Students Of Success

The 10 most livable and most affordable real estate metro areas in the United States have a number of other favorable characteristics in common, according to a new HouseHunt “Current Real Estate Market Conditions” survey conducted by HouseHunt, Inc., a consumer-oriented Internet firm that provides free information to thousands of homeowners, home buyers and home sellers across the nation. The survey shows median home prices range from $130,100 to $194,400 for existing homes for sale and also found:
• The majority of the 10 metro areas report balanced, good-to-active housing markets with sellers usually getting 95% or more of their asking prices. Inventories of unsold homes are mostly limited.

• The majority of the 10 metro areas are experiencing strong job and population growth and good economic news. They offer quality lifestyles, good schools and solid family recreation along with other amenities. Sales data shows that many recent home buyers are relocating from other, often more costly areas.

• All 10 metro markets are attracting both first-time and move-up buyers because of affordable prices, low mortgage interest rates and multiple financing options.

• Median real estate prices for existing single-family homes in the 10 metro areas range between $130,100 and $194,400, compared to the national median real estate price of $188,800. Four of the 10 areas reported double-digit price appreciation in the past 12 months.

• All 10 metro areas have major universities located there.

• Five of the 10 metro areas are popular tourism destinations. Nine of the 10 metro areas are located in warm to moderate climates.

The 10 most livable and most affordable metro areas as determined by criteria developed by “Places Rated Almanac” (David Savageau) and the latest quarterly median sales prices compiled by the National Association of Realtors are:

1. Salt Lake City-Ogden, UT $157,000

2. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL $172,800

3. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC $175,600

4. Houston, TX $138,100

5. Phoenix, AZ $193,800

6. Cincinnati OH, $139,600

7. Louisville, KY $130,100

8. Austin-San Marcos, TX $154,100

9. Orlando, FL $194,400

10.Nashville,TN $152,100.

Four of the 10 metro areas – Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, Nashville and Austin-San Marcos – are also listed in the latest edition of Lee and Saralee Rosenberg’s “50 Fabulous Places To Raise Your Family” (Melissa Giovagnoli). Like Savageau, the authors give high marks for schools, jobs and business opportunities, family fun, housing affordability, living costs, climate, health care, transportation and quality of life.

“With all the negative news about spiking home prices and the widening affordability gap, it’s refreshing to find highly desirable metro areas where most buyers can find affordable homes,” said Michael Bearden, president and CEO of HouseHunt, Inc. “Our quarterly ‘Current Market Conditions’ reports are accessible on many of our HouseHunt.com agent websites across the country. For recent home sales in their neighborhoods, homeowners and home sellers can also find this information easily and immediately on HouseHunt’s new moveUp.com website.”

Mark Jenkins of Realty Executives, exclusive HouseHunt member agent for Salt Lake City, described housing activity in his metro area as “improving” from a depressed buyers market.” He said many buyers are relocating from out-of-state to take advantage of the lifestyle and lower home prices. A median price of $157,000 would probably buy a 2,000 square foot home with three bedrooms, two baths and a two-car garage on a one-third or one-four acre lot in a good location. Highest home price appreciation is occurring near the University of Utah. Another hot spot is Park City, a popular ski resort in the nearby mountains where Lee Merryweather of World Class Realty is the exclusive HouseHunt member agent.

An active housing market is reported in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area by Linda Ippolito of Keller Williams Realty, exclusive HouseHunt member agent for Bayshore, Westshore-South Tampa, and Davis Island-South Tampa. She said the whole area is exploding with growth and new industries. Available housing is in limited supply. Although the median price home is $172,800 for the entire metro area, median home prices are closer to $400,000 in South Tampa. Waterfront properties are also priced higher. Average price appreciation is 15.7% in the past year. A slower-paced but high quality lifestyle is reported in the Raleigh - Durham - Chapel Hill metro area by Ray Lenahan of Robert Gray Realtors, exclusive HouseHunt member agent with Robert Gray for Wake Forest, Rolesville and Youngsville.

“The big attraction is our Research Triangle, three major universities, excellent quality of life, and moderate weather,” Lenahan said - He said the median home price of $175,600 in the metro area is probably closer to $190,000 in his market area. “That will buy a new home with 2,000 square feet with three bedrooms, two baths on a half-acre lot. Either that, or, it would buy an older home in a more established neighborhood,” he added.

