The Money Secret

my son is not my son

2008-12-28T05:43:00.000-08:00

Some people said it was just a normal teenage phase. But I knew in my heart there was something wrong with Stephen. His work was going downhill: he was turning up late, not concentrating. He just wasn't himself. He was staying in his room constantly, not coming near us, not even saying good morning. He was going out and getting into fights and he's a passive person. He was going missing for days. We didn't know where he was and he'd come home with bruises and he wouldn't remember what had happened.
He was acting quite strangely and saying he had super powers and things like that. He thought I was dead. He thought someone had killed me and chopped my head off. But he'd been drinking a lot and when people drink they act pretty strangely.
We ended up taking him to our GP and Stephen opened up a little bit. The GP said: "Well, why not be admitted to hospital for a while?" I was hoping Stephen would agree but he wouldn't go. He just thought that he was OK, because he was OK maybe 15 per cent of the time, but mostly he wasn't. The doctor put him on antidepressants. But he was just getting worse and worse.
We ended up getting him referred to a psychiatrist. But he didn't get better. I spent a month running around trying to get people to diagnose him. He was screaming and acting irrationally. Then one day we got a phone call. He was in a police station. I told them I thought something was wrong and I wanted him to go to hospital. I couldn't handle him. He would get very, very upset. He was like a toddler having a tantrum. So the police took him to hospital.
A psychiatrist assessed him and said he was depressed. But if the person acts quite normally, they just don't know what's really the problem. By that time, you see, Stephen was very calm. He really was scared of going into hospital. I think he thought "I'm going nuts, they'll lock me away," all those sorts of fears. Also I'm sure he didn't want people to know. That's a very big thing with young men. The stigma

Free Can Mean Big Money: The Open Source Economy (section 9)

2008-12-26T22:20:00.002-08:00

The established interests (software firms and their paid consultants) have been playing this sob story of how open source is putting them out of business and how it's a threat to the economy, insecure, more expensive, etc, etc. They've even been lobbying the government. It's the same old sob story we've heard over and over, and apparently there are plenty of people who will believe it.
I just hope that they're not successful in implementing any kind of artificial protections for themselves through lobbying, and I say this as a proponent of free trade. Protectionist tariffs and subsidies on domestic agriculture, raw materials, and manufactured goods are a constant temptation for a country that encounters competition from outside. Europe and the United States to this day continue to artificially prop-up domestic industry even as their governments preach the benefits of free trade and open markets. Who are the ones that want to open the markets? Ironically, it's sometimes the same folks who would call open source software proponents communists. The outcry over open source's negative effect on the economy is similar to the U.S. steel situation. The U.S. steel industry is having a hard time competing with imports from abroad, so they successfully lobby the government into slapping tariffs on foreign steel. That keeps steel prices artificially high, and subsequently the U.S. automobile and construction industries suffer. A few steel workers keep their jobs, a few auto workers lose theirs. I'm not familiar enough with the situation to know whether it was a net gain or loss for the country's economy, but the point is that you take away from one side, you give to another. That's the way things work.
Here's another example: Wal-mart has been bad news for small businesses all over the USA, and for their owners and employees. It's been bad for the downtown business districts, some of which have been decimated, while others have been merely forced to transform into restaurant and entertainment promenades. But in the larger picture, has it been bad for America? Well, ask the millions of rural Americans who now have access to socks for $2 per dozen and $35 DVD players. They'll say it's not so bad to have some economy of scale leveraging their purchasing power. (Disclaimer: personally, I hate Wal-Mart, and I love vibrant downtown business districts and small, quirky businesses.) But the point is this: just as we might decry the negative impact that foreign trade or big box stores might have one segment of the economy or society, the net result has been that these factors mean that a couple hundred million Americans can now buy a heck of a lot more for their money that they could twenty years ago.
In conclusion, the number of people who will be negatively affected by the availability of high quality, low cost software is relatively small. The software industry may need to transform, and some firms may not survive, but the overall impact on the economy will be positive. Just because the oil companies are enjoying increased profits due to higher gas prices does not mean that high oil prices is good for the economy. Quite the opposite.
We might have heard a similar story a couple hundred years ago, during the industrial revolution: "But millions of people are employed planting and harvesting, and the tractor will put them all out of business! And the cotton gin will put all those people picking the seeds out of cotton plants out of work! And mechanical looms will put all those weavers out of work! Oh the humanity!"
Every time there's a transformation in one segment of the economy, we hear the same outcry. And while it may be downright tragic for the affected parties, the rest of us can't get too caught up in the drama.
History is chock full of well-meaning people succeeding with their plans and inadvertently making life worse for many others. The early Communists thought they were fighting for freedom. Freedom is a good idea, but if you go about promoting it in the wrong way, you can end up making people less free. You may not notice what's happening until it's too late because ideology can blind you. Many people today who are fighting for intellectual property rules because they think it promotes innovation and progress may actually be actually hammering nails into innovation's coffin.

Free Can Mean Big Money: The Open Source Economy (section 8)

2008-12-26T22:20:00.001-08:00

I guess free software foundations are going to employ people from now on. Its the same evil mega corporations that employ hundreds of thousands of people and make the world economy function. Make them "smaller, weaker, and easier to keep in their place" and raise the unemployment rate to double digits not to mention lowering the standard of living world wide I suggest voting NO for RMS Democracy.
Is it "free software foundations" that pay the paychecks of most of the people developing open source software? No, for the most part it's for-profit enterprises (and some schools) who have a self-interest in producing the software. And who is it who's using all this software? Long-haired hippies running servers for anti-capitalistic websites? Nope, it's everyday IT folks doing everyday work for regular companies.
Open source software has been a tremendous boon for the thousands of small and medium sized businesses that have been mostly shut out of the enterprise software markets, both as producers and consumers. A few small companies like Red Hat and SuSE have been very successful in producing and supporting open source software, and countless small consulting firms have found open source to be a revelation.
Let's have an example: A small consulting firm is hired to solve a problem. The client has a budget of $5000. They could solve that problem in 50 hours by coding it from scratch (earning $100 per hour), or in 20 hours using pre-existing open source software (earning $250/hr). In many cases like this, even if there is commercial software, it would cost more than $5000 just for the license. So this small firm rolls out the open source software, with modifications, makes its $5000, then turns around and sells a similar system to its next client, making another $5000. And the clients get the additional peace of mind knowing that even if this small consulting firm goes away, since their system is built on a known platform, someone else should be able to pick up the pieces. In this case, everybody wins. In fact, the commercial software firm doesn't even lose, because they wouldn't have been interested in this business anyway.

Free Can Mean Big Money: The Open Source Economy (section 7)

2008-12-26T22:19:00.001-08:00

The side of the story that's ignored is that there are two sides to the software industry: the producers and the consumers. In fact, the number of companies and individuals who use software vastly outnumber those that produce it. And there are two sides to corporate profit: revenues and expenses. The average corporation spends a huge amount of money, a significant percentage of its IT budget, on software licensing.
Take a look at the largest companies in the world. Of them, only Microsoft makes the majority of its money from software licensing. A handful of them, IBM, HP, Siemens, Hitachi, Motorola, Lockheed, Intel, make some of their money from software sales, generally a small part. A few, like Wal-Mart and Best Buy make a small portion of their revenue from retail sales of software. So the vast majority of large global companies consume software rather than produce it. Same goes for small businesses. And let's not forget governments and academic and research institutions, some of the other largest consumers of software. When looked at it from this angle, if the cost of software is driven down by competition from open source, and thus a major cost of doing business is reduced for global industry, will it be a net gain or net loss to the economy?
And the cost savings can come in unexpected places. A large corporation that I know of replaced thousands of Sun/Solaris servers with inexpensive Intel/Linux ones and ended up saving $250,000 per year -- in electricity -- on top of millions of dollars in licensing fees. Where did that money go? Did it disappear into the ether? Well, Sun Microsystems (and the power company) probably thinks it did, but in fact, instead of going to Sun, it went to pay salaries, to fund new projects, and back to the shareholders in dividends and a kick in the stock price due to greater profits. In other words, it went right into the economy. Every dollar not spent on software licenses is spent on something else.
And economics is not a zero-sum game. Money can be spent in ways in which its positive impact on the economy is greater or lesser. If a firm spends $25 million developing a software product that never achieves widespread use and never makes much of an impact (and a huge proportion of commercial software projects fall into this category), the only positive impact on the economy will be the transfer of funds from company coffers to general circulation (and taxes) via the salaries of the employees involved.
On the other hand, if a useful piece of software becomes available at little or no cost to many companies, especially to companies that otherwise would not have been able to afford such software, it can give a major boost to that company's productivity. In that case, even if no money was spent, all those companies increased their efficiency and revenues. Increased productivity and decreased expenses can have a massive effect on a company's bottom line.

Free Can Mean Big Money: The Open Source Economy (section 6)

2008-12-26T22:18:00.000-08:00

The software industry is one of the United States' most important industries. According to the BSA, the software industry makes a greater contribution to the US GDP than any other manufacturing industry. (Manufacturing makes up almost 14% of the US GDP, according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis). More than 800,000 people are employed by the software industry, and they make an average of $69K per year (BSA). And this is more or less the case with most developed countries. Software makes up an important part of the world economy. How would the widespread adoption of open source software affect this segment of the economy?
It's impossible to speculate with complete accuracy, but I think we could all agree on some basic generalizations:
It would open up the possibility of a shift of dominance away from the United States. Though much open source software originated in the US, there are no artificial controls to prevent people in other countries using and improving upon that software, and in fact obtaining de-facto dominance of any particular niche.
Some companies' product lines are sure to suffer, and under-diversified companies might go out of business altogether. Intel and Linux delivered a 1-2 punch to companies like SGI and Sun; Oracle may face reduced profits in the future as open source databases like Postgres and MySQL attack their low-end market and creep up; Microsoft has already seen Linux and Apache prevent it from easy domination in the low-to-mid-end web server market.
It's possible that we could see a fundamental shift in the software industry away from predominantly earning money from licensing fees into making money from support contracts, automated update and maintenance services, and consulting services. Some major software companies, like IBM, Oracle, and SAP already make a large proportion, if not the majority of their software-related money from services and support contracts, and that has been the case long before open source came on the scene.
If it ever got to the point that software users came to expect that most software would be free of charge, it would become difficult for an individual or small company to make any money by creating and licensing software. This is already shown itself to be true in the Linux subculture. So much of the software for Linux is free that there isn't much of a market in shareware for Linux, as there is for the Windows and Mac platforms. FTP clients, utilities and other small, purpose specific software that would cost $10-20 (shareware) on Windows is generally available free of charge for Linux, and generally included outright on your typical Linux distribution. Individuals or small firms that might have an interest in distributing a shareware app on Linux probably just don't bother.
So it's likely that if open source software became more widespread there would be some negative impact on the economy. Some companies that are currently in business might be forced to change focus, survive with slimmer profit margins, or even go under as a result. Some companies that might have existed otherwise will never come to be at all. And individual countries, like the United States, might see their dominance in the software industry wane as the market is opened up to other, probably poorer, countries, like India and China.
So in the U.S., software company profits are likely to decline, and some jobs will probably be lost. There will be a negative economic effect from open source software.
Plenty of people have made similar claims, with the most vulnerable of the software firms, industry associations, and their paid mouthpieces being the most vocal. And they do have a point. The problem is, as is the case with any fact that's promoted by an aggrieved party, that there's another side to the story that's conveniently ignored.

