without the right training, even the most talented and aesthetically minded person doesn’t have everything it takes to be successful. You need to develop your talents completely to get the most out of on them. All contacts that are made through the college are important and should not be undermined. Which school you attend will help determine how successful you are in the field of fashion. We will now examine some major areas for your consideration when choosing a fashion design school.

Cost: Do not compromise on quality when you attempt to remain within your budget.

Area of specialization: It will make you a better designer if you find a school with a focus on your field of specialization.

Curriculum: Study the curricula offered by different schools, because you will not regret the time spent in weighing all the options open to you.

Instructor/Student Ration: It is a good idea to choose a school that has smaller class sizes, because in that case, each student will receive proportionately more individual attention.

Choose the fashion design school that suits you best after researching multiple schools. Take our advise and investigate the schools available to you and you will soon find out what school is a good match for you.

Copyright 2005 Ronald Gibson

You would like to create your own information product, but you are stuck. What the heck should you write about? This could be the hardest step involved in this entire process. The reason I say that is because when you begin anything for the first time it ALWAYS seems that much more difficult due to it being the very first time.

Add to that the fact that for some people, writing is an almost impossible task. But let me just tell you that writing up an article, special report, or a 340 page ebook isn’t any different than learning to roller blade. Except that you’ll get a lot less bumps and bruises! At least physically anyway

But it doesn’t have to be this way. The best advice for what to write is write about WHAT YOU KNOW. That makes everything SO much easier. And, don’t think you don’t know anything, because everyone knows something.

Before you begin writing, be sure you have the proper tool to write with.

Of course you can start out with the simple Notepad or WordPad tool that came with your computer when you purchased it. However, to cut through some additional formatting steps, i.e. - copying and pasting, etc., it’s best to start out with a tool with a bit more function like Microsoft Word, or the better, and FREE alternative, Open Office.

You can download a copy from http://www.openoffice.org . You’ll want to pick up the Open Office Suite so you’re sure to get EVERYTHING. This is SO helpful to those of you who don’t have, or can’t afford expensive programs like Microsoft Office or PDF Maker programs.

Now that you have just the right writing tool, let’s start writing! Make a list of the things that you do, or like to do. Whether it’s your job, a hobby you enjoy, or caring for children or pets. Even the smallest thing that you might not think is important, like an easier way to clean up after family get together. A good thing to remember is that things we often take for granted or overlook because we do them on a constant or consistent basis someone else might have an interest in learning and have NEVER done before. Then, look over the list you just created and choose a subject from it. But, keep a hold of this list somewhere as you may want to return to it to invent a NEW product, or even several new products.

Here are a few example topics that might give you a better idea of what to strive for:

** Organic Gardening
** Japanese Bonsai Tree Growing and Care
** Low-Fat Dessert Recipes
** Working with Leather
** Buying a Car with No Credit or Bad Credit
** Fly Fishing for Beginners
** Pit Bulls as Pets: A Positive Experience
** Home-Made Cat Treat Recipes
** Having an Iguana as a Family Pet
** Being a Better Parent
** Making the Most Out Of Every Day
** Hot Air Ballooning
** Bird Watching For the Family
** Model Airplane Construction
** Coin and Currency Collecting
** Proper Car Tune Up Instructions
** Knitting, Crocheting, Sewing

You get the idea here. The more you narrow down your topic, the more specific the niche category will be and the less competition you’ll have when moving further along in the process.

Pretty much any topic or subject can be turned into a profitable information product if you put the effort into it.

You don’t have to have ANY knowledge about one particular subject, as you could always do research on the topic, by having prior experience or working knowledge of the material you plan to cover will make the project go that much easier and quicker.

Once you have your first topic picked out that you will be writing about, it’s time to begin really writing it up. Now don’t be afraid. This is easier than you might think. The way to write up an information product is to write as if you are explaining the subject to someone who has no previous knowledge of it or has never heard of what you are talking about.

Go from beginning to end. Leave out nothing, no matter how small the detail. Remember, most of the people that purchase your information product will be new to the whole process of your subject matter.

You have just jumped the first hurdle in the process of creating your own information product.

