Students Of Success

Match play 21 is simply another variation to blackjack and is very easy to pick up on. Even if you have never played blackjack before you will find match play 21 easy to learn and very fun. Like I said earlier, the rules of match play 21 are very similar to blackjack. Before the dealing the player makes a wager and is then dealt two cards face up by the dealer. If the players hand is closer to 21 than the dealer’s hand without going over then the player wins. I told you it was simple.

Here are a few other things to keep in mind while playing match play 21. You play match play 21 with 8 decks; all of the tens have been removed. Face cards are all worth 10 points and aces are worth either 11 points or 1 point, whichever helps your hand the most. Players may surrender half of their wager after doubling down. A player may also double down on any number of cards.

Match play 21 offers a better payoff than regular blackjack. If you have a five-card 21 you payoff will be 3:2, six-card 21 will be 2:1, seven or more-card will be 3:1. All spades in a 6-7-8 or a 7-7-7 gives a payoff of 3:1 while mixed suits pay 3:2 and if they are of the same suit they pay 2:1.

Match play 21 is quick to pick up on and can give you a higher pay off than regular blackjack. I you are tired of regular blackjack then you should give match play 21 a shot.

Bhawan S.
http://www.playercitycasino.com

The recent upheavals in the world financial markets were quelled by the immediate intervention of both international financial institutions such as the IMF and of domestic ones in the developed countries, such as the Federal Reserve in the USA. The danger seems to have passed, though recent tremors in South Korea, Brazil and Taiwan do not augur well. We may face yet another crisis of the same or a larger magnitude momentarily.

What are the lessons that we can derive from the last crisis to avoid the next?

The first lesson, it would seem, is that short term and long term capital flows are two disparate phenomena with very little in common. The former is speculative and technical in nature and has very little to do with fundamental realities. The latter is investment oriented and committed to the increasing of the welfare and wealth of its new domicile. It is, therefore, wrong to talk about “global capital flows”. There are investments (including even long term portfolio investments and venture capital) – and there is speculative, “hot” money. While “hot money” is very useful as a lubricant on the wheels of liquid capital markets in rich countries – it can be destructive in less liquid, immature economies or in economies in transition.

The two phenomena should be accorded a different treatment. While long term capital flows should be completely liberalized, encouraged and welcomed – the short term, “hot money” type should be controlled and even discouraged. The introduction of fiscally-oriented capital controls (as Chile has implemented) is one possibility. The less attractive Malaysian model springs to mind. It is less attractive because it penalizes both the short term and the long term financial players. But it is clear that an important and integral part of the new International Financial Architecture MUST be the control of speculative money in pursuit of ever higher yields. There is nothing inherently wrong with high yields – but the capital markets provide yields connected to economic depression and to price collapses through the mechanism of short selling and through the usage of certain derivatives. This aspect of things must be neutered or at least countered.

The second lesson is the important role that central banks and other financial authorities play in the precipitation of financial crises – or in their prolongation. Financial bubbles and asset price inflation are the result of euphoric and irrational exuberance – said the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States, the legendary Mr. Greenspun and who can dispute this? But the question that was delicately side-stepped was: WHO is responsible for financial bubbles? Expansive monetary policies, well timed signals in the interest rates markets, liquidity injections, currency interventions, international salvage operations – are all co-ordinated by central banks and by other central or international institutions. Official INACTION is as conducive to the inflation of financial bubbles as is official ACTION. By refusing to restructure the banking system, to introduce appropriate bankruptcy procedures, corporate transparency and good corporate governance, by engaging in protectionism and isolationism, by avoiding the implementation of anti competition legislation – many countries have fostered the vacuum within which financial crises breed.

The third lesson is that international financial institutions can be of some help – when not driven by political or geopolitical considerations and when not married to a dogma. Unfortunately, these are the rare cases. Most IFIs – notably the IMF and, to a lesser extent, the World Bank – are both politicized and doctrinaire. It is only lately and following the recent mega-crisis in Asia, that IFIs began to “reinvent” themselves, their doctrines and their recipes. This added conceptual and theoretical flexibility led to better results. It is always better to tailor a solution to the needs of the client. Perhaps this should be the biggest evolutionary step:

That IFIs will cease to regard the countries and governments within their remit as inefficient and corrupt beggars, in constant need of financial infusions. Rather they should regard these countries as CLIENTS, customers in need of service. After all, this, exactly, is the essence of the free market – and it is from IFIs that such countries should learn the ways of the free market.

