A Recovered Treasure: The Pilates Method

Uncovered After 80 Years of Dormancy, Pilates is Far From Dead.

In a way, he's a lot like Edgar Allen Poe. The famous writer had been deceased for many years before he miraculously cracked super-stardom, his once-buried work revamped from the ashes to be relished by millions and millions of literature fans.

Well, Joseph Pilates is not Edgar Allen Poe. The German immigrant is hardly a household name in 1999, but just like Poe, some thirty-two years after his death, his lost treasures are now being discovered as genius works of art.

You've seen the countless infomercials in the middle of the night, boasting this piece of exercise equipment and that toning apparatus. They usually get a famous retired athlete like Joe Montana to endorse it and swear by it. You'll actually watch for a minute and a half before realizing that you just wasted 90 seconds of your life.

But the word is out that the Pilates Method is different. This one actually works.

That's why, if you look around, Pilates studios are cropping everywhere throughout the United States. Many health clubs are offering Pilates classes on a regular basis and more and more Pilates machines are filling household closets where those dusty sets of golf clubs used to rest.

Upon arriving in New York City from Germany, Mr. Pilates primarily created his method of fitness to benefit the dance community, as it was a success along Broadway in the 1920's. The exercises provided dancers with that much-needed agility and grace.

Now, in New York City alone, there are about 40 different studios where the Pilates Method is taught with more cropping up every day.

But the Pilates Method has not been restricted to just exercise outlets. All kinds of hospitals, clinics, and health centers are pulling in these machines to treat patients with spinal injuries, back ailments, and shoulder cuff problems, just to name a few.

The Pilates Method is essentially an exercise that combines toning and stretching, utilizing a series of rhythmic movements to achieve balance and grace. It does not have the effects of heavy free weights or Nautilus machines. The exercises you perform are very smooth and controlled and require specific movements from isolated muscle groups.

The common Pilates apparatus, called the Universal Reformer, looks almost like a magic carpet. Depending on the exercise, your body weight will rest on the padded platform, which moves along the base of the machine through a series of pulleys. The motions are performed with cables and a series of different handles, depending on what motion you're performing.

These exercises are not performed in sets, really. It is a long, continual motion that will target balance and flexibility, every bit as much as it targets strength and conditioning. You can do an exercise for nearly a half-hour, if you'd like.

What's interesting about Pilates is that there are no weights involved. No adjusting the resistance, no sliding that pin down a couple of plates. The resistance is you! When your pulling the cables in toward your chest, the weight that your pulling is simply your own body weight. And the magic carpet takes away the use of gravity during the exercise; only your specific muscles being worked is what creates any sort of movement and stability.

Aside from toning up the torso, the Pilates Method also helps you achieve healthy breathing and relaxation while vastly increasing stamina.

With the benefits seemingly unlimited, perhaps the Pilates Method is a wise choice for an alternate route if you're becoming worn out from those pounding aerobics classes or squeaky Nautilus machines. Or perhaps you're always one to jump on the latest fitness craze, and for thousands of Americans and patrons worldwide, Pilates is certainly that.

Car Audio Systems - Bigger is Better?

Are Big Car Speakers Better?

If you are planning to purchase car speakers, there are things you need to know in order to make the best choice. A clear mind and a basic plan of what you intend to buy are crucial when shopping for car speakers. Big car speakers do not always mean better speakers.

Purchasing speakers for your car can end up being more costly than necessary if you buy speakers that have numerous features you won't use. Keep in mind that top quality audio speakers cost more than some other brands, but are generally worth the investment. If big car speakers are your preference, make sure you buy a dependable brand name and make certain the speakers will provide you with crystal clear sound.

There are two basic kinds of car stereo speakers: component speakers and full range speakers. Each has advantages and disadvantages. Full range car stereo speakers generally consist of a tweeter, a woofer, and some may be equipped with a midrange or supertweeter. If you want to replace your factory speakers with minimal trouble, full range speakers are your best choice. Full range speakers come in varying sizes and price ranges.

If big car speakers are your preference, you can find full range speakers in almost any size. Component speakers give you the best possible sound quality through their superior design. The typical components include tweeters, separate woofers, and external crossovers. Each of these components is designed to compliment the others. Big car speakers can be part of a component system if you make sure you have all the necessary components.

For those who are serious about their car stereo speakers, a component system will be the best choice. Your sound system will have greater depth and sound more realistic. You can include big car speakers in a component system. Detailed sound and exceptional dynamics are the result of higher quality materials than are normally found in full range speakers.

The question of which are better - small or big car speakers is not a simple one. Big car speakers may be your preference but that will not ensure you of the getting the best sound. Car stereo speakers come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Determining the type of car audio system you want is much more important than the size of speakers you purchase.

Enjoy!

George Steiner

www.1-caraudio.com [http://www.1-caraudio.com]

Fujifilm FinePix A303 Digital Camera

Two years ago I purchased my first digital camera. At that time, prices for a 3.0 and higher mega pixel camera were around $350. Since then, as with all electronic gadgets, prices have dropped significantly while the mega pixels have gone up. I chose the Fujifilm's A303 digital camera, which has fared well for me, so permit me the opportunity to tell you why.

