The Savvy Marketplace

Consistency seems to be a boring idea at first sight. It lacks glamour and excitement. But, when you look more closely, consistency is anything but boring. It contains the secret of achievement and success. It is the key to an almost magical power than can transform lives.

Consistency means repeating the same behaviors regularly and without exceptions. Consistent behavior is the opposite of erratic behavior. Skipping workouts is an example of erratic behavior. Performing all or most of your workouts is an example of consistency.

Consistency creates powerful habits; lack of consistency and exceptions mean that you have to start building the habits all over again.

Consistency allows the seeds to grow and the fruit to arrive. Regular, patient, consistent action is necessary to achieve good results. Even winning the lottery requires buying a ticket and entering the numbers.

A woman who won the US $162 million lottery is quoted as saying, that she played the same numbers consistently for two years. She didn’t play it once or twice and give up as so many people do.

She steadfastly believed that her dream of winning the lottery would be realized. Consistency may occasionally work even in the notoriously risky world of gambling.

Recently, I read an outstanding article by T.J. Walker, the public speaking and communication expert. He commented on how often communication breaks down on the internet because of a lack of consistency.

Ezines, blogs and podcasts often only last for one or two issues and then they disappear. Either their creators ran out of material or foolishly expected success after one or two efforts and gave up when the results of their efforts were disappointing.

Most marketing gurus insist that sales only come after about seven email messages have been sent to a list of potential customers.

Many would be entrepreneurs lack the patience and consistency to send out even seven messages to their lists. They are unlikely to succeed in winning the trust of their customers.

Nearly any goal worth achieving demands regular and consistent efforts. If you want to achieve a black belt in a martial art, you need to show up to one training session after another whether you feel like it or not.

I know, from many years of experience, that students who show up regularly for training almost always achieve their goal of becoming a black belt.

However, I have had some very talented students who lacked patience and only showed up sporadically. When their progress up the ladder of success seemed too slow to them, they gave up and disappeared.

When I examine my martial arts students at grading sessions, I often congratulate them for just being there. I tell them that they are already half way through the grading because they have shown up and in the famous words of Woody Allen: “80% of success in life is just showing up.”

By showing up, my students have shown that they have guts and are willing to accept the fact that they might look foolish if they forget their syllabus or perform it badly. Not every one can face this possibility and I even had one student give up the martial art because the grading seemed too worrying.

One person who has never failed to show up in the UK and about a third of the rest of the world is Queen Elizabeth II. For over half a century she has shown up at one formal and informal occasion after another in good and bad times. She has traveled thousands of miles around the world to achieve her goal of being a servant of her country and the commonwealth.

Today was her 80th birthday and most of the country and even the media showed their appreciation for her consistent adherence to duty. One paper actually called her “Elizabeth the Great”.

Greatness only comes when efforts are consistent. Champion teams win championships not because they win every match but because they consistently play well and with determination and, as a result, win most of their matches.

An individual loses weight because they stick consistently to their diet and to their exercise regime. A body builder adds muscle weight because he consistently attends the gym whether he feels like it or not. The champions do not give up when they feel tired or bored or when results seem painfully slow.

Daily efforts create habits and habits make it easier to make those daily efforts but it still takes hard work and the determination to follow through every single day no matter what.

To achieve your goals repeat your efforts every single day. Turn up in the gym or wherever you need to. Don’t be like my step brother who was once told: “You won’t turn up for your own funeral!”

Occasionally you make have to make an exception and miss out on the desired behavior. One way to avoid exceptions is to perform the behavior you have planned as early as possible in the day before the rest of the family and the cat start demanding your attention!

Another way to avoid exceptions is to make a list of your most important daily behaviors in order of importance. Stick it on your wall and read it as soon as you get up. This way, your consistency will not falter because of a poor memory.

Repeat the desired or planned behavior daily and with as few exceptions as possible and you will make gradual but certain progress and eventually achieve your loftiest goals and dreams.

Even if you don’t achieve all your goals and dreams, you will have at least become a great character and a person of value because you did what you planned to do on a daily basis. That, at least, is a goal worth achieving.

About the author

John Watson is an award winning teacher and fifth degree black belt martial arts instructor. He has recently written several books about achieving your goals and dreams.

One of these can be found here

http://www.motivationtoday.com/36_laws.php

Now that Min Bahadur Sherchan has successfully scaled the tallest mountain in the world, he is once again ready to focus on his family. They basically coerced the Nepali government to not allow any climbers past camp two on the Nepali side. His first found him within 176 metres of the peak when his team stopped to help a fellow mountaineer who was left for dead. Two years later, Bahadur Sherchan, a University of Calgary alumni, returned to Mount Everest to finish what he had started.