In broad outline, there are two types of emerging solutions. One type is market oriented – and the other, interventionist. The first type calls for free markets, specially designed financial instruments (see the example of the Brady bonds) and a global “laissez faire” environment to solve the issue of financial crises. The second approach regards the free markets as the SOURCE of the problem, rather than its solution. It calls for domestic and where necessary international intervention and assistance in resolving financial crises.

Both approaches have their merits and both should be applied in varying combinations on a case by case basis.

Indeed, this is the greatest lesson of all:

There are NO magic bullets, final solutions, right ways and only recipes. This is a a trial and error process and in war one should not limit one’s arsenal. Let us employ all the weapons at our disposal to achieve the best results for everyone involved.

About The Author

Sam Vaknin is the author of “Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited” and “After the Rain - How the West Lost the East”. He is a columnist in “Central Europe Review”, United Press International (UPI) and ebookweb.org and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory, Suite101 and searcheurope.com. Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the Government of Macedonia.

His web site: http://samvak.tripod.com

In The Muppet Show Kermit the frog sings an inspirational song called The Rainbow Connection. It goes like this:

Why are there so many songs about rainbows and what’s on the other side?

Rainbows are visions and only illusions and rainbows have nothing to hide.

That’s what they say and some choose to believe it
I know they’re wrong – wait and see!

Someday I’ll find it, the Rainbow Connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me!

Get the CD of this song and play it for your child in piano lessons, or get the piano sheet music to this beautiful melody. Then ask your child what they think. “Do you think there is a Rainbow Connection? What could it be? If there is a Rainbow Connection for reaching your dreamw, would you like to know what is?” Once you have their curiosity and attention share this secret with them.

To make the Rainbow Connection you have to know what your values are. A value is anything that’s really important you. When you ask a child what’s really important and special to them they usually give answers like these:

My Dog - My Friends - My Race Wheels Car - My Dad

Your child may even say, as many students have told me, that they really love playing the piano. Then explain that these are values that naturally give us our energy for life. Then tell your child what your values are. For example, “I go to work each day because I love my family. I love what I do as well because I’ve learned to do it well, but mostly I work because I really love my family and want to provide for them.”

To achieve our dreams and our purpose in life we first have to know what our values are. I love children, teaching piano, writing, and helping kids achieve their musical dreams! I put all of my favorite things together to fit together a worthwhile purpose that fills my life with energy and joy. I really love what I do, and my family. Everyday I get up and think of so many things that I want to do and write about, and look forward to sharing my creative gifts with my family and others who also share my values.

If I didn’t know what my values are I would literally be lost. I might try to associate with people or professional groups who don’t share my values and who undervalue my work and my purpose. To protect myself I let others know what my values are. That way people who disagree with my purpose and don’t share my values will tell me so. You might think, “Why would you want people to tell you that?” Because people who do share my purpose and my values with let me know that too. In this way I can find the right people and resources to connect to. In this way I become “The Chooser.” This is important because that’s how dreams are achieved – By Choosing. By knowing what your values are you won’t be confused and go along with things that aren’t really you.

For some valuable piano resources parents can use to help their children make the Rainbow Connection and achieve their musical dreams visit, Piano Adventure Bears Music Education Resources. These wonderful stories feature the Piano Adventure Bear Characters, Mrs. Treble Beary and her new piano student, Albeart Littlebud.

For Piano Resources with musical values to help children ages 5 to 11 develop their musical talent, visit Piano Adventure Bears Music Education Resources You’ll find a treasure box filled with piano resources to create an exciting musical adventure for your child - right in your own home! Visit their website and subscribe to their f’ree internet newsletter so you can download f’ree piano sheet music and mp3s of original piano compositions.

These exciting stories, games, piano lessons, and inspirational gifts feature the Piano Adventure Bears, Mrs. Treble Beary and her new piano student, Albeart Littlebud. Young students follow along with Albeart to learn what piano lessons are all about in a fun way that kids readily understand appreciate. Click here to visit PianoAdventureBears.com For a wealth of information about piano lessons, visit tallypiano.com

Are you looking to find your Mr. Right? Your perfect partner? A man that you’ll love passionately, forever, and who’ll love you back even more?

