Students Of Success

That one guy at work that always has to be right; your buddy’s wife who can’t eat anywhere they serve burgers, or the monster-in-law, I mean mother-in-law, with too many opinions for your own good, difficult people, we all know them. So the question is, is there a right and a wrong way to deal with them? The answer is yes, if you want to avoid unnecessary confrontations.

First, keep in mind that it is very unlikely you will ever change the other person, so dealing with their difficult personality won’t be just a one time Incident, but an every time skill. Don’t sit back saying nothing until you absolutely can’t take it one more second. Your pent up frustration will only result in a catastrophic blowout. The best approach is to confront and handle the situation as it occurs.

Just Practice These 5 Steps

1. Decide what the exact problem is and face them alone and in person to discuss it.

- Keep your posture open and inviting, avoiding crossed arms or negative facial expressions.

2. Have a clear outcome in mind and strive continuously throughout the confrontation to reach it.

- May be as simple as getting the other person to listen to your viewpoint.

3. Organize your thoughts before you meet.

- Think of supporting arguments, specific instances, and any documents to build a solid case and avoid generalities.

4. Keep calm in your body language and tone of voice, but stand your ground.

- Remind yourself that this is a situation you are dealing with, so don’t turn it into a personal attack.

5. Listen to what the other person is saying and show them that you are taking their feelings into consideration, and then get them to do the same.

- Show them you are listening by keeping eye contact and repeating back what they have said in your rebuttal. Kindness, calm and rationality are your tools for getting them to do the same.

Most importantly, keep communicating! The more you practice these five steps, the easier confronting difficult people and situations will become. Taking the cool, calm and kind approach to handling the situation will throw them off guard leaving the door open for you to take control. Just as you must plan for success in all other areas, you must also plan in order to successfully derail the difficult people in your life.

Frank F. Lunn is an expert in leadership, marketing, and small business entrepreneurship. In his book, Stack the Logs! - Building a Success Framework to Reach Your Dreams, Frank outlines a simple 5-step strategy that will lead you to success in all areas. Find more useful article by Frank at http://www.stackthelogs.com

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - “ADD” or “ADHD” - affects between five to ten percent (5% - 10%) of all children in the United States, and three to six percent (3% - 6%) of adults. About 35% of all children referred to mental health clinics are referred for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, making it one of the most prevalent of all childhood psychiatric disorders.

The 5% number is a solid, conservative number supported by a lot of research. Even at 5% each classroom in America will have one or two (2) ADHD kids in the class. So it is a very real, and very significant problem across America.

When only Parent Rating Scales are used in a research project, the numbers will range from a low of seven percent (7%) of school-aged children to a high of twenty-three percent (23%) of children.

You may see published estimates stating that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder may effect as many as 20% to 30% of children in America, but these numbers are not really supported by research data, and are probably inflated for the purpose of trying to sell something.

However, we should note that Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Head Injuries, or other Specific Learning Disabilities, are often mistaken for ADD ADHD, which can inflate the numbers reported. As many as 10% of children are now being born with FAS or are drug exposed babies.

ADHD is not a “fad” disorder, nor is it a conspiracy by pharmaceutical companies to get more kids on drugs. It is a very real neurological condition that is common enough as to require parents, teachers, and physicians to become better educated about its causes, the available treatment options, and the potential problems with doing nothing. Learn more about ADHD at the ADHD Information Library.

Douglas Cowan, Psy.D., is a family therapist who has been working with ADHD children and their families since 1986. He is the clinical director of the ADHD Information Library’s family of seven web sites, including http://www.newideas.net, helping over 350,000 parents and teachers learn more about ADHD each year. Dr. Cowan also serves on the Medical Advisory Board of VAXA International of Tampa, FL., is President of the Board of Directors for KAXL 88.3 FM in central California, and is President of NewIdeas.net Incorporated.

