Students Of Success

Dear Friend:

Don’t do it.

Don’t start your fundraising letters with “Dear Friend.”

After all, when was the last time you received a letter from
someone dear to you, addressing you as “Dear Friend?” Never,
right? The days of the Dear Friend letter are dead. So let’s
bury the Dear Friend letter together.

I heard recently of a chairman of the board of a national
charity who has given his charity millions of dollars and
hundreds of hours of his time, yet he still receives their
fundraising appeals addressing him as “Dear Friend.” Ouch.

Your fundraising letters are intended to make friends as well as
solicit funds. So don’t send form letters to make friends.
Friends write personal letters. Letters addressed to their
friends by name. My wife never sends me a letter that begins,
“Dear Friend.” Neither do my friends. And neither should you
when writing to your donors.

I realize that personalization costs more. I know that you save
money if you send everyone the same Dear Friend letter. You
don’t have to insert custom fields into your letter. You don’t
have to perform a time-consuming mail-merge. You don’t have to
match the addresses on your letters with the addresses on your
reply cards and mailing envelopes (assuming you are using
closed-face envelopes).

You can compare your costs for mailing a personalized letter
versus mailing a Dear Friend letter, and you’ll also find that
the Dear Friend letter is cheaper. But I’d like to suggest, and
so I will, that you are measuring the wrong thing.

Return on investment shouldn’t be your only criteria for
measuring the success of your fundraising letters. What about
donor loyalty? What about donor attrition? What about the
lifetime value of each donor? What about plain old courtesy?

Donors stop giving for any number of reasons, but at the top of
the list is feeling unappreciated. Think of that chairman of the
board that I mentioned a minute ago. Can’t you just hear him
saying to himself, as he receives yet another Dear Friend
appeal, “I have given this charity millions of dollars and
hundreds of hours of my time, and they treat me as though they
don’t even know my name”?

Yes, Dear Friend letters are expedient. But expedience is not
your only aim in running a successful fundraising letter
program. Robbing banks is also expedient, but it’s not right.
Using guilt as a motivator in your letters is also expedient. It
raises funds in the short term. But it’s not right. And starting
every letter with Dear Friend is more expedient than customizing
each letter, but it’s not the right thing to do.

You should bury the Dear Friend letter because it is impersonal
and rude. It alienates perfectly nice donors, people who will
continue to support your organization with their treasure, time
and talents if you will only treat them as partners and not as
automated bank machines. Addressing your donors by name makes
them feel special and appreciated.

At the Business Depot where I buy my office supplies, there is a
store clerk who always remembers my name. She serves hundreds of
customers. Yet when I approach the cash, she makes me feel like
I’m a special customer. I feel a little flattered every time.
Her name, by the way, is Allyson.

Specialists in customer service have long known that remembering
a customer’s name–and using it–is one of the most effective
ways (and free ways) to encourage repeat business, customer
loyalty and free word-of-mouth advertising. The same is just as
true in fundraising, although I have no empirical studies to
back that up.

Please don’t start your letters with Dear Friend. Donors take it
personally.

© 2005 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this
article online and in print provided the links remain live and
the content remains unaltered (including the “About the author”
message).

Introduction So you have your own website up and running
and you are getting plenty of visitors a day. You are spending
money on your domain name and your hosting and you want to make
up the costs? How can you do this? In this tutorial we will
guide you through successfully generating a residual income from
your website.

Getting Started Remember, not everyone will be able to
make money from their website. It must meet most of the
following requirements or you will not be accepted into most
advertising networks:

* It needs to look reasonably professional or at least not
tacky. * It needs to have some original content, not just spammy
keyword pages. * It needs to attract a good handful of visitors
each day. * It is preferable not to be hosted on a free host
(but not required). * It should have its own proper domain name.
* The pages should load quickly. * Navigation should be easy and
painless. * Clear contact links should be available on each page.

You meet the requirements? Good, now its time to get stuck in!

