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I have a slightly different approach to goal setting than the average bear.

I’m not terribly interested in accomplishing a lot of specific tasks. I’m more interested in asking, “Who am I becoming?” and “Do I like this person?”

To me, these are the essential questions, the BIG ones, if you will, for these reasons:

(1) I’m not asking, “What do I want to be?” This is an occupational query, and while it’s significant, it’s not the end result we’re really seeking, as I see it.

(2) I’m not focused on the past, woefully wondering “What have I become?” The game’s not over; I’m a work in progress.

(3) “Who” is about overall identity, mission, purpose, and one’s personality. It’s an integrating question, not a fractionalizing one. Your “who?” is about the whole of you, and that’s much greater than the sum of your parts or your accomplishments.

Try organizing your life around “who?” and not “what?” and see how you do, overall. If you’re like me, you’ll feel you’re tapping into deeper sources of motivation, and wellsprings of personal satisfaction, instead of making yourself a success object, driven toward achievement and acquisition, but an empty cargo container, inside.

After all, when we ask the right question, the answer appears, almost magically, doesn’t it?

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, “The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable,” published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC’s Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

‘It’s a complicated offering and we really can’t get through it (sales presentation) in less than an hour.’

That’s what I was recently told by a start-up technology company I was asked by a friend to meet with. My friend, the majority investor in this company, asked me to review their sales presentation - a 50+ slide presentation loaded with features and functionality.

Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, considered by many to be the greatest American speech of all time, defining democracy and our purpose as a nation, took three minutes to deliver. So, why would it ever take anything more than 30 minutes to describe a company, it’s offering, and benefits to a prospective customer? That’s 10 times longer than Lincoln used at Gettysburg!

In my business, we see an awful lot of presentations. Emphasis should be placed on awful. Companies spend way too much time bragging on themselves and extolling their greatness as opposed to focusing on the meaningful ways they aid the interests and alleviate the concerns of their customer. Customers could care less about the things you have, they want the things you do. Customers buy benefits, not features. Features and functionality exist to support the benefits you offer. Get to the benefits first.

I don’t believe there is such a thing as the ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ number of slides in a sales presentation. That being said, never have a sales presentation that is over 10 slides, including the opening and closing slides. If you need more than that to convey your value and benefits, something is wrong. Limit yourself to a number of slides and challenge yourself to get to the main points faster. You don’t have the luxury of time with a prospect; you need to lock their interest early.

An interesting exercise is to make a presentation from the customer’s perspective, addressing information the way they are likely processing your conversation with them. Use the following titles for each slide and compare this presentation to whatever you have today. Which is more meaningful to your prospect?

1. Opening Slide
2. ‘Who Are You?’
3. ‘What Do You Do for Me?’
4. ‘How Do You Do It?’
5. ‘How Are You Different?’
6. ‘Why Should I Believe You?’
7. ‘What Does It Cost?’
8. ‘Do You Offer a Guarantee?’
9. ‘How Do We Start Doing Business Together?’
10. Closing Slide

Jim Logan is a direct response marketer that writes, speaks, and consults on the topic of businesses making more money. He may be reached at http://www.jslogan.com

Attention Deficit Disorder wears many faces among children. While the hyperactive, rebellious boys are easy to spot, there are also several other types of children that suffer from ADD that go undiagnosed because of their less conspicuous behavior. Girls often fall into this category.

Some girls are referred to as the “tomboy” type. Preferring more physical activities, they often exhibit some of the key characteristics of ADD, without the defiant behavior of their male counterparts. For this reason, parents and teachers will usually assume the child is not academically inclined and unorganized, but never consider ADD to be a possibility.

Another often undiagnosed group of ADD children are the “chatty” girls. This type is a combination of inattentiveness and hyperactivity and is typically exhibited as being extremely social. More hyper-talkative than hyperactive, these girls have a very difficult time keeping quiet even after being disciplined for talking. They will also tend to jump around a lot when telling stories and organizing their thoughts.

“Daydreamers” are another category often overlooked as having ADD. These girls are usually very quiet and do not draw attention to themselves. However, their extreme inattentiveness is a standard ADD trait. They may exhibit depression and anxiety about school projects, but are not able to stay on task to complete assignments. These are probably one of the most difficult children to diagnose, as teachers and parents do not usually notice the behavior as being a problem and assume the child is simply lazy.