Then there are 3 things you must know or must do in order to make sure you get him.

1. Get Clear on Who He Is

Let me ask you this. If you don’t know…

• what kind of personality he must have
• what behavioural characteristics he must possess
• what he must value in life
• the keys to how he looks in order to be s*xually attractive

What do you think your chances are that you’re going to find him?

Poor? Very Slim? Worse than that?!

If there’s a key to success in anything (and let’s face it you know this already) it’s getting clear on your goal. Sound’s a bit clinical when talking about future husband material, but it’s a universal rule. If you don’t know what your goal is in anything you do, you seriously damage your chances of getting it.

And we’re not talking about the `dark hair, over 6 foot, sensitive, listens to me, loves to go shopping’ list. What we’re talking about here is identifying your most important emotional needs. The things that when they are met will make you feel `naturally’ loved for ever by your partner.

Also you must know the behavioural patterns that a man has to exhibit to make you feel loved, cared for and passionate. And just as importantly the ones that turn you off big time. Things like - the level of physical affection you require, whether or not he buys you gifts regularly and maybe even the fact that he likes spending time with your family.

You also need to know what you value in life in order to match sufficiently at that level too. If you demand adventure in your life to stay excited then you don’t want to be wasting valuable time with a guy who, you eventually discover, gets his biggest kicks watching Saturday’s match from the couch.

Once you’re very clear on your needs - emotional, behavioural, value-wise - then you massively multiply your chances of finding your Mr. Right. In fact, if you combine this with the next 2 steps, I challenge you not to find him in 12 months! So the next must is…

2. Get Clear on Who You Need To Be

Don’t worry! We’re not talking personality makeover here.

Most of the time, what my clients need is some additional information, some insight, some ways of dealing with men to allow them to make the most of their own potential.

Why?

Because sometimes there’s something stopping you attracting the right type of man.

What commonly stops my clients? Their self-esteem. They make themselves unavailable to men. Not maximising their body image. Not being able to flirt and attract enough men. Not being able to hold on to men. The list goes on.

Now don’t get depressed. I’m sure not all of these apply to you! However, there’s something that right now is preventing you from finding your man. Some piece of your behaviour that is blocking you. And you absolutely must find out what it is. More of that later…

3. Date Relentlessly

The last must:

You know who you want. You know what you need to do to attract him. The only thing left is to date relentlessly. Because dating is definitely a numbers game.

You need to be going on a minimum of 2 dates a week. Preferably more. If that sounds impossible/horrendous/not worth it, let me explain. There are 3 keys to allow you to do this.

a) Multiple dating

`Going out’ with more than one man at a time. No - it’s not immoral. You just need to be very clear about what is and what isn’t acceptable for you and your potential dates. You must share that with your partners at just the right time. And you mustn’t overstep your boundaries. Seriously, I’ve made that mistake, in the name of science, and it gets really messy, very quickly :-).

b) Modern dating resources

Pubs and clubs are very poor places to meet available men. To meet the numbers of men you need to, you must take advantage of some more modern dating methods - online dating, speed dating, singles parties, etc. Not only must you use them, but you must know how to get the number of dates out of them that you want.

c) Lots of dates, very few relationships

A date is not a night out. A date can be, and most of the time will be, a 20 minute `coffee break’ meeting. This allows you to fit in lots of dates and get to know whether there’s any chemistry between the two of you. Your first date is almost always going to be going for a quick drink.

That’s it.

3 must do steps. Know who you’re after. Know what you need to do or be to find him. Date relentlessly (in the right way). So what’s stopping you?

Not sure where to start? Subscribe to a free `How to Find Mr. Right’ course. Define your perfect partner, find out how to attract him and how to get the dates you need. Visit http://www.HowToFindMrRight.com and sign up to the free e-course now.

Michael Myerscough is a 16 year veteran of counselling and coaching people to have great relationships. He is the author of `Finding Mr. Right’, a book that guarantees you’ll find your man within 2-18 months.

Ecommerce hosting has become prevalent with online shopping market’s growing tremendously. Web hosts companies that charter server spaces for people or firms who do not have a server offer Ecommerce. The web host functions like a landlord to your web address.