You will find (or maybe already have found) your own special way out of feelings of helplessness and powerlessness about your relationship with time. I want to offer some viewpoints to help you to shift negative perceptions of time. Right now is the perfect time to let go of the rigid ruler of time.

The Eternal Now

Truly, right now is all the time you have. This idea of the “eternal now” may be a bit uncomfortable if right now you find yourself where you do not want to be. The answer to that dilemma is to enjoy something about what you are doing, appreciate where you are, and love who you are. Then, you will rejoice in the eternal now.

You may find it helpful to conceptualize the “eternal now” as the time in which everything (thoughts, feelings, actions) takes place. In other words, everything happens in the present time. Nothing happens in the past (it may “have happened” in the past, but it does not “happen”). Nothing happens in the future (perhaps it “will happen” in the future). Sometimes we use language in sloppy ways that confuse the past, present, and future, but the important dynamic to understand is that all the power of creation is in the present.

An Illusion: Scarcity of Time

Beliefs about time seem to run parallel to beliefs about money and other resources, especially with respect to availability. We often consider time, money and other resources to be limited. It is popular to complain that there is not enough time. You might reply, “You have all the time there is” which is a cute retort, but not necessarily empowering. Instead, you may need to look at what precisely is “enough” time or perhaps at how you are measuring time that makes you feel short of it.

What Would you Do If … ?

Many times I have helped people to get unstuck about money by asking the question, “what would you do if you had a million dollars (or ten million dollars)?” Many years ago, I did this exercise for myself. I took about an hour to consider, write notes, and make a list.

I discovered that I would not change much of anything I was already doing, except I would set up a recording studio to make audio cassette tapes. The fascinating realization about that was that I already had a recording studio (well, a recording closet). I did not need a million dollars (lucky for me), I just needed to be clear what I wanted to do and do it. Within two months I had produced ten audio cassette tapes: from voice to music to cover all done at Marshall House. That was in the past. And now, I have lots of money and instead of building a studio, I hire someone who fulfilled his dream to build a studio.

So, consider….. What would you do if you had all the time (or money, or something else) you wanted? Imagine this, using the parameters that really work for you. It will be more effective if you write down the parameters and write down your plans or dreams or goals. For example, you might decide that you want to lift off the limitation of working for a specific period of time with no responsibilities to anyone. Or go for a million dollars or ten million dollars in your bank account. Use parameters of time or money or some combination of both. Give yourself time or money enough to move through the obvious items, like taking a cruise or buying a mansion or dream car. The joy of such purchases is short-lived. The idea is to uncover what you want to do with your life, taking away the limitations that foster a belief in “not enough.”

Set Yourself Free; Set Another Free

Sometimes the best way to set yourself free is to set someone else free. You know how well you can see the solution to someone else’s situation. (I just bet you had suggestions of how I could spend that $1,000,000.) How might someone else, someone somewhat similar to you, unhook from the ruler of time? Give this person — mythical or real — suggestions for transforming the ruler of time.

How Much is Enough?

How do you know when enough of anything is enough? …… When you are no longer hungry? When you are full to over-flowing? When everyone has agreed? When no one has disagreed? When the report has been proofread seven times? When there is just one more day to the month? When the page ends?

Copyright © 2006 Marshall House Jeanie Marshall, Empowerment Consultant and Coach with Marshall House, produces Guided Meditations on CD albums and MP3 downloads and writes extensively on subjects related to personal development and empowerment.
Voice of Jeanie Marshall, http://www.jmvoice.com

Why outsource your payroll?

There was a time that a business payroll was handing out cash at the end of the day. That time is long gone. Payroll, payroll record keeping, payroll tax reporting has become both complex and full of traps for the unwary or uneducated. The process can be very time consuming and expensive. By outsourcing your payroll processing you are avoiding risks and taking advantage of all the advances in technology to save time and money.

Save Time

Using a payroll outsourcing provider will save you time. Particularly an internet payroll service providing a paperless payroll solution. How will they do that?

You will be able to input time anywhere and anytime from any Internet connected computer.