I desperately needed a digital camera when my web business took off. On many different occasions I found myself wanting to take a picture of a person, place or thing and having to rely on a 35mm camera. Trouble was I wasn't very good at taking pictures. Usually my subject came out blurry or the picture needed cropping. Yes, getting pictures developed on disk would have resolved the latter problem, but it was the former problem -- blurry pictures -- that was causing me the most grief. If only I could see "on the spot" how my picture turned out. If it turned out poorly, I could reshoot. Naturally, a digital camera presented to me something that no 35mm camera could offer; I made the purchase of a 3.2 mega pixel camera by Fujifilm after considerable shopping around and reading product reviews online.

Packed within a tough grey shell, the A303 is lightweight and can fit easily into your pant pockets. The camera's controls are simple to figure out and include a Menu/OK button, Back button, viewfinder, viewfinder lamp, a display buttion and LCD monitor to preview pictures without looking through the viewfinder or to review pictures already taken. A round dial in the back of the camera features a self timer mode where you can set the camera and ten seconds later have the picture go off. Great for when you want to get the entire family's picture and no one is around to take it. There are also close up modes, still image, playback and movie modes. The movie mode results in a fairly choppy and short film, but it is a neat feature to have nevertheless.

The standard camera comes equipped with a 16mb picture card. Most people will find that inadequate, so I paid a little bit extra and bought the 64mb upgrade. I also purchased rechargeable AA batteries -- it takes two -- and a recharger. You will sap your batteries quickly if you take 30-40 or more pictures at a time, so the recharger makes sense. I purchased the accompanying Fujifilm carrying case to house my other supplies.

Pictures come out clear and in two years of picture taking I have not experienced a single problem with the camera. At 3.2 mega pixels the pictures are more than adequate as virtually everything I do gets posted to the internet. Supposedly you do not need more mega pixels when posting/viewing pictures online. With the included USB cable and HP software, you will be uploading pictures to the internet in no time.

If there are any drawbacks with the A303 there is just one and it is a glaring problem: the time between shots can seem endless! I suppose the elapsed time is only about ten seconds, but it seems like an eternity especially compared to 35mm cameras. Technological improvements have closed the gap considerably with newer models, but if you need this camera to take a group of shots quickly you will be disappointed.

All in all, the A303 is a very good camera. I give it a 4-star rating for ease of use, price, and dependability.

3 Keys to Overcoming Perfectionism - Powerful Mindset Shifts For Entrepreneurs To Get Unstuck

Why would they want to hire me versus that other woman, there are way more qualified people out there than me? I don't know If I should work on my website first or figure out what I'm really offering to people - wait on my business card logo guy is still waiting to hear back from me, gosh why haven't I called that lady back yet who invited me to speak at her event...

Do you ever wonder when that damn inner critic of yours is just going to lay down and die already?

I just got off the phone with a good friend of mine with whom I co-led a women's empowerment meeting last night. We discussed what happened at the meeting, what went wrong, our intentions for next time and how we would organize and our structure our content to better facilitate heartfelt sharing in an open space of sisterhood and community.

During the event I could feel things kind of slipping away - the conversation running astray, the theme wasn't tight enough I thought to myself, we didn't give the women enough direction, this could have been done better bla bla bla.

Out of all the women I coach feeling stuck and paralyzed is all too common. It's seems as if there is this elusive "moment" when everything will feel just right and then you'll really KNOW that you're ready - that it's finally time.

If taking that flying leap and just beginning is constantly stalled by waiting for the kids to go back to school, for when there will be enough time, enough money, enough knowledge, I just got to take one more course then I'll know enough, then I'll maybe feel more ready... then you'll love these quick tips to get you into action.

I too have suffered from perfectionism, feeling paralyzed, always wondering what others will think of me, and I gotta tell you - that elusive moment that you're waiting for - it simply doesn't exist. That little voice of self doubt will always be there and what I've discovered is that the successful people I have studied have just learnt how to successfully DEAL with it better. Here's what I've got to share with you about what I've found to work well.

3 Keys to Overcoming Perfectionism So You Can Get Into Action Fast!

1) Make it about other's don't make it about yourself. When you get into thinking about how you compare, or don't measure up versus what other people know it's always a losing game. Instead, get into the game of service and turn the tables on your perspective. Think about how many people will lose out by you not sharing what's in your heart.

When you doubt yourself and your abilities and that stubborn little critic chirps up remember to every 3rd grader - a 4th grader seems like a GOD. Think about it. Do you remember what it was like in school looking up to the senior high kids when you were in junior high?

Think about your business in the same way. You don't need to be a Tony Robbins to make a difference in the world and impact people. There are TONS of 3rd graders that would LOVE a 4th graders perspective. Focus your attention on serving those people and STOP thinking and comparing yourself to others. Focus on the people you CAN help and you will.

2) Sloppy starts are better than no results Whenever I find myself procrastinating or judging others it's a tell tail sign that I need to just get off the bleachers and jump into the game. I guarantee you'll learn a heck of a lot more by jumping in the game and tending to a few scraped knees on the courts versus watching from the comfort of the bleachers. Your game may not be perfect, it may not be great, you may drop the ball a few times, but if you never give yourself permission to try and fail, you'll never have a shot at enjoying success either.