Free Can Mean Big Money: The Open Source Economy (section 5)

2008-12-26T22:17:00.002-08:00

But we're getting ahead of ourselves. At this point in our history of open source, it's just making its transition from an intellectual exercise among a relatively tight group of academics, hobbyists, and corporate researchers into a growing phenomenon that's being installed in corporations under the radar. It's still small potatoes. No threat to the established commercial software companies. It's the mid nineties.
Then the internet came onto the scene. Like the music industry, the software industry had been as much about promotion and distribution as production, if not moreso. Suddenly, software could be promoted and distributed at almost no cost, and the carefully-built system of salesmen, distributors, Value Added Resellers, and the like had been bypassed almost overnight. Luckily for them, the software industry had experienced quite a bit of consolidation and vendor lock-in by then, so the average business and home user was somewhat tied into the old system of Windows/Mac PCs running packaged software sold through old-style sales networks and retail stores. But even in the early days of the internet, cracks were already starting to show.
The problem was, the bread and butter of the software industry, medium-to-large businesses, had been increasingly resentful of being the targets of the software industry's relentless profit maximization. Businesses are in the business of making money. And they make money by keeping revenues high and expenses low. By the 1990s, businesses were spending a staggeringly large amount of money on software, and due in large part to the managerial class' emphasis of "features that sell" over "software that works well," a large part of that investment was being wasted in ambitious software projects that ultimately failed. They were getting locked-in to vendors' platforms and run on a costly forced upgrade cycle. Why did they do it? Because the alternative was writing and maintaining their own software in-house. Now, many, many firms did just that. But it was a headache and a risk. A Fortune 500 company can not take the risk that its lead programmer gets hit by a bus and nobody left alive understands how to keep its accounting system running. So many firms were locked into commercial software that they were not happy with.
So by the mid 90s, the fruits of this largely academic collaboration were starting to leak out over the internet: xBSD, Apache, Linux, Sendmail, BIND, Perl, MySQL, and many others. And it wasn't just other academics and software hackers who were picking them up. It was corporations, large and small. The bedrock customers of the software industry. Was it idealism that brought open source software in? Partially, perhaps. Most open source software initially entered these firms under the radar: a Linux/Samba file server here, a FreeBSD/Apache web server there, built on old PCs from the junk room, usually. But when managers found out they'd been happily using free software for months, and in doing so had saved thousands of dollars, it got their attention. The IT managers and engineers at these firms liked that they didn't have to go hat in had begging for funds to buy new software, and sometimes it saved them a lot of time that they would have spent reinventing the wheel. Sometimes, open source software made them look like heroes. Middle managers liked that they could roll out new software-heavy projects without having to beg the CFO for money. It made them look like heroes too. Upper management liked that they now had the leverage they needed to turn the screws on the software vendors who had been screwing them for so long.
Now a lot of this was bad news for the software industry. Any business that wakes up to find a strong new competitor in its market is unhappy. The owner of a main street five and dime who drives by a vacant lot outside of town and sees a "Coming soon: Wal-Mart" sign is a heck of a lot more threatened than Microsoft or Oracle is by Linux or MySQL. But there are some companies that have already been mortally wounded or even killed off by the availability of open source software in their niche, and others that are facing decreased prospects. If open source software continues in its ascent, the software industry will undoubtedly be transformed, and we might see a big drop in the kinds of profits that software companies have enjoyed over the past few decades.

Free Can Mean Big Money: The Open Source Economy (section 4)

2008-12-26T22:17:00.001-08:00

Now for the academics and intellectuals involved, all of this effort was a slam dunk. They got access to more and better software than ever before. If they needed a system to do something special, they need not necessarily reinvent the wheel. There may be some software available that gets them 75% there, and they must only make the necessary improvements, saving time and precious resources.
And this is the way it stayed for a while. It was mostly academics enjoying the fruits of their collaborative labors. Industry wasn't too worried. They had mostly provided software to these folks for free or for heavy discounts anyway, and there were plenty of good ideas and useful little tidbits of software coming out of this movement.
So there was a certain amount of idealism involved, though it was a sort of scientific idealism and an aversion to the kind of wasted parallel effort that the competitive commercial process naturally engenders. But it was far from being anti-capitalistic. In fact, it allowed ideas to compete in an open marketplace, not just in the enclosed sandboxes of corporate-sponsored R&D facilities.
But let's not denigrate the sandboxes. The ideas that had been coming out of places like Bell Labs and Xerox PARC were pretty amazing. In fact, if the open source movement has taught us one thing, it's that there's really no substitute for the kind of sponsorship of R&D that's done by corporations, academic institutions, and governments. What we learned, though, was that a lot of the dynamism that was coming out of these fertile nesting grounds was never making it into profitable commercial products, and ended up lying idle. That's generally a source of great frustration for the software producing class. In fact, even most software that ends up working great and being useful never ends up being a profitable product, because most software is actually not written to be sold but is for internal use in a particular company or institution.
This is the hidden bonanza that really made the open source movement take off like it did. As it worked out, not that much software ended up in the open source ecosystem because some well meaning programmer decided that the world needed a better widget. Most of the software that ended up being open source was the result of work that was done to achieve a particular self-interested purpose, and would either "go to waste" if it weren't shared, or the author preferred to share the burden of maintaining and advancing the software with others. Why share it? Because it's less work that way!
It turned out that there were some very real financial incentives for individuals and organizations to participate in software sharing. That's why they did it. It wasn't because they hated Capitalism. It was because of Capitalism. They could save money on the front side by using free software instead of licensing commercial software, then when they had to do a little tweaking, or even had to write applications to run on top of the free software they'd used, it was to their benefit to share that code with other people in the community, because by collaborating on software they all needed instead of each person re-inventing the wheel in isolation, they could all save time and effort. Now, this is the standard open source sales pitch, and to be perfectly honest, I'm sure there are many examples of companies that have gone down this route with the intention of saving money that could actually have spent less money licensing off-the-shelf software instead, when all is said and done. Some of these firms may even have been influenced by engineers who were more enthusiastic about using the open source software because of some ideological ulterior motive or even a simple hatred of Microsoft (or Oracle, or whoever). Open source is no panacea, but it's not snake oil either. For the vast majority of open source software users, it's all about money. And most of the largest implementations were only made after the green eyeshade folks gave it an enthusiastic thumbs up.

Free Can Mean Big Money: The Open Source Economy (section 3)

2008-12-26T22:16:00.001-08:00

The software industry actually has experienced unending class struggle just as world politics has. it's a struggle between the scientific/intellectual class that produces most of the world's software and the financial/managerial class that runs most of the companies that fund, market, and sell much of the world's software.
Software producers generally believe in an academic-inspired ideal that ideas are best cultivated in an open environment with peer-review and researchers "standing on the shoulders of giants" by learning about and improving upon others' ideas. More knowledge and better technology are the goal, and this goal is achieved by advancing the state of the art. They have their own strict protections of intellectual property, mostly involving a policy of never taking credit for work that isn't yours by meticulously attributing all of your sources.
The financial/managerial class has its own value system, based mostly on the necessity to monetize the company's assets. Firms have a responsibility to maximize the return on their investors' money, so every company asset must be leveraged to its utmost. This means that if you have developed a program that can be sold for $1,000,000 to four people in the world or $100 to three million people, it is your solemn duty to keep the price at $1,000,000, even if that means that 2,999,996 people who need that software will have to go without. And at that price, you must keep your company knowledge absolutely secret, advancing the state of the art be damned.
Often these conflicts do not bump up against each other too much. The software producers need an environment in which they can create software (they need to be paid, be provided with desks, computers, etc) and the managers need the producers to have a product to sell. It's a symbiotic relationship. But engineers often bristle at management's lack of interest in funding inventive new research and instead packing useless bells and whistles into the existing products because sales and marketing think it will help make more money. And managers often decry programmers' love of technology for technology's sake and seeming lack of interest in the financial well-being of the firm.
Members of the scientific/intellectual class looking in from the outside have historically been disappointed that so much of the fruits of the labors of the engineers working within industry have been locked away from them. Either they can't even afford to use the software because its licencing fees are so high, or if they can use it, they can only participate as an outsider because the intellectual property is guarded so carefully. If you've got some great ideas on how to make Microsoft Word better, you don't have much recourse other than penning a letter to the product manager at Microsoft.
Unless, of course, you'd like to take a crack at writing your own word processor. And that is exactly what many of those disenfranchised members of the scientific/intellectual class did.
As an example, AT&T, due in part to its status as a regulated monopoly, was quite generous in letting people use Unix, and it inspired a lot of smart people to advance the state of the art. But the Unix OS and the proprietary utilities it needed to be useful were owned by corporations, and while it's one thing to let academics use it, it would have been reckless to let them make new, commercially viable versions, especially if those versions were clearly better than the original. Shut down on that front, some intrepid programmers decided to re-write these utilities, and eventually the whole OS, from scratch. There were even competing versions of the re-writes, and camps formed around which was better. Over the years, others improved upon those re-writes, sometimes forking off into new projects. So in a way, the principles of the free market were applied to the production of a single piece of software, not just to sales and distribution of similar products.
How was it possible for these programmers to build upon each other's work, to fork off competing versions, and pursue diverging philosophies of development? It was done using a tool that had been invented by the financial/managerial class: intellectual property licensing. But the licenses that these people used were different. Their aim wasn't to monetize the software, but to strike a balance between enforcing the original author's rights while encouraging an academic, collaborative sharing of knowledge. That original author might want only to be recognized for his or her work, or might want to require that derivative works must also be released under an equally open license.