Ecommerce hosting benefits individuals who are involved in entrepreneur ventures. These services take care of credit card processing, operational monitoring and email services. Among these, operational monitoring ranks as the most critical and most complicated to handle. Since ecommerce hosting is basically business oriented, web hosts need to effectively make certain that your website is stable and is operating 24 hours a day and seven day a week.

A good web host supports a tough and reliable system that is relatively available during off peak hours, 24 hours technical support and varied preferences for growth when your business venture demand it.

There are ecommerce web hosts who cater to financial support, put forward default-shopping carts, and secure dependable servers and process credit card payments. The secured servers ensure that the customer’s personal information and relative credit card data are handled privately.

There is the wide range of ecommerce hosting service available to match the needs and demands of your business. It is a must that you choose to partner with an ecommerce web host who has the goodwill and a name that you can trust. It does not hurt to exert some effort in tracking an ecommerce web host with ethical business practices and outstanding proof of trustworthiness and constancy.

Some years ago, a friend and I walked into a small coffee shop. A man was offering free palm readings, and always intrigued by things beyond the five senses, I sat down and presented my hand with high expectations. After a pause the reader gently said, “you are very angry.” Not exactly what I had in mind. Surely he had to see I’d be a successful performing artist so naturally, he had to be confusing the lines in my hand with someone else’s. What could I, the Queen of Effervescence possibly be angry about? Despite my protests he insisted, and my supposed anger was all he talked about for the brief session.

Fast-forward a few years; I’m artfully navigating the Seas of Life. Things were cool-I was healthy, the bills were getting paid, and the love life was stellar. No major complaints though I couldn’t deny the existence of a quiet undertow of feeling off kilter, a sense of something being wrong without tangible evidence. So I did what a lot of us do, put it aside and focused on the day-to-day operations of my life. But one July 4th I was forced to take a swim in the undertow and come clean.

The city was in the throes of a heat wave and my honey had just left town so I had the place to myself. He was barely gone a day before I was visited by my ultimate phobia. A waterbug. Now, waterbugs are to me what mice, snakes, and spiders are to other people. They cause me to-freak-out! Since my protector was gone I had to slay the monster myself and I wound up screaming and crying like a willful toddler in the terrible two stage. Just pitiful.

Numb, the next day I faced myself. Why had I lost it like that? Yes, I do abhor waterbugs but gees I had carried on! Something was consuming my soul and needed tending to. But what?

As I sat quietly a voice responded, “you are full of rage. I’ve tried to tell you in many ways but you would not listen.” And in that moment, I knew Truth. I was full of pure unfiltered, uranium rage. I was more than frustrated, more than angry; I was a fire-breathing behemoth behind my innocent looking face.

Then Ms. Wise-in-Hymer speaks up, loudly. “Okay, so we admit we’re enraged, but at what pray tell?” For a minute I’m stumped. I have absolutely no clue. Now really, I was in no mood to go deep sea-soul searching. Like most of us, I’ve had my servings of rough and tough times, with one time in particular when it looked like I, the patient wasn’t gonna make it.

A vast amount of inner work got me through that excruciating phase. And now here I was after all that doggone work with yet more to do! I knew it was beyond the obvious, which was the lack of a relationship with my father, but I couldn’t imagine what else it could be…no, it’s NOT POSSIBLE! I gotta be kiddin’ me! How could I be mad at my mother, a woman who had been dead for over thirty years?! My rational mind screamed, “this is preposterous of course you’re mad at your dad! Look at all the stuff he did to you and then had the nerve, the gall to shun you!” But I knew it was integral to the evolution of my being to deny it no longer. I was ticked off because mommy died on me.

All that I endured in my childhood was a direct result of her passing. The step-mom from hell, a tyrannical dad who I think just snapped due to guilt and the sudden loss; loving relatives cast aside and rendered strangers. My entire world was turned upside down and because things moved so fast and furious, I didn’t have the time to mourn my loss. I followed the example of the adults in my life and moved on.

But I had only postponed the inevitable, the How Do I Feel about this life-altering event?? When I finally came to grips with all of this I felt like I had shed a hundred pounds. I am the person I am because of the sum total of my experiences and of that I’m proud. I am thankful for the time I had my mom. The things she taught me in her short time on earth stay in my heart and mind.

Coming to terms with my anger created the freedom to rejoice in being a living product of her. And everyday I look in the mirror I see her, and a happier me.