Houston, with its “can do” entrepreneurial spirit and liberal-to-zero zoning restrictions, is attracting people from both the East and West Coasts to relocate and to invest in rental properties, according to Kathi Frank of RE/MAX The Woodlands, exclusive HouseHunt member agent for The Woodlands and Woodland Springs. The Woodlands is a 27,000-acre planned community located 27 miles north of downtown Houston. “Median price home for the entire metro area is $138,100,” she said. “That will buy a new, 1,400 square foot home from a production builder in North Houston or Woodland Springs.” She added: “Estate properties are priced from the low $200,000s to more than $3 million.”

Reva Schafer of West USA Realty, exclusive HouseHunt member agent for Scottsdale and Northeast Phoenix, reported a limited inventory and a very active seller’s market, with sellers usually getting 100% or more of their asking prices. The median price for the metro area is $193,800 “but hard to find anything under $300,000 in my area,” Schafer said. “It’s more like $350,000 to $400,000 as a median price in Scottsdale.. Lots are jumping in price. So are houses.” Year-to-year appreciation is 24.4%! She cited tremendous growth in the suburbs of Peoria and Chandler. “A year ago, investors were buying from builders and flipping (re-selling) the properties. No more. Now, a buyer must live in the property for at least one year to qualify.”

Good job growth, corporate relocations and an improving local economy is fueling the housing market in the Cincinnati metro market, according to Saralou Durham of RE/MAX Preferred Group and exclusive HouseHunt member agent for suburban Montgomery and Hyde Park in Hamilton County, OH. “We have fabulous cultural and recreational facilities and a good quality lifestyle,” she said..”A median home price of $139,600 seems a bit low, depending on the area. That amount of money will probably buy a small two bedroom, one bath home needing some repair or remodeling in one of our small suburban communities.”

In Louisville, Charlotte Wright and Michael McConnell of Evergreen Realty are exclusive HouseHunt member agents for suburban Jeffersontown. “Louisville is now the 16th largest metro area in the nation,” Wright said. “We’re a hub for UPS and have two Ford plants located here. Military personnel stationed as nearby Ft. Knox and their families are also relocating here, she said. “The median price of $130,100 is probably low – $150,000 would be more accurate. The latter will buy a three bedroom, two bath 1,200 square foot house with a garage in a good area.”

Ann Parr of RE/MAX Austin Advantage and exclusive HouseHunt member agent for Westlake & Lake Travis said well-priced listings are attracting multiple, full-price offers in a very active seller’s market. Average time on the market is 60-90 days. “We have younger professionals who want to live close to downtown but the primary place to live is by the lakes,” she said. Prices range from $150,000 to $6 million. “Nice homes can be purchased for $250,000 to $350,000. The median price home is $154,100 in Austin. That would probably buy a starter home in the Round Rock area or a home needing remodeling in Central Austin. Patio homes for retired people near Lake Austin sell for $200,000.”

One of the hottest of the 10 metro markets on the list is Orlando, according to Steve Farah of the Royal Realty Group. Farah is exclusive HouseHunt member agent for Alafaya & Waterford Lakes and Kissimmee: “We’re experiencing unbelievable growth and home appreciation,” he said. “Our seller’s market is so active that listings sometimes last only hours, not days. Buyers frequently must act immediately or the property will be gone!” He feels that the median price of $194,400 is probably low because of high demand and the low inventory. “A median price of $250,000 would be more realistic and would buy a three –bedroom, two bath home with 1,700 to 2,000 square feet.” Since the first quarter of 2004, the median price home has appreciated 28.7%.

Nashville, the 10th ranked metro area on the list, offers a relaxed, friendly lifestyle and affordable home prices to newcomers, according to Mary Barbee of Coldwell Banker Andrews and Associates. Plus, there is no state income tax. Barbee is the exclusive HouseHunt member agent for South East Nashville. “The median price of $152,100 seems low – it’s more like $170,000, depending on location. That amount of money would probably buy a three-bedroom, two-bath new home with 1,200-1,500 square feet in the suburban communities of Madison and Smyrna,” she said. The median home price is up 11.3% in the past year in the Nashville metro area.

Monte Helme is a national public relations consultant with HouseHunt, Inc. Visit HouseHunt.com’s real estate page to search homes for sale or find out what is your home worth at moveUp.com.

It’s Spring; always a great time of year for everybody! Our customers on the East Coast and the Mid-West are thrilled because the long winter is finally coming to an end. For the rest of us, we get to be excited because baseball season is starting. While I always try to be positive, especially with Spring Training going strong and all the youth leagues kicking off their seasons, for this newsletter I’d like to add a twist and focus on 10 things I hope NOT to hear this season.