Nepalese climber, 77, oldest man to climb to the summit of Chomolungma Min Bahadur Sherchan and four climbing guides reached the 29,035-foot (8,850-meters) summit of the world’s highest mountain early Sunday, said Ramesh Chretri, an official with Nepal’s ministry of tourism.

However, he was all too aware of the potential dangers Chomolungma or Mount Everest could bring. Certain parts of the climb are more dangerous than others and it is important for climbers to remain focused “The Chinese weren’t allowing anybody on the Mount Everest. They ended up commandeering it for themselves, even though Mt Everest is shared by two countries. Further, the decision to actualize a long-time personal goal left Andrew Brash with some internal uncertainties, he cited the political actions of China and Nepal as providing the greatest adversity he faced on his journey. More than 2996 people have climbed to the summit since it was first conquered in 1953 by New Zealander Edmund Hillary, who died in January, and Nepal’s Tenzing Norgay.

Hall was frostbitten and severely disoriented due to altitude sickness. Andrew Brash returned a hero to Calgarians. Bahadur Sherchan returned this week from Nepal after successfully climbing to the summit of Everest. Sherchan just 10 days away from his 77th birthday beat the age record set last year by 71-year-old Japanese teacher Katsusuke Yanagisawa.

With the Chinese preparing for the impending summer Olympic Games, Min Bahadur Sherchan noted that the government’s actions hardly reflected the Olympic spirit. Bahadur Sherchan last attempt resulted in the rescue of Lincoln Hall, an Australian climber who was left by his team in the “death zone.”

The Chinese were flying their airplanes over Chomolungma or Mount Everest and had Chinese officials in Kathmandu. “Mt Everest this year became a political pawn,” he said with some frustration.

They flexed their muscles this year all the in name of the Olympic spirit, but it was hardly spirited at all.”

As he planned for the climb, Sherchan told reporters he wanted to inspire fellow senior citizens. He also said many Nepalese have established records on the Mount Everest, so it was only fitting that the record for the oldest climber to reach the summit should also belong to a Nepali. The 75-year-old man from Nepal is now the oldest person to have reached the top of Chomolungma. This year French mountaineer Anthony Loeff is reporting the scales for Mount Everest after he reached the peak of Mont Blanc in France earlier this season.

“Frozen Key Lime Pie recipe?” Fern Butters asked. “Child, I’ll take that secret with me to the grave.”

Fern Butters’ frozen key lime pie was legend. Every time President Harry S Truman went through Islamorada on Upper Matecumbe Key on his way to the “Little White House” in Key West, he stopped. More specifically, he
stopped at Fern Inn for some of Fern Butters’ frozen key lime pie.

And so did other folks, commoners and dignitaries alike-Papa Hemingway, Cordell Hull, Douglas Fairbanks, Julia Child . And me.

I didn’t see any of those famous folks. Except Julia Child. And I didn’t know who she was. Ignorance of youth.

But I did eat Mrs. Butters’ frozen key lime pie.

I wasn’t a child when I asked her about the recipe. I had recipes for my grandmother’s compressed fruit cake. And my grandfather’s elderberry wine. And a passel of others I’d collected from near and far. So I thought her recipe would fit right in with my collection.

Not so. I was a young pastor at her little church in Matecumbe. But I could have been Gabriel himself.

And could never obtain that closely guarded secret.

Many had tried to replicate her recipe, but without success. I saw Julia Child once try to wheedle the recipe from Fern Butters with no success. I heard she tied to duplicate the recipe-again, no success.

Of course, that may just be a legend. It’s believable. Everyone who ever ate her frozen key lime pie coveted the recipe.

Well, Fern is now dead. The Fern Inn has changed names. Fern took the recipe to the grave with her.

But, recently her daughter called me up. She said that after all these years she was going through her mother’s letters and things and trying to clean out an old dresser drawer packed with old letters and notes.

She came across an envelope with my name on it. She wanted to know if I were the same preacher that served the little church down in Matecumbe.

This was a strange event. I had moved to Wisconsin serving churches there for several years. When I returned to South Florida, I was a professor in a college for 33 years. I retired from the college and served a church in North Miami Beach for 13 years. I retired again. Then answered a desperation call to serve as chaplain at a retirement community. I just happened to be in the area where Fern Butters’ daughter could contact me.