Everyone has to start somewhere. Sometimes I listen into some of the interviews I did years ago and I wince when I hear myself... mastery has to begin somewhere. Like the saying goes - there is no reward without risk and in my books the only way TO anything is straight THROUGH it. That also includes all of the emotions you're trying so hard to avoid feeling by playing it "safe and small".

3) Leggo my EGGO Remember that commercial on TV? The one with the EGGO muffin that ghastly thing you buy in the grocery store and stick in the toaster for breakfast? OK we'll that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the other EGO - that inner critic, that little voice that never seems to give you a break.

Let's do a little test... Can you just make a decision right now to accept your life exactly as it is... and can you let go of the whole idea to want to change it - in any way? Just for right now? And can you just decide - to MAKE a decision to LOVE your life - right now exactly as it is - without wanting to change any of it? Could you make that decision? Well, could you?

ACCEPTANCE = a very high vibration, LOVE = even higher. Instead of pushing and struggling with what's in your reality right now - consider coming into acceptance and in love your life exactly as it is right now and more importantly yourself.

Love is the way to let it be easy ♥

You'll never get anywhere if you're constantly beating yourself up. If you can master your emotions you can master your life. You are in control of your reality because you are in control of your decisions and your thinking.

We create so much resistance for ourselves simply out of habit; consider that success is simply another way of thinking, a new habit to try on something you can practice.

For some reading this moving from fear, out of habit and perfectionism and into imperfect action might be a far stretch - hopefully the next time your inner critic pipes up - you'll catch it and send it some love and remember these 3 powerful mindset shifts to help you through.

To Your Love, Expansion & Freedom Vanessa

Autoresponder - An Invaluable Email Function

Any person who is interested in entering the world of online marketing is going to need to make sure that he or she is all up to date when it comes to using the best autoresponder system. For many people, however, this is a whole new world of internet marketing that they are not necessarily ready to enter. They might not even know what this system is or how it is meant to help them.

To begin with, when people autoresponding systems, what they are doing is using systems that enable them to send automatic emails to their prospects. This is incredibly useful for quickly contacting all of your prospects without having to worry about wasting too much time.

First thing is first. Let's look at how to get your autoresponder set up. The first thing you are going to need is a squeeze page or opt-in page. What this is, in short, is a page where your prospects are urged to subscribe to your service. In other words, they are going to find this page, understand that you have some cutting edge ideas or products, and give you their email addresses, this way you can keep them updated or even send them free samples and other freebies. You might give them, for example, special codes to download free e-books. What you are doing, however, is getting an email contact list that you can use to develop even stronger networks and to increase sales.

The top two autoresponder are:

Aweber: The most established autoresponder. GetResponse: Aweber's main competitor.

At the end of the day, however, you need to use your autoresponder to streamline basic networking and marketing functions:

Send coupons and sales notifications to customers and prospects across the board. Save time by having automatic emails sent out to contacts who are new to your contact list. Let prospects know that you are the kind of networker who keeps in touch with frequent emails about industry news, sales, deals, and new products.

In most cases, your autoresponder is going to be enough to drive your business to new heights. Sure, in some cases you are going to need to send out more personalized emails to individuals who have specific questions, but in most cases, you will be able to keep your prospects engaged and you also will be able to take your business to the next level. You also should remember to compose sensible emails that actually will inform your clients and which will inspire them to remain on your contact list.

Inch by Inch

The three-year-olds were singing "up like a rocket, down like the rain, 'round and 'round like a choo-choo train" to demonstrate how well they could hold their bows to their pint-size violins. Staying home with Nick, it was my husband who enjoyed the distinct privilege of reveling, firsthand, in these toddler's first steps. I only got the post-recital smile--the one I always get when I think about the tiniest musicians among us--as I listened to the complete run-down of their afternoon in Westport. We'd been through that drill four times. The "taca-taca-stop-stop" rhythms on the A-and E-strings; the "Mississippi is a River"; and enough Twinkle Twinkle Little Star's to practically send us orbiting around them. I'm the first to admit: after the fourth kid got through the "twinkles" I honestly thought that if I never heard that song again, it would be just fine by me.

But then in talking about the recital over the first dinner we've shared alone during the past three weeks, I couldn't help but romanticize the whole process. As I reflected back on the past thirteen years of violin lessons, I thought about those first recital pieces, about dressing up Cristina in hand-smocked dresses with white tights and black patent leather shoes, and about the first time two of them played Bach's Concerto for Two Violins onstage one Mother's Day. Yesterday, just as my daughter got on stage to perform, the school director gave a couple minute speech of encouragement for the other parents. For those with babes barely "twinkling" needed to understand that, before long, they too would witness mastery up close and personal. If only they could stick with it long enough.....

Sticking with anything is hard enough. In this harried world of ours, where emails have replaced handwritten letters; "IM" has replaced leisurely phone chats; and digital pix sent over the internet have replaced personal visits: it's no wonder that few of us have the patience for mastery. For enduring the day-to-day until the picture is 100% complete. During this time in which we find ourselves, business--and life--moves at the speed of thought. And we can hardly wait for that thought to be finished so we can move on to the next one. (Ever catch yourself finishing someone else's sentence?)