1. “Swing Level”

You’ll hear this at every park you go to watch baseball or softball: “Swing Level”. However, it’s not possible to swing level. Think about the baseball swing for a moment. Your hands are held high, close to your head. The ball, if it’s a strike, is thrown between your knees and the letters. So, how can a swing be level? Well, it can’t be. A correct baseball swing is elliptical; it has a downward motion through contact to create backspin on the ball and a high follow through. Great hitters may each have different planes they swing on, but none of them are ever going to be “level”. Let’s stop creating this incorrect mental image for the kids.

2. “Just Throw Strikes”

“Ok Johnny, just throw strikes now; all you have to do is throw strikes.” Any kid who’s pitching is doing his or her best to throw strikes. Especially when a kid is struggling to get the ball over the dish, you can bet anything they’re not trying to “paint the black” or “blow it past” the hitters. All they’re trying to do is “throw strikes”. Pitching is the greatest pressure cooker in all of youth sports. When a kid is on the bump, he’s all alone and the entire team is depending on them to throw strikes. When a pitcher is struggling, they may have a basic mechanical flaw or they might be nervous. Stating the obvious and telling them that the sky is blue isn’t going to help them throw strikes. What it will do is make them stop “pitching”, change their mechanics even more, and try to “aim” the ball.

3. “Practice Makes Perfect”

We’ve talked about this before, but it’s worth emphasizing again. Ask any kid what practice makes and they’ll tell you: “Practice Makes Perfect!” Of course, practice doesn’t make perfect, it makes PERMANENT! Repetition creates muscle memory. If you practice the wrong motion over and over again, what kind of motion are you creating? Breaking a bad habit is very, very hard. It’s crucial that parents and coaches spot flaws quickly so that they aren’t repeated. Of course, that means that a parent or coach needs to know the right way to do things. Please, get some instructional books and tapes (LINK TO INSTRUCTION SECTION). If you’re going to volunteer to coach, make sure that you’re not passing along the same bad habits that you learned. It takes about 1,500 repetitions to turn a bad habit into a repeatable good habit. It’s a lot easier to just do it right in the first place.

4. “Bad Game”

Sportsmanship is something that every kid, parent and coach should be always be aware of. In our baseball league, we’ve instituted a new Code of Conduct that requires good sportsmanship and enforces penalties, including suspensions and expulsion, for violations. After the game, each kid should congratulate each person on the other team. Even in jest, nobody should ever tell another kid: “Bad Game”. As a coach or a parent, if you hear it, please stop it.

5. “Keep Your Back Elbow Up”

Keeping your back elbow up is neither right nor is it wrong. The batting stance is one of the most over coached aspects of hitting. Think about some of the unique stances you’ve seen. Jeff Bagwell, Bobby Tolen, Joe Morgan, Eric Davis, Steve Garvey, Frank Thomas, Don Mattingly and every other player each has their own unique stance. What all great hitters do have in common is not their stance before the pitch comes, but getting into the proper position when the pitch is on the way. That means having their hands back, wrists cocked, balanced and ready to swing down through the ball. So, focus on getting kids into this position and stop picking on them for everything before the pitch.

6. “Throw From Your Ear”

I really can’t believe that anybody teaches throwing like this – even for really young kids; it’s just wrong and it creates bad habits. Putting the ball next to your ear and throwing creates a pushing motion and costs much of the power a kid has. Get them to extend their arms in both directions – like a half jumping jack. They should maintain flexibility and bend in their arms. Then just “high-five” to throw the ball. If you’re teaching kids to throw from their ears, get some tapes.

7. “Arguing”

There is a great line at the end of the movie A League of Their Own when a player is arguing with the umpire about a called strike. The umpire says: “That pitch may be a ball tomorrow and it may have been a ball yesterday, but today it’s a strike!” Umpires do their best and they make mistakes – lots of them. We can’t control the umpires and we need to accept that they are human and that they do their best. Of course, if they make a mistake with the rules, there is no harm in pointing that out, but judgment calls are a different matter. Disputing them is a poor example for the kids. Also, there is no need for parents to heckle the umpires from the stands. Coaches need to proactively make sure this isn’t happening every time they hear it.

8. “Charge the Ball”

This is another baseball myth – that a good fielder “charges the ball”. What great fielders actually do is “play the ball” instead of having the “ball play them”. This may seem like a subtle distinction, but it’s huge to a kid who is trying to grasp the fundamentals of fielding. Charging the ball required them to run in at full speed and get to the ball. In contrast, playing the ball means that you’re trying to get it on the right hop to make the play. The only time a fielder really has to “charge” the ball is on a dribbler or a bunt. Almost every other grounder will require reading the hop and making the play.