Interestingly enough, there are also a lot of “gifted” girls with ADD. High IQ levels may make it easier to cope with inattention and impulsiveness, but as a child ages, their shortcomings often emerge. It must be remembered that ADD is not a learning disability, and sufferers do not inherently perform poorly in school. They may be able to mask their disorder well into middle or high school, where it them makes itself apparent as work becomes more difficult and assignments become more pressing.

Attention Deficit Disorder can cause many problems when it goes undiagnosed. It will often be assumed children are lazy, unintelligent, and unorganized, when in actuality, they suffer from this disorder. They will often grow up with poor self-esteem and think themselves quitters, or even worse, think they are stupid because of the problems they have. It is important to notice these traits and treat them accordingly to prevent any long term consequences of the disorder.

Sarah is an acclaimed writer on medical matters, and has written extensively on the subjects of Attention Deficit Disorder, Bird Flu and Crohn’s Disease.
For more of her articles, go to http://www.imedicalvillage.com now.

Could the book of Genesis be more reality based than we think? After all it is very loosely written isn’t it. I mean if you do not take the storyline literally or get sucked into a literal interpretation of the religious literature created to enslave men; one might be able to explain much of its text thru scientific manipulation of its words.

For instance in discussing this in an online think tank and on an online forum one gentleman from Australia stated that;

“Humans made from clay – Of all the material on earth (apparently) clay is the most similar to human DNA in molecular structure (I’m relaying this from a good scientist on the radio – haven’t checked it myself). Weird huh?”

That is a hell of a revelation isn’t it? Well indeed as bizarre as that sounds, it could be manipulated into the storyline. We known many sects of many religions have butchered the text over the past 3000 years anyway right? Why not, screw with the story some more? And when god made woman from man one could put that into a DNA connotation and out Australian friend and fellow thinker states;

“Woman from Man – Through cloning, you can make a male or female from a male cell, but only ever a female from a female cell (assuming women = XX chromosome. Males need a Y).”

In fact if we really wanted to take this further so we could get the Christian Religion up to speed on things without denying science, maybe we could tell the tale in a Science Fiction Flick or something? And thus maybe butchering the Bible might be the best bet, you know up-grade the story one more time? They have so many times in the past, well hell we may as well bring it up to speed right? Consider all this in 2006.

‘Lance Winslow’ - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is a guest writer for Our Spokane Magazine in Spokane, Washington

I have been following Anthony Robbins for about 18 years or so now. I originally bought ‘Unlimited Power’ which then transformed into ‘Awaken the Giant Within’ to ‘Personal Power’, there was no doubt for years I was feeding myself with major information. It certainly improved my life and focus and made more gains than friends and those around me. But the truth is, even though I pretty much knew everything, I only took action on a small amount of what I had studied. My gains in life were comfortable but certainly not in the millionaire bracket. Then last year I found out Tony was appearing live in London.

After I got over the initial shock of how much it cost to go to one of his seminars, I decided that I would regret it if I did not make the investment and so made the purchase.

I knew it would be good, I even though it may be great but what I didn’t prepare myself for is how it would blow me away. Books, CDs, Videos are fantastic but they don’t come close to having the man himself talking to you personally. Of course there were 10,000 people there but it still felt as though he was talking to me, yes me. It was only now that I understood why Tony Robbins is the number one in the world and why people flock to his seminars year after year.

I had gone by myself but within an hour I had already made friends. On the first night you do a fire walk across burning coals and you have to find a stranger to do it with. That friend became a group of 12 over the weekend. I started asking my new friends, “have you been before?” yes was often the reply; one chap had been 9 times across the world. The “Unleash The Power Within” event, even though is the same each time, seems to also produce something new, either by different questions the audience ask or Tony’s passion for showing us everything he knows. On the 3rd day Tony was on stage from 9.30am to 2.00am the next morning with only a short break during the day, we really were getting our moneys worth. When it was all over my energy levels were at an all time high, well at least for the last 10 years, I drove home and hardly remembered the 4-hour journey home. I think I broke a few speed limits too.