Your payroll outsourcing provider will process the entire payroll and if you use a paperless payroll solution all net pays will be distributed electronically. No longer will you have to waste time and money distributing checks and payroll payment vouchers Your unbanked employees will no longer have to pay exorbitant fees just to cash their paycheck. No longer will employees have to run to the bank to deposit or cash their paycheck and get stuck in long lines. No longer will you feel obligated to cash checks for your employees. No longer will you have to reissue checks that are lost or run through the washing machine.

Your payroll outsourcing provider will make all your payroll tax deposits for you. Your payroll outsourcing provider will complete and file all payroll tax forms with all government entities you have to report to. Not only will your payroll outsourcing provider do all this they will guarantee that it is done correctly.

Your payroll outsourcing provider solution will provide all employees with payroll payment vouchers and yearend Form W-2’s via the internet. Not longer will you have keep track of terminated employees to provide them with Form W-2’s.

Your payroll outsourcing provider utilizing a paperless payroll will be able to provide you with all your reports via email or the internet. They are encrypted and secure from prying eyes. No longer will you have stacks of old reports to lockup and ultimately pay to be destroyed.

Save Money

Some business owners don’t realize the true cost of doing payroll in house. They don’t add up all the hours that are spent on various aspects of payroll and related activities that a payroll outsourcing provider would take care of. Some of the saving in money takes place because of the following:

Your payroll outsourcing provider guarantees accuracy on calculating and filing your payroll tax reports and payroll tax deposits and will pay any penalties or interest charged to you through his error.

You will never have to pay for a software upgrade or for new tax tables your payroll outsourcing provider should provides all of that as part of his payroll services

Your payroll outsourcing provider will draft your company bank account for a single draft item eliminating the cost of payroll checks and the cost of reconciling of payroll checks. In addition this eliminates your payroll checks being used for fraud by check scam criminals.

You will never have to pay to get a Form W-2 reprinted for an employee who lost or did not receive their Form W-2 because your payroll outsourcing provider posts them on a secured and password protected server for your employees to view and print them.

Your payroll outsourcing provider utilizing a paperless payroll solution will distribute all net pays to every employee electronically. No lost checks to replace. No cost of delivery of checks or payroll payment vouchers. No shipping checks to employees in other locales.

Your payroll outsourcing provider utilizing a paperless payroll solution will send you all reports electronically, no delivery fees. No storage costs for old reports or costs to finally destroy them.

There are numerous other places, some of which you probably have already thought of, where time and money can be saved by outsourcing. Why doesn’t every one outsource payroll then? Here are a few reasons why people don’t outsource payroll and answers to their concerns.

Q: Cost

A: The cost is a lot less than most people think, check out payroll pricing. It is a lower cost than the cost of people, software, hardware, security and systems, training, forms, accounting fees, penalties, answering IRS inquires, etc. necessary to do a professional job in-house.

Q: Loss of control

A: Actually your level of control increases. You have time to review. You have complete reports that are secure from prying eyes. You have payroll outsourcing professionals, sometimes CPA’s, to answer questions and help you avoid pitfalls you don’t even know exist.

Q: My payroll is unique

A: It may have unique aspects, some payrolls do. Payroll outsourcing providers are use to that and have very sophisticated software that can handle almost anything. In fact a payroll processor is more likely to have software to handle unique circumstances than the average small business.

Charles Read, CPA
President and Founder of Custom Payroll Associates, Inc., RMARK Financial Services Inc., Custom Financial Planning, Inc., and PayrollonaBudget.com
http://www.payrollonabudget.com
http://www.custompayroll.com

CHOOSING THE RIGHT WAY

Peter Driscoll of European Transport Brokers
(www.etbrokers-removals.com) takes you through some of the
trials and tribulations associated with moving to Europe and
explains away some of the mystery associated with moving. In
this article he will go on to some of the pitfalls that can trap
the unwary as well as providing a sometimes amusing view of an
industry still trying to drag itself into the 21st century.