The Different Types of Ads

There are 3 different types of ads:

1. CPM - Cost per thousand impressions (from the Latin, M =
1000) 2. CPC - Cost per click on an ad 3. CPA - Cost per action
- every signup or purchase

CPM (Cost per thousand) CPM offers tend not to pay very
well because they may not be successful for the advertiser,
however, they do guarantee the publisher (you!) income if you
know the amount of traffic you receive.

CPC (Cost per click) CPC advertising has worked well for
our site, the google ads at the top of most page pay us well for
each and every unique click. They generally pay between $0 and
$1.50 which can work out very beneficially. Cost per click is
liked by advertisers because it does not cost them too much and
they get traffic, and publishers because a signup is not
necessary for income to be generated.

CPA (Cost per action) This tends to be the favourite of
advertisers, they only pay when a signup or purchase is made,
good if used for a targeted audience.

Companies we recommend: Allposters.c
om - A fantastic opportunity to earn loads of money with a
25-30% commission. Google Adsense - Almost
all sites are accepted and the payout is pretty good. Reve
nue Pilot - Another good advertising company with loads of
customizable add formats. Maxbounty<
/a> - Another good CPA company - plenty of ads to choose from
and excellent payouts.

It is important to display ads which are relevant to your
website because otherwise your visitors will not be interested
in the ads. For example, if you run a games website, displaying
ads to dancing sites will probably not work very well for you.

Do not overload your visitors with ads. You should try and avoid
popups as visitors tend not to be impressed by them. With all
the toolbars and visitors closing popups as soon as they open,
they are largely ineffective.

Try a range of different solutions, see what works for you and
your site, and watch the checks roll in! We hope this tutorial
has helped you! Good luck!

Imagine you have been trying all kinds of remedies and various exercises on losing weight and they seem not to work on you. You kind of think that your body does not respond to these techniques you have been applying and you have been having sleepless nights always wondering how best you can do it in order to lose weight. To some people losing weight is a major issue and it may cause depression, anxiety and even disturb your social life. There are various techniques which can be considered when exercising to lose weight and these work well. Some techniques work very fast and results can be noticed within a few weeks and these are the use of supplements such as fat burners, sliming tablets which are used during exercises.

The use of natural remedies during exercises is very effective. Having enough rest and eating a balanced diet can also reduce weight during exercises as this helps overcome the excess of fat deposit. Visiting a gym is highly recommended, also various exercise equipments are available and an instructor is available to help you during your exercises. The more you exercise is the more you will get positive results as long you are doing the exercises properly.

More sport and exercise tips

Follow these 10 “laws” of fat loss and you are guaranteed a leaner physique. Think about it; not too many things in life are guaranteed. Often times we have to put a lot of work into something without knowing whether our effort will pay off in the end. This is just part of life, but with fat loss we know we will be successful as long as we have a solid plan in place and as long as we stick to that plan. The sticking to it is usually the part we have the most trouble with. It can be difficult to stay on a fat loss eating plan, but it becomes a little easier when you consistently remind yourself that a leaner you is right around the corner if you just stick with it. You are probably already familiar with some of these laws. If that is the case then now it is just a matter of bringing it all together and DOING IT!

1) You must create a slight calorie deficit in order to lose body fat. The most effective way to do this is to exercise and control the number of calories you ingest each day. Get use to knowing the number of calories that are contained in everything you eat. This is made easy for us with nutrition labels on store bought food and nutritional information sheets available at most fast food restaurants.

2) You must feed your body smaller meals every 2-3 hours throughout the day. Eating this way compared to the normal 3 meals a day increases your metabolic rate significantly. It also prevents you from ever getting too hungry, which is when you are most likely to go off of your nutrition plan and consume too many calories.

3) Every one of your small meals throughout the day should contain a source of high quality protein, carbohydrates, and “good” fat, with the exception of post workout meals, which should consist of fast digesting carbohydrates and proteins and very little or no fat. High quality meal replacements are a great way to supplement several of your meals during the day.