Ronald Gibson is a Web Designer and Internet Marketer. He is the Webmaster of AffiliateUtopia.com, which offers information about some of the best money making opportunities on the Web. For more information, visit:
http://www.affiliateutopia.com/ and http://www.affiliateutopia.com/blog/

This past week as Mr. Man and I lounged around our sprawling estate, I realized that my life is just way too laid back. What with our perfect children, our incredible level of financial independence and perfect hard bodies, I felt inspired to do something to shake things up a bit.

“Hey, Mr. Man,” I said to my sweet Baboo, “What do you say we get up real early in the morning and drive two hours to a hospital as big as Disney World so I can get their Monday Thyroid Biopsy Special? I think that would be a hoot.”

“Why sure, Honey,” said Man. “I think that’d be just a swell idea. Let’s do that.”

And so we did. We woke up at dawn, picked out the perfect matching his and her outfits and had our driver take us to the big city while we drank champagne in the back of the limo.

“Ms. Crazy On Your Face, how lovely to see you,” said my physician. “Before we begin, let me tell you a little about the procedure. I will be taking samples of fluid from the lumps in your swan-like neck, which will require the use of several needles of varying lengths. You’re in charge, so if you feel any discomfort, just tell me and I’ll stop.”

“Say, Doc. What about the use of some sort of numbing agent for this possible discomfort of which you speak?” I asked.

“Oh, I don’t like to use those kinds of medicines before this type of procedure. I find it makes my job more difficult and I’m way too important to have to work hard,” said Dr. Evil. “Besides, you’ll be fine”.

Everyone in the room agreed that what is most important in a situation like this one is keeping it simple for the doctor.

Before I knew it, Dr. Demento placed a pillow under my shoulders and tilted my head backwards as far as it could go. It was as close as I had come to doing a back bend since I was fifteen and trying to impress the testosterone carriers of East Rutherford High.

“Just relax, Dear. But no matter what, do not move one tiny, tiny bit or else something terrible and irreversible could happen to you. And of course, I have no intentions of telling you what that is, so it’ll be a complete surprise.” he said. “Ok. Here comes the first little stick.”

Hmmm.

“Excuse me, Doctor,” I said calmly. I think you have confused me with another patient. I’m not here to have the ‘Bic ink pen jammed in your throat’ biopsy.”

“Are you feeling some discomfort?” he asked.

“Why, yes. Now that you mention it, I am.”

“Mr. Man, would you come sit beside your overdramatic woman and allow her to hold your hand for support before we begin again?” I took Mr. Man’s hand in mine, and drew in a deep breath just like Dr. Torture advised in order to lessen my discomfort. As everyone knows, breathing in and out is every bit as good as a morphine drip. Sometimes, if I don’t carefully monitor my breathing at home, I get good and stoned.

“Ok. A little stick again.”

“Wow. That’s odd,” I calmly said to Doc Devil. “When you said ‘little stick’ I didn’t realize you were talking about the one you had picked up from your backyard at home. I’m going to need you to remove the oak branch you have thrust into my neck as it is entirely unpleasant.”

“Are you feeling discomfort?” the sorry son of a cherry picker asked.

“In fact, I am,” I answered. “And judging by the tears streaming down Mr. Man’s face, I’m guessing he is feeling a certain level of discomfort as a result of the large number of bones I have shattered in his hand.”

“Nurse Torture, would you mind giving me the biggest needle you can possibly find for my third stick?” Dr. Satan instructed. “If you can’t find one at least a foot long, call my wife and ask her to bring something from the private collection I keep in my chamber…uh, I mean my basement.”

And so with what resembled a sharp railroad spike hovering over my face, he reminded me again to relax. Once more I heard those magic words, “Little stick.”

What happened next you will likely hear more about when I am interviewed by Diane Sawyer from my prison cell. Let’s just say I may have caused him a slight amount of discomfort when I attached his Sphynomanometer to his family jewels and ever so gently put his Otoscope in some place other than his ear.

Hey, it’s not like I didn’t warn him. “Take a deep breath, Big Boy,” I said. “You’re about to feel a little stick.”