To steal a catch phrase, as dear old Max Bygraves would say “Let
me tell you a story”… Five years ago I was looking to get my
own house contents moved to the South of France and received
quotes in the region of four to five thousand pounds. It was to
be a simple move. No extras at all. No packing, no disconnecting
of machines, no disassembling, no plants and no piped music for
my furniture whilst “en route”. Just a simple move. Two brother
in laws and the rest of the family were roped in to help and a
7.5 tonne lorry was acquired. With Air Brakes hissing and
“Yorkie” in hand, I promptly banged the rear end of the lorry
leaving the depot! My excuse being that I had never before
driven a 30 foot long vehicle. That should have been my first
clue to see reason, but blinded by the desire to save money I
continued! To cut a very long story short, it took us over 22
hours to drive down to the South of France, and I did save some
money. But that is not the whole story!

I took time off work. My brothers in law also took five days
holidays. If they had been paid, or if I had paid myself for the
hours worked then the story would have been different. Then we
come to the “invisible” costs. The bruised fingers, the aching
backs, the dropped items of furniture, the flaring of tempers,
the boredom of driving at 50 mph on a motorway, and finally
having no one to blame for the damaged items! True I saved money
but at what cost! And it could have been FAR worse, for as I
discovered later, my home contents insurance policy did not
cover the goods in transit to France. One accident and I would
have lost everything. Further, I have a sneaking suspicion that
the vehicle may have been a “tad” overweight. Had I been stopped
the entire load could have been seized! Never again!

But DIY can be an option if you have a small load, plenty of
time and are not worried about some seriously hard work. To hire
a “Luton” size van and move say 15m3 of furniture from
Birmingham to Dordogne will cost you about £1100 all in. This
includes hire charges, diesel, ferry and motorway tolls and
meals, but not any “Tips” for kidnapped family members! To ask a
removal company to do the same job will cost anything from £1300
to £2500, depending on who you ask.

Following on from articles 1 and 2 we have received over 300
calls from people wanting to know who we are and what we do. So
how can a Brokerage help you? In essence the broker does exactly
the same as you, in that he solicits quotes from removal
companies. The difference is that whereas you ask maybe ten or
twenty companies for quotes, he will ask a few thousand, all
over Europe, to quote on your move. Further, the Broker knows
when and where companies are going. He is able to approach them
directly and suggest that they may like to quote on a job to
fill the spare capacity on a vehicle that is passing your front
door! Removal companies, like airlines prefer to travel with
full vehicles rather than ones that are half empty! The trick is
finding them. This is where the broker can help you to save
time, effort and money.

One of the questions that has come up time and again from
clients, relates to size. Contrary to public belief size does
matter, but it can be terribly confusing. In the UK we
traditionally use cubic feet in calculating volume. In Europe
(and more and more in the UK) volume is now measured in cubic
metres. To get the cubic capacity of anything, you take the
height width and depth and multiply the three together. So a
standard fridge of 3ft by 3ft by 4 ft measures 36 cubic feet. In
cubic metres this would be 0.95m*0.95m*1.3m to give 1.1m3.
Simply put 35 cubic feet is roughly equal to one cubic metre! If
you have made your inventory on a spread sheet it is fairly
straightforward to add in a separate column for the dimensions
of each article you intend to move. “Ah” you say “but what of
the table, and all that space underneath”. Measure the table as
a solid! True, items can be packed under the table, and in many
instances items can also be packed inside others (clothes in
drawers being an example), but whereas you may think you only
have 20 or thirty boxes you will find that once everything is
packed you have far far more, and this is where the extra space
under the table will go. Also bear in mind that if you have 34m3
of goods it will not fit in a vehicle with a capacity of 34m3,
as, expert as they are, removal companies can never fill every
cubic metre on a van! (Now there is a challenge to some one) !!