Free Can Mean Big Money: The Open Source Economy (section 2)

2008-12-26T22:15:00.000-08:00

Open source fanatics are communists. Just as in public discourse, all topics of disagreement seem to eventually degrade into someone calling someone else a Nazi, disparagement of the free software movement seems to be inescapably drawn to a comparison with communism.
The quote I highlighted earlier doesn't explicitly call open source proponents communists, as such statements often do, but it does ascribe a foolish, perhaps inadvertent, anti-capitalist, anti-progress bent to open source philosophy. Now, to be fair, some open source proponents are anti-capitalist. Many are socialists at heart, and some may even be bona-fide communists. But even though extremists on both sides of the issue might stress (for positive or negative purposes) that open source software supports an anti-capitalist agenda, carefully considered evidence just doesn't support the claim, and the non-extremists that make up the majority should reject that characterization vigorously.
Let's dwell for a moment on the "communistic" aspect of the free software ideology. Again, I will not deny that some proponents of free software do, in fact, share some ideological common ground with Communist thinkers. For the sake of clarity, let's leave the failed experiment of Soviet "Communism" out of this for a moment and focus on the theoretical (and apparently impractical) ideas proposed by Marx and other early 20th century philosophers.
So the radical fringe of the free software movement, Richard Stallman being the most prominent, can somewhat fairly be compared with the Communists of the 1930s
According to my understanding, the essence of philosophical Communism is that modern history is defined by lopsided power relationships, with a large poor class oppressed by a rich ruling class, and these groups are in struggle. Communism claims that society is evolving, with some kind of historical inevitability, toward the common person having more freedom and power. In this view, capitalism was an incremental improvement over Feudalism, allowing some of the oppressed to rise up and become oppressors themselves, but it will give way to Socialism and eventually Socialism will give way to Communism in some sort of inevitable progression. Control of the working class by a moneyed elite will be supplanted by a benevolent caretaker state that will enforce equality and grant power and freedom to the common people, and eventually those people will be able to administer to themselves, the state will cease to be necessary, and everyone will receive according to their need. All work will be done for the good of the community through an enlightened volunteer effort. Thus the continual class struggle will end in a kind of worker's utopia. It all sounds pretty unlikely to our modern, jaded sensibilities, but back in the 1930's I guess it sounded like it was worth a shot, since the transition to Capitalism had brought about terrible suffering in much of the world.
What really happened, of course, when this philosophy was put into practice was that the state that was empowered to administer this glorious change found it difficult to enforce these ideals on the common people it was supposed to help. So it established an authoritarian machine to force the ideals on them "for their own good." That machine almost instantaneously became corrupt because of humanity's love of power, and the state that was supposed to wither away only became stronger and more authoritarian until it collapsed under its own weight.
The more radical elements of the open source software "movement" share an important element of this philosophy: utopianism and a belief in people's willingness to volunteer their labors for the common good. And like the early Communists, these people may have initially been driven by a naive view of human nature. The truth is, well-educated software engineers with good earning potential aren't going to dedicate hours upon hours of time for some idealistic pipe-dream. Just as the people in the "worker's paradise" of Communism turned out to not be so interested in "volunteering" their toil in the factories and mines so that a bunch of freeloading intellectuals in the cities can receive food and housing "according to their needs" while they compose sonnets about the valiant struggles of the working class.
If the nascent free software movement had turned out to be all about a utopian vision of sharing and pretty flowers, it would have gone nowhere. Unlike communism, free software was not about a life-controlling government, and Richard Stallman was never appointed dictator, so nobody could ever be forced to take part. Why did people do it, then?

Free Can Mean Big Money: The Open Source Economy(section 1)

2008-12-26T22:12:00.000-08:00

read something in one of the comments for an OSNews posting a couple weeks ago that sent me thinking. It wasn't an original or profound thought. In fact, it's a rather commonly-held opinion that happens to be quite misguided. It's an opinion summed up by the "open source = communist" meme that gets thrown around in thousands of flamewars all over the internet. In this essay, I will explore why this idea is wrong and demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of economics.Section 1The following was posted in an OSNews discussion in July 2004: I guess free software foundations are going to employ people from now on. Its the same evil mega corporations that employ hundreds of thousands of people and make the world economy function. Make them "smaller, weaker, and easier to keep in their place" and raise the unemployment rate to double digits not to mention lowering the standard of living world wide I suggest voting NO for RMS Democracy. In other words, the money that is made and the jobs that are provided by the licensed software industry are an essential pillar of the economy, and any challenge to the status quo would have catastrophic effects. This misconception is actually rather easy to debunk, but it's related to a more serious notion that merits serious discussion: the idea that replacing the now-dominant intellectual property regime with one that favors, or even enforces, sharing rather than hoarding is a threat to the world's economic well-being. An examination of the facts, put in historical perspective, shows that the engines of global progress have always been fed by the sharing of knowledge. In fact, if knowledge about, say, new agricultural techniques, like irrigation, had been hoarded and protected from competition, it would have set back the rise of civilization by centuries. It was precisely because early pioneers shared their knowledge (willingly or not) that the march of progress led steadily on. This sharing was, in earlier times, unavoidable to some extent. Early innovators would certainly have been eager to maintain profitable monopolies on their ideas if there had been a mechanism to allow it. But the invisible hand of the free market applies a constant, inescapable pressure on idea-hoarding. In fact, the right to compete by producing a similar or identical product to another is one of the cornerstones of capitalism. Copyright and other protections of intellectual property are actually anti-liberty, anti-capitalist notions, though all but the most radical libertarians would recognize that measured protections are essential to promoting economic progress. As in all things, what's good in moderation can be harmful in large doses (or if withheld altogether), and overzealous protection of intellectual property stifles innovation in the long run. In an ironic twist, there is a type of economic system in which an organization is granted a right to be the sole producer of a particular good, protected from competition. That's the "planned economy" model embraced by Soviet Communism.

DEVELOPMENT REPORT - Trickle Up Program Helps the Poorest of the Poor

2008-12-26T22:03:00.000-08:00

I'm Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Development Report. There is an economic theory that says the best way to help those without money is to help those with money. Economic growth would then act like water moving slowly from a higher place to a lower one. It would "trickle down" through society in the form of more jobs, for example, and less need for public aid.
Not everyone believes in trickle down economics. An international organization based in New York calls itself the Trickle Up Program. This group is celebrating twenty-five years of work directly with very poor people to help them set up businesses.
The Trickle Up Program receives money from large companies and agencies that provide aid. Then it gives this money away, usually in two payments of fifty dollars each. This is called "seed capital."
First a family or small group of people has to write a business plan. Trickle Up provides training to help them do this. If the plan is approved, the first payment of fifty dollars is given to start the business. Then, after about three months, if the business is operating, the second payment is made.
Money from the Trickle Up Program does not have to be paid back. This is different from the idea of micro-credit, or very small loans. Trickle Up officials say micro-credit programs often do not reach the poorest of the poor.
The Trickle Up Program says it has helped to build more than one hundred twenty thousand small businesses around the world. It says more than five hundred thousand people have been assisted over the last twenty-five years.
One of the stories told on its Web site is that of Dona Bernarda in a small town in Nicaragua. She is described as a survivor of the severe storm Hurricane Mitch in nineteen ninety-eight. She has had some health training, and provides free medical tests for malaria and dengue fever.
Trickle Up says Dona Bernarda wanted to do more to help her community. So she started a small store. At first she sold only ten food products and simple health supplies.
Then she received money from the program. Now, it says, Dona Bernarda sells thirty-four different products and hopes her store will become a center of the community. You can learn more about the Trickle Up Program at trickleup.org.

ECONOMICS REPORT - The Value of Teaching About Money

2008-12-26T21:58:00.000-08:00

Personal finance is an increasingly complex world. There are more ways to invest money, more ways to save it -- and more ways to lose it. Yet many people are more strangers to this world than they might like to admit.
Starting young to teach financial literacy
In the United States, there are growing calls to do more to help young people learn skills in financial literacy. Some efforts begin in high school. But more and more information is available on the Internet, not only for young people but also for adults. The goal is to teach about budgeting, saving, investing and using money.
The United States Financial Literacy and Education Commission was established in two thousand three. This government group supervises financial education efforts through nineteen federal agencies.
Information on financial literacy and education can be found at its Web site. The address is MyMoney.gov. It includes links to agencies that deal with banking, buying a home, investing and other areas.
The National Council on Economic Education has found that seventeen states now require high school students to take a class in economics. This number has grown from thirteen in nineteen ninety-eight.
As of three years ago, half of all states required students to take a class in personal finance. Yet that number has fallen, from twenty-five to twenty-two.
The National Council on Economic Education sells textbooks for grades four through twelve. It also offers free materials for teachers. The information is available at ncee.net.
Teachers say parents also need to play a larger part in educating their children about money. A recent study found that seventy percent of college students said they received financial advice mainly from their parents.
Investment companies also offer information. Charles Schwab, for example, has a Web site to help parents teach their kids about money and investing. The address is SchwabMoneyWise.com.
One of the first tastes of financial independence that many young people get is through summer jobs. Junior Achievement is an organization that teaches young people about finance and business. It says almost three-fourths of young people questioned said they planned to have a summer job.
And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. You can learn more about economics, and download transcripts and audio archives of our reports, at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

Google remodels top secret money machine

2008-12-23T05:59:00.000-08:00

Nowadays, even Google is questioning Google's rose-colored portrait of its ever-expanding search advertising monopoly.

The way senior vp Jonathan Rosenberg tells it, Google will gradually tweak its AdWords ad platform until it displays almost no ads. Ad "coverage" on the world's largest search engine has certainly shrunk over the past several months, and when the subject was mooted during July's quarterly earnings call, Rosenberg attributed this steady shrinkage to Google's "continued focus on quality" advertising. "[Google co-founder] Larry [Page] says we'd be better off showing just one ad [per page] - the perfect ad," Rosenberg cooed, indicating that coverage would shrink even further.