Over the next 10 days I lost a stone, my work mates thought I was mad and then couldn’t stop complimenting me for sticking to the diet. Then 3 months later I took the plunge and left work to follow my dreams of running my own business or businesses, which I am doing know. Its hard work and still have along way to go but I am going to do it. In a few weeks time Tony is back in London and I will be there again, this time near the front and oh yes anther business relating to Tony’s seminars which I can’t mention here, but only came by me attending this one seminar. If you need that lick start, or need a change to your life I can’t think of a better and more enjoyable to make this change than to see the man himself live at any of his seminars, they are amazing.

Mark is webmaster for Anthony Robbins Tickets and SEO Consultant and finally Cheap And Comparison Car Breakdown Cover

Personal loans through banks and financial institutions have been a constant source of funds for most borrowers in the UK. Limited funds and an unlimited number of expenses have always forced individuals to use personal loans. Unsecured personal loans, a version of personal loans, has been very popular among tenants and homeless people. Of late, homeowners too started showing an interest in unsecured personal loans. Reason: the loan provider cannot claim a direct charge on any asset, particularly home.

The absence of collateral in an unsecured personal loan doesn’t allow loan provider a direct charge on any asset. In the event of bankruptcy, unsecured loan providers are the last to be disbursed. When the proceeds of liquidation are not enough to suffice every creditor, unsecured creditors are the ones who lose.

This clearly demonstrates the relatively higher risk that Unsecured Personal loans providers have to face. The stark differences in terms between the two kinds of personal loans are thus justified. This serves as a food for thought for many borrowers who would otherwise complain of inflated terms on unsecured personal loans.

Risk plays an important role in gaining the trust of loan providers. Risk is defined as the potential harm that may arise from some event taking place in the present or in the future. Having no collateral to back repayments on increase the risk quotient.

The worst affected through the increase in risk is interest rate. Interest rate rises manifold in an unsecured personal loan. While on most occasions the increase is justified, lenders will not miss the opportunity to make some extra pounds. This is done by adding a few percentage points to an already inflated interest rate. Most borrowers will accept this as the norm. Others, who conduct proper search before consenting to the loan, will question the increased interest rate.

Comparison of interest rate using loan calculator is till today the best method to avoid loan providers overcharging in terms of interest. Loan calculator illustrates the rates of interest being charged by several prominent banks and financial institutions. The interest rate chargeable on separate categories of loans is also listed in the loan calculator. A borrower planning to have unsecured personal loan will first go to the relevant loan category; in this case the category is unsecured personal loan. A look through the category will reveal the least rates. If the rate being offered to you is higher, then shifting loan providers will be the solution. Allowing the loan provider a justification for the increased rates will be necessary. Sometimes because of bad credit history, the rate of interest or APR has to be further increased.

A benefit that unsecured personal loans enjoy over secured personal loans is the promptness of approval. Valuation of property or asset will not be required as in secured loans. A large chunk of time employed for these valuations is saved in this process. Consequently, unsecured personal loans will be preferred on the scales of faster availability.

Not many lenders would be prepared to offer large sums of money through unsecured personal loans. The amount desired will be slivered off. Unsecured personal loans cannot be used for purposes where the amount of finance required is very large.

The faith enjoyed by a borrower in banks and his personal credit report has a very important role to play in improving his case for unsecured personal loan. Some loan providers immediately reject those with bad credit history. Some others, who are considerate to the problems of bad credit borrowers, offer unsecured personal loans, but with caution. The loan amount rendered is small. Lending policies may however be made less stringent for the borrowers with bad credit. The increasing number of cases of bad credit is improving acceptance of bad credit as a regular phenomena.

The increasing preference of homeowners as well as homeless, for unsecured personal loans sees no decline. The desire to see ones home safe has inspired many people to change loyalties from secured personal loans to an unsecured personal loan. With the trend continuing, days are not far when unsecured personal loans will become as lucrative as secured loans.