4) Drink enough water every single day. Having adequate water enables your body to function properly, including its ability to burn fat. Water also flushes toxins and impurities from the body.

5) Always incorporate weight training and cardiovascular exercise into your fat loss nutrition plan.

6) Use the power of vegetables to help you reach your goals. Vegetables are the most nutrient dense food around meaning that you can eat a tremendous quantity of vegetables and consume very few calories. The high fiber content of vegetables also causes your body to work very hard just to digest the vegetables, which means that the calories you do consume are all burned up just in the digestion process. So, in turn, vegetables are negative calories! If you get hungry you can always add more vegetables with no fear of hurting your fat loss efforts (Fried okra does not count!)

7) Pick a nutrition plan that you can live with and that you have faith in. If you cannot consistently follow a nutritional program then you will never have success with it. A good rule to remember is that any “diet” that you eventually come off of will fail in the long run. To have success you must incorporate a nutritional program that you can follow for the rest of your life. This requires a lifestyle change and commitment on your part. It is also important that you have faith and confidence in your fat loss nutrition program. If you do not truly believe that something is going to work for you, then you will not stick with it.

“Cheat” if you want to, but know the consequences of excessive overindulgence. Having a “cheat” day or cheat meal every week or every two week, in which you allow yourself to eat whatever food you are craving, is a great way to help you stick with your nutritional program. “Cheat” days give us a mental break and allow us to enjoy some of our favorite foods so that we do not feel deprived. However, don’t fool yourself into thinking that your body “needs” these cheat days, and be careful of the quantity of food you eat on your cheat day. If your cheat meal turns into a full day of pigging-out on everything in sight then you can easily undo all of the hard work you put in the week before.

9) Keep your eye on the prize. Eating to lose body fat is tough. I am not going to lie and say it isn’t. There will undoubtedly be times when you feel like giving up and accepting the fact that you can never achieve your ideal physique and level of health and fitness. When you feel like this take a couple of minutes to remind yourself exactly why you are doing it. Think of how awesome it is going to feel when you finally do reach your goals. Trust me, when you achieve your fat loss goals and reach a new level of health and fitness, it will be well-worth the sacrifice you had to make along the way.

10) Be consistent and never give up. Permanent fat loss requires a lifelong commitment to eating healthier and exercising. Don’t become frustrated or give up if you do not seem to be reaching your goals as quickly as you would like. Achieving the body and level of fitness you desire takes time and consistency. If you mess up on your nutrition plan don’t beat yourself up. Instead, get right back to it and keep making progress because with enough determination and desire you WILL eventually get there.

© Russ Yeager’s Health and Fitness 2006 All rights reserved. Use of this article is permitted for your newsletter, website, or other publication as long as the content is not altered.

Your Ten Step Debt Elimination System

The simplest systems are generally the best.
This adage applies to debt elimination too.
Over the years, I have evaluated many systems.
Let me introduce you to the best one.

The Simple, yet Effective, Idiot proof, Iron Clad, No Holds
Barred, Debt Elimination system, Devoid Of Any Fine Print.

Just take the following steps and your goal of debt elimination will be achieved.

1.) Check the recorded expenses for the last 12 months. One year
is a sufficient period for checking personal experience. Check
all recorded expenses, bank statements, cancelled checks,
credit card statements, or whatever other record you have. For
cash expenses, carry a small notebook with you for a few weeks
and note down all expenses, however minor it may seem to be.
At the end of the day, you will be amazed to see a molehill
becoming a mountain. I have gone through this. It is a pain really.

2.) Find out the total monthly expense, by dividing the recorded
expenses by 12 and adding the cash expenses adjusted for a month.

3.) Make a list of your debts. Do not forget to include mortgage.
Call your creditor if you do not have this information handy.
(However, it pays to keep the information handy.)

4.) Make a list of minimum payments on your debts that you have
to make every month. Assume that the total comes to $2000
every month.

5.) Find out debt remaining repayment period assuming minimum
installment every month.