She sent me the envelope, now yellow with age. Fern had been dead for some 40 or so years. I opened the envelope. The note read:

This is what you asked for. Use it wisely.

And there was the recipe!

Now I’ve wondered what to do with this recipe. I could, of course, just publish it. Or I could write a book about my days as a young pastor among the Keys Conchs, as the folks there called themselves. I might even sell it [How long would that last!?]

But I’ve decided to give it away. I’m not even going to swear the recipients to secrecy. I’m just going to give it to folks who have a love for unusual recipes and for historical recipes. I have a buddy from North Carolina, for example, whose family has a recipe for pumpkin soup handed down since pioneer days.

And then there’s my friend from Ladies Island in Beaufort County South Carolina. She claims her ancestors created Frogmore Stew.

There’s an aunt in Western Maryland says she will give me the recipe for “Puddin’,” a meat product that’s out of this world when used on pancakes. I’ve no idea what the ingredients are, but I long to find out.

Folks that are interested in these kinds of recipe and are willing to share their own favorites are invited to subscribe at no cost to COOKIN’ GOOD NEWSLETTER at http://www.cookin-good.com/.

Not only will subscribers receive a copy of Fern Butters’ frozen key lime pie recipe, but will also receive a monthly issue of the newsletter at no cost. Everyone is invited to send their own unique recipes.

And invite your friends to subscribe. They’ll love you for telling them about it.

But for those who are simply curious about the recipe, for those who don’t want to visit the web site, for those who don’t mind missing out on all the wonderful features found in Cookin’ Good Gazette, here’s the recipe.

With Fern’s secret ingredient [forgive me, Fern!].

Mrs. Butters’ Secret
Key Lime Pie Recipe

Ingredients
1 Cup sweetened condensed milk
6 egg yolks [save whites]
Cup key lime juice [genuine key lime]
6 egg whites [I told you to save them!]
1 Tablespoon cream of tartar
1 Cup sugar
1 graham cracker pie crust [preferred-regular crust permissible]
pint secret ingredient

Procedure
Filling
Add yolks to condensed milk and beat 8 minutes
Add secret ingredient and beat until well mixed
Add key lime juice and mix well
Fold into pie shell
Place in freezer until well set. Keep unused portion in the freezer for up to a week [if it lasts that long!]

Topping
While pie sets beat 6 egg whites with cream of tartar for 5 minutes.
Add 1 cup of sugar and whip until meringue makes peaks when beater is removed from mixture.
Add to top of pie
Brown in 350◦ oven and cool in refrigerator for 15 or more minutes for a regular pie or in the freezer for an hour if it is frozen key lime pie.

Secret ingredient. pint of soft vanilla ice cream.

Don’t laugh. The addition of this secret ingredient has stumped many a jealous cook and chef, including, as I said, Julia Child. Reveal it and you take the mystery out of your own ability to produce “Harry Truman tested” Frozen Key Lime pie.

Dr. Larry Winebrenner is a well-known, well-received public speaker. He has extensive background in business practices seminars, genealogical research, producing training materials, marketing consulting, nutrition studies, and religious studies.

This article is located at http://www.cookin-good.com. Other sites maintained are located at http://www.home-bible-study.com/.

The founder of our martial arts dojo was fond of telling a story about a 98 pound weakling in high school who served as an unwilling punching bag for the local bullies.

Predictably, he’d be verbally harassed and then pushed around by these toughs, and I suppose, somewhere in the distance our founder may have even been cowering, himself; who knows?

Anyway, one day the jerks picked on this “runt” and something in him snapped. He went totally nuts and started fighting back!

Swinging wildly, but relentlessly, he drove off his attackers and he was left alone from that point forward.

The moral to the story is that the toughest creeps are afraid of people who snap, who act like uncontrollable animals, who are willing to risk all in their own defense or in defense of another.

I’ve given a lot of thought to the idea of developing a non-violent martial art, realizing of course, that excellent training in karate, aikido, and judo, to name a few disciplines, will strive to create a “peaceful warrior,” someone that is less and less likely to be involved in physical battle as his training increases.

The problem, as I see it, is one of fear. Good folks fear too much, and evil doers fear too little.

And I’m not convinced a completely peaceful approach to training will ever turn the tables.

Like blood in the water, the meek attract conflict, and they’re just too tempting, as targets.

I’m going to watch the movie about “Gandi” again, to see how this amazing waif of a fellow changed the world through the practice of nonviolence.