But then, in a rare moment of Google candor, the other co-founder told listening reporters and financial analysts that Rosenberg's "perfect ad" nonsense was indeed nonsense. "There is some evidence that we've been a little bit more aggressive in decreasing coverage than we ought to have been," was the word from Sergey Brin. "We've been reexamining some of that."

His candor was fleeting. But with the company's second quarter profits dipping below Wall Street expectations, it looked an awful lot like Brin and company were on the verge of cranking the dial on their AdWords money machine and cooking up added profits for quarters three and four - and beyond. Remember: More coverage means more clicks, and more clicks means more money.

Well, little more than a month later, Google has announced significant changes to its ad platform. Most notably, the company is killing AdWords' much-discussed "minimum bid," a means of discouraging what Google considers "low quality" ads. The changes have yet to reach the web at large. Google is testing the waters with "a very small segment of advertisers." But search engine marketers - and Wall Street analysts - can't help but wonder if this is Google's play for more coverage. And more revenue.

"No more minimum bids?" says Adam Audette, founder of AudetteMedia, a boutique search marketing shop out of Bend, Oregon. "It certainly looks like they'll have more leeway to make more money."

Meanwhile, as Jonathan "Perfect Ad" Rosenberg himself let slip during that shockingly-newsworthy earnings call, Google continues to expand a coverage-happy AdWords beta known as "Automatic Matching." Believe it or not, Auto Match spends your excess ad budget on keyword searches you aren't actually bidding on, and judging from initial tests, it empties your wallet just as pointlessly as expected.

Sergey Brin
Testing Auto Match with a seasoned Google advertiser, the Dallas, Texas-based search marketing outfit KeyRelevance saw spending increase 600 per cent on a single ad campaign, and most of that extra dough was spent on keyword searches that had little or nothing to do with the advertiser's products.

"Auto Match decided the account needed help spending money," says Jim Gilbert, the KeyRelevance ad guru who ran the tests. "So it started spending money."

Google insists it's only interested in serving up relevant ads, satisfying both advertisers and web surfers. But this commitment to quality goes only so far. Google is also interested in making lots of money, and as the economy continues to soften, it's worth remembering Mountain View has the power to juice profits whenever it likes. With AdWords controlling 70 per cent of the search advertising market, even the slightest turn of the dial can mean millions.

Minimum Bid: RIP
AdWords serves up text ads in response to Google keywords searches. Google bills it as an auction. You bid for a particular keyword or group of keywords - "leather mask," for instance, or "my little pony" - and if you bid high enough, your ad will appear each time someone searches on those terms. The winning bidder gets the top spot on the page, the second place bidder gets the second spot, and so on. And if your ad actually gets a click, you pay Google a fee somewhere south of that bid.
But this isn't an eBay-style bid-off. Before you bid, Google gives you a "quality score," and if your quality score is low, it may restrict your ability to place ads. In some cases, Google prevents you from bidding at all. In others, it saddles you with a high minimum bid. And even if you can afford that minimum, a low quality score may bar you from top ad spots. You see, Google doesn't determine auction results with bids alone. It calculates ad spots by multiplying your bid and your quality score.
At least, that's the way it works now. With an official post to the Official Inside AdWords blog, Google says it will soon revamp the quality score.
First off, AdWords will now calculate this mystery number in real time, as the searcher is searching. According to Google, this will better match ads to particular queries. "AdWords will use the most accurate, specific, and up-to-date performance information when determining whether an ad should be displayed," the blog reads.
"Your ads will be more likely to show when they're relevant and less likely to show when they're not. This means that Google users are apt to see better ads while you, as an advertiser, should receive leads which are more highly qualified."
At the same time, AdWords will no longer bar "low quality" ads from particular keyword auctions, and it will do away with the minimum bid. Instead, it will give you a "first page bid," estimating what it would take to land your ad on the first page of search results.
The way Google tells it, all this will improve its ability to geo-target ads. To wit, your real-time quality score may go up or down depending on where the searcher is searching from. But in dropping the barriers that so often prevented advertisers from even joining an auction, Google may be expanding coverage as well, slipping more ads into its less-coveted ad spots.

But who knows? As always, Google keeps the particulars hidden. "We can guess that Google wants to increase its revenues and that's what's going to happen," says Brian Carter, an AdWords consultant with the South Carolina-based search engine marketer Fuel Interactive, "but judging from the information we have, it's really hard to say."
At the very least, the changes will result in more advertisers placing bids. And Google reserves the right to do whatever it likes with those extra bidders. Place them on a page. Or not.
In other words, Google has even greater freedom to turn that dial.

Auto Match Revealed
Automatic Match is a more obvious turn of the dial. This AdWords beta - which debuted n February with a handful of advertisers and has since expanded to who knows how many more - automatically spends budgeted ad dollars you aren't spending on your own.
"Automatic Matching automatically extends your campaign's reach by using surplus budget to serve your ads on relevant search queries that are not already triggered by your keyword lists," reads Google's initial email to beta testers.
That's right, Auto Match automatically spends your unused budget on keyword searches you aren't actually bidding on. According to Google, it only chooses relevant searches. But tests from KeyRelevance tell a different story.
With his seasoned advertiser, Jim Gilbert setup bidding on the keywords "wedding table decorations." And he designated this bid as a "phrase match," meaning he only wanted an ad placed if someone searched on all three of those words, in that order (with or without additional keywords).
But the account wasn't spending its daily budget, and when Auto Match kicked in, it started placing ads against all sorts of other keyword combinations.
Some of these suited his advertiser, including "wedding table decor," "decorations for wedding tables," "wedding cake table decorations," and "wedding table ideas." But many more did not, including "party table numbers," "chocolate wedding favors," "chocolate lollipops," "Hersheys," "wedding flowers," and "wedding gowns."
With Auto Match turned on, spending on this single ad group increased roughly 600 per cent. And in the end, more than 70 per cent of the traffic generated by the ad group was a complete waste. "I'll give it credit for being somewhat accurate," Gilbert says. "But most of the matches were pure trash."
Gilbert can turn Auto Match off. But it's turned on by default. The question is whether Google will keep this default when it rolls things out to the web at large.

Yes, Auto Match is a beta. And yes, Google may improve its ad matching abilities before the program goes web-wide. But this sort of thing is never an exact science, and there's no denying that Google is attempting to wrest even more control from advertisers - while ensuring additional spending.
When Sergey Brin hinted that Google would soon expand its ad coverage, he didn't say the company wanted more dollars. He said that the company was concerned that web surfers weren't seeing enough ads: "Our ads are an important addition, quality wise, to our pages. They're a very important source of information."
But the truth is a little different. When you type the words "chocolate lollipop," do you want an ad for wedding table decorations?

Do You Know Your Money?

2008-12-23T05:53:00.000-08:00

How To Detect Counterfeit Money
The public has a role in maintaining the integrity of U.S. currency. You can help guard against the threat from counterfeiters by becoming more familiar with United States currency.

Look at the money you receive. Compare a suspect note with a genuine note of the same denomination and series, paying attention to the quality of printing and paper characteristics. Look for differences, not similarities.

Portrait
The genuine portrait appears lifelike and stands out distinctly from the background. The counterfeit portrait is usually lifeless and flat. Details merge into the background which is often too dark or mottled.

Federal Reserve and Treasury Seals
On a genuine bill, the saw-tooth points of the Federal Reserve and Treasury seals are clear, distinct, and sharp. The counterfeit seals may have uneven, blunt, or broken saw-tooth points.

Border
The fine lines in the border of a genuine bill are clear and unbroken. On the counterfeit, the lines in the outer margin and scrollwork may be blurred and indistinct.

Serial Numbers
Genuine serial numbers have a distinctive style and are evenly spaced. The serial numbers are printed in the same ink color as the Treasury Seal. On a counterfeit, the serial numbers may differ in color or shade of ink from the Treasury seal. The numbers may not be uniformly spaced or aligned.

Paper
Genuine currency paper has tiny red and blue fibers embedded throughout. Often counterfeiters try to simulate these fibers by printing tiny red and blue lines on their paper. Close inspection reveals, however, that on the counterfeit note the lines are printed on the surface, not embedded in the paper. It is illegal to reproduce the distinctive paper used in the manufacturing of United States currency.