Sher Bailey is a freelance writer living somewhere in the midwest, very likely in a trailer park or a van down by the river. Quite the recluse, she makes only the occasional appearance in the Moon Pie section of Wal-Mart or at road side stands that sell pictures of Elvis on crushed velvet.
Read more at http://www.Wiping-The-Crazy-Off-My-Face.com.

You’re not alone! Just about every student in your school is stressed-out in one way or another. But no one has to stay that way. Adopt these “Habits of Stress-Free Living” and become happier and healthier right now!

Habit # 0
“Law of 21″

If you keep up with a new mindset and take action on it for 21 days in a row it will begin to become a habit. That’s right-if you exercise, read, get up a little early, take vitamins, drink water, etc. for 21 straight days, your body and mind will become so accustomed to that behavior it will begin to accept it as a natural habit. That is when relaxing can become as easy as breathing.

Habit # 1
“Re-learn to Breath”

Somewhere along the path in the stress jungle of higher education, some students forget how to breathe properly. Most students don’t even realize that they generally take short, quick, shallow breaths until they are so low on air they gasp in an overflow of oxygen. Taking shallow breaths prevents your brain from getting all of the oxygen it requires, thus forcing it to work on minimal fuel until the inevitable gush of gasped air comes rushing through.
To get your body and mind out of the stress jungle and back into balance, you must practice these four steps of quiet and focused deep breathing.

1) In a calm place close your eyes, push all the air in your lugs and out through your mouth. Then focus on fully inhaling through your nose, expanding your belly first and then filling your lungs completely, with your shoulders pushed back, and your chest pressed out.

2) As you come to the end of your inhale with your eyes still closed, pause for about three seconds and feel the fullness of the oxygen in your body.

3) Don’t “huff-out” the exhale! Gently exhale the air in your lungs through your mouth, which should be in a relaxed jaw “hoooooo” position in a controlled manor, and keep exhaling until you feel your stomach press all the way in and then gently open your eyes.

4) Repeat this process 3-4 times. If you feel light headed, stop. This deep-breathing technique will help you to regain your mind/body balance in most any stressful time or situation.

Habit # 2
“Life isn’t fair…so stop being surprised when it’s not”

It doesn’t matter how privileged, lucky or fortunate someone else may seem. Everyone pays their “worldly” dues in their own way. It may be hard at times to be able to see past the glairing physical, intellectual or economical advantages that some students possess. However, to keep your stress level down keep in mind that every seemingly “charmed” person whom you encounter will eventually have to pay up a lump some of “life dues.” Nobody gets away clean! Life isn’t fair. Get over it.

Habit # 3
“Get off the radar”

Every so often, intentionally get off your “Life Radar” by leaving your cell phone, laptop computer, planner/PDA, book bag, watch, etc. in your room while you go to a park, see a movie alone, walk through a museum, visit a bookstore, or catch a sporting event by yourself. Also don’t tell anyone where you’re going or how long you’ll be gone. Just go and be by yourself with no distractions, no to-do lists and no time-limits. Leaving the radar for a while will rejuvenate you and allow you to re-connect with the big picture even if you don’t realize that you have lost your connection.

Habit # 4
“Choose your battles wisely”

Don’t fight the world. You’ll never win. You’ll never please or beat everyone. Take frustrating events as they come and then decide which ones are worth your precious time and energy. Realize that your time and energy are the most valuable assets that you own. Do you really want to give them away to just any jerk you encounter or any annoying occurrence that pops up? Don’t interpret letting a “battle” go without a fight as weakness. It is not weakness but rather strength. How truly strong and smart is the one who spends his time yelling and pushing against every force of life, just to eventually turn around and notice how incredibly far behind he’s fallen? Fallen to the person who simply walked past the battle to begin with. Let it go.

Habit # 5
“Stop calling 911 on your life”

Your life isn’t an emergency. No matter how many responsibilities you have, or how many tasks you have left to do, if you were to die in your sleep tonight, life would go on without you for everyone else. You and your endeavors are not critical to anyone but you. So ease up on yourself. Remember the age-old advice that in 100 years there will be an entirely new set of people on this plant. So why care yourself to death about what you’re doing now? In a mere 100 years even the greatest achievements of today will just be second-hand information to a whole new crop of people.