6.) Rank your debts on the number of months for repayment in
ascending order. That means, the debt with the smallest number
of months remaining for repayment, is the first number. Go on
until the last debt.

7.) Make a priority list for repayment of your debts.
Your highest priority debt should be the one that you can
pay off in the minimum number of months.
Your lowest priority debt is the one that will take you the maximum number of months.
Perhaps this will probably be your mortgage on your home.

8.) In step # 4. you have calculated your minimum repayment as
$2000. Make up your mind to increase this by 10%.

9.) To have an additional $200 for repayment, reduce $200 from
your expenses, and reserve it for additional debt repayment.
Think of all the possible ways to do this. Make a determined
effort and most likely you will exceed your target of $200.

10.) Use this additional $200 for repayment of first priority debt. If you were paying $100 previously, now you will be paying $300. This $300 will have a cascading effect on your repayment as soon as the first debt is paid off. You will now have $300 additional for repayment in place of $200 that you had from your savings.

This way you will be debt free in a few years. The beauty of this system is that it all came from just $200 that you have saved in years of your resolve to be debt free.

When you have paid off the final debt, you will find that you have a much larger amount in hand to spend than your original $200 a month that you saved initially from your expenses.

The cascading effect of your saving $200 will be
evident in coming years.

Not only will you be just debt free in few years, but also will have built a substantial base on which to build up your dreams. All this for just $200 per month of your initial saving efforts.

Robert Singleton offers more information on, How to Restore Your Credit, Pay Off All Your Debts and Have Enough Money in the Bank to Put an End to the Stress Caused by Your Finances. For more information, and other valuable resources, visit this site: http://www.SupremeUpTime.com
and scroll down to “Other Resources”. Click on “Other Resources”.

Copyright Robert Singleton. All rights reserved.

A pair of well crafted diamond earrings gives a touch of
elegance to your countenance. What gave diamond earrings an edge
over other precious stone earring is it its versatile shapes,
color and designs. Investing in fine pair of diamond earring is
a good idea, but don’t get despaired with the no. of available
options. The choice you have the better you chose. Your first
pair of Diamond Earrings You can gift yourself a diamond as a
reward of your hard work and to mark your accomplishments. Few
things you need to decide before entering the shop of diamond
jewelry. First, what is your style of diamond earring a hoop,
stud or drop earring? Although these choices are just tip of the
iceberg, in your hunt you will find intricate patterns fixed
with a cluster diamonds but solitaire diamond earrings are one
if the most popular style .

Stud earrings consist of a single stone in a stud setting you
can fix any shape of the diamond (i.e. round, princess, pear,
marquise, etc.) and fix it in the preferred metal (i.e.
platinum, white gold, yellow gold, etc.). If you are looking for
a simpler pattern than go for a Drop earring, it can give
stunning looks if fixed with more than one diamond (a drop
earring with 3 stones) and they may involve intricate styles of
settings.

If you like hoop earrings, J-Hoop or complete hoop is popular
choice but the use of the diamonds to line the hoop is
important. Choosing right metal is also important for your
diamond hoop earrings as the diamonds are lined between two
prominent bands of preferable of platinum, white gold, yellow
gold or silver.

No every one can shell out his/her account on diamonds .it is
better to draw a line for your diamond shopping otherwise you’ll
end up in paying huge interest. It is better to have a clear
picture about your budget; it will make easier to decide which
pair of earrings is best for you. A diamond earring gives a
dazzling looks to a bride and make her feel like queen on that
special day.

for more information on diamond earrings, visit:
http://www.preciousglow.com

Current Situation:

As of this writing, the MCI Board of Governors has given Verizon Communications Inc. one week to sweeten their $7.5 billion offer, otherwise they have no choice but to accept Qwest Communications’ $9.74 billion offer to purchase MCI Inc. If the Board does not receive a counter offer from Verizon Communications by May 3, 2005, then it will recommend its shareholders vote for Qwest’s offer. From all accounts (Noguchi Washington Post, 4/24/2005), Verizon is a stronger and more stable company with $71.3 billion versus $13.8 in 2004 revenue, 210,000 employees versus 42,000. Qwest carries more than $17 billion in debt and it plans to reduce its costs by $15 billion by cutting 15,000 employees after the merger while Verizon plans to cut about 7,000 jobs.