欧亨利经典短篇小说《菜单上的春天》Springtime A La Carte英汉对照翻译

2008-12-21T01:59:00.000-08:00

It was a day in March.Never, never begin a story this way when you write one. No opening could possibly be worse. It is unimaginative, flat, dry and likely to consist of mere wind. But in this instance it is allowable. For the following paragraph, which should have inaugurated the narrative, is too wildly extravagant and preposterous to be flaunted in the face of the reader without preparation.Sarah was crying over her bill of fare.Think of a New York girl shedding tears on the menu card!To account for this you will be allowed to guess that the lobsters were all out, or that she had sworn ice-cream off during Lent, or that she had ordered onions, or that she had just come from a Hackett matinee. And then, all these theories being wrong, you will please let the story proceed.The gentleman who announced that the world was an oyster which he with his sword would open made a larger hit than he deserved. It is not difficult to open an oyster with a sword. But did you ever notice any one try to open the terrestrial bivalve with a typewriter? Like to wait for a dozen raw opened that way?Sarah had managed to pry apart the shells with her unhandy weapon far enough to nibble a wee bit at the cold and clammy world within. She knew no more shorthand than if she had been a graduate in stenography just let slip upon the world by a business college. So, not being able to stenog, she could not enter that bright galaxy of office talent. She was a free-lance typewriter and canvassed for odd jobs of copying.The most brilliant and crowning feat of Sarah's battle with the world was the deal she made with Schulenberg's Home Restaurant. The restaurant was next door to the old red brick in which she ball- roomed. One evening after dining at Schulenberg's 40-cent, five- course ~table d'hote~ (served as fast as you throw the five baseballs at the coloured gentleman's head) Sarah took away with her the bill of fare. It was written in an almost unreadable script neither English nor German, and so arranged that if you were not careful you began with a toothpick and rice pudding and ended with soup and the day of the week.The next day Sarah showed Schulenberg a neat card on which the menu was beautifully typewritten with the viands temptingly marshalled under their right and proper heads from "hors d'oeuvre" to "not responsible for overcoats and umbrellas."Schulenberg became a naturalised citizen on the spot. Before Sarah left him she had him willingly committed to an agreement. She was to furnish typewritten bills of fare for the twenty-one tables in the restaurant--a new bill for each day's dinner, and new ones for breakfast and lunch as often as changes occurred in the food or as neatness required.In return for this Schulenberg was to send three meals per diem to Sarah's hall room by a waiter--an obsequious one if possible--and furnish her each afternoon with a pencil draft of what Fate had in store for Schulenberg's customers on the morrow.Mutual satisfaction resulted from the agreement. Schulenberg's patrons now knew what the food they ate was called even if its nature sometimes puzzled them. And Sarah had food during a cold, dull winter, which was the main thing with her.And then the almanac lied, and said that spring had come. Spring comes when it comes. The frozen snows of January still lay like adamant in the crosstown streets. The hand-organs still played "In the Good Old Summertime," with their December vivacity and expression. Men began to make thirty-day notes to buy Easter dresses. Janitors shut off steam. And when these things happen one may know that the city is still in the clutches of winter.One afternoon Sarah shivered in her elegant hall bedroom; "house heated; scrupulously clean; conveniences; seen to be appreciated." She had no work to do except Schulenberg's menu cards. Sarah sat in her squeaky willow rocker, and looked out the window. The calendar on the wall kept crying to her: "Springtime is here, Sarah-- springtime is here, I tell you. Look at me, Sarah, my figures show it. You've got a neat figure yourself, Sarah--a--nice springtime figure--why do you look out the window so sadly?"Sarah's room was at the back of the house. Looking out the window she could see the windowless rear brick wall of the box factory on the next street. But the wall was clearest crystal; and Sarah was looking down a grassy lane shaded with cherry trees and elms and bordered with raspberry bushes and Cherokee roses.__Spring's real harbingers are too subtle for the eye and ear. Some must have the flowering crocus, the wood-starring dogwood, the voice of bluebird--even so gross a reminder as the farewell handshake of the retiring buckwheat and oyster before they can welcome the Lady in Green to their dull bosoms. But to old earth's choicest kin there come straight, sweet messages from his newest bride, telling them they shall be no stepchildren unless they choose to be.On the previous summer Sarah had gone into the country and loved a farmer.(In writing your story never hark back thus. It is bad art, and cripples interest. Let it march, march.)Sarah stayed two weeks at Sunnybrook Farm. There she learned to love old Farmer Franklin's son Walter. Farmers have been loved and wedded and turned out to grass in less time. But young Walter Franklin was a modern agriculturist. He had a telephone in his cow house, and he could figure up exactly what effect next year's Canada wheat crop would have on potatoes planted in the dark of the moon.It was in this shaded and raspberried lane that Walter had wooed and won her. And together they had sat and woven a crown of dandelions for her hair. He had immoderately praised the effect of the yellow blossoms against her brown tresses; and she had left the chaplet there, and walked back to the house swinging her straw sailor in her hands.They were to marry in the spring--at the very first signs of spring, Walter said. And Sarah came back to the city to pound her typewriter.A knock at the door dispelled Sarah's visions of that happy day. A waiter had brought the rough pencil draft of the Home Restaurant's next day fare in old Schulenberg's angular hand.Sarah sat down to her typewriter and slipped a card between the rollers. She was a nimble worker. Generally in an hour and a half the twenty-one menu cards were written and ready.To-day there were more changes on the bill of fare than usual. The soups were lighter; pork was eliminated from the entrees, figuring only with Russian turnips among the roasts. The gracious spirit of spring pervaded the entire menu. Lamb, that lately capered on the greening hillsides, was becoming exploited with the sauce that commemorated its gambols. The song of the oyster, though not silenced, was ~diminuendo con amore~. The frying-pan seemed to be held, inactive, behind the beneficent bars of the broiler. The pie list swelled; the richer puddings had vanished; the sausage, with his drapery wrapped about him, barely lingered in a pleasant thanatopsis with the buckwheats and the sweet but doomed maple.Sarah's fingers danced like midgets above a summer stream. Down through the courses she worked, giving each item its position according to its length with an accurate eye. Just above the desserts came the list of vegetables. Carrots and peas, asparagus on toast, the perennial tomatoes and corn and succotash, lima beans, cabbage--and then--Sarah was crying over her bill of fare. Tears from the depths of some divine despair rose in her heart and gathered to her eyes. Down went her head on the little typewriter stand; and the keyboard rattled a dry accompaniment to her moist sobs.For she had received no letter from Walter in two weeks, and the next item on the bill of fare was dandelions--dandelions with some kind of egg--but bother the egg!--dandelions, with whose golden blooms Walter had crowned her his queen of love and future bride--dandelions, the harbingers of spring, her sorrow's crown of sorrow--reminder of her happiest days.Madam, I dare you to smile until you suffer this test: Let the Marechal Niel roses that Percy brought you on the night you gave him your heart be served as a salad with French dressing before your eyes at a Schulenberg ~table d'hote~. Had Juliet so seen her love tokens dishonoured the sooner would she have sought the lethean herbs of the good apothecary.But what a witch is Spring! Into the great cold city of stone and iron a message had to be sent. There was none to convey it but the little hardy courier of the fields with his rough green coat and modest air. He is a true soldier of fortune, this ~dent-de-lion~-- this lion's tooth, as the French chefs call him. Flowered, he will assist at love-making, wreathed in my lady's nut-brown hair; young and callow and unblossomed, he goes into the boiling pot and delivers the word of his sovereign mistress.By and by Sarah forced back her tears. The cards must be written. But, still in a faint, golden glow from her dandeleonine dream, she fingered the typewriter keys absently for a little while, with her mind and heart in the meadow lane with her young farmer. But soon she came swiftly back to the rock-bound lanes of Manhattan, and the typewriter began to rattle and jump like a strike-breaker's motor car.At 6 o'clock the waiter brought her dinner and carried away the typewritten bill of fare. When Sarah ate she set aside, with a sigh, the dish of dandelions with its crowning ovarious accompaniment. As this dark mass had been transformed from a bright and love-indorsed flower to be an ignominious vegetable, so had her summer hopes wilted and perished. Love may, as Shakespeare said, feed on itself: but Sarah could not bring herself to eat the dandelions that had graced, as ornaments, the first spiritual banquet of her heart's true affection.At 7:30 the couple in the next room began to quarrel: the man in the room above sought for A on his flute; the gas went a little lower; three coal wagons started to unload--the only sound of which the phonograph is jealous; cats on the back fences slowly retreated toward Mukden. By these signs Sarah knew that it was time for her to read. She got out "The Cloister and the Hearth," the best non- selling book of the month, settled her feet on her trunk, and began to wander with Gerard.The front door bell rang. The landlady answered it. Sarah left Gerard and Denys treed by a bear and listened. Oh, yes; you would, just as she did!And then a strong voice was heard in the hall below, and Sarah jumped for her door, leaving the book on the floor and the first round easily the bear's. You have guessed it. She reached the top of the stairs just as her farmer came up, three at a jump, and reaped and garnered her, with nothing left for the gleaners."Why haven't you written--oh, why?" cried Sarah."New York is a pretty large town," said Walter Franklin. "I came in a week ago to your old address. I found that you went away on a Thursday. That consoled some; it eliminated the possible Friday bad luck. But it didn't prevent my hunting for you with police and otherwise ever since!"I wrote!" said Sarah, vehemently."Never got it!""Then how did you find me?"The young farmer smiled a springtime smile. "I dropped into that Home Restaurant next door this evening," said he. "I don't care who knows it; I like a dish of some kind of greens at this time of the year. I ran my eye down that nice typewritten bill of fare looking for something in that line. When I got below cabbage I turned my chair over and hollered for the proprietor. He told me where you lived.""I remember," sighed Sarah, happily. "That was dandelions below cabbage.""I'd know that cranky capital W 'way above the line that your typewriter makes anywhere in the world," said Franklin."Why, there's no W in dandelions," said Sarah, in surprise.The young man drew the bill of fare from his pocket, and pointed to a line.Sarah recognised the first card she had typewritten that afternoon. There was still the rayed splotch in the upper right-hand corner where a tear had fallen. But over the spot where one should have read the name of the meadow plant, the clinging memory of their golden blossoms had allowed her fingers to strike strange keys.Between the red cabbage and the stuffed green peppers was the item:"DEAREST WALTER, WITH HARD-BOILED EGG."
这是三月里的一天。
如果你要写一个故事，可千万别这么开头。没有比这种开头更糟糕的了。这里面缺乏想象，又平淡乏味。不过用在这里还是可以的。因为下面这一段本来应该用在故事的开头，只是太不着边际，就这样放在没有思想准备的读者面前，有点叫人摸不着头脑。
莎拉对着菜单哭泣。
到底为什么呢？也许你会猜测，菜单上没有牡蛎，也许她答应过，现在不吃冰淇淋了。然而你猜的都不对，还是请让我把故事讲下去吧。有位先生说，世界是个大牡蛎，他要用刀把它剖开，因此出了名。用刀剖开一个牡蛎并不难，可是你看见过什么人要用打字机打开它吗？
莎拉用打字机把世界打开了一点儿。她的工作就是打字。她打字的速度不很快，所以她不能在一个大办事处里工作，只好一个人干。莎拉同这个世界最成功的一场战斗就是她和舒伦伯格家庭餐馆达成一项协议。她在一幢旧红砖房子的一间屋子里住，这家餐馆就在隔壁，有一天晚上；她在舒伦伯格餐馆吃完饭把菜单带走了。菜单上的字是手写的，既不像英文，也不像德文，简直没法儿辨认，一不小心把菜单看倒了，就会先看见甜食，最后才看见汤，和星期几。
第二天，莎拉给舒伦伯格看一张卡片，上面是用打字机打得整整齐齐的菜单，菜名诱人地排列在恰当的位置上，从第一行直排到“衣帽物件，各自小心”为止。
舒伦伯格大为高兴，莎拉离开以前，他愿意达成一项协议。莎拉为餐馆里的ZI张餐桌打菜单，每天要为晚餐打一份新菜单。如果早餐和午餐换了花样，就打一份新菜单，或者菜单脏了，另打一份干净的菜单。
舒伦伯格每天派人把三顿饭送到莎拉房间作为报酬，每天下午还送去一张用铅笔写好的菜单，这就是命运女神为第二天舒伦伯格家顾客准备好的饭菜。
双方都对协议很满意。那些在舒伦伯格餐馆进餐的顾客现在知道他们吃的菜叫什么名称了，即使这些菜的性质有时候使他们感到困惑。
而莎拉可以在寒冷而沉闷的冬天有饭吃了，对于她来说，这是至关重要的。尽管春天的月份来到了，那还不是春天。春天总是在该来的时候才来。街上一月份的积雪还冻得硬梆梆的。一些手拿乐器的人在街上演奏《在往昔美好的夏天》这支曲子，他们的动作和表情还像在12月份似的。各家各户的暖气都关了。每逢发生这此情况，人们就会知道，这座城市仍然处于冬天的控制之下。一天下午，莎拉在她的卧室里冻得直打哆嗦。除了打舒伦伯格的菜单外，她没有事情可做。莎拉坐在摇椅上望着窗子外面，那个月是春天的月份了，它不停地对她呼唤：“春天来了，莎拉，肯定地说，春天来了。你身材匀称、美好，莎拉，你洋溢着青春的气息，你为什么这样伤感地望着窗外呢？” 莎拉的房间在这幢房子的背面，从窗子里望出去可以看到邻街的一家制盒厂的没有窗子的砖墙。但是她却想起了长满青草的牧场、树林、灌木丛和玫瑰花。去年夏天，莎拉到乡下去，她爱上了一个农民。（写故事可别这样倒叙，这是一种拙劣的技巧，使人失去兴趣，还是往下写吧。）
莎拉在森尼鲁克农场住了两个星期，在那里她爱上了农民富兰克林的儿子沃尔特。农民们谈恋爱到结婚往往用不了多久。不过年轻的沃尔特是个新型的农艺师。他的牛圈里装着电话，他还能准确地计算出加拿大来年的小麦产量，对他种植的农作物会产生什么影响。
就在这偏僻的地方，沃尔特赢得了她的心。他们坐在一起，用蒲公英编了一个花冠戴在莎拉头上。他赞美蒲公英的黄花配她那棕色头发所产生的效果，于是她就没有把花冠摘下来，手里挥动着草帽回到寓所。沃尔特说，他们要在来年春天结婚，一开春就结婚。后来莎拉就回到城里来打字。
一阵敲门声把莎拉从回想那一个幸福的日子的梦中惊醒，一个侍者拿来一张用铅笔写的潦草的家庭餐馆第二天的菜单，是老舒伦伯格的难看的笔迹。莎拉在打字机旁坐下来，把一张卡片卷在滚轴上。她是个灵巧的工作者，通常一个半小时就可以把21张卡片全部打好。
今天菜单上更动的项目比往常要多。各种汤都比较清淡，肉食花样也有所改变，整个菜单充满了春天的气息，油炸食品似乎都不见了。莎拉的手指在打字机上跳动，就像夏天的小溪上飞舞的小虫。她从上到下仔细地看着，按照各种菜名的长短把它们打在恰当的位置上。刚要打水果名称的当儿，莎拉对着那张菜单哭了起来。泪水从她失望的心灵深处涌上来积聚在她的眼睛里。她的头一直抵在打字机的小桌子上。
她已经两个星期没有收到沃尔特的信了，而菜单的下一个菜名正好是蒲公英和一种什么鸡蛋——别管它是什么鸡蛋！——蒲公英，沃尔特正是用蒲公英的金黄色的花朵做成的花冠，为他爱情的王后和未来的妻于加冕——蒲公英啊，春天的使者，——她那最幸福的日子的纪念品。
然而春天是多么奇妙啊！一定会有信息送到这个用石头和钢铁筑成的寒冷的大城市里来的。除了穿着毛茸茸的绿衣服的田野的信使蒲公英——法国人把它叫作狮子的牙齿——还有谁来传递春天的信息呢！蒲公英开花的时候，它就盘在姑娘的深棕色头发上成全好事；而鲜嫩未开花的时候，它就跑到开水壶里去了。
过了一会儿，莎拉忍住了泪。菜单一定得打出来。她神思恍惚心不在焉地按着打字机的键，而她的思绪、她的心灵已飞往乡村和她的青年农民在一起了。不久她回到曼哈顿的石砌建筑中来，打字机又开始跳动。 6点钟，侍者送晚饭来，把打好的菜单取走。莎拉闷闷地吃了晚饭，到7点半，隔壁房里的两个人吵起架来；在楼上那个房间住的男人好像在弄什么乐器；煤气灯的光稍微暗了一点，有人着手撤煤火；还可以听到后院篱笆那儿猫叫的声音。根据这种迹象，莎拉知道她现在该看书了。她拿出书来，把脚搁在箱子上看起来。
前门的铃响了，房东太太去开门，莎拉放下书来听。噢，是你，要是你，也会跟她一样的。
楼下门厅里传来宏亮的声音，莎拉跳起来去开门，书掉在地板上。你已经猜出来了。她跑到楼梯口时，她的农民正一跨三级地跑上楼来，把她搂在怀里。 “你为什么不写信？哦，为什么？”莎拉大声说。
“纽约可真是个大城市，”沃尔特·富兰克林说，“一星期以前我就照老地址去找你了。
我打听到你星期四离开那里的。从那以后，我通过警察局和别的办法到处找你！”
“我给你写信了呀。”莎拉说。
“从来没收到过！” “那你怎么找到我的呢？” 年轻农民满面春风地一笑。 “今天晚上，我到隔壁的那家家庭餐馆去，”他说，“我不在乎它有没有名气，每年这个时候，我都喜欢吃些蔬菜。我的眼睛在那份用打字机打得漂漂亮亮的菜单上看了一遍，想找一样蔬菜吃，我看着看着，就把椅子弄翻了，把老板喊来。他告诉我你住在哪儿。” “这是怎么回事？” “我知道，你打字机上的大写字母W，不论打在哪里，总是往上一些，不在－条线上。”富兰克林说。年轻人从口袋里拿出一张莱单，指着其中的一行。她认出这是她那天下午打的第一张卡片，在它的右上角还有一滴眼泪的痕迹。但在本来应该是一种蔬菜名称的位置上，对那金色花朵的回忆使她的手指按在另一些键上。在两道菜名之间，有这么一行字：最亲爱的沃尔特和白煮鸡蛋。