Habit # 6
“Choose kindness over self-righteousness”

You can spend your entire life insisting your opinion is the right one, but nobody will like you. The more you push your need to be right, is equal to the level of compassion other people won’t have for you. Your opinion on a given issue is simply one of many differing opinions. Your opinion on a given issue is not right, and it is not wrong…it’s simply yours. Just like everyone else’s opinion is neither right nor wrong. If you do not accept other people’s opinions along with yours, you will be unhappy, stressed-out and lonely!

Habit # 7
“You don’t have to clean up someone else’s mess”

Learning to say “no” to other people’s problems is vital to reducing your stress. You don’t have to catch someone else’s ball of problems when they throw it at you. You have a life of your own with tasks and hardships to deal with. It is okay to help a friend with a problem; just be aware of when you’re making their problem, your problem. It is possible to aid someone without taking on the problem yourself. What good are two people with one problem? Wouldn’t it be better to have one person with a problem, and then someone else with a clear head who can lend some logical support?

Habit # 8
“More is not better”

No matter how hard you work to acquire possessions, status and experiences, you will always have more than some, but not as much as others. It’s a race you will never win. If you truly want to be happy and stress-free, the secret is to have access to life’s extras, not own them. You’ll notice that once you begin to collect or acquire “extra things,” you are now responsible for them; and with responsibly comes stress. So, the less “extras” you own, is equal to the fewer things you are responsible for, which is directly related to the level of stress in your life. TRANSLATION: The less “extras” you own, the more time, energy and resources you’ll have to enjoy more.

Habit # 9
“It’s all right to ask for assistance”

Don’t beg for help! Instead, ask for assistance. You’ll notice that people are more receptive and willing to assist others who explain their situation and ask for assistance, verses those who scream, “I need,” “Give me,” or “Help me now!” Build a mental team of helpers who you can turn to for assistance in times of heavy stress. This team can be comprised of family members, friends who you have frequent contact with, friendly professors, and even an old high school coach, counselor or teacher whom you have a continuing relationship with.

Habit # 10
“Give yourself 10 minutes”

Take ten minutes for yourself every day to keep your stress level down. During this time, do not focus or direct your thoughts to any one specific thing. Simply turn everything in the room off, lie down on the floor, close your eyes, remove your shoes and then stretch yourself out and make your body as long as possible. Concentrate only on quieting your mind. Imagine you are lying on a beautiful, warm beach. Now picture that the thoughts in your head are in the form of butterflies, and as they come to you, you just let them fly right by. Once you do this they will come at you faster and faster, but as you continue to let them fly by, the butterflies will begin slowing down rapidly. It’s also okay if you fall asleep. Just keep letting those butterflies fly right past you every time you “give yourself 10 minutes.”

Habit # 11
“Give gratitude and it will come back”

Have faith that when you give gratitude, compliments and express generously that it will come back to you in one way or another. Simply say thanks when nobody else does, give praise when no one seems to notice, or spend a little extra of your time or money with someone or something that really needs some special attention. Realize that spreading gratitude isn’t a give-and-take experience. All you do is give, and understand that your life is better and less stressful for it in many ways that you’ll probably never notice.

Habit # 12
“Express yourself”

Once you get bogged down in obligations and stop finding time and ways to express yourself, that is when stress creeps in. No matter how busy you are, you must always leave time to be creative. Write poems, songs, books or articles; play sports or instruments; paint, sculpt, dance, sing. Whatever you do to express yourself and display your talents, never stop doing it. If you stop doing what you love to do you’ll be inviting double stress into your life. You’ll now have the stress of doing all your tasks, along with the stress of not being able to express yourself. Kill the double stress and make time to express yourself. You’ll be happier and more likely to complete your other tasks when you make time to do what you love to do.

Habit # 13
“Get organized”

Disorganization is one of the leading causes of stress for college students. Organize your papers, assignments and schedule into one notebook, binder or planner. Have everything you need to complete all of your tasks in one neatly arranged place. Keep only what you absolutely need. Clutter equals stress, and it kills college careers! Throw it out. If it’s very important, someone else will have it for you to make a copy of. Take neat notes and keep all of the information for a particular class separate from all of your other school materials. Also, do most of your homework, papers, and studying in the same place. Find a quite, clean, distraction-free area and make it your organized concentration place.