We're great starters, each one of us. Because starting something only requires that we overcome the law of inertia, (and maybe a dollop of temptation, too). Getting our bottoms off the sofa and over to the art studio to paint or our legs off the footstool and over to the treadmill to run both require overcoming inertia and the temptation of relaxing with too much TV. Finishing the after-school cupcake so as to pull the violin out of the case not only requires overcoming inertia; it requires serious discipline as well. But each act is far easier than incorporating it into your everyday reality. Indeed, going from the first piece in a music book to a full-fledged concerto is a different thing entirely. (As is going from a beginning painter to one who exhibits at galleries or a soft, overweight couch-sitter to a hard-bodied athlete who enjoys both physical strength and aerobic endurance.)

When I reveled today in hearing my daughter perform a drop-dead gorgeous movement from a concerto by Handel (in a post-recital private concert just for me), I was caught off-guard by its parallel to the roughly three-year endurance battle that our son is facing now with leukemia. As my daughter is sailing through mastery, I couldn't help but think of all the violin battles we've had over the years when she was barely taking those first steps of musicianship. Of hating to practice, of hating to play scales, of hating those nasty etudes. The eyeball-rolling, the door-slamming, and the stomping of the feet on each step up the hardwood staircase. And yet here we were, enjoying the fruits of all of those days of practice. It was a goose bump moment that could not be denied. It was proof-positive that mastery comes in inches, and not in miles. And it was a lesson to me that battles of health, or catastrophe, or financial hardships are not fought three years out. They're fought inch by inch.

It was my girlfriend, Lisa, who sent me the "inch by inch is a cinch" line. She met me with it when I needed to hear it the most. She met me with it when I was trying to mush three years of chemotherapy treatments into one day. When I was trying to calculate the math of a three-year chemo roadmap with high school graduation and the first two years of college away from home. Of three years of immune suppression with three other kids and an airplane-traveling husband during flu season. And of six months of long drives to the out-of-town clinic with New England snowstorms.

Yet I must claim "inch by inch" these days. I claim it when Nick's hematologist lays out the day's plan. I claimed it on Friday when we were sent back to the hospital for the day and another overnight stay. And I even got Dr. Joe claiming it with me. Together, we agree to not worry about what next week--or next year--will bring; it's simply too much to think about. We agree to tackle the battle inch by inch.

Whatever your personal struggle or your present-day worry: adopt an "inch by inch is a cinch" plan of positive action. As I've said often: just ask yourself at the end of each day: "Did I move forward?" And if you did--even by an inch--you can sleep soundly in the assurance that you will triumph in this journey of life. One day not far from now, inch by inch, you'll celebrate mastery. You'll celebrate wholeness. You'll celebrate complete healing.

Automatic Backlink Software: 5 White Hat Ways to Build Inbound Links

Inbound links are incoming links to a web page or site from another website. Link building is important for any online marketing campaign. Whether you have a blog, an online store, or a portfolio website, you need to focus on building high quality links that are relevant to your site. This strategy can increase your search engine rankings, drive traffic to your content, and increase brand exposure and awareness. Inbound links are also known as backlinks. You can implement a few strategies by yourself or you can use automatic backlink software.

Here are five white hat ways to get backlinks to your site:

Create Link Worthy Posts

Writing quality content is the best thing you can for your website. Create engaging posts that people re eager to share on social media sites, forums, and blogs. Covering a controversial topic is a great way to get backlinks. Browse thorough social networking sites and forums for the most discussed topics and monitor the most common questions from your readers. Use this information to create interesting content that stands out.

Write Guest Posts

Find high authority blogs and websites that are related to the content of your site. See if they accept guest posts. Write unique content that fits the overall theme and style of the blog where it is going to be published. Include a brief description of your site in the author box. Add a link back to your site. Deliver your best work, making it hard for anyone to turn away your post.

Distribute Press Releases

Press releases are an excellent way to get backlinks from well established sources. Write an engaging press release and submit it to news wire sites. A well optimized press release can get published on hundreds of other websites, which will increase traffic and backlinks to your site. Track your performance with marketing analytics tools. For faster results, use a backlink generator.

Talk About Other Companies in Your Industry

Writing about the most popular companies and websites in your niche will increase your chances of going viral. Share your article on Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sires. This way the companies that you've written about will find out about your post and share it with their contacts. This strategy can deliver steady traffic to your site and help you get quality one-way links.

Use Social Media

Social media is a highly effective marketing tool that can help you gain exposure for your site. In addition to sharing content on social networking websites, you need to interact with other users and build genuine relationships with them. Leave comments on their posts, give them advice, and answer their questions. People who perceive you as an authority in your niche are more likely to visit your website, share your posts, and purchase your products.

An Economic Approach on Leads

What is your approach on utilizing leads? Are you sure that you are handling them correctly? This article is here to present to you a very interesting justification of how leads work and how you can leverage your sales by understanding the process using a proven economic approach.

The 80/20 Principle

An economic principle which states that 80% of the output is primarily due to 20% of the input, the 80/20 principle gives a very interesting perspective on how the business world works. In the early 20th century, the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto discovered that 80% of the land in Italy is owned by 20% of the population. This remarkable discovery was exemplified when he found out that this distribution is actually universal. Since then, a number of research and economic studies were conducted, and results recognized that the 80/20 principle is applicable to every strand of the business world.

Considered a breakthrough idea, the 80/20 principle works efficiently in ensuring the swift conversion of leads to policy buyouts. As statistical results are now being analyzed, it was found out that the 80/20 principle is very much applicable on the process of leads to insurance sales conversion. Three of the main facets of leads and insurance sales are quality, timeliness and marketability.