Jacquie Bird has enjoyed a lengthy and fulfilling career as a dancer/singer/actress on stage, film, and TV. Currently working as a freelance master teacher/choreographer, in addition, her company BirdSpeak creates MoonBeam Greeting Cards. The mission is to create products that make the giver and the receiver feel good and empowered. The photocards feature beautiful scenes from Japan, Hong Kong, the U.S., and the Dominican Republic. BirdSpeak also creates custom cards and calendars. The site is located at http://www.birdspeak.com

Medical casting or “Medcasting” is the commercial application of podcasting for medical related institutions. Medcasting is the distribution and publishing of audio and video feeds, that offer medical information delivered over the Internet, for on demand listening.

This is a new step in the evolution of on-demand medical information delivery, making it accessible, informative, useful and appealing. This mix presents the medical industry with a very unique opportunity to reach its community through this new medium. Those individuals, who are already seeking medical information actively, will use RSS subscription technology built into each podcast feed, to receive information immediately as it is updated by the medical institution. With one click of a button, a user can subscribe to a feed that may be interesting, and any related information that is ever updated to that feed will be automatically processed to their personal aggregator. An aggregator is able to subscribe to a feed, check for new content at user-determined intervals, and retrieve the content.

To take this process one step further, podcasting publishes each feed with the capability to be transferred to any portable audio or video device. So with the growth of the ipod and all the other portable media devices, you have the ability to grab Medcasts and place them on your portable player for listening or viewing. Most users attach their portable players to their computers daily or weekly, and once the player is attached they automatically receive the new medcast updates.

The flexibility of this medium is what will drive the growth of Medcasting tremendously over the next few years. Currently the most useful application for medical institutions worldwide is to compliment already existing medical information web pages. Most institutions have numerous web pages which deliver medical information in text format, by providing an audio or video link on that page it gives the user a different and potentially more effective format for receiving the information. This is also a great way to teach your existing users how to start utilizing medcasting services.

The popularity of portable on demand information will grow even greater as wireless internet services continue to flourish across the country. These portable devices will no longer have to be connected to the internet; they will receive information wirelessly as it is updated. In addition, as cell phones and portable devices continue to merge together, the market grows larger.

Additional formats that are being used consist of; medical talk shows, where various specialists within each institution will speak or answer questions on a certain topic. Medical lectures and seminars can be recorded and made available for the public or employees to download easily and on-demand. In addition, any information that may need to be delivered to employees can be recorded and made available on an in-house delivery network. For institutions that have thousands of employees, the distribution of company information is very important, and once again this offers each institution a method of on-demand delivery which is convenient to all. Medcasting can also be used as a direct line of communication, by recording video-casts of company messages from executives for company wide distribution.

There are numerous uses for medcasting currently, and over the next few years it will explode in popularity. It is beneficial to institutions as well as the consumer, and it will be seen as a great tool in any medical organizations’ operations.

Ryan Hoback is CEO of What I Want Podcasting.
They specialize in developing podcasts & nanocasts for a wide range of industries. Their development team guides each client through the process of creating podcasts that incorporate brand integration and deliver the target message through a positive visual & listening experience.

http://www.WhatIWantPodcasting.com

info@WhatIWantPodcasting.com

Although a monitor makes some of the least difference in terms of your computer’s speed, it can make some of the biggest differences in terms of comfort and productivity. This guide aims to give you the details you need to know to choose the best monitor for what you need it for.

LCD flap panel monitors have become all the rage, in a matter of just a few years, the old CRT monitors have nearly become obsolete, expecially on new computers. The old monitors are not bad. There is much to be liked, especially in terms of value for money, and in terms of performance. But you can’t fight the change. We will focus on the LCD flat panel monitors as there is often more to be considered.

Firstly there is the connection to the computer. Older monitors utilised a VGA cable that carried the signal from the computer to the monitor. The signal that goes along there is an analogue signal and it can become slightly degraded, and is just an old technology. Many flat panel monitors support this old style, but that is usually just for backwards compatibility. The newer cable type is a digital kind which is designed to be used for LCD monitors. The performance from this newer kind is better, but if you are upgrading an old computer, make sure your computer can run that monitor.