There has to be something he knew or did or both that martial artists can benefit from.

Some men have a complicated time keeping a hard pecker and some chicks have very long sex drives, meaning it takes the gal a really long time to climax Because of this difference in sex drives, love making will probably turn into a boring and undesirable experience. That’s why big dildos might be helpful. If the man spunks early in the sexual session, or even if the chick just takes longer than her man, he can continue to penetrate the chick with the thin dildo. That way all sexual activity does not have to end. It gives the man enough time to recharge his energy and helps the lady stimulated. So that when he’s prepared to come back into the game, the lady will still be aroused enough to accept the boy. For those who want fantastic pleasure try out Sex Toys and lube from Sex Bomb.

Your very most stimulation field is your brain. And as noticeably as numerous women won’t admit this, the penis is a symbol of fertility, no matter how massive or tiny, it is still associated with power. Penetrating your mistress with a big dildo will probably make a fantasy of power activity reality.

Some individuals like the sensation of feeling full in their vagina or bottom. Whenever a sex toy such as a big dildo, penetrates the vagina or bottom, the muscles contract around it. Tons of people observe the tightening of all of these muscles to be remarkably enjoyable.

Copyright 2006 Joel Sussman

One of the least understood, most underutilized marketing techniques in the business world is public relations. That fact represents an opportunity for small business owners and managers who are willing to devote a little time to cultivating relationships with reporters and editors in their community.

Advertising is the obvious approach to self-promotion, so a lot of your competition is doing it. Generating free or inexpensive publicity through press releases and media relations is not as commonplace, so it offers a much more uncluttered arena for gaining visibility and name recognition. The ‘cost of admission’ consists of a newsworthy story and a little insight into how the process works.

Potential Pitfalls and Opportunities

The bad news is that editors, radio news directors, and other media gatekeepers receive dozens of press releases every day, and that’s just in the small towns! Releases get tossed in the circular file for three primary reasons:

1) They look unprofessional, 2) They’re an ad masquerading as a news story, or 3) They have little or no news value.

Three other fatal flaws in a news release are: a failure to get to the point right away, an abysmal absence of formatting, and glaring typographical mistakes and grammatical neglect.

Although it may sound like there are 101 ways you can go wrong (so why even try?), it’s actually more a matter of common sense, persistence, and following a few basic guidelines. It might take a little experimentation to discover whether you get better results working directly with specific reporters, instead of editors (and using email vs snail mail), but as you fine tune your approach and make yourself known to local media people, your success rate should rise significantly. You may ultimately find that public relations is the missing link in an otherwise lackluster media campaign.

Cardinal Rules of Press Release Writing

As in any type of marketing, presentation and image can make a big difference in the quality of the results produced. Here are a dozen guidelines for putting your best foot forward with the media.

1) In the headline and the body of the release, emphasize the news value of your story. If it fails to catch an editor’s attention or sounds remotely like an ad, the odds of it being published or broadcast are slim.
2) It will have more of an impact if the first paragraph contains the most important information, with the rest of the material arranged in order of descending importance.
3) One simple, but useful guideline for writing a press release is the old journalism standard of focusing on the five “W’s”, namely: Who? What? When? Where? Why? and sometimes, How?
4) Write it from the perspective of an objective observer, not from the point of view of a business owner or manager
5) Use short sentences and double spacing between paragraphs.
6) The last paragraph should be reserved for a brief bio or a few boilerplate sentences about your company. Journalists know to look there for that information.
7) One page is the ideal length for a press release. The media will call or email you if they have questions or want to interview you.
Formatting elements: After the headline at the top, the following information is generally inserted: the words “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE”, one or two contact names and phone numbers, and, right before the first sentence of the release, the location and date of the news story.
9) Maintain an up-to-date mailing list of reporters and editors, and get to know them, whenever possible. Jot down a few notes about each one.
10) Suggest article ideas, occasionally, and let it be known that you’re available for interviews. IDEA: One way to establish a reputation as a valuable resource for the media is by preparing for them a printed list of experts, spokespeople, and authorities on topics related to your profession or industry.
11) Emailing tip: Reporters and editors intensely dislike email attachments, as a rule. Get around that by including the press release in the body of the email.
12) Perhaps the most important consideration when working with the media is that they’re always under an impending deadline, especially at daily newspapers and broadcast news departments. Among the worst violations of media etiquette is not returning phone calls promptly and requesting the chance to review articles prior to publication.