Quality of Leads

A very particular aspect, which is considered vital by insurance agents, is the quality of leads. If you are able to grab high quality leads, your chance of converting them to policy buyouts is superbly maximized. Now, here is something interesting. It was found out that on an average 20% of the actual leads comprise 80% of the buyouts. What does this mean? Let's go straight to the point. If you are able to grab high quality leads, you can expect a conversion rate of about 20-30%. Now, how can we achieve this percentage of conversion? The answer is relying on exclusive leads. While shared leads can generate substantial sales conversion, you cannot disregard the fact that these leads are shared by a lot of agents.

A good way of showing how efficient leads can be is by comparing it to other insurance marketing methods. Cold calling relatively generates 2.5-5% conversion or roughly 5-10 buyouts on 200 calls. While no empirical data can present the actual impact of advertising, it is a costly method which will reduce your profit to a lower percentage. Leads are remarkably good, but simply relying on it will not give you the assurance. You must understand that other factors including timeliness are also vital.

Timeliness

Another application of the 80/20 principle is on how you handle leads with respect to timeframes. The faster you check each lead the greater chance you will have on selling a policy to a client. Putting it simple, 20% of the time you spend with a client is responsible for 80% of the chance that the client will buy a policy from you. This crucial 20% is on how you determine the needs of the client and select the most appropriate plan that is able to meet his needs. Timeliness also includes how you deal with each lead swiftly.

Marketability

The third facet that agents are totally aware of is marketability. Your policies may be identical in most part, and you might be thinking that each one is as marketable as the other. This assumption is actually lacking its merit. Recent probes revealed that 80% of you sales comes from 20% of you product. While you can actually determine the best 20% of your product by going through your sales statistics, you cannot market the most appropriate one without getting enough information regarding the client before having an appointment with him. It is at this point that exclusive insurance leads get to fill the gap. Exclusive insurance leads contain substantial information about your prospected client and his needs making it easier for you to prepare and present the best policy efficiently.

From Leads to Sales

While there is this extra mile advantage when you get to apply the 80/20 principle in selling insurance, you must still have the right resources for it to work well. By relying on exclusive insurance leads, you can suffice this requirement and achieve better conversion ratio. Leads are the best marketing tools when selling insurance, and for you to maximize its value, getting exclusive insurance leads is a must.

Podcasting - Online Marketing Business Promotional Strategy

Podcasting: A New Strategy To Include in Your Online Marketing Plan

Starting a new business on the internet can be overwhelming for most newcomers. This happens because there are so many free and paid ways to do the online marketing of your website, services and products that even an experienced internet marketer could be slightly confused.

During a new online marketing training program I bought I came up against a new way to market a website online. It is a free and can spread the word about your business in addition to traditional online marketing strategies you use so far like: article, video, press releases, blogging, social media marketing etc.

This new way allows you to create an additional option to your readers and potential customers to access your content and this option is called "podcasting". A podcast is an accumulation of Audio-video files that's distributed all over the internet and uses distribution feeds. If you use wordpress blogs for your online business you can install a plugin named "Odiogo" after following the instructions they give you on the actual Odiogo site after you type your blog's feed and your email where it is asked.

Podcasting turns your readers into listeners as it adds voice to your blog posts and furthermore increases the amount of back links (deep links) you get to your site, from the several "add a podcast" locations where you can add your own newly created podcast feed. It is almost the same as when you add your normal blog feed to an RSS feed aggregator site.

Anytime you add a new post on your blog a podcast version of your entry will be automatically created as well as distributed via the podcast feed aggregator sites you have added it too. A "Listen Now" button will be placed at the start of each of your posts and a very decent computerized voice will be doing text-to-speech reading.

Creating a podcast for your Wordpress blog is free through Odiogo site and it allows your readers to "listen to" your content instead of simply reading it. Many people are listening types rather than reading types.

With that said, I wish you a successful podcast creation to include in your online marketing business plan.

10 Tips For Promoting Through Ezine Articles

What's the most powerful marketing technique on the Web? Search Engine positioning? Perhaps. But did you know that some of the most successful web marketers don't bother much with the Search Engines?

They put most of their effort into another technique that's just as powerful and is much more under their control.

They write Ezine Articles.

There are tens of thousands of Ezines being published every month, with a collective audience of millions.

And the editors of most of those Ezines are all looking for quality content for their newsletters.

If you master this technique you can get your name and your website URL in front of 100,000 or even a million readers.

Right now there's a shortage of good Ezine Articles.

So, if you write well and you know how to do research on the Internet, there's a huge market waiting for you.

But there are some tips for writing and publishing Ezine Articles. Here they are:

(A) Writing Your Ezine Articles:

(1) Pick a topic that you know something about (however little) and then go to the Search Engines and find as many websites as you can that deal with that subject.

As well as collecting information for your article, make a note of any URLs that offer free resources dealing with the topic of your article. Include those URLs in your article.

(2) Once you've done the basic research, write the title of your article in the middle of a blank page and circle it. Then jot down your information in lines that radiate out from your title, like the spokes of a wheel. This technique is called 'Mind Mapping' and it's a very effective way of organizing your ideas.