Secondly is the screen resolution. This is how many pixels can be displayed on the monitor. The higher the resolution, the more can be fit on the screen. This means clearer images with much smoother textures, but it also means that things appear smaller as an increase in resolution does not increase the physical dimensions of the monitor. Usual nowadays is 1024 x 768 or even 1280 x 960. Computers used to have 800 x 600, but that has all but disappeared, except on very old computers or those that are not maintained properly. I run 1280 x 960 as it gives room for a lot of working space on the monitor, but with less than a 19 inch monitor, 1024 x 768 would be more suitable.

Screen refresh rate is another factor that comes into play. CRT monitors used a process of changing the pixels on the screen to show the new images, updating from top to bottom in lines, at a certain rate per second. With that old style 60MHz (60 refreshes per second) would be the minimum before the screen started to flicker. LCD monitors do not have this problem and will look fine at 60MHz.When running games a refresh rate higher than that is required, often up to 85MHz or more. Make sure the monitor you plan to use supports at least 60MHz at your desired resolution for normal use and 85MHz if you want to play games.

A specification that is new for flat panel monitors that didn’t effect CRT monitors is latency. Although the refresh rate may be high, the table of little dots that make up the LCD panel take a small time to change, that change is the latency. Obviously if this latency is too high it is possible that you get shot in games before you even know it, which is no good. Latencies have improved, but only monitors claimed with 8ms latency have been really good for games. Latencies tend to be exagerated and a latency of 8ms actually averages out to 12ms. With most ratings multiply by 1.5 to get an average rating.

The actual brightness of the screen can vary from spot to spot on the screen. Certain monitors have obvious bright parts and dull parts while others are more consistent. Most have some variation, but the less, the better. Name branded monitors tend to give better results than cheaper no name brand versions.

Extras like little speakers are not worth talking about much. They have limited use and I would rather have seperate speakers and keep the monitor simple.

After considering these, you should have enough to make a good purchase decision. Remember that a little extra money spent on a monitor is a good investment, and unlike many other computer parts, upgrades are not needed that often.

Peter Stewart is a computer enthusiast, his interest in computers and focus on practical down to earth advice inspired his two websites.
http://computer-buying-guide.com - Practical buying tips
http://computer-reviews.net - Fair and honest reviews and opinions.

Developing brand value is critical to every organization and when professionally executed, delivers a clear and measurable competitive advantage to your firm. It does so by helping you establish a positive connection and value-relationship with your customer, which, over time, will build brand equity and increase brand value.

Once this value-relationship is established, both internally and externally, it can be measured, monitored and enhanced periodically, as needed, to strengthen your brand’s effectiveness and increase your bottom line. Whether you’re building a new brand or energizing an existing one,
developing brand value maximizes the value-relationship between corporate profitability and the perception of your brand.

The Assessment

The first step in the fine art of branding

Customers factor brands into every purchase. The stronger the brand, meaning the clearer the position it occupies in their minds, the more value it has and the more likely they are to choose it — again and again. The goal is to get them to choose your brand over your competitions. And that’s where a strong brand value can help.

I recommend an in-depth assessment, a strategic survey used to determine the state of your company’s brand. It helps you discover key elements important to satisfying your customer base utilizing brand research findings. The assessment provides a foundation upon which to develop the best model for customizing your brand communications master plan.

The Assessment allows you to accurately measure the present effectiveness and value of your brand. It establishes brand value as a benchmark for future enhancement. How? By zeroing in on which qualities and attributes of your products, services and company make you different from your competition. And, how well they are perceived in the market. It helps you modify and align products, positioning messages and communications with laser point accuracy on your customers’ specific needs and wants.

The Assessment is really a personality profile of your brand. It describes your good points, but more importantly, highlights where you are weak. It does so by using a system of inter-related measurements to gauge brand perceptions and effectiveness.

Using a grading scale of 1-10, the assessment can test vital aspects of your brand as it relates to:

• Products or services

• Target markets

• Messaging

• Communications.

An assessment conducts interviews with management, marketing, sales and other key employees. It will uncover segments of company operations that can do more to nourish the brand, helping you pinpoint areas ripe for improvement. The external research of an assessment includes surveys with clients, prospects, vendors and key industry personnel. It will conduct a “competitive analysis” which tells you how targeted audiences see you, your products or services and how you stack up against the competition.

After your assessment is complete tabulate the results and ask for a customized Brand Analysis Report. These are usually very informative. Often revealing. Only after analyzing all the essential components of the branding assessment can information be provided. This detailed document shows exactly where you can improve.