Opportunities to Send Press Releases

Countless opportunities to send out press releases and receive valuable, free publicity get missed every day. There are literally dozens of newsworthy opportunities for getting positive media exposure, including mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, office expansions, new employees, awards, workshops, speaking engagements, fund-raising campaigns, lobbying activities, the launch of a new web site, announcing survey results, sponsorships, or taking a public position on an industry-related issue. Business milestones are often a good reason to issue a press release, such as the grand opening of a new office or announcing a business’s 25th anniversary.

The bottom line is that being written about (or broadcast) in the media conveys more credibility than messages communicated through paid advertising; and it can be a vital element of any integrated marketing campaign. Although ‘Familiarity breeds contempt’, according to Aesop, the ancient Greek fabulist, one area in which that usually doesn’t hold true is modern public relations and marketing. With few exceptions, the more ways people hear about you, the better.

Joel Sussman, a freelance writer, Internet publisher, and former public relations specialist, has created an online resource for small business owners called ‘Marketing Survival Kit’. Visit www.marketingsurvivalkit for articles, templates, software, and downloadable marketing manuals

The Best Internet Software

I’ve scoured the online world to find the best Internet software in several categories, and I tried hard to find Macintosh equivalents for Windows programs when available. Most of the Windows programs are FREE, as are most of the Mac versions, but there were a few cases where I couldn’t find a freebie or equivalent for the Mac. Let’s have a look…

WEB BROWSERS

FireFox (WIN/MAC/LINUX) FREE
Firefox is a full-featured alternative to Internet Explorer that offers more secure browsing, popup blocking, tabbed browsing (view more than one web page in a single window), built-in search and a download manager.
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/

Opera (WIN/MAC/LINUX) FREE
Opera’s hallmark is compliance with Internet standards, and features a pop-up blocker, multiple-window navigation, mouse gestures, keyboard shortcuts, an e-mail client with a spam filter, and integrated search for user security and speed. The cross-platform browser includes chat, support for RSS newsfeeds, a password manager and cookie manager.
http://www.opera.com

FORM FILLERS

Roboform (WIN) FREE
RoboForm memorizes and stores your passwords, so you don’t have to. It automatically logs you into websites and completes online forms with one click. Passwords can be printed, copied to another computer, backed up, and restored.
http://www.roboform.com

My research shows no equivalent to Roboform for Macs. The Safari browser has some built-in form filling, but it will not work with IE, Firefox or other browsers.

RSS READERS

Feed Demon (WIN) FREE TRIAL
Stop wasting time checking your favorite web sites for updates. Take advantage of RSS feeds and use FeedDemon instead, and make them come to you. Easy-to-read newspaper format displays the latest news from dozens of sites, and Watches alert you to items of interest so you don’t have to look for them.
http://www.bradsoft.com/feeddemon/

NetNewsWire (MAC) FREE TRIAL
NetNewsWire is an easy-to-use RSS and Atom newsreader for Mac OS X. Its familiar three-paned interfacesimilar to Apple Mailcan fetch and display news from thousands of different websites and weblogs, making it quick and easy to keep up with the latest news.
http://ranchero.com/netnewswire/

REMOTE CONTROL

LogMeIn (WIN) FREE
Access your home or work computer via the Internet. LogMeIn offers full access and remote control of your computer via a web browser. You can view the desktop and use the mouse or keyboard to launch programs, open files or play a game. It’s just as if you were sitting in front of the remote computer.
http://www.logmein.com

Remote Desktop (MAC)
Mac users, try Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Connection Client for Mac.
http://www.microsoft.com/mac/otherproducts/otherproducts.aspx?pid=remotedesktopclient

SEARCH UTILITIES

Google Desktop Search (WIN)
Google Desktop Search lets you search the web or your own computer. Very handy when you want to find that file or email containing a certain word or phrase. By continuously cataloging your hard drive, Desktop Search can find text inside files created by Outlook, Thunderbird, Firefox, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Instant Messenger, PDFs and more.
http://desktop.google.com/

Finder (MAC) FREE
If you have a Mac, then you’ve got search and more built in. Finder gives you lots of options for locating, displaying and organizing all your files and folders. And Dashboard helps you search the Internet for weather info, stocks, airline flights, phone numbers, language translations and more.
http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/finder/
http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/dashboard/

FILE TRANSFER (FTP)

WINSCP (WIN) FREE
A highly rated file transfer program useful for updating your web sites. Supports SFTP for secure file transfer and can set permissions on remote files too.
http://winscp.net/eng/index.php