You can find more information on Mind Mapping at:

http://www.mind-map.com/

(3) An increasing number of Ezine Publishers will not accept articles that are promoting a product you sell. So, keep your article free of affiliate links; avoid mentioning any products or services for which you receive a commission.

(4) At the end of your article, attach a 5- or 6-line 'Resource Box' that includes your website URL and/or your email address.

(5) When you have finished your article, do NOT send it off straight away. Let it lie fallow for 2 or 3 days and then come back and read it again. You'll be amazed at the improvements you can make. Those final improvements are what makes the difference between an article that gets published and one that doesn't.

(B) Publishing Your Ezine Articles:

(6) There are two ways of getting your articles published: 'Individual Submissions' and 'General Distribution'.

'General Distribution' will get your article in front of many more readers, per unit of effort expended, than 'Individual Submission', and I suggest you use this method before making Individual Submissions.

There are basically two kinds of 'General Distribution': Announcement Lists and websites.

Here are some Article Announcement Lists:

article_announce-subscribe@egroups.com free-content-subscribe@onelist.com publishinyours-subscribe@onelist.com articles_archives-subscribe@egroups.com

Here are some Websites that provide Free Content to Ezine Publishers:

[http://216.147.104.180/articles/submit.shtml] http://www.ezinearticles.com/ http://www.ideamarketers.com/ http://www.isyndicate.com/ http://www.mediapeak.com http://www.MakingProfit.com/articles/ http://www.web-source.net/articlesub.htm

(7) Once you've used these 'General Distribution' techniques, then submit your article to individual Ezines.

However, before making individual submissions, find out (a) if the Ezine Publisher accepts article submissions, (b) what the Publisher's guidelines are for article submissions.

My free Ezine Directory gives you this information, 'The Free Directory of Ezines':

http://www.netmastersolutions.com/

I have also produced an eBook called 'Get Published! The Directory of Ezines that accept Article Submissions' and you can download it free at:

http://www.netmastersolutions.com/getpub.html

(8) Format your article to 65 characters per line and make sure it contains no spelling mistakes. With the availability of spell-checkers there's really no excuse for spelling mistakes. If your article does contain spelling mistakes, many Publishers will just discard your article.

(9) Don't submit articles to the same Ezine Publisher more than once a month.

(10) Address the Ezine Publisher personally, and make sure that the message accompanying your article is very courteous - you're asking the Publisher to read your article and give you some of her valuable time and she probably gets dozens of article submissions a week.

How to Be Consistently Profitable in The Forex Trading

The possibilities in Forex are virtually unlimited. Through study, hard work, and perseverance, many people have made significant sums through the foreign exchange market. During the learning process, new traders can greatly benefit from guidance provided by seasoned traders. This article teaches some of the ins and outs of foreign exchange trading through the useful tips below.

Trading on Foreign Exchange means you need to check your greed at the door. Only trade in areas that you truly know about. Before you leap into the market, be sure you fully understand it. As a beginner, take things slow and make guarded judgements to guarantee success.

Set a timeline for the how long you plan on involving yourself with foreign exchange. This will help you create a good plan. If you are in it for the long haul, pay particular attention to mastering the tricks of the trade. Keeping a reference list may help you. You can thoroughly learn one standard practice a month. This way you become a rock solid investor and trader with impeccable habits and discipline that will pay off over the years.

Foreign Exchange is not operated from a central market, and it is important to keep that in mind. No natural disasters can completely destroy the market. Don't panic and sell all that you have if something goes wrong. All major events have to possibility of affecting the Foreign Exchange market, however this does not mean that the currency pairs that you trade will be affected.

Make sure to practice trading and research foreign exchange before participating. The best way to gain initial risk-free trading experience is through a demo platform.

If you are not ready to commit to a long-term plan and do not have financial security right now, trading against the foreign exchange market is not going to be a good option for you. Beginners should completely avoid trading against market trends, and experienced foreign exchange traders should be very cautious about doing so since it usually ends badly.

There are multiple sources for information about foreign currency exchange trading available on-line, night or day. You are better supplied for the experience when you definitively know the ropes. Read for awhile, then log in to a forum where you can discuss what you have read. There you may get guidance from people with expertise in Foreign Exchange.

Avoid moving stop losses, since you could lose more. Stay with your original plan, and success will find you.

To determine average gains and losses in a particular market, consult the relative strength index. This will present you with the information you need to make a decision. You will want to reconsider getting into a market if you find out that most traders find it unprofitable.

As mentioned in the beginning of this article, information and advice from experienced traders is important for new and less experienced traders. The tips shown here are a great starting point to getting the most out of trading in the Forex market. There are endless opportunities to make money if you are willing to put in the work.

Fight Leukemia with a Pre-Sale Ticket Car Wash Fundraiser

One of the most devastating cancers of all is Leukemia and the costs to fight it are immensely expensive. When a child has leukemia it is even more devastating threatening to cut a life short. Many times communities will rally together to have fundraisers to cover the costs. Generally the whole community and several fundraisers can come up with the funds with a couple of large donations. To attract large donors, it pays to have the public relations and show a consciousness effort to reach the goal for the treatment. Every year bone morrow transplants costs in crease. One of the fundraisers you might wish to consider is a car wash fundraiser. A pre-sale ticket car wash fundraiser can make significantly larger dollars than a normal car wash fundraiser. Let's discuss pre-sale ticket strategies for a moment.