The Brand Plan

How your brand can become a work of art

Your brand is your company’s power base, its number one asset. Developing a Brand Plan is designed to ensure that your company delivers on its brand promise. It provides companies with a guidebook for continually building, measuring and enhancing brand value and helps you achieve clarity of branding focus and direction.

First, I recommend an Assessment to find your brand’s present position and value. Then I recommend developing The Brand Plan, an in-depth master Brand Plan that defines the strategies, which can strengthen and improve your brand’s performance and market position by establishing a connection and value-relationship with your customer.

Unlike The Assessment, the picture that is painted is not a snapshot of what you are today. The Brand Plan helps you redefine brand personality in the marketplace. It’s how your company will be tomorrow, how it will be seen and perceived by customers, potential customers, your managers, employees and vendors. When managed properly, The Brand Plan increases financial security, growth and earnings potential. It will establish a clearly defined brand vision for employees and management. Both their motivation and commitment to the delivery of the brand promise will greatly increase.

The Brand Plan is a strategic master Brand Plan that will contain specific internal and external strategies and tactics, all with the goal of turning your brand into a work of art. It’s a brandmaster action Brand Plan that encompasses:

• Brand objectives

• Brand positioning, the promise of the brand

• Brand strategy & tactics

The Brand Plan aligns products, services, and communications for uniform delivery of the brand
promise throughout your enterprise. Everything is spelled out, integrated, and ready for execution. This vital tool empowers every person in your company to show the true colors of your brand. It gives form and unity to communications that differentiate your brand in the marketplace. It provides a rallying point for employees and provides a cornerstone document of all corporate resources to support brand core competencies.

As people understand the defined objectives, more ideas blossom, making the brand grow even stronger. After all, the true test of any Brand Plan is for it to appreciate over time. The Brand Plan is not a static document to be hung in some dusty museum. It’s a living, breathing, dynamic statement of change based on proven scientific testing, data analysis and measurable results.

Capture more mindshare with a Brand Value Plan… your palette for branding success.

Scott White is President of Brand Identity Guru a leading Corporate Branding and Branding Research firm in Boston, MA.

Brand Identity Guru specializes in creating corporate and product brands that increase sales, market share, customer loyalty, and brand valuation.

This Article may be freely copied as long as it is not modified and this resource box accompanies the article, together with working hyperlinks.

Over the course of his 15-year branding career, Scott White has worked in a wide variety of industries: high-tech, manufacturing, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, banking, restaurants, fashion, healthcare, Internet, retail, and service businesses, as well as numerous non-profit organizations.

Brand Identity Guru clients include: Sun Life Financial, Coca Cola, HP, Sun, Nordstrom, American Federal Mortgage, Franklin Sports and many others, including numerous emerging growth companies.

I love goals. I set them every year, and revisit them and set new ones throughout the year.

I also hate goals. I follow the advice of goal setting experts and set big goals, and put them in writing, and visualize them, but it seems that many of the goals never seem to hit.

This often leads to the slightly depressed feeling of realizing that I didn’t hit my goal, coupled with the acceptance that my life is not where I wanted it to be.

The real problem occurs though, in the fact that my mood, energy, and sense of self-esteem end up tied into whether I achieved those goals. You’ve probably been there: You just did a great sales presentation and you’re waiting to here back from the client. If the client comes back with a “yes,” you feel happy and great. If you get a “no,” you feel down and sad. Or perhaps you’re trying to lose weight, and you eat well and exercise, but when you step on the scale the number hasn’t changed - that’s a quick route to depression. Once in while the reverse happens: you eat poorly, skip a couple of workouts, but the scale still shows a drop. Here you may feel good even though you know you messed the week up.

Having goals is great, but judging our success and feelings on the achievement of those goals is a dangerous game, because we place our sense of self-esteem on external factors.

The next time you set goals (New Years or otherwise) make sure to set two types of goals: result goals and activity goals.

Result Goals - These are the things we want to get or achieve. “I want to make $100,000 this year.” “I want to lose 25 pounds.” “I will own a new home.” And so on.

Activity Goals - These are the daily tasks we set for ourselves to achieve our result goals. “I will make 10 sales calls a day.” “I will exercise 3 days a week for 45 minutes a day.” “I will set aside X dollars per month to build up my down payment.”