Affiliate Programs ：The best get paid by click program LinkGrand

2008-12-16T08:48:00.000-08:00

Linkgrand is yet another pay-per click program just like Adbux or ClixSense, where you get paid for clicking on the advertisers link featured in the listing. They pay you 0.3 cents per click, as compared to 30 seconds in Adbux but you have to see it only for 20 seconds as against 30 seconds for others. It doesn't really matter whether you are from U.S. or from India or China, or from any other country. They accept people from everywhere.

Nature: Pay-per-clickArea: Every countryPayout: 0.3 cents for seeing the ads for 20 secondsMinimum payout: only $5.0Payment: Anytime, through paypal, if you have the minimum balanceReferral Program:
For referring advertisers: You earn 10% of the amount spend by the advertisors.
For referring members: You earn 30% of the amount earned my the members for visiting advertisors' links.Why should you join LinkGrand:
Low minimum payout.
Less time (20 sec.) required to be present on advertiser's site
Equally applicable in all the countries
Huge number of ad links, much more than Adbux or ClixSense
All membership plans are equal, no premium membership
For advertisors, it is best value for money. They get at least 1000 impressions for a paltry $5 (incredible!). Even further, you link remain forever in their list, even after you exhaust your limit.
You may click a link as many times as you wish. However, you will only receive credit if you are logged in and the circle beside the link is green.Why not:
Low payout per click; 0.3 cents as against 1 cent from Adbux and ClixSense, and this single factor is the biggest one.Recommendation:You can't make any significant money unless you have the ability and resources to develop a huge referral network. However, it is best suited to people outside, US, UK and Canada, because of it providing equal opportunities to them.If you want to join, you can click here.

Affiliate Programs ：The best paid survey programs for you!

2008-12-16T08:34:00.000-08:00

You may be engaged in many paid survey programs,but the following programs are must-doing ones:

Brand New Paid Surveys Site Pays 75%Expresspaidsurveys will pay you 75% for EVERY sale referred! Now you can make the Easiest Sales Of Your Life with another of our best converting designs! As always, It's priced right and completely sells it's self! It costs nothing to try and you don't even need a website! You Earn 75 %= $23.50 per sale!!!
Paid SurveysWould you like to get paid up to $75 just for completing simple 10-25 minute online surveys? Would you like to get paid up to $150 per hour to participate in focus groups (giving your opinion)? Would you like to get paid up to $25 per hour to preview movie trailers? If you answered yes, then visit us to get paid for surveysSee also our comparison table of Survey companies.
Top Survey Site - #1 Paying Survey Site Online - PaidSurveysOnline.comIf you are looking for the TOP #1 converting surveys site this is it! The #1 survey site on clickbank.com for 3 years running and for a good reason. PaidSurveysOnline.com AFFILIATES MAKE MONEY - CONSISTENLY!! PaidSurveysOnline.com consistently out converts the competion 4-to-1. Other survey sites come and go but PaidSurveysOnline.com has remained the strongest preforming surveys site online today. Low return rates mean you keep more of your hard earned money. We pay 75% or $23.50 per sale! We use clickbank.com, a 3RD Party affiliate program so you are guaenteed to get paid every 2 weeks by a third party to ensure you honestly get paid every penny you have earned.
If you are ready to start making serious money sign up today.
Golden SurveyGoldenSurvey Affiliate Program: Join the #1 Get Paid For Your Opinion Affiliate Program! HIGHEST CONVERTING SITE ONLINE! Offer your visitors to Get Paid To Take Surveys Online!　

How to Make Money With Google AdSense

2008-12-16T00:43:00.001-08:00

5 Ways to Make Money on YouTube NOW!

2008-12-16T00:37:00.000-08:00

Make money off your online video！Ii's great!