Fetch (MAC) $25 - FREE TRIAL
This is the one everybody recommends for Mac file transfer. Full featured, but alas, not a freebie.
http://www.fetchsoftworks.com

NETWORK UTILITIES

Sam Spade (WIN) FREE
Sam Spade is a powerful tool for checking information on internet locations. Use ping, dig, traceroute and whois to trace any computer on the internet, or see the route to from your site to another.
http://www.samspade.org/

IPNetMonitor (MAC) $40
IPNetMonitor provides a set of 15 commonly used Internet tools which allow Macintosh users to monitor and debug their connections to the Internet.
http://mac.softpedia.com/get/Utilities/IPNetMonitorX.shtml

TELNET CLIENTS

Secure NetTerm (WIN) $30 - FREE TRIAL
Telnet allows your PC to emulate another type of computer, and is especially useful for connecting to a Unix shell account. I use NetTerm to remotely login to my web host’s Unix-based server and manage my websites. Make sure you ALWAYS use a telnet client that supports SSH encryption, or you will be sending your password and session data over the Internet in clear text, which could be intercepted.
http://securenetterm.com

Nifty Telnet (MAC) FREE
Nifty Telnet-SSH is said to be the best free SSH (secure shell) client for MacOS 9.
http://www.msi.umn.edu/user_support/ssh/nifty_os9.html

For MacOS X users, you can use the built-in Terminal tool. This page tells how to enable Kerberos to make secure (encrypted) connections with Terminal.
http://www.it.iastate.edu/pub/mng338/mng338.html

Reprinted from: http://www.askbobrankin.com/free_internet_software.html

BOB RANKIN… is a tech writer and computer programmer who enjoys exploring the Internet and sharing the fruit of his experience with others. His work has appeared in ComputerWorld, NetGuide, and NY Newsday. Bob is publisher of the Internet TOURBUS newsletter, author of several computer books, and creator of the http://LowfatLinux.com website. Visit Bob Rankin’s website for more helpful articles and free tech support.

Given its popularity, we’re sure many of you have seen “The Apprentice” on NBC or at least heard about it. We loved it. Being in the business of business, we were downright addicted from the very first show–and never missed a single episode, It was edgy and slick. It was bold and boastful. It was visceral and shiny! We bought the ‘gold’ lock stock and barrel.

It wasn’t necessarily the competition that we glued too. Really, does getting “a job” that way makes any sense at all? Its appeal for us, week after week, was watching business school played out, emotionally, right in front of our eyes.

Watching the participants, the Donald, his team, and the producers make decisions, now THAT was fascinating! Watching the show gave us a new way to work on our own business:

What would we do, as business owners, to win each challenge?

How would we decide who was really responsible for failure?

What was this whole challenge really about?

In an age where millions of people are leaving corporate life for entrepreneurial ones, where the corporate bar is not only being raised it’s being shifted to a whole new place, “The Apprentice” connected the big dream of business success to the TV audience in a mass-media way. And it was for REAL! At least the part they showed us.

The show became an instant hit and “you’re fired” became the buzzword of the Nation. The fact that commercial tie-ins, which surfaced in season two, actually became part of the content was sheer brilliance. It took TV back to the days of the Bob Hope Texaco Hour. Well that…on steroids. While it was showcasing other brands, the show became a “brand” in itself–launching products beyond the original service it provided which was simply…entertainment.

While the ‘TV machine’ ramped up (code words for huge money) the “The Apprentice” caught up with itself. The mix of the challengers changed. The show concept got tweaked. And ‘the show’ began to believe it was invincible. And something changed. It lost its ’soul’. The shiny gold we had held so dear every Wednesday night became less appealing and cheep. And then we saw it! Right there in the beginning of each and every show, something that was there from day one, was now screaming at us–the tagline of the show, “It’s not personal, its just business.”

Oh, really?

That phrase hit us like a ton of bricks. “It’s not personal, its just business. OUCH! Their very own tagline was the blood that killed the show for us! It belied everything we know about the future of business. It belied everything we know about the past of business. It belied everything Donald and every single person on the show knows– if they are aware of it or not.

Donald wouldn’t have been able amass his fortune twice, coming back from the abyss of bankruptcy, if he did didn’t have an immensely personal connection to his business. It’s so obvious. After all, it is the Trump Organization (ego aside), not the Massive Faceless Real Estate Development Corporation. That’s not to say all companies that are driven by strong personal visions are named after their founders. Microsoft, Apple, Pixar, Peak Potentials etc. have super-strong driven leaders with immense vision. But let’s call it for what business really is… it is and ALWAYS will be personal.