Both of these types of goals are important. But there is a critical difference. You have almost absolute control over your activity goals. Your result goals almost always rely on things outside of your control. In the sales example, you might not be able to control how many sales you close (buyers are fickle, after all), but you can control how many calls you make per day.

The key then to achieving your goals and being happier doing it is quite simple:

“You must measure your success by your Activity Goals, not by your Result Goals”

You should set result goals. They should be written, and vivid, and specific, etc. You should take time to visualize them everyday. But, when deciding whether you are a success, you should simply look at whether you hit your activity goals.

The two are related. You set your result goals first, then you determine the consistent actions you must take to achieve those goals. These consistent actions become your activity goals. When you plot out your day, or week, or month, determine what activities you will do and when you will do them. Then, at the end of the day, week, or month, let your sense of success and self-esteem be guided by one questions: “Did I do what I said I would in my activity goals?” If the answer is yes, regardless of what you achieved, then you should sleep easy. If you said no, then you need to revisit and adjust.

I can hear the dissent now, “but if I ignore my result goals, how can I be sure I get what I want?” Make no mistake; I never said to avoid result goals. If time goes by and you are not getting the result you want, than you need to adjust your activities to increase the likliehood of getting what you want. The difference is, you judge your success on what you do, not on what you get. Results are your feedback - if you get what you want, keep doing what you are doing. If not, try something different.

Measuring success based on your activities has three powerful benefits:

Internal vs. External Self-Esteem - This whole idea began when I realized how ludicrous it was for a person to let their self-esteem and mood be based on events they have no control over. Why be depressed because some client doesn’t have the budget for your service or product? Why get down because the guy or girl you were interested in didn’t call you? Why sulk just because your body didn’t drop two pounds this week? There are so many variables outside of your control taht all you can do is do your best.

When you base your success on what you do, you can always feel good. Whether or not you close a sale, you can sleep well knowing you put in your 100 calls for the week. Even if the scale didn’t drop, you are happy knowing that you are doing the right thing in eating right and exercising. Don’t worry if one guy or girl doesn’t call you - be content in knowing that you are out there and doing what you need to to find the right person.

Of course, this only works if you actually do the activities you’re supposed to. If you don’t, then you might feel down - but at least you know that you deserve to feel down and you’ll know what you need to do to fix it!

Foward Moving Action - By judging yourself on your activities, you will force yourself to take action. Sometimes, when you focus just on the result, you procrastinate or feel overwhelmed. If you focus on the individual activity you committed to doing (and judge your success just on whether you do it) you will be much more likely to take that action. This will have the effect of constantly moving you towards your goals.

Ironically, the more you focus on your activity goals instead of your results goals, the more likely you will be to actually attain the result you want.

Law of Detachment - There is a principle in spirituality, improvisation, martial arts, sports, and many other areas called the Law of Detachment. It goes by different names in different arenas. It is the Law of Detachment in spirittuality. In improv it is “let go of control and go with the flow.” In martial arts, it’s the “resolute acceptance of death;” in sports, it’s “playing loose.”

Whatever the arena, the principle states that the more attached we are to an outcome, the more unlikely we are to actually get it. This is because the attachment creates resistance. We send out the wrong kind of energy (spirituality), resist the positive things going on around us (improv), get overwhelmed and paralyzed by fear (martial arts), and just plain tighten up (sports). By letting go of attachment to what you want, you free up resources and energy that makes it much more likely for you to get it.

Focusing on your result goals creates attachment. Focusing on your activity goals detaches you from your outcome; you go about the business of doing your activities, confidently knowing that they will result in something good. This is a terrific way to not only happily achieve your goals, but also to just reduce stress in general.

Try this method the next time you do your goal setting. Make your result goals - make them big, make them great, and write them down. Then determine the activities you consistently need to do (and are willing to do) to achieve those goals. Then, even if just for 30 days, commit to ending each day judging yourself as a success or not based simply on whether you followed through or not. Do this, and your self-esteem will soar, you will be happier, and yes, you will be on your way to achieving your goals.

Avish Parashar is the world’s funniest (and potentially only)
“Improvising Motivational Keynote Speaker” To learn more about
how to bring the hilariously powerful lessons of improv comedy to your organization, visit http://www.avishparashar.com.

To learn how to use Improv Comedy to be an amazingly powerful speaker, visit http://www.improvforspeakers.com.