2008-12-16T00:31:00.000-08:00

With nearly 100 million videos viewed each day, it’s hard to beat the audience that YouTube has built.
But YouTube, for all its size and splendor, also has vulnerabilities. A new generation of viral video sites is trying to beat the powerhouse at its own game by answering the two major criticisms -- a need for revenue and greater quality control of the clips.

How to keep your money safe?

2008-12-15T21:54:00.000-08:00

People generally know they are taking some risks when they buy stocks, corporate bonds and mutual funds. But during the financial stresses of the last few weeks, they've discovered that even seemingly safe havens became quite unpredictable.With institutions such as Washington Mutual failing, for example, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has been stepping in to make sure people receive money back when banks collapse.
But people aren't guaranteed to get everything they have had in banks. The FDIC has limits on the money they will return to people -- $100,000 for an individual, $100,000 per person in joint accounts, and $250,000 in individual retirement accounts.
Money market funds, too, used to be considered as safe as savings accounts. But no more.
You can't afford to make no-brainer decisions with money now, especially with the money you intend to keep completely safe.
A couple of weeks ago, a money market fund had its value fall below $1 per share and investors began to lose money. With investors rushing to pull billions out of the funds earlier this month, the government quickly stepped in and promised to make sure that people with money in the funds wouldn't lose money. The government is insuring the funds for a year.
But the protection isn't as far-reaching as many believe.
Some financial advisers think that any money put into a money market fund now has a government guarantee. But that is not the case, according to the Treasury Department. Rather, money that was in a money market fund on Sept. 19 is fully protected. An individual who adds money will only have protection on the original money.
This means investors must think carefully about the money market funds they are using. Some are riskier than others. If people pull money from one money market fund and put it into another, they will forfeit the protection they would have had if they'd stayed with the fund they were using Sept. 19.
The explosive environment lately has made some financial advisers cautious about handling the cash their clients need to draw on for short-term needs -- especially retirees, who are often advised to keep a year to two years of cash handy for living expenses.
Money market funds have been a favorite short-term savings place because they often pay slightly higher interest rates than bank savings accounts or bank money market accounts.
Now that it's clear that money market funds are less safe than once thought, Steve Weinstein, president of Altair Advisers in Chicago, is using funds that invest only in Treasuries.
In addition, rather than relying on only one money market fund, some clients are dividing their money into several to lessen the risk, Weinstein said.
Those using bank savings accounts and CDs are also making sure they don't rely on a single institution.
Through a program called the Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service, or CDARS, a person can have accounts larger than $100,000 and still receive FDIC protection. The person can deposit a large sum into a CDARS program at a bank, and then the program divides the money up into CDs at multiple institutions. For example, a person with $500,000 would have five CDs at five different banks, but have paperwork from a single source and full FDIC protection.
"It's all about diversification," Weinstein said. Given the current state of the financial system, it's difficult to anticipate risks, so spreading money into multiple accounts provides a level of protection.
Besides his cautious approach with cash, Weinstein is being careful with bonds.
Typically, investors have considered many municipal bonds as almost as safe as U.S. Treasury bonds. That's been especially true of general obligation bonds, or the bonds that states, cities and other governments pledge to pay with tax money, regardless of any stresses that might arise.
Currently, however, financial advisers are growing leery of municipal bonds too. With unemployment climbing and real estate values falling, cities and states are expected to have declining tax revenue.
The National Conference of State Legislators says many states will be facing financial pressures in 2009. The group estimates a $40.3 billion shortage in revenue to cover costs. Governments will be making cuts in expenses, and some already have been tapping rainy-day funds.
To protect investors, some advisers are selecting only general obligation bonds from states rather than cities.
Bruce Heyman, managing director of Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management, has been using high-quality escrowed-to-maturity prerefunded municipal bonds. With such bonds, the investor is protected because U.S. Treasuries are put aside to cover the payments.
For investors who want safety, "make sure they are escrowed," Heyman said.
Of course, relatively safe municipal bonds -- like U.S. Treasuries -- are providing very little yield now. The municipal bonds Heyman likes may be yielding about 2.1 percent.
But Marilyn Cohen, president of Envision Capital Management in Los Angeles, warns investors to beware of seeking higher yields with money that must be safe.
"We are in the midst of a crisis, not the end," Cohen said. "It's ludicrous to seek more yield in the middle of a crisis."

Not all olive oil is as pure as it seems! money principle

2008-12-15T00:18:00.000-08:00

Even before Rachael Ray coined her perky catchphrase “EVOO,” extra virgin olive oil’s popularity was skyrocketing. The international olive oil industry has become bigger and more profitable than the wine industry, according to Armando Manni of Manni Extra Virgin Olive Oil. The figures support his assertion – according to the International Olive Oil Council, the US imported 90,000 metric tons of EVOO in 1990. By 2006 that figure had risen to 240,000 metric tons.Nowhere is the industry’s growth more apparent than in the restaurant and retail sector. At the Four Seasons Silicon Valley, executive chef Alessandro Cartumini treats oil with a reverence usually reserved for a fine wine or liqueur: his menu at Quattro offers a variety of Manni olive oils for three dollars a pour. Shelves in the olive oil aisles of Whole Foods Markets are packed full with bottles, while customers at Draeger’s gourmet markets can select from over 70 olive oils.So which oil to choose? Do you buy the brand that claims to have won awards, or the oil that hails from the most alluring locale? Perhaps the bottle with the bonus pouring spout, the one that’s an olive-y green, or the sleek glass flask that matches your Method dish soap dispenser? Those who judge an olive oil by its bottle, take note: heat and UV rays break down some of the oil’s healthful properties, so don’t display it on the counter. Stash it instead in a cool, dark place away from the stove.At the recently opened The Olive Bar in Campbell, customers can sample up to 16 EVOO varietals. Proprietor Ed De Soto was a food broker for years, but wasn’t educated about olive oil until a year ago. “I had olive oil in my garage for two to three years. I thought rancid was a flavor,” he recalls.“Rancid products are pathogens and sources of free radicals,” says Mike Bradley, president of Veronica Foods, the De Sotos’ supplier. Free radicals contribute to aging, heart disease and cancer – things that polyphenols, a type of antioxidant found in good quality, well-stored olive oil, should fight and protect against. Polyphenols are a relatively recent discovery – in the past, the focus of olive oil’s health benefits was on how its monounsaturated fats help lower LDL, the bad cholesterol, without lowering HDL, the good one.Manni, who sells to some of the finest restaurants in the world, including Napa’s The French Laundry, is manic about polyphenols. He works with the University of Florence to analyze the best time to harvest his olives, pours his oils into 3.4oz bottles of dark, UV-filtering glass, and tops them with inert gas to protect these antioxidants. Polyphenol levels of 250mg per liter are considered high; Manni’s oils contain levels as high as 450mg per liter. These meticulously produced oils cost over $300 for 10 bottles.Veronica Foods, which produces Delizia olive oil, holds its oil in stainless steel tanks to minimize exposure and deterioration. The De Sotos then transfer the oil into stainless steel drums, and dispense it in dark glass bottles. Ken Manley, the head gourmet buyer for Draeger’s, lauds such methods. “The oil lasts so much longer. You can taste the difference.”While dark glass is better for the oil, many producers insist on using transparent bottles, often considered more visually appealing. “We buy some clear bottles because they sell quickly,” says Manley. “I’ve talked a dozen companies into changing their packaging to the dark bottle, but it’s a double-edged sword, because producers want to show off their oil color.”This, despite the fact that color not only has no bearing on the oil’s flavor, but can even be the sign of an inferior product. Some producers crush olives with leaves to make the oil greener. Bradley says with soybean oil fetching 40 cents a pound, compared with five dollars a pound for olive oil, unscrupulous producers may blend olive oil with soybean oil and green dye.So, unless you want to take home an extra virgin oil that’s about as virginal as Paris Hilton, be sure to read the label carefully. “Citrus Olive Oil produced in Italy” tells you nothing. Ideally, the olives were crushed with citrus, but it could just as well be older Italian oil infused with citrus to disguise the rancid taste. Or Tunisian olive oil blended with citrus flavoring and bottled in Italy. “It’s legal to put ‘Product of Italy’ if it’s the last country of handling,” explains Patty Darragh, executive director of the California Olive Oil Council (COOC).Bradley also warns buyers to be wary of misleading labeling such as “pure olive oil” and “light.” These products can consist of as little as five percent virgin oil, with the rest consisting of refined, inferior oil. As a result, the polyphenol levels are miniscule.“A lot of imported oils are mislabeled or adulterated,” cautions Darragh. “Currently there are no federal standards for imported oils, so it’s buyer beware.”The word “handpicked” on a label implies a superior, artisan product. Handpicked olives cost more ($500 per ton, versus $80 to $120 per ton for those picked by machine) and are better than the machines, which “bat the heck out of olives,” according to Albert Katz, whose Katz & Company makes the award-winning Rock Hill olive oil. But handpicking doesn’t guarantee good oil. “You can handpick and still screw up your olives if you don’t press right away,” he says.While deceptive labeling is common Bradley insists, “These frauds eriphery. What’s hurting the industry is the ridiculously low standards and lack of understanding by the public, which includes the retailers.”A good olive oil label should read like that of a fine wine: “Abbae de Queiles, 0.1 percent acidity, organic Arbequina olives, harvested November 2006,” with additional details such as “grown in the Navarra region of Spain, crushed within two hours of picking.”When you get past the bottling and labeling, be sure to taste the oil. The peppery tasting EVOOs tend to be higher in polyphenols. Just like wine, other variables can affect antioxidant levels and flavor, including terroir (climate, soil and altitude), dry farming, harvesting and storage, says Bradley.Once you get your chosen EVOO home, use it within a couple of months. “If you don’t have use-by dates, you get a false sense of how long the product will last,” said Manley.“A lot of olive oils are just sitting in a warehouse, but they need to be consumed within two years,” agrees Darragh.While there may be varying levels of quality, Bradley is adamant that good olive oil shouldn’t be too hard to find. “If your trees are healthy, you pick it on time at its peak of ripeness and you crush it in a timely fashion, it’s hard to make bad olive oil.”