Finally, please remember that when packing yourself, there is a
possibility that the insurance cover offered will not stretch to
“all inclusive”. This is because the insurers themselves cannot
be certain that the goods were not damaged prior to loading and
secondly that they were correctly packed in the first instance.
Though we did have a report of one client who had correctly
packed each room with twenty or so boxes. None too heavy, none
too light. The boxes were all numbered and all sealed. The two
removal men lifted a box each and everything in the boxes simply
slipped out the bottom of the boxes. The client had made up the
boxes, sealed the tops and totally forgotten to seal the bottoms
of every single box! Sometimes you just cant win!

We all love clowning around and playing the idiot bringing laughter to those around us but sometimes our antics seen as bit of fun can turn laughter into disaster. Circus Clowns are similar to that of the jester in many ways in how they entertained crowds of people with performances which included daft tricks and funny doings like face pulling even throwing buckets of water over fellow Circus Clowns.

As funny and hilarious as the clowns pranks are, what you have to remember is, these funny folk are well rehearsed in their profession - it takes years of training to perfect what they do. The Circus Clowns performance may entail death defying stunts which have had to be carefully supervised and pieced together because of the risks taken to claim laughs and giggles. Displays from the Circus Clown can consist of acrobatics where the clown now becomes a stunt man - for example knowing how to break a fall or tumble without causing injury to himself or to other clowns in on the act.

A travelling circus show that come to town will no doubt highlight the main event of entertainment with classic performances from the Circus Clowns. It is quite common for the clown to ask for audience involvement in their circus act where the clown gets a little naughty with the onlookers. Just the mention of the circus is coming to town is enough to start a riot among the happy customers queuing for tickets. Besides all the circus animals like the elephants - lion taming acts and dancing dogs - it is without doubt that it is the Circus Clowns that draw the crowds.

The clown entertains in many different ways, some acts may just be floor shows but others may include bareback horse riding - and it is because of this that any clowning you may have in mind for a friend or friends at a party needs to be well thought through. Clowns take risks but are trained to do so and you are not - so think twice before engaging on any dangerous mission you have planned just to get a laugh.

Fancy funny displays from Circus Clowns are no doubt hilarious just like that of their funny costumes and disguises - but take away the disguise - the ginger wig and cosmetic make up and we have a very serious person that takes their profession just as serious. Clowns are very skilled people.

If you are having a party then consider calling in the skilled to provide the entertainment for you. Warning if you are not skilled then don`t take any chances because laughter can turn to disaster which is no laughing matter.

For party jokes gags and fancy dress ideas http://www.jesterminute.com
Best man gags at http://www.your-wedding-planning-help.com

When you browse the web information is continuously collected by the websites you visit and by your own computer. For example, websites at a minimum collect information about the web browser you use the operating system of your computer and the geography you reside from. However, what surprises most users is the amount of information that is collected on your computer from your surfing habits and daily use.

Your web browser stores a lot of different types of information which is designed to improve your internet surfing experience but nevertheless poses a privacy risk. The sites or URLs which you visit are stored in the browser’s “history.” Search results are saved when you enter a search term into a search engine like Google. Web content and images are stored in the “temp” folder. Files that you download are stored in the download manager.

Websites also place “Cookies” onto your hard drive. A cookie is a small text file and is used by websites to offer advanced features. Some of the information that cookies store include shopping basket items or log-in information for a membership site. Cookies can also store information about when you visited the site including date and time.

Given all this information being collected above you can easily see why this could become a privacy risk. It would not take someone who knew what they were doing too long to figure out what websites you visit, what you have bought online and what search terms you are looking for. This is unfortunately not the end of it.

If you are a user of instant messenger or chat programs like AIM, MSN Instant Messenger or even Skype then it is important to be aware that the programs saves your chat history. Most programs allow you turn this feature off.

There are number of other places besides your web browser where information is stored on your computer. This data can allow people to figure out what you have been doing on your computer. Media players like RealPlayer and Microsoft Media Play store audio and video playing history. Microsoft Office like Excel and PowerPoint applications store information about the most recently accessed files.