9. “Turn Your Wrists”

I still hear parents and coaches telling their kids to “roll their writs” as they swing the bat. The proper position for the hands at contact is palm up and palm down. During the follow through, the wrists will naturally turn, but it’s long after the ball has been hit. Just a last note on hitting: kids will swing at bad pitches, including pitches over their head and in the dirt. There’s a time to coach and a time to be a cheerleader. During the at bat, a kid knows he just swung at a terrible pitch and he doesn’t need to hear it from the stands or from his coach. After, you can work on the strike zone and making sure that the recognition is there.

10. “Keep Your Eye on the Ball”

Of course, it’s crucial to watch the ball, but we try to teach kids to watch the ball with their nose instead of their eyes. For pitching, hitting, throwing and playing sports in general, keeping the head from moving is a key to success. A player can waggle his or her head more or less freely and still technically “see” the ball. They just won’t be able to hit or catch it. In contrast, coaching to watch with your nose trains the head to stay still, allowing the eyes to focus. So instead, we say: “keep your nose on the ball”.

That’s the list of the 10 things I hope not to hear this season. I doubt I’ll make it past the first week, but it still sure promises to be a great year so let’s PLAY BALL!

Ken Kaiserman is the President of http://SportsKids.com - a leading sports Internet site for kids and their families. In addition to coaching football, basketball and baseball, Ken serves on the local Little League board of directors and a park advisory committee. Ken and his wife Sheri have been married for since 1991. They have three children: Benji, Bobby and Rebecca (aka Rocky) who all love their sports!

Tantrums don’t suddenly appear. They are learned. Controlling or
eliminating tantrums is not complicated, but it is hard work. It
will be easier if you keep one simple premise in mind:

Tantrums aren’t personal. Toddlers and pre-school children don’t
throw tantrums because they want to be naughty. They don’t
scream and yell because they want to hurt you. Children throw
tantrums because they work. It is your job to make tantrums
fail. “Can I have a lollipop?”

This sentence has the power to invoke a racing heart and
sweating palms in many parents.

The answer is no. The child raises her voice. The answer is
still no. The child drops to the floor. The answer turns into a
discussion and the child’s voice increases in volume. The tears
flow, the shrieks begin and, after a few parental self-conscious
glances at near by shoppers … the answer becomes yes.

Sound familiar?

What makes the child in the next aisle accept ‘no’ with a shrug
of the shoulders or a nod? Why is your child the one who throw
tantrums?

There is no easy answer to this question, but there are some
patterns of thinking and practical methods that you can use to
break the cycle.

It is a simple, yet powerful fact. A child’s behavior can be
modified. Rewarding a behavior will increase the occurrence of
that behavior. Ignoring it will decrease and often eliminate the
behavior.

A child who throws tantrums gets this message: If I yell loud
enough and long enough, I’ll get what I want.

The message you want them to get is: It doesn’t matter how long
or hard I yell, I’m not going to get what I want.

The tantrums may be just developing. They may have been an
unhappy part of family life for months or even years. Whatever
the situation, if they’re still happening, they’re working.

So, how do you start?

* Commit yourself. When you decide to eliminate tantrums from
your life, you are not fighting your child. You are in a battle
for the good of your child. You will create a more peaceful home
environment and closer relationships within your family. You
will also teach your child self-discipline. This is a vital
skill when dealing with society. Teachers, bosses and most
friends will not crumble under the weight of your child’s
demands.

Tantrums won’t disappear immediately. If your child is just
beginning to learn the components of a truly inspired tantrum,
you may not have far to go. A few unwavering sessions may be all
that is needed. If, however, your child has been honing his
tantrum technique for months or even years, success may take a
little longer. Even so, with consistency and perseverance, it
will work.

* Identify the triggers. When do most tantrums occur? Are they
sparked by bedtime? Meal times? When shopping? While you are on
the phone? Make a list and be aware. Figure out ways to help
your child succeed. If eating dinner is a problem, give her tiny
portions. If too much TV is a problem, offer more interesting
alternatives.

* Clarify the rules to yourself. Before you enter a
tantrum-triggering zone, make sure that your rules are
reasonable and consistent. There are no compromises at this
stage. If your child refuses to eat dinner but insists on
dessert, choose one phrase. “Dinner, then dessert.” This way,
when the begging starts or questions are fired at you, you can
respond with a simple, sanity-saving comment, almost like a
mantra.

* Clarify the rules to your child. Before entering a situation
that is likely to provoke a tantrum, quietly, but firmly explain
what is expected of your child. “You may watch this program.
When it is over, the TV is turned off. Do you agree?” If a
tantrum occurs when the TV is turned off after the program, your
phrase can be, “We agreed, no more TV today.”