Olive oil for love or money

2008-12-15T00:07:00.000-08:00

California olive oil history dates back hundreds of years to the late 1700s, when the first olive trees were brought over from Spain. As the industry grew, olive trees became a common sight in Northern California and the Central Valley, and olive oil processing mills began opening to meet demand for the golden nectar.
According to Paul Vossen, UCCE farm advisor for Marin and Sonoma counties, California is now home to 11 olive oil processing mills, ranging in annual production size from 4,000 to 150,000 gallons each, as well as several smaller mills. "Production has been steadily increasing each year, except for 2000-01 when there was a very small crop," Vossen said. Since 1996-97, California olive oil production has increased from 123,000 gallons to 400,000 gallons in 2002-03.

This growth caught the attention of California wineries during the 1990s, and dozens began planting olive trees with oil production in mind. "Wineries account for about 12-15% of the state's annual extra virgin olive oil production," said Patricia Darragh, executive director of the Berkeley-based California Olive Oil Council (COOC).
Though she couldn't confirm the total number of wineries that are currently producing olive oil, Darragh said that more than two dozen have been certified by the COOC. "There is a dramatic increase in production by wineries, year over year," she said. "The industry overall is growing dramatically and many more wineries are becoming involved."
Thanks to the efforts of wineries like B.R. Cohn, Preston Vineyards, Joseph Phelps Vineyards and Wente Vineyards, high-end California olive oil is making a name for itself on the national gourmet food scene. But is producing olive oil worth the effort?
Climate, Soils And Care
Like grapevines, olive trees are not for the impatient. The trees must be planted in the right location, and tended properly. It takes three or four years for the trees to bear fruit, and the olives should be hand-harvested at the peak of ripeness (usually in October or November), avoiding any contact with the ground.
UC Davis is in the process of studying trial olive orchards in different parts of the state, to determine where the trees grow best. "Ideal growing conditions are deep, dry gravely soil, with good drainage," Vossen said. "A climate that does not get below 24[degrees]F that might kill the trees in the winter, nor temperatures below 30[degrees]F during the months of November and December that might freeze and ruin the fruit prior to harvest. Other than that, they seem to grow and produce well in the Central Valley and in cool coastal areas."
Profiting From "Liquid Gold"
Specialty extra virgin olive oils often sell for $20-50 per bottle--an amount that leads some people to believe it's a huge profit-maker. But before you start ripping out Chardonnay vines to plant olive trees, consider the cost of production.
"Profit on the North Coast is better for winegrapes at $2,000 per ton of fruit," Vossen said. "Olives on the North Coast are expensive to grow because of the high cost of land. The land parcels are small and the land is not as flat and less likely to be able to be harvested mechanically." Olive production tends to be more profitable for wineries in the Central Valley, Vossen added, where "land is cheaper, labor rates are a bit lower, water is cheaper, etc., and the land is flatter and better adapted to over-the-row mechanical harvest. Most olives are worth from $300 to $600 per ton. With yields of about 5 tons per acre and lower cost mechanical harvest, I believe there is a pretty good potential for the super-high-density production system."
According to Sharon Cohn, who handles day-to-day olive oil production at B.R. Cohn Winery with her husband Bruce, "It costs about $200 per gallon to get (the oil) into the bottle--it's like liquid gold." When asked to compare olive oil and wine production, Bruce Cohn commented, "Neither of them make any money. I don't know anyone who's making money in olive oil." So why does he do it? "I do it because I like it, and because the trees are here," he said. "And our tasting room visitors like it. We sell out of our oil every year."
Sharon said she truly enjoys the olive oil side of the business, and wishes that she and Bruce had started it earlier. "We could have started losing money even sooner!" Bruce added, with a laugh. "Unless you're doing it in a big way, you're not going to make money doing it. It's a labor of love, and a lifestyle issue."
Damian Parker, production manager for Joseph Phelps Vineyards, expressed a similar view. "We are trying to break even, it's more of a lifestyle thing for Joe (Phelps)," he said. "Joe wanted to diversify some of the farming on the ranch, and growing olive trees and making olive oil is very Mediterranean. Joe has an affinity for Mediterranean varietals and Napa's climate is very suited for them." Phelps planted 3.5 acres of olive trees in 1998, and added an additional acre in 2001. "Until you have mature trees, it's very hard to make any money. To date we have not."

For Lou Preston, owner of Preston Vineyards in Sonoma County, olive oil production is more than a labor of love. "But if we had to rely on the wholesale market for distribution the profit would disappear," he said. The oil is a brisk seller in the winery's tasting room, Preston said, thanks in part to its COOC extra virgin certification and last year's favorable Wine Spectator review.
Profits aside, Preston's olive oil also plays an important role in the winery's Mediterranean focus. "Our mission is to give our visitors an integrated farm-based food experience--wine, bread from the winery forno, cured olives, olive oil, pickles and fresh produce from the organic kitchen gardens," he said. "Everything is from our farm, everything is organically grown."

Livermore's Wente Vineyards has also managed to make a profit producing olive oil from the winery's century-old trees, according to sales and marketing president Carolyn Wente. "My grandfather used to make oil and cure olives until the 1960s, when the labor became too expensive to justify picking and processing," she said. "I began producing the oil again in 1986."
Wente's olive oil is sold in the winery's tasting room, and brokers distribute it on a limited basis to high-end retail accounts. "It sells very well," Wente said.
Getting Into The Act
If you're thinking of getting into the olive oil business, remember what your sixth grade teacher always said, "Do your homework." The following resources will help you save time, money and headaches down the road.
"Olive Production Manual"--This practical guide covers olive botany, orchard planning, orchard maintenance (including nutrient analysis, irrigation systems, pest control and crop management), harvesting and post-harvest processing. Available on the UC Davis Web site for $32: http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/merchant.ihtml?pid=299&step=4.
"Producing Olive Oil in California"--This pamphlet offers background and practical information for olive oil producers. Available for $7 through UC Davis. To order, visit the Web site: http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/merchant.ihtml?pid=548&lastcatid=149&step=4.
UC Davis Cost Analysis Study--Paul Vossen and his colleagues at UC Davis completed a study of olive oil production in February, 2004. View it on the university's Web site at http://coststudies.ucdavis.edu.
California Olive Oil Council--Created in 1992, the COOC's mission is to establish California as a source of world-class olive oil. For industry resources and information on the organization's certification program, visit the Web site cooc.com.
Oliveoilsource.com--This Web site includes a listing of U.S. olive oil producers, as well as statistics and information on starting an olive oil business.
RELATED ARTICLE: Wineries Press On
Despite its monetary challenges, wineries continue to devote time, money and passion to upscale olive oil production. Here's a look at what a few of California's best oil-producing wineries are doing.

Year Oil Production Began: 1990
Picking And Processing: The winery's grape management company harvests the olives. The crop is pressed at The Olive Press in Glen Ellen.
Acreage And Varieties: The Cohns have 10 acres of French Picholine trees, planted on the Olive Hill estate in 1875. According to Bruce Cohn, 1 ton of Picholine olives produces 27 gallons of oil (Mission produces 45 gallons per ton).
Oils: The winery offers three oils: Sonoma Estate Extra Virgin ($50/500ml); California Certified Organic Extra Virgin ($18/500ml); and California Extra Virgin ($18/500ml). The non-estate oils--about 4,000 12-bottle cases--are purchased under contract from growers in the Central Valley. Production for the Sonoma Estate oil is 125 gallons per year.

Notes: The Cohns are planning to open a culinary center at the winery in 2005, in which the winery's olive oils will play a central role.
Joseph Phelps Vineyards, St. Helena
Year Oil Production Began: 1998
Picking And Processing: The Phelps vineyard crew--about 14-16 men--harvests the olives. (If the olives haven't ripened before the crew goes home to Mexico in the winter, the picking is left to the remaining winery staff). The olives are pressed at McEvoy Ranch in Petaluma.
Acreage And Varieties: Phelps has 4.5 acres of olive trees, including the following varieties: Frantoio (70%), Pendolino (11%), Leccino (14%) and Maurino (5%). The winery also has a few Picholine trees and about 30 Mission trees on the Spring Valley ranch and at Backus.
Oils: Phelps' extra virgin olive oil sells for $20 per 375ml bottle. The winery produced 79 cases of the 2002 oil, and estimated bottling about 100 cases of the 2003.
Preston Vineyards, Healdsburg
Year Oil Production Began: Early '90s
Picking And Processing: The winery's vineyard and winery staff picks the olives, with the aid of pneumatic picking wands. The olives are pressed at Frantoio in Mill Valley and at McEvoy.
Acreage And Varieties: Preston began planting olive trees in the late '80s, and today has 1,000 olive trees. About 75% of the trees are Italian oil varieties, including Leccino, Pendolino, Frantoio, Casaliva, Grignano and Mauriolo. The winery also grows Manzanillo, Mission and Sevillano for curing and/or oil.
Oils: The 2003 Olio Nuevo ($25/500ml) is Preston's 10th vintage. The winery's largest harvest to date was 150 gallons, and Preston expects the number to peak at 650 gallons as the trees mature.
Wente Vineyards, Livermore
Year Oil Production Began: 1986
Picking And Processing: The olives are hand picked over a one-month period. Modesto-based Nick Sciabica & Sons cold presses the oil in small batches within 24 hours of picking.
Acreage And Varieties: French grapegrower Louis Mel imported and planted Wente's Lucque and Picholine trees in 1880. Wente's oil blend also includes Manzanillo, Ascolano, Mission and Sevillano varietals.
Oils: Wente produces about 200 9-liter cases per year of its Oro Fino Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil ($19.95/375ml).

T.C.
RELATED ARTICLE: Grapevine Nursery Adds Olive Trees
While other grapevine nurseries were expanding their offerings to include varietals like Syrah and Pinot gris, Santa Rosa's NovaVine chose to offer something different--olive trees. According to VP Dennis Black, NovaVine began selling Spanish olive trees in 1999. "We realized there was opportunity in olive oil," Black said.
Arbequina was the first variety NovaVine imported from Spain, followed by Mission, Manzanillo and four Tuscan varieties. Most of the trees are sold to landscapers, olive growers and wineries, Black said, and the wineries have shown particular interest in the Arbequina and Tuscan varieties.
"California wineries are definitely in the olive oil business," he continued. "They're taking it very seriously and a lot of serious effort is taking place. Wineries are doing more food and wine pairings and a lot of wineries have their own chefs and are doing cooking classes. Olive oil fits into this nicely."