Another important thing to remember is that when you delete a file it is not necessarily permanently erased and can be recovered with the right software. When you first hit delete the file is moved to the Recycle Bin. Even when you empty the Recycle Bin the file still exists on your hard drive until Windows overwrites it.

Here are two things you can do to help reduce the privacy risks from your computer.

- Use a free software tool called “CCleaner” (http://www.ccleaner.com) to clear information collected by your web browser and Windows’s Temp Folder. This software automates the manual process of using your browser options menu to clean out cookies, URL history etc. Try to run this tool once a week or more frequently if you are a heavy internet user.
- If you work with sensitive data files on your computer then you may want to consider investing in secure file “shredder” software. This type of software actually overwrites or “bleaches” the file you want to delete which means that it cannot be restored.

Richard Rogers runs a number of computer-related sites offering Spyware Remover and Anti Virus Software help.

Should Ezines, newsletters that you issue weekly or otherwise, always be archived. Why not? This gives you more content pages on your web site. Search engines love you more if you have more pages of good content, so why waste your newsletters. Archive them, and get the maximum benefit of providing more content. But don’t archive sales messages, as it doesn’t count as content.

Pages on your web site are automatically in html format, but many ezine editors archive in plain text appearance. The format is html, but looks like plain text. This is usually to make it easier for other ezine marketers to pick up these articles in their text-based newsletters, and not to have to delete the html coding.

Personally, I find it much more appealing to read archived articles that have a bit of life to them, with basic html. For exampe, simple bolding of headings and sub headings. And, when your article is copied into a text editor, the bolding doesn’t show up anyway. So why not use a touch of class! and use html perks.

The most important thing I find very strange about most archived newsletters is that they do not have Google Adsense ads on the web pages. Well why not? Is it because you just didn’t think of doing it, or assumed it’s unnecessary.

Or are you assuming no one reads Google Adsense ads from your archives? If you ever go to Article directories to read or copy their articles, you will see that every page has Google Adsense ads. They make their living this way.

Your archived newsletters, those containing good content, are in that same class. My back-issues are read a lot, my archives are very popular. So I do take advantage of this fact and have added Adsense ads to them. It only takes a few minutes to do this after the mailing is done. Believe me, it’s worth it for the extra revenue potential.

This Bonus Download is my special gift to you, just for paying attention to good advice. Here is more great advice from an expert..

Right click and Save Target AS to download The Adsense Report by Terry Markle
The Adsense Report

More great information on Pay Per Click Search engines, Google Adsense and Adwords is located at: Google Ways at Best Affiliate Products.

Copyright 2005

Fred Farah
Best Affiliate Products for Maximum Profits
All you need to know about affiliate marketing starts right here at the:
Affiliate Marketing Information Center

The clarity of a diamond is perhaps one of its most valuable
selling points in the eye of the consumer. A diamond, that has
flash and fire, will stand out even above others that are far
larger.

That’s because diamonds are basically prisms, which capture
light and reflect it back and forth, before it leaves the stone.
If you had two similar stones and were wondering which of them
was the diamond, you could put a tiny light behind each one and
see how the light passed through it. If you basically got the
beam of light coming out the other side, the stone is not
genuine. A diamond refracts the light so many times, that it
would only emerge from the other side as a soft glow.

Clarity is considered to be how “clean” the diamond is. Diamonds
can have minor inclusions, which are miniscule amounts of gas,
liquid, and even minerals, all of which cause an interruption in
the flow of light through a stone. Inclusions can be so small,
they go unseen by the naked eye. Others may not be visible,
especially in small stones, but if they are of the right type,
or there are several of them, their presence will disrupt the
passage of light to the point where the stone is dull, or looks
cloudy.

Some of the finest diamonds in the world have an inclusion of
one kind or another, but it does not detract from the overall
quality, when considered together with the cut, color and
carats.