* Stay Calm. Easier said than done. Try to tune out. Try to
ignore the unwanted behavior by not responding or responding
only with your practiced phrase. A child will realize that she’s
getting nowhere and be confused. She’ll turn up the heat. The
cries may become screeches and the dinner may be thrown across
the room (although it might be a good idea to remove the dinner
after a few refusals, just in case). That’s OK. She’s getting
the message. If you do not react, she will eventually realize.
The tantrum isn’t working.

* Don’t give up. This is imperative at this stage. If you
usually give in after five minutes and this time, you held out
for ten, next time you’re in for a longer stint. In your child’s
mind, the tantrum still worked, she just had to work a little
harder. So will you.

* Reward immediately. If you stick with it, eventually your
child will see that the tantrums no longer have any effect. As
soon as you see the tiniest improvement, offer a reward. I don’t
mean to change your rules. If your child screams for only two
minutes instead of three and then agrees to turn off the TV,
don’t reward her with more TV. She will be confused. You will be
sending her a mixed message. Reward her with a story or a walk
or a cuddle. “You cried much less today than you did last time.
Good for you.”

Taming tantrums is challenging and rewarding. Be gentle with
yourself. There will be setbacks and days when things seem
worse. It can be difficult but it’s temporary. When your child’s
eyes begin to shine through the haze of anger and frustration,
you will agree. The long-term benefits are worth it.

What does the appearance of The Fool mean for you when it appears in a Tarot spread?
Do you get excited or worried?
In this short article we explain what The Fool means when he appears in the Tarot.

The Fool is perhaps one of the most important tarot cards in the deck.
He is the first card of the Major Arcana, the first of 22 cards.
He is also the only one of the Major Arcana to remain in our modern card deck, appearing as the Joker.
His journey is at a deeper level the journey we are all on - the journey through life and life’s troubles, as no matter how old we are or what experiences we have been through we will still contine to find ourselves in areas where we are unsure, and vulnerable.

The Fool has appeared in many guises over the centuries in the different decks that have appeared.
In the Visconti Sforza deck he is seen looking a bit like a tramp without shoes in his stocking soles, and threadbare at that!
He carries a large stick or staff over his shoulder as though ready to commence a long journey.

In the Wirth deck he looks a bit like the court jester of old, and most like the forerunner of today’s joker in the traditional card deck.
He has however a cat with it’s teeth sunk into his left leg, and a crocodile in the distance. The picture on this card seems to indicate the urge of The Fool to get on with his journey in spite of all obstacles both past and future.
The Arthurian Tarot portrays The Fool as Parsifal who sought the mythic Holy Grail, and the Mythic deck depicts him as the Greek god Dionysus, wearing animal skins of many colours, and dancing gaily at the edge of a cliff.

No matter which deck we use the appearance of The Fool is a sign that we should follow our own path no matter what.
We need to have the courage to jump off the cliff into a new venture if that’s what is called for.
We need to have faith in our convictions no matter how hard this might be.

There are risks to everything in life and the appearance of The Fool in a spread is a great opportunity for a new beginning provided you are willing to make the jump!

Leonard Mutch is a writer with an interest in all things psychic and paranormal. He makes it easy to develop an understanding of The Tarot at his Tarot Cards website.

Jeff, wanted to use eBay to supplement his income. He is an electrical engineer in the manufacturing sector; and we all know that manufacturing has been hit very hard for the last few years. His company was closing down a satellite operation; and Jeff noticed some old Allen Bradley electrical controllers in a container headed for the dumpster. He was given permission to retrieve these controllers, and he was hoping he could find a way to market them… or if, in fact, there would even be a market for them. It was worth a chance!

Jeff had never sold on eBay and he realized there was no sales history on the electronic parts he had acquired. Jeff used these steps (listed below)

Steps To Take If A Product Has No Sales History On eBay:

1. Set a high reserve. (A reserve is a price set by the seller, which needs to be met before a sale is made.) This protects you from selling an item too low when you don’t have any idea of its market value.

2. Take multiple pictures of the item.

3. Include pictures of any serial or model numbers or any unique markings.

4. Include as detailed description as possible.

5. Include in your description that you welcome email questions from bidders. to take when this situation occurs. He had no eBay feedback, he listed the items, and was able to sell them for over $4200. The bottom line is to get products and list them for sale with the techniques outlined above.

The important thing is to get your products up for sale on Ebay quickly. If you do not know where to set your price level use the steps outlined above.

Products do not sell unless the are put up for auction, This is common sense but many new Ebay sellers try and get all possible relevant data on the products they are selling which is not neccessary to sell on Ebay.