Now we’re not ragging on the show or even on ‘the Donald’ himself… both are amazing achievements. The bottom-line is that anybody who says business is not personal is hiding something–whether they’re aware of it or not. It can be innocuous or malicious, but either way it is not the way to create a lasting successful business. It was the lack of personal connection that brought about experiences like Enron, WorldCom, Adelphia, Arthur Andersen, Jim & Tammy Bakker to name a few? Those unfortunate events are understandable. Because it’s very easy to do unconscionable things when ‘business’ is JUST business.

A business is so much more when business is deeply personal(TM). Successful long-lasting businesses that have local and even global impact are–ones that ‘do business’ with complete integrity and sincere connection to the impact here business has on the individual as well as the world.

We’ve worked with entrepreneurs and large companies, public and private, guiding single visionaries and executive committees alike. In our experience, most companies, no matter their size, have marketing challenges when they can’t articulate their vision, connect their business to it and communicate it clearly from a deeply personal place. Great marketing can sell anything… at least initially.

The marketing and the packaging of “The Apprentice” pulled us into a show that appears to stand for the opposite of what we believe. The first question that any business owners should ask themselves… is not can we sell it but should we sell it? Then if the answer is yes, the second question should be…why?

With our ‘inside/out’ approach to building businesses, we find ourselves more naturally aligned with entrepreneurs and small business owners. They naturally feel ‘the connection.’ They’re closer to what they’re doing in their business. The larger the business, the greater the potential for diminished connection, unless there is a strong, domineering or persuasive founder or leader and a method for keeping that vision in place. Think Apple or Virgin.

If a business is only about numbers, results, quotas, and money, the easier it is for the company to act impersonally and rationalize negative situations. We’re not saying that we believe big business, the large corporation, is bad. Quite the contrary. To us, size doesn’t matter–only the vision. As we were quoted in Inc. magazine in December 2004:

“…the words of Jessica Rabbit, “I’m not bad, I just drawn that way.” Companies aren’t bad; the leaders of companies may be bad.”

Looking for quick fixes, the silver bullets, is a major side effect of this type of disconnected operation. We just did a live internet presentation to nearly 400 people worldwide and many just wanted to know the “tricks” of how to use branding to make more their business more successful. Looking for just the ‘tricks’ they missed the whole simple point.

The act of being sure you are personally connected to your business is where branding truly begins. Disembodied corporate brand leaders in ivory towers with deep pockets have the resources to “buy” a personal connection. Even still, this ‘purchased’ connection is hit or miss depending on who is hired to create the personal connection and their own connection to the product or service being branded. Believe it or not, entrepreneurs and small business owners have the advantage.

A more foolproof, cost-effective method is to make sure you, your staff, or your executive team is fully connected - emotionally, energetically and effectively to your business. If you’re in business just to make money, make sure you’re in the business that focuses on money, like banking, Western Union, or if you have really high hopes…the Federal Reserve.

We include ourselves with the likes of Oprah, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Anita Roddick, Mark Victor Hansen, Wayne Dyer, and many many others, who are not solely driven by the desire of money and the fast way to it. This illustrious group has been gifted not only vision and leadership but also the instinct and the dedication to create their vision in a natural organic order. Our personal mission is to share that process with small business owners so that everyone can experience the personal joy and financial success that these leaders demonstrate year after year.

Individuals and small companies truly have the power to easily change the world. The large companies have deep stockpiled resources but the rest of us have so much more. In this one-world market, fueled by the Internet, all types of businesses with all types of positive impact can succeed… and succeed BIG.

To genuinely succeed as a small business, you need to take a ‘whole success’ systems view and not be afraid to use both the tangible and intangible methods:

• Invest the time to know yourself. Your success potential soars when you can express your unique gifts in all facets of your life. This is especially important in your largest focus of time each day (other than sleeping) your business activities. No more, “I can’t wait to leave work.” Change that to, ” I love how I spend my day.”

• Begin to align yourself with your business by carefully examining what business you are truly in and how it is connected to who you really are. If you can’t find the connection or it’s weak, and then change it. If it is only for the money, look for the business that is aligned with your passion of money. Contrary to logic, it is harder to stay in the condition that is not ‘right,’ than the energy it takes to make the change. When the change is right, it will be surprisingly effortless.

• Anchor your business to your power by developing your business using a process that is most in tune with discovering and connecting your unique passion to the company’s name, logo, look & feel and language.