Andrew baker has done his masters in finance from CPIT.He is engaged in providing free,professional,and independent advice to the residents of the UK.He works for the Secured loan web site loans fiesta for any type of loans in uk,secured loans,unsecured loans,debt consolidation loans please visit http://www.loansfiesta.co.uk

There is a big misconception among the public regarding self-defense – Self-defense tactics and strategy for the general public is the same as self defense for women. Let me tell you a shocking truth that some techniques and strategies taught in general self-defense classes are not practical and effective when applied by women! I am not trying to say that women are not capable. But what I am trying to say is that some of the techniques taught are more suited for guys defending themselves against guys. There are differences between general self-defense & self-defense for women and that is what I am going to cover today. So what are there any common grounds between self-defense for the general public and self –defense for women? It is when the attack involves material gains for the assailant such as robbery and extortion.

1. Nature & Objective of Attacks

Firstly, the nature and objective of attacks on women tend to be more sexual in nature as compared to attacks on men. Women rarely get involved with a one-on-one duel with a man, if ever. So should be a heavy importance on training for scenarios whereby the attacker would attack you in a street brawl manner? No! It is unlike a fight between two men. When two men fight, the objective tends to be a show of power, egos or in some cases revenge and anger. The common mentality is that “I am going to beat you to show that I’m BETTER and STRONGER than you”. As such, there will usually be a challenge by one side first. So a sort of confrontation exists. However, when a woman is assaulted sexually, the assailant has an objective which ends with a penetration. Rape is about dominance not about simply beating the daylights out of another man.

2. Distance of Attack

Secondly, the distance/range of attack involved in a sexual assault is always in close range. This differs from other self-defense situations which can happen in all types of ranges. This means a rapist would rarely, if ever, come from a full view of a defender and started to “attack” you in that normal sense of the word. Sexual predators will more likely to attack a woman in close quarters and in an ambush-like manner. They will aim to take you to the ground. So that is why it is crucial that EVERY woman should know how to defend herself on the ground.

3. Type of attack

Thirdly, the type of attacks most used would be slightly different. In a fight between men, it is known that punches to the face is the most common type of attack while in a sexual assault, bear hugs and chokes are more commonly used. Besides that, the assailant will be more inclined to control the arms of the women as well as the other limbs. However, fights between men tend to be more bloodied since they are more concerned about slugging it out with punches and kicks. They are not aiming for penetration.

As you can see, there are 3 concerns which arise from understanding the nature of women self defense. A woman MUST know how to fight on the ground as well as defending herself in close quarters such countering a bear hug and a choke. If you want to learn how to defend yourself in close quarters and equip yourself with techniques on ground fighting especially for women, then go to http://www.womenself-defense.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Ahmad Mutammim is a recognized authority in the Self-defense industry. He has a Black belt in Taekwondo and is also trained in other Martial Arts such as Judo and Silat. He has fight experiences in street encounters and is also a former police officer in the Singapore Police Force. His self-defense book, which is a must-have for all ladies looking for sufficient knowledge of defending against rape, can be found at http://www.womenself-defense.com

Knowing what to look for when looking for small business web hosting can greatly help your chances of success in your online business.
In the fast-paced world of business, there are many ways to advertise your company. Arguably the biggest way to increase sales in a cost effective manner is by having an online presence. Having a corporate or business web site both to provide information to existing clients, and to attract more potential customers by way of the search engines is essential nowadays to survival of businesses in competitive fields. Moreover, knowing the type of web hosting for small business you need will help you greatly down the road in terms of hidden costs and overhead, site loading speed and features.

Since your web site is your first contact with visitors on the internet, it is imperative that your ecommerce web site hosting provides the following:

High server uptime, at least 99%% overall uptime on average.

PHP support (the newest stable version)

MySQL databases. Most businesses will require at least 3-4 if not more, so your host should provide at least this many with any web hosting package.

CGI

Over 50 POP email accounts

Webmail (in case you do not wish to use a client side email program)

Sufficient bandwidth. 20 GB is sufficient for most small business, and this amount should be increased in relation to the amount of traffic you receive.

Sufficient space. Very few companies realistically use more than 1 GB of web space.

Customer support ticket system with reasonable response time – less than 4 hours

Nightly backups to tape with diesel or similar backup power source.

Cpanel, to allow for easier setup of email, scripts and administration.