Tim Gilberg is able to provide information and insight from a unique
perspective - that of someone who is actually doing what others just
talk about. Ebay Power Seller Platinum Status was Attained by Tim Gilberg, which is one of the highest sales levels attained selling on eBay. Tim is active on Ebay and liquidation.com as well as consulting
and working with other Top ebay Power Seller’s to give you real life
in use insight, not theories. Visit Tim Gilberg at his website Make Money on eBay.

If you read our “currency trading big profits for the week ahead” from Sunday and took the trades you will now be sitting on huge profits for the week.

Are we gurus or knew what was going to happen of course not! The lesson is in timing moves with a sensible strategy that anyone can use.

Lets look at how you could use the tools we used to pile up huge gains.

The Importance of entry

We all know this is the key how do you get in with the best risk reward with your currency trading?

The answer is the Bollinger band and simple support and resistance the bands give you targets and support areas to focus on.

Now for the hard bit, timing your entry!

Timing the entry

Many traders like to predict the market and get in early this is a mistake.

You should always wait for strength if you want to go long or weakness if you want to go short.

This is where the stochastic indicator is so effective. As a short term momentum indicator it is un rivalled and trading bullish and bearish divergence is extremely effective.

The result

We focused on 5 trades (while we gave advice on the yen we decided to stand aside although the advice was correct) but the other 4 we took and piled up huge gains for the week.

Focus on the long term

Our view last week was to get in to our trades focusing on the long term dollar downtrend.

We had a good dollar correction to the upside that was obviously running out of steam and acted accordingly and got some great profits.

Keep it simple!

Many traders will say or currency trading last week was simple strategy, we will take that as a compliment that’s what trading should be!

The more complicated your strategy is the more likely it is to fail. There is no correlation between a complicated strategy and profits in fact the reverse is true, the simpler the strategy the more robust it is in the face of brutal market conditions.

When trading currencies keep in mind the following:

1. Focus on the long term trend

This is the way to make huge gains forget small moves the odds are not on your side and profit potential is not there to cover your inevitable losses.

2. Look at charts for areas of support & resistance

Then use Bollinger bands and stochastics to define and implement your entry points and stop levels.

3. Hold on to the trends

Its always tempting to bank and snatch profits, but if you have confidence in your trading and the trend is in your favour hold on – keep in mind currency trends last many months or years and you need them to make big profits.

Is it really that simple? We think so. We were right last week on all our trades, ( and we did even better in energies check out our reports ) of course we could have been wrong, but our entries were timed well and had close stops for risk control.

Try the above for yourself and see if the tools and tips above can help you make bigger profits from your currency trading!

New York born singer songwriter Michael Alan, who records with the Indie-label Global Fish Records in Seattle, is an artist who creates without a prescribed musical formula. His approach to writing is purely straight from his heart, lyrically poetic and honest, and void of any sound-alike comparisons. Michael’s songs portray a myriad of lyrical expressions and images that moves the listener through a musical experience which evokes excitement, tenderness, passion, and sadness. His ability to write songs each with their own personality reveals the fact that he is an avid listener of all types of music including, pop, rock, blues, soul, jazz, classical, world music, etc.

What also distinguishes Michael as an articulate songwriter is his self-reflection about personal and social themes which touch upon our daily lives. Michael Alan’s CD release “Searching for the Heartland” is a testimonial that this songwriter expresses himself in a personal way sharing his deepest thoughts and feelings through his music.

Michael Alan’s songs have been categorized by music journalists in a variety of music genre; soft pop-rock, adult contemporary, adult alternative pop-rock, lyrical singer-songwriter, etc. However, an acute listener of his song tracks can hear a blend of different musical styles in his song recordings which allows the tunes to cross over music genre barriers.

Michael is fortunate to have some of the finest musician producers to accompany him with song arrangements and musical backing in the recording studio. ►Ira Ingber, credits with Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, Bonnie Raitt ►Tom Kellock, credits with Manhattan Transfer, Al Jarreau, Heart ►Brian Griffin, credits with Gary Puckett & the Union Gap, Barbra Streisand.

The song tracks on “Searching for the Heartland” are a compilation of different time periods in Michael’s career as a songwriter, performer, and recording artist. They include his works as a staff-writer for a major publisher in Los Angeles, his performance touring in Europe with the Esquires, and his recent recordings in Seattle, WA.

The songs on the CD take on their own character with universal appeal for a wide variety of audiences. The majority of tunes can be considered “Radio Friendly” for radio air-play within a broad category of radio station formats.

Michael’s life evolves around the creative and organic process of writing lyrically mindful songs. In a recent interview he expressed the following, “Sometimes on a rare occasion the music and words come together like shadows of light creating a warm sense around me. It’s a feeling that you are not alone in the rhythm of life. It’s in this moment that you know the hearts and souls of all people around the world are truly connected.”