The Problem:

The question is: Can Qwest Communications break all rules of successful mergers and still survive? The driving force behind Qwest’s acquisition is the 60-70 percent of MCI shareholders, which consists of hedge fund investors (a group of super rich investors) with a strong interest in quick return on their investments. Since MCI just came out of bankruptcy, the bank creditors are not going to benefit with Qwest’s plan to cut 17,000 jobs and it is going to be very difficult to keep key employees. When key employees depart for other companies it is highly likely that customer service will suffer leading many of them to change their service providers. It is also feasible that Verizon could use its financial resources to build new networks to attract MCI’s corporate customers located in the Northeast region where it does business.

Déj Vu:

MCI has been here before. The year was 1997 and British Telecom (BT) was ready to acquire MCI for $21 billion. Then BT discovered a discrepancy in MCI’s accounting and reduced its offer to $17 billion. Bernard Ebbers, at the time the Chief Executive of WorldCom stepped in and offered about $31 billion all in stocks. At the time, BT was in the same position that Verizon is currentlyvery stable and debt light. It appears that history is repeating itself. During the late 1990s and early 2000, several dotcom businesses failed because they did not follow proven business models. They thumbed their noses at well-established and functioning business practices.

Merger strategy and post merger integration:

Those contemplating the merger of Qwest and MCI must know something that the experts of mergers and acquisition do not know. Qwest needs MCI to expand its long distance business and to grow. They see a synergy between the two organizations. However, they fail to admit that the major investors are in it for the quick return on their investments. It has been widely reported that 60-80 percent of mergers and acquisitions fail. This is due in part to inattention to post merger integration of two corporate cultures, loss of key employees, and inability to meet customer needs. In addition, by the time the merger is approved by the regulatory bodies, the competition can develop their own strategies to negate any possible impacts of the merger to their business.

The result is the buyer ends up losing. No other organization has been able to survive without adherence to most of the basic principles of organizational change management. Who knows, the leaders of Qwest Communications may have some creative ways to make this corporate marriage work. I wish them all the best. “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” George Santayana (1863-1952) Reason in Common Sense.

Dr. Odubiyi is the author of Blueprint for a Crooked Housea book that reflects on the factors that caused the collapse of a $10 billion joint venture between AT&T and British Telecom. He is an associate professor of computer science at Bowie State University in Maryland. He was a Principal AI Researcher and R&D Manager at British Telecom North America/Concert Global Communications (USA).
http://www.blueprintforacrookedhouse.com

“Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams.
Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled
potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in,
but with what is still possible for you to do.”
-Pope John XXIII

One of my newsletter subscribers wrote to share how profoundly she was affected by thinking about three questions I asked in my last article, The Power of Acknowledgement.

Perhaps these questions deserve further reflection:

1. Are you affected by what happens to you?
2. Do you affect what happens to you?
3. Which would you prefer?

In The Art of Possibility, authors Rosamund and Benjamin Zander remind us of our tremendous ability to attract what we want in our lives by being purposeful. In addition to being co-author of this wonderful book, Ben Zander is also the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and a teacher at the New England Conservatory of Music.

After 25 years of teaching, Ben Zander recognized that students would be in such a chronic state of anxiety over the measurement of their performance that they would be reluctant to take risks with their playing. One evening Ben brainstormed with his wife, Roz (she is a therapist), to see if they could think of something that would dispel students’ anticipation of failure. Here’s what they came up with.

Ben had a class of 30 graduate students taking a two-semester exploration into the art of musical performance, including the psychological and emotional factors that can stand in the way of great music-making. He announced at the beginning of the semester that each student in the class would be getting an A for the course. However, they were asked to fulfill one requirement to earn this grade.