PRE-SALE TICKETS

You should seriously consider selling presale tickets for your car wash. There are a lot of advantages in pre-selling your tickets such as:

You know about how many people will come to your car wash ahead of time

66% of the ticket buyers never show up but you've already got the money

If it rains you're washed up but not washed out

You will also have use of the money in advance even in the event of rain. Your rain date might be three weeks later yet you have most of the money in your coffers now. Important monies that can go towards your goal for the treatment.

Let's take one of our 1990 car washes. It was for the local high school band. There were one hundred plus students in the band. The average student sold twenty tickets at $5.00 each. The presale ended up about $10,000. That in it self would be great, but it gets better. The day of the event we raised $985.00 in drive-ups. Some of the girls on the drill team waved tall flags and others held poster board signs that brought the cars in all right. We washed 408 cars. Wow, were we tired! We had two solid lines of cars at least fifteen deep all day long. 201 cars were drive-ups with no presale tickets. With tips included that made up the $985.00. That left 207 cars worth of presale with tickets. But you say, "How can that be?" 207 times $5.00 = only $1,035.00. That's right. Since our lines were so long a lot of people didn't claim their tickets or never intended on coming in the first place or forgot or had some thing else to do that day. I believe it was a combination of all these reasons. Whatever the reason, the money went to a good cause. We've had many many fundraisers that have been equally successful over the years.

Now someone will have to typeset these tickets and have them printed. There is probably someone in your group who is a graphic artist or really good with a PC or MAC computer. They'll do fine. The tickets should be eight to ten on a page. You should print them on colored paper so they are not easily duplicated. You should pick a color that matches with your church, club or school's colors. Have the tickets cut. Put the individual tickets into piles of twenty. Put a piece of cardboard or poster board the exact size underneath each stack. Buy some rubber cement. Put about ten stacks of twenty tickets on top of each other and put them in a vice. Paint the rubber cement on the left side of the ticket book and let dry for one hour. Repeat until you have enough booklets for each member. You might want to print another dozen booklets just in case. If the tickets are selling fast, you don't want to run out. That will break your momentum.

You should have frequent ticket sales progress meetings with the people selling the car wash tickets. That way, if sales aren't meeting goals you can help motivate members or reorganize the group.

Tickets can be expensive to print. Ask a local print shop to advertise on the back and become a sponsor in exchange for half price or free printing of the tickets. Most print shops do binding so you may be able to trade for that and save you the time and aggravation of binding the ticket books yourself. Print shops will do a more professional job at binding than you can do on your first time trying. Professional tickets are more presentable and look more official when selling to customers. This will help your group in their selling efforts.

When a community unites in a common cause miracles can occur, all this positive energy and mind power may significantly help the child win their battle with leukemia. Work together and work smart to raise the funds needed and the awareness required to rid the world of this terrible problem and save your local VIP from leukemia. Think on this.

Zoobooks Magazine for Your Animal Lover

What kind of gift can you get my kids? I know my children just love animals. They enjoy trips to the zoo, watching nature shows on television, and learning about the behaviors of different animals and types of animals. So, as a gift, I found that a subscription to Zoobooks Magazine is affordable, fun, and exciting for my animal loving children. There are a number of reasons as well to get your kids involved in Zoobooks Magazine.

First off, Zoobooks Magazine is actually written with the improvement of childrens’ reading skills in mind. They are use visual words, pictures, and activities that involve interaction to encourage reading and learning potential. Children who read Zoobooks Magazine will expand their vocabularies and reading habits because it is something they enjoy reading.

Another great thing about Zoobooks Magazine is that they offer a great resource for your children as they work on homework assignments relating to animals. Why make homework a chore when your kids can have a plethora of animal information in their own Zoobooks Magazine subscription right at their fingertips. They are loaded with findings and illustrations from experts in the field of wildlife.

Not only do children love animals, but with Zoobooks Magazine they are introduced to the knowledge in a fun and exciting way. They offer answers to fantastic questions and silly ideas that children don’t normally think of. Like why bees do their own dances and why stripes keep tigers from going hungry. A subscription to Zoobooks Magazine will help your children to learn about what they already love, plus they will learn to ask better questions and think on their own.

In addition to all of the educational value, Zoobooks Magazine is very affordable. For 12 issues, one full year, you play less that $2.00 an issue. For that small amount, your children get a gift that will enjoy all year, a resource for homework, and a reading aid as they develop skills. You will be able to feel your child’s excitement as he improves his reading skills in reading and vocabulary. They are also easy to hang on to and use for siblings and future children.

Another great use for Zoobooks Magazine is in the classroom. The use of words and pictures draws children to the text and gets them reading. In addition, they are learning science and expanding their vocabulary in the classroom. Each Zoobooks Magazine has a creative activities section in it to encourage lesson planning around them. Word puzzles, pages available for reproduction and classroom use, and games.

Whether it is for your own children or a classroom of students, they probably love animals. So think about the Zoobooks Magazine [http://www.evergladenews.com/category/education-online] to take advantage of that love and help children learn.