Support for basic MIME types including Macromedia flash.

Beneficial features:

Fantastico Cpanel. This program is loaded for scripts which al help the success of the modern businessman. Fantastico incorporates webblogs, eccomerce shopping carts, and content management systems all into a very easy-to-use interface.
Subdomain support.

Zend PHP optimizer to assist in programming and access speeds.

Always do your research before committing to a web host. There are many websites setup as web hosting review sites which claim to be unbiased, and in actual fact, send business to their own company. Test your hosting for a period of two months to see if the site is accessible all of the time, and if the load times are fast.

Todd is server administrator and owner of GDO Web Hosting, in operation serving thousands of clients since 1999.

This article is available for reprint only under the following conditions:
The entire article must not be edited in any way, and the Byline below must be included with html intact as real direct links:

Copyright © 2004 All Rights Reserved GDO Web Hosting

I can tell you quite a bit about Ironman- Canada as I’ve been entered 10 times.

Its very surprising how many first time Ironman hopefuls come to Canada. I say that because it is very, very challenging.

Also because of the two huge mountain passes you have to climb. I suppose being positive, at least you can come screaming down the other side at about 50-55 mph.

The swim can be really good or really tough. It all depends on the weather and the water temperature. If cooler water is not a problem for you than it’s fine. The wetsuits you can buy today are quite warm.

The run can be very hot and is hilly in the middle of the course but has amazing aid stations.

All that aside, Ironman Canada is really a fabulous race. I think its for two very important reasons. The location is beautiful. You bike around a lake and through the orchards before reaching the pass. The entire Okanagan Valley is worth visiting while you’re there.

Most of all, Ironman-Canada has amazing volunteers who have lots of practice at hosting the Ironman and its very well done.

People just love this race. It fills up in 24 hours. It’s almost as hard to get in Canada as it is Hawaii. I think part of the reason is that’s its great to bring the whole family and vacation afterwards.

To get in, you either have to be there the day after the race, or sitting at your computer that Monday first thing and try and get in that way. There’s usually enough people just in Pentiction to fill the race about half way or more and the rest is done online, and they may possibly have a few lottery spots.

This is also a great race to volunteer for if you’re planning your Ironman for the following year. At least that way you’re there and can enter on the Monday morning and be in for sure. As I said on my volunteer page, if you’re not sure you want to tackle the Ironman, you will be after volunteering for Ironman-Canada raceday.

My name is Ray and I’ve been an endurance athlete for over 25 years. I’ve competed in over 30 marathons, 2 — 50 mile races, 14 Ironman triathlons and countless shorter races.

I’ve created a website called ‘Ironstruck.’ The main purpose is to provide training and racing tips for the beginner triathlete and novice Ironman.

come for a visit……

http://triathlon-ironman-myfirstironman-ironstruck.com

also..’Ironstruck’ the book, has been published online and can be viewed here….

http://www.lulu.com/content/543252

It is available in paperback or download and may well be the most valuable Ironman Triathlon guide you might ever purchase.

Sometimes there are some of us that have to make ‘the’ decision of where our loved one needs to be placed. As a speech and language therapist in a long term health facility I have some thoughts to share.

I understand that making a placement decision for a loved on is as important as decided to get married, what house to buy, if or when to have children. The decision is very important. Some are lucky and have time to look around for the perfect place for their mom or dad. Others don’t. But just remember any place your loved one is going to be living for a few weeks while they recover or if they are there to stay until they die is a happy or sad place by the way it is talked about.

Always take in consideration your loved one’s feelings, ideas, and thoughts about the whole situation. Remember you are the one who gets to go to your home at night, not them. Making the transition a pleasant and happy one makes all the difference in the world. Bring in their favorite picture to hang on the wall or having their pet be able to live with them.

Mom and Dad feel that they don’t have any control over their lives anymore. They live in a new place, they have to make new friends and get used to being told when to eat, and even have to tell someone that they need to go to the bathroom.

Please always remember to make the transition smooth for your loved one. Always take inconsideration their thoughts and feelings. Take care of yourself also during this time of transition.

If you need some helpful resources, please feel free to visit my web site at http://www.myspeechworld.com.