Sometime during the next two weeks, each student was asked to write him a letter dated for the following May, which began with the words, “Dear Mr. Zander, I got my A because…”. In the letter they were to tell a detailed story of what would have happened to them by next May that was in line with them receiving an A in his class. In other words, Zander asked the students to place themselves in the future, looking back, and to report on all the insights they acquired and milestones they attained during the school year, as if those accomplishments were already in the past. He asked them to write about the person they would have become by next May.

You’ll have to get The Art of Possibility to read some of the amazing letters Ben Zander received from his students.

Zander tells us that “the A is an invention that creates possibility for both mentor and student, manager and employee, or for any human interaction. The practice of giving an A allows the teacher to line up with her students in their efforts to produce the outcome, rather than lining up with the standards against these students. In the first instance, the instructor and the student, or the manager and the employee, become a team for accomplishing the extraordinary; in the second, the disparity in power between them can become a distraction and an inhibitor, drawing energy away from productivity and development.”

Doing Things the “Right” Way

“You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way,
the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.”
– Friedrich Nietzsche

Those in charge often fall into the trap of identifying their own agendas and standards, along with a message that “my way is the only right way.” Virtually everybody wakes up in the morning with an unseen assumption that life is about the struggle to survive and get ahead in a world of limited resources. This limited view squelches innovation and creativity, and it also trains people to focus on what they need to do to please their superiors by doing things the “right” way — whether that way works for them or not.

As a youth I had planned on a performance career as a coloratura/lyric soprano, so I was thrilled when I was offered admission to Eastman School of Music — a very competitive and top-rated music conservatory in New York. I vividly recall one of my lowest moments during my freshman year at Eastman…

My roommate was a bassoonist, and we were both giving recitals near the end of our freshman year. She needed a scheduled break in the middle of her recital to rest her embouchure (the formation of the muscles in the mouth and lips, designed to create pressure on the reed), so she asked if I would perform something from my recital on her program. I agreed to do so, thinking it would also be good practice for me as I prepared for my own recital two weeks later.

The week before her recital, my voice teacher noticed a flyer advertising my roommate’s recital program, with my name included on her program. That week when I entered my teacher’s studio for my voice lesson, she pulled out a copy of my roommate’s flyer and informed me that I would not be performing in her recital because I was not ready During the ensuing rage-filled lecture that followed, my teacher instructed me that I was never to perform in public without her permission. After all, her reputation was on the line! She could not believe I had the audacity to consider performing anywhere in public without first getting her permission to do so.

Recalling this most unpleasant outburst from my Prima Donna voice teacher 28 years ago, I have great appreciation for something that Ben Zander said: “It is dangerous to have our musicians so obsessed with competition because they will find it difficult to take the necessary risks with themselves to be great performers. The art of music, since it can only be conveyed through its interpreters, depends on expressive performance for its lifeblood. Yet it is only when we make mistakes in performance that we can really begin to notice what needs attention.” You don’t have to be a musician to appreciate the value of his wisdom.

Zander actively trains his students to celebrate their mistakes by lifting their arms in the air, smiling, and saying, “How fascinating!” As I read the book, I tried to imagine what it would have been like as an 18-year-old performer if I had studied with a teacher like Benjamin Zander.

You may be wondering what happened after my voice teacher ripped me to shreds. At the age of 18, I did not have the backbone to stand up to a person of such famed stature, so I did not perform in my roommate’s recital. Just two weeks later I performed the same piece in my own recital…and my teacher was very pleased with my performance. After completing my freshman year, I transferred to Macalester College in Minnesota, where I got a great liberal arts education and studied with an outstanding and affirming voice teacher for my remaining three years. There I received encouragement and support in an environment where it was safe to take risks, make mistakes, and learn from them. Instead of feeling defeated, I flourished.