A Grand Dad, His Grand-Kids and His iPad

I was blessed enough in the sixth decade of my life to have been able to purchase an iPad 2 when they first came out. I can honestly say that it has been an enjoyable journey that continues to this day. The learning curve wasn't so bad since I owned an iPhone about three or four years prior.

Granted the iPad can't do all the things I was doing on my desktop and laptop (I was a PC guy), but that wasn't a big problem. And my iPad just lets me be mobile in ways I couldn't with a laptop. Try telling your 2 year old grand kids to wait while your laptop turns-on or shuts-down, when they're ready to go.

Speaking of the grand kids, my 2 year old grand daughter has become quite a navigator on grandpa's iPad. It's great to see her little fingers sliding around the screen, she knows how to get to her games and childrens movies I loaded on it. But the really cool part is when she gets stuck on something, then looks at me and speaks in tot-oneese "papa hep". That's when my whole world stops for a moment. We can sit there side by side and look at the screen together and find a way to solve or learn or just have a good time scrolling the screen looking for something else to do.

Sure we play in the back yard with the cats and dog. Or I turn on the bubble machine and let them run through the bubbles. We have a rabbit we let out in the back yard and play hide and seek with. But when grand dad needs a break, the iPad comes out and most times it's all good.

Finding games/apps that will keep the kids content is not a problem. If you look hard and long in the App Store you will find appropriate entertainment for the kids in all of us. And boy are there a lot of apps that can be found in the AppStore. Lots of free apps teasers, these are the ones that are free to try, then to get to higher more difficult levels there's a small fee. It's not a bad thing since it gives you a chance to see if the kids or you like the free app before you spend money on it. There are iPad learning apps for children and learning game apps for all ages. My other grand daughter had trouble with the letters 'b' and 'd'. A couple sessions using an alphabet app and she got it down, the interactive, fun and easy way.

I just have to say it's been an awesome time playing with the iPad and the grand-kids. I know it's a great tool, but it's also a grand kid magnet, and that's a pretty good thing!

Picking Up A Horse's Hoof

The idea of picking up a horse's hooves can intimidate some owners since a well-placed horse kick would really hurt! Such caution is good, but in reality if you pick up a horse's hoof properly you provide him with no leverage or ability to kick you. This is a situation where a person's worst fears can cause him to imagine an incident that is highly unlikely to occur with careful handling. Here's how to safely pick up a horse's hoof: Starting with the front hoof, approach your horse diagonally from his front so that he clearly knows you are there - you don't want to surprise him. Place yourself even with his shoulder and make sure to face his rear; you will both be facing opposite directions during the hoof picking process. Making sure that your feet aren't too close to the horse's hoof, start running the hand parallel to him down his shoulder and along the length of his leg, finally stopping just above his ankle. Gently grasp the ankle portion and click (or otherwise verbally cue him) to ask him to raise his leg. If he's well trained, that small cue will be more than enough and he'll do just what you requested. You're now free to begin picking his hoof. If your horse is being a bit stubborn or hasn't learned how to pick up his legs yet try leaning into his shoulder as you run your hand down the back of his cannon bone. You can also gently squeeze/pinch the tendons to further cue him to what you would like. As you perform these physical cues make sure you provide a verbal one also (I make a clicking sound) so the horse later associates your sound with the requested response. Increase the weight you push against his shoulder until he finally lifts his leg as requested. When picking a horse's hoof you want to remove all debris from the hoof clefts as well as the rim and frog. Be careful around the frog because it can sometimes be a bit sensitive, particularly if the horse has thrush. Once you have finished cleaning the front hoof carefully guide it back to the floor; you don't want to allow the horse to slam it, potentially hitting your foot in the process. Praise your horse and pat him on the front shoulder a bit so he understands that you are pleased with his cooperation, then run your hand along his back to his rear leg. Place yourself in the same position as you did with his front leg and do the process over again. There is a slight difference between lifting a rear foot and front foot, even though your basic positioning and actions are nearly identical. When you lift your horse's rear foot he will probably give a little jerk that you might misinterpret as a kick. This is a common reflex reaction among horses and nothing for you to worry about. Secondly, when you raise your horse's rear leg you'll want to step into him a bit so that your hip is underneath his leg. Rest his leg on your thigh, grab his hoof and gently flex it upwards. By doing this you lend him some support and more importantly the position of his leg and his flexed hoof will prevent him from being able to kick you. Clean the hoof, lower it cautiously as you did the first and praise him. Congratulations - you're halfway done! The opposite side will be done exactly the same way, but try to return to his front and start the opposite side rather than move around his rear. It's bad practice to approach or circle all but the most trusted horses via the rear in such close quarters since a horse would be within range to strike. When lifting any hoof try to make sure your horse is properly squared (balanced evenly on all four legs) so that when you lift one hoof he can easily balance on his remaining three. At no time should the horse actually lean his weight on you! Even when you rest his rear leg on your thigh you're not allowing him to use you as a crutch. Once you have picked your horse's hooves a few times it will probably become very simple and take less than 5 minutes to clear all hooves. Most trained horses will raise their hoof for you the moment they feel your leg run down their leg. It is a very good idea to control your horse's head while you are picking his hooves. This can be done by attaching his halter to crossties or asking a partner hold your horse's head. By controlling his head you ensure your horse can't move away from you while you're trying to pick his hooves, or worse... turn around and take a bite at your rear!