• Know that business IS deeply personal and that the balance of work and life is the key, not the separation. To truly be successful, you need to “live” your brand, and be fully engaged in a balanced life– including health, relationships, the exchange of value, and the use and care of money.

We hope you’ll join us, and many others, in the business revolution that is coming. This insurgency is consciously building sustainable independence through a complete connection to their work.

Is it business or is it personal? It is both… business is deeply personal(TM).

Kim A. Castle and W. Vito Montone, Co-founders BrandU, Co-Authors of Why Brand: Big Business Success No Matter Your Size, It’s a BrandU Day, a fear transforming process and journal, and the BrandU Bible, the only step-by-step workbook for developing your business as a brand and proud members of The Dream Exchange. http://www.whybrandu.com and http://www.thedreamexchange.com

The President of the United States has said we need to put more National Guard on the Border and indeed it is the responsibility of the Federal Government to protect the States from Foreign Invaders as per the Constitution. So it is now been requested and it is the duty of the US Senate and Congress to see that this is done.

Now a couple of border Governors are trying to play both sides of the political game and whining that they were not consulted as to the President’s Plan to put the National Guard on the border? Yet the Governors have been requesting beefed up border security and several of them have stated we need the US Army on the Border with Mexico. Well, now it is you see? I say; “No worries, as it is what the people want.” And it is what is best for our nation too and the Governors know this already. Some folks find all this political rhetoric kind of amusing, when all of them have said at least once in the past that we need the military down there and/or called for the use of the Guard.

Indeed. I think the Governors are also reiterating the question of; is the Federal Government really going to fix this issue or is it another PR stunt. That is what we have to watch out for. So, this is a very important endeavor and people will want immediate action of course, they lack patience in this new world of 2 min average attention spans. In fact as an online writer I have noticed that I have had to cut down my articles to about 220 to 400 words or no one will read them.

Many folks say such things such as; “I wish they would all just adhere to the immigration laws that are on the books now and would just do what Americans want.”

This is what I have found scouring the Internet and participating on Political Style Blogs and really what true American can argue with such obvious logic? And the other message I am hearing out there goes something like this; “You know, who cares about political correctness and why the Legislatures would concern themselves more with the citizens of other countries than their own.”

It appears that the Illegal Alien issues will be debated a bit more, but the problem may actually be solved during President Bush’s term in office and this is something that the Administration can be proud of, as well as our ancestry who sacrificed so much to leave us in such good shape in such wonderful country. So, perhaps you will consider this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Relate the two of men’s most popular pursuits and you’ll discover something that’s normally known as a web based sportsbook. Truly, what could believably be more original? Envisage a set of dudes cheering in support of any given local sports heroes, and continuously stakes are announced in tandem with the commotion. Intent to catch a bit of the exhilaration, bystanders often seek to speculate who is most likely to win the impending challennge. This all boils down to a friendly bantering challennge named web based sportsbook.

Play today’s hottest place sports bet games online here.

Granted that it admittedly might well appear to be addicting but, rather sports wagering is, in reality, solely fun and to relate with fellow sports addicts. Here, you can wager a a minute budget of lucre and regardless enjoy yourself. Looking further, here are a group of cues to get going sports wagering.

To bet, you’ll probably want to go to a web based sportsbook, that’s to say a place which tenders web based sportsbook. In the United States, you can find four states where to go for sports wagering in a lawful manner, but if legality is no concern, you may try it anyplace providing you are able to find a bookie and happen to be of age. Among the games you can bet on are professional as well as college football + college class basketball, professional hockey and baseball, as well as horse and dog racing. Clients will be able to bet on the entire score of a game, on what round a contester will go under, and even if a tossed coin in a game will come down heads or tails.

The odds maker establishment count on mere numbers to aid you come to a decision which sports heroes you deem is most likely to win. First off, there’s the balance, that’s specific points advantage allocated to a weaker party that is presumed to be beaten by a specified number points. This is the sportsbook company’s technique of enabling evenhanded bets for a sportsbook. To give an example you might choose to risk money on a side that is presumed to be beaten and and regardless make money on the wager providing the party goes under by a specified number of points.

You can find a lot of different styles of wagers– parlays, straight, over/under bets, teasers, and others, the straight bets being the general favorite in sports wagering.

Why don’t you give it a shot and chill out at one fell swoop? Simply determine that you won’t get gripped and squander your total retirement fund on a fancy! If not, you’re bound to be caught bemoaning it for life!