Carl Jung, the Swiss psychologist and psychiatrist who founded analytic psychology, sums it up by saying that “Criticism has the power to do good when there is something that must be destroyed, dissolved, or redirected, but it is capable only of harm when there is something to be built.”

Zander suggests that mistakes and negative experiences can become great opportunities for growth. He tells the story about a tenor who came to him after losing his girlfriend. He was in such despair that he could hardly function. Zander was secretly delighted, because he knew that this heartbreak would enable the tenor to more fully express the heart-rendering passion of Schubert’s Die Winterreise (about the loss of a beloved). Zander recalls, “That song had completely eluded him the previous week because up to then, the only object of affection he had ever lost was a pet goldfish.”

In The Art of Possibility, the Zanders share a fundamental practice that is captured in the catch-phrase, “it’s all invented.” It’s all a story you tell — not just some of it, but all of it. And every story you tell is founded on a network of hidden assumptions.

Zander explains, “We do not mean that you can just make anything up and have it magically appear. We mean that you can shift the framework to one whose underlying assumptions allow for the conditions you desire. Let your thoughts and actions spring from the new framework and see what happens.”

Here’s a great example of the power of shifting your framework and assumptions: A shoe factory sends two marketing scouts to a region of Africa to study the prospects for expanding business. One sends back a telegram saying, “Situation hopeless. No one wears shoes.” The other writes back triumphantly, “Glorious business opportunity. They have no shoes!”

Perhaps you’ve applied limitations that were not given to you, but were assumed. So what happens if you open up the possibility of using the space beyond the dots rather than confining yourself to work within the square formed by the outer dots? If you are still struggling with this, scroll down to the end of this article to see what is possible when you invent a new point of view.

Here are some simple questions the Zanders suggest you ask yourself as you practice “it’s all invented.”

• What assumptions am I making, that I’m not aware I’m making, that gives me what I see?
• What might I now invent, that I haven’t yet invented, that would give me other choices?

Remember the three questions I began this article with?

Are you affected by what happens to you?

Do you affect what happens to you?
Which would you prefer?

Using the “it’s all invented” practice, perhaps you can begin to see how you can profoundly affect what happens to you.

I invite you to take out a piece of stationery and write yourself a letter, dating it for June, 2006. Project yourself into the future as you write a letter about all the insights you will have acquired and the milestones you will have attained during the year, as if your accomplishments for the next twelve months were already in the past.

“In the realm of possibility, we gain our knowledge by invention. Language creates categories of meaning that open up new worlds to explore. The pie is enormous, and if you take a slice, the pie is whole again. ” –Benjamin Zander

What is possible when you invent a new point of view?

“When you change the way you look at things,
the things you look at change.”
–Wayne Dyer

Kathy Paauw helps busy executives, professionals, and entrepreneurs de-clutter their schedules, spaces and minds so they can focus on what’s most important. She is an organizing & productivity consultant, certified professional & personal coach, and speaker. Contact Kathy via email: kathy@orgcoach.net or visit her website at http://www.orgcoach.net and learn how you can find anything you file or store in 5 seconds…guaranteed!

Microfiber mopping systems are becoming more widely used in commercial and hospital settings over traditional mopping systems for a variety of economic and safety reasons.

• Microfiber mop heads are extremely absorbent, holding six or seven times its weight in water, which means it can hold enough water to get the job done, yet doesn’t drip like the traditional wet mop. Because the mop head needs less water, floors dry more quickly because they’re merely damp, not visibly wet. Floors cleaned with microfiber mopping systems typically dry in 1/3 the time of traditional mopping systems. This makes for a much safer environment, resulting in fewer slip/fall accidents.
• Instead of continually rinsing and wringing, the soiled microfiber mop heads are replaced with clean pads, which helps to eliminate cross contamination. Then all the dirty pads are washed and readied for re-use. Each mop pad can be washed and re-used hundreds of times. Traditional mop heads cannot hold up to repeated washings and need to be replaced more often.
• Another safety feature of microfiber mopping systems is that they are ergonomically friendly for users. The mop handles are very light-weight, and the mop heads swivel, so there is no need to use awkward movements and postures while mopping. The handles also have adjustable lengths, so each user can adjust the length to match their height.
• Microfiber mopping systems eliminate the need for buckets and wringers, which means there is no need to strain back muscles by lifting heavy mops soaked with water and then pressing down on wringers to get rid of the excess water. Workers also find microfiber mopping systems less tiring because there is no extra lifting, moving, dumping, and rinsing needed as is the case with traditional mopping systems.
• There is also a huge economic savings in chemical usage when making the switch to microfiber mopping systems. There is no need for large amounts of cleaners or disinfectants, which need to be added to the traditional mop bucket filled with water. Although disinfectants and cleaners can be used with microfiber mopping systems, very small amounts are needed.