Habit # 14
“This too shall pass”

No matter how stressed-out you are at any given time, repeat to yourself, “This too shall pass.” Just like any bad rain storm, blizzard, or tornado, your bad relationship break-ups, very hard exams or lengthy public speaking presentations will have a beginning, middle and end. No matter how bad or stressful a situation you’re in, it will pass and your life will be back to normal and even better very soon-because now you’ll have the knowledge and experience of enduring that stressful situation to aid you when the next unpleasant situation comes around.

Please visit: CollegeLifeSecrets.com for all the details. This is only one of 65 amazing chapters taken from the SMASH HIT BOOK * College Success Code EXPOSED! * 100% Life Enhancing Secrets Professors Don’t Know and Parents Can’t Tell! written by renowned author and speaker JOE DE PALMA. Email him at joe@collegelifesecrets.com

Marketers from every niche have common ground when it comes to bills. Yeah, every month there’s a new stack of bills demanding to be paid. Will there be enough profit to slide right through bill paying time without a flinch? Or do you find yourself fretting about whether you’ll even break even? You don’t have to be victimized by envelopes and 8×10 sheets of paper. Implement these 3 techniques to boost your sales.

1. Find More Customers
The first thing that comes to mind when we think of making more money is getting more customers through our doors. In fact, the majority of advertising focuses on doing just that. There are several things you can do to entice more customers to buy from you.

Implement Follow-Ups
Marketing gurus have discovered that follow ups can increase your customer conversion rates by as much as 50%. Now, that’s a whopping improvement! Don’t let potential customers fade away. Keep the doors for future communication open, and watch the drastic growth in your profits.

Encourage Referrals
Every satisfied customer will tell 3 friends or family members about your business - without encouragement. Imagine what would happen if you start rewarding their efforts.

Get Free Publicity
Nearly everyone keeps a sharp eye on the local news. Hey, it’s funner to know what’s going on when you personally recognize the names and faces in print! Find ways to make your business newsworthy and catch the attention of potential customers without even paying advertising fees.

2. Sell More Per Customer
Think about it… how can you get every customer that walks through your doors to spend more money before walking back out the doors? Here are 3 sure-fire, profit increasing tips:

Increase your prices.
Hey, that might not be as bad as you think. Along with the price increase, focus on increasing the perceived value of your product. Yeah, we all expect to pay a little more for high quality stuff. Not everyone is bent on finding the absolute cheapest price in town… they may be more interested in lasting quality.

Add some higher end products or services to your business.
It’s never wise to put all of your eggs in one basket. That’s why wise marketers diversify their products and services. Think of it this way… higher priced products may not make as many sales, but each sale will bring in a much greater profit. You don’t need to make as many sales to come out on the best end of the deal.

Upsell
Offer every customer an additional product that accents his current purchase at the register. Hey, maybe they forgot they’d need batteries to go with the toy they’re getting for their niece’s birthday gift! You can be a hero… a richer hero.

3. Sell More Often
The fact that it’s easier to sell to the people who know and trust you is obvious. Sometimes we get so focused on new customers that we miss the gold mine in our own back yard. Take advantage of the hard work you’ve invested in winning the loyal customers you already have with these ideas:

Create a Special Deal
Show your customers you appreciate them and understand their needs with a special offer catered just for them. You’ll be thanking them, and selling more in the process.

Add New Products
Increase the number of products you already have available - especially products that your customers have asked for. They’ll know that you’re looking out for them, and you’ll take their thanks to the bank.

Communicate
Resell yourself on a regular basis. Don’t forget to let them know about upcoming specials that they’ll appreciate. Most of all… keep selling them on the benefits of the products or services you offer.

Who is Allyn Cutts, and why should you care?
Allyn has spent over 24 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales to current customers. Allyn is a marketing and sales fanatic, providing measurable marketing solutions that drive huge results for small-to mid-size business clients. Allyn works personally with clients to design and deliver off-line and on-line direct marketing strategies that focus on metrics and measurable results. You can learn more about Allyn Cutts at www.AllynCutts.com and you can call 610.437.4106 between 10 AM and 4 PM Eastern Time Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Submitted with Article Distributor.