Website: http://www.MichaelAlanMusic.com / Michael Alan is a registered fund-raiser for the American Heart Association in WA.

Michael Alan is part owner of a new start up Indie-label, Global Fish Records, in Seattle, WA. After years of recording and touring in Europe which allowed him to earn a full-time livelihood in music he has relocated back to the US.

He has been a student of the music business taking courses specifically geared for the business side of the music industry including a regular schedule of seminars. Michael says it’s 25% about making good music in your chosen genre and 75% about contracts, booking, promotion, marketing, and communication. Either you learn to do as much as possible on your own or you hire everybody in town. Remember the artist & the band is the last party to get paid when you hire specialists to do all of the necessary work.

Global Fish Records concentrates on singer-songwriters who are versatile in their writing styles and capable of conveying honest and meaningful lyrics which reflect our daily lives.

*Jenny Shaw, music columnist, is the writer & editor of this article for publication.

Visit Michael’s music at: http://www.MichaelAlanMusic.com

MP3-Downloads

Autoresponders have made our life so much easier as webmasters and business owners, they reply to emails for us sent to a specific email address to get or give a specific response, like sending clients to a download page, a thankyou for subscribing to our newsletter page or a series of preloaded emails for an eCourse we have developed.

If, like me, you have ever tried to save time and setup an autoresponder to answer your clients daily questions, you, no doubt found it clumsy and hard to operate. Remember the multiple email address on your contact page, and then you were only guessing as to the questions that they may ask.

Then we setup FAQ pages to try and cover the frequent questions, but we still did not fix all the questions that were being asked. Let alone a prospective client sending a genuine query to the email that they thought was right but alas it was wrong, and the answer they got was just not expected or didn’t make sense. Imagine how they felt? Do you think they became a customer? I doubt it.

As business or website owners we want an easy to operate system to enable us to answer the same or similar questions over and over to various clients and prospective clients. These queries may cover questions about cost, freight, size, when they can expect a product delivery, or many other similar but different questions all sent to the same email address or form that we put on our website to help with customer service.

Now as we only have one email address on our site an autoresponder is out of the question, as they don’t vary the answer to suit. Imagine a system to enable you to organise your relpys, so they are easy to find and able to be personalised to suit each client and will save you hours of time, each week.

This Reply E-mail Automator is a feature-rich software package that can type the responses to your repetitive, information seeking, E-mail and support questions that you are receiving every single day. The busier your website gets the more E-mail like this you will receive!

After looking around the ‘net’ I found what I was looking for, it’s easy to use, cost effective and best of all it saves me time check it out at….
http://www.4-your.com/email_automator/

Charles West sells Technology products (cameras, DVD’s, sound systems and of coarse MP3 players etc) for a retailer. Over the last couple of years he has developed http://www.4-your.com and
http://www.mp3srock.com In the process he has learnt many aspects about ‘The Web’ and all it’s variables, come accross many products, some good some not so good. The good ones are worth telling people about, so have a read there is always something new.

A money club is a great place for people to get together and share thoughts, ideas and goals about money, planning, finance. Here people learn about finances and ways to reach ones financial goals. Friends in the money club provide encouragement that each member needs to succeed.

This is one major reason why money clubs have picked up significant momentum since their inception a couple of years ago. Their aim is not to evaluate price/earnings ratios, but to help members navigate pricky personal finance dilemmas.

In a time of economic unease, by joining a money club people can establish and follow through their personal financial goals, which may include improving money management, increasing ones savings for retirement, spending intelligently, saving for children’s education, diversifying portfolio, curbing debt and advancing estate planning or buying a home etc.
In order to have a successful club take certain precautions
A new investment club must have a solid structure to ensure the club’s agenda is carried out efficiently and without friction with legal agreements and bylaws in case the club invests jointly in order to avoid any unscrupulous person joining the club. make sure that the number of members is such that it is not too much to find a meeting place and also this would mean a higher retention and too much management would not be required.

An investment club must have a clear way of determining each member’s share at a given point in time as members are likely to contribute funds on a periodic basis, and may intend to withdraw funds from their share of the club’s assets at some time in the future.

Make sure that all members equally share the work. Pick a leader or rotate leadership. Stay organized. Help the members to learn and polish their stock researching capabilities, this way all the members can contribute.
There should be regular guest speakers and field trips so that the club members are able to sustain their interest instead of sticking to the same routine.