Here is a simple method that can be used to incorporate a microfiber mopping system to your cleaning program:

1. Place a clean plastic basin on the cleaning cart, and then fill with water at the utility sink in the janitor closet. Add a small amount of cleaning solution to the water if needed.
2. Place a number of microfiber mop pads into the water to soak.
3. When ready to mop, wring out a mop pad, drop it flat on the floor and attach to the mop head (microfiber mop pads and heads use velcro to attach to each other).
4. To change the mop head, simply turn the mop upside down, remove the soiled pad, place it in a bag on the cart, and replace with a fresh pad from the plastic basin.
5. At the end of the shift, the soiled microfiber pads are cleaned and dried for re-use.

If you’re like most small cleaning companies, you’re looking for ways to save money and provide safer working conditions for your workers. Incorporating a microfiber mopping system into your cleaning program will help to save your company money on expensive mop buckets, mops and mop heads. Even better is the fact that you’ll see fewer slip/fall accidents, and fewer lifting and ergonomic injuries to your employees.

Steve Hanson is co-founding member of The Janitorial Store (TM), an online community for owners and managers of cleaning companies who want to build a more profitable and successful cleaning business. Sign up for Trash Talk: Tip of the Week at http://www.TheJanitorialStore.com and receive a Free Gift!

The photographer is going to be your employee in many ways, so you will need to be absolutely sure that this is a person that you can trust with your wedding pictures. Treat him or her like a job applicant and see how you interact with each other.

Making a list

You can find a list of wedding photographers in your local phone book, but it’s much easier to get onto a wedding website and see who local people recommend. This list is much shorter and can lead you to higher quality people without having to call everyone from A to Z.

Once you have a list of photographers, start to call them to set up appointments. Try not to schedule them too close to each other so that you can spend as much time as you need with each one. If you’re rushed, you may forget to ask particular questions and you may also forget which photographer said what.

Make a list of questions that you want to ask. You can ask about pricing, hourly fees, added costs, location costs, various developing techniques, and more. Try to think of every question that you and your soon-to-be spouse can, even if you think they sound silly. No question is too silly, and if the photographer has been around long enough, then they will have heard them all.

Your interview style

One of the things that works best in talking with photographers is to try to make sure that you are leading the conversation. You want to make sure that you are getting your opinion into the talks, rather than being told what other couples are doing and saying about them and how much their fees are.

If you feel like you’re being sold a product, rather than an opportunity to have some great pictures, then you can cut the appointment off and leave. You have no obligation to choose anyone until you’re completely satisfied with your choice.

Look at the samples carefully and make sure that you’re looking at ones that are recent. Sometimes photographers will try to show you older photos, but if that’s not your style, then it’s really not applicable. Study the quality of the pictures and look for poses that you like.

Your pictures will serve as a reminder of the happiness and joy of your wedding day. You need to find someone who will create masterpieces of your photos. Take your time in finding someone, but do it earlyif you live in a smaller town, these professionals can book up early.

Amy Spade is an expert on planning weddings, and she has written an amazing totally free minicourse on how to make sure that you have the day of your dreams and avoid wedding day disaster! Get the free course now by clicking Your Special Day from Start