Meeting should be once a month since more of the meeting would be a burden for some people and if it is less than people would gradually loose interest. The meeting should be regular with time and venue set. Changing venues could be inconvenient for people and can derail them from their focus and subsequently lessen their zeal to attend.
Make sure that the members are performing correct maths. This will not happen if careful attention to paid to club accounting system. The National Association of Investors Corp. (NAIC) offers instructions and software on how to keep track of contributions and gains.

When looking for members of the club, one can select friends, coworker or search internet in order to make sure members have similar interest, goals and backgrounds for them to understand each other and contribute accordingly.

When a member attains a financial goal, it should be celebrated with adequate prize or gift certificate. This would drive competition and thereby encourage everyone to do well.

Mansi aggarwal writes about money clubs. Learn more at http://www.meetformoney.com

There it is. The event you’ve been waiting for. It’s all the big name speakers you’ve been drooling over, it’s in a city you’ve been dying to visit and it’s just the perfect information you need right now to take your business to the next level.

You grab your plane ticket, pack up the laptop, ship Rover off to the doggie sitter and are off. Three days later, it was a fantastic event. You met great people, you learned a ton of new things. You’re pumped up and ready to go.

Three weeks later somehow you can’t remember the name of that great contact you’d made and you really haven’t changed the way you do business. Here are some steps to take to set yourself up for success before you actually fork out your hard earned dollars.

Figure out the Why
Way before you head out the door ask yourself . . . WHY are you going? What do you want to achieve? Is it to meet people? Get specific information? Get motivated? Get new business? Or maybe it’s because you want to corner a speaker for 15 minutes to pick their brain. Why, why, why? Determine why you are really going in the first place. This is called a desired outcome. Write out your desired outcome so you know ahead of time what you want to accomplish.

Go in Prepared
Now that you’ve determined why you are going. Determine what you need to do to achieve your desired outcome.

What preparation do you need to do before hand? If one of your desired outcomes is to talk to a certain speaker, maybe there is a VIP lunch you buy a ticket for. If you want to pick up some new business, maybe you bring some samples with you, so you are prepared for an impromptu sales meeting. Maybe there is a contact you want to spend some time with so you fly in a day early. Whatever it is, think about it ahead of time and go in with a plan.

Play 6 Degrees of Separation
As a kid, my mother always said, “never say anything bad about anyone because you never know who they know”. Well, she was right. Someday, two people will be having drinks on Mars and one will say to the other, “Oh you’re from Earth, do you know Bob?” And they will.

Once you are at the event, be prepared to meet people and figure out who you know in common. It never fails to amaze me how you can randomly meet someone in an elevator, who lives in a different city than you and it turns out you know a ton of the same people. Or you can sit down for lunch with someone you don’t know and find out that they grew up with your out-of- state cousins. And no, I am not making this stuff up, these are actually things that have happened to me.

This is important because it helps you quickly bond with people and form a relationship. I’ve landed new clients because it turned out we knew several of the same people, which gave me instant credibility.

Create a plan of action
So when you’re not out in the hallway chatting it up with someone who could recite your rolodex, you’re probably listening to speakers and soaking up a ton of information. All too often I’ve had people tell me that they are so overwhelmed with the amount of information they are getting that they have no idea where to start.

Here are a couple of ways to manage your information so you can implement what you’ve learned.

Forget your American Express card. Never leave home without a packet of post-it notes. In your notes or handouts, mark pages with action items or ideas that you want to revisit with a post-it note. Then, when you go home, revisit all the post-it note pages first and add those ideas or action items to your day-to-day activities.

Or create a master action list. Take a couple of pieces of paper and put them at the very front of your seminar notebook. As you learn new things that you want to incorporate or you get ideas, jot them down on the list. Don’t censor yourself, just jot it down. This way you come home with a targeted list of action items to explore. Review your list. Decide if and how you want to move forward with each item and then simply check them off once you’ve tackled them.

Seminars can be a great way to learn the latest and greatest techniques, get motivated and build your network. Being prepared before you walk through the door will give you that extra edge to make it even better. See you at the next event.

© 2005 Beth Schneider. Want to reprint this article, feel free as long as you include the following: Beth Schneider, Chief Infopreneur of Process Prodigy, is a business process consultant who helps solo-entrepreneurs, small business owners and network marketers who want to systemize their business to increase profits, increase productivity and grow their business without having to give up the family oriented, flexible, balanced lifestyle they desire. Beth works one-on-one with her clients, offers home study courses, and teleclass boot camps. For more information visit http://www.processprodigy.com and sign up for your FR*EE 5- Step Process Starter Kit and FR*EE Process Tips.

Beth Schneider, Chief Infopreneur, uses her natural ability to create systems and motivate people, providing streamlined, effective and consistent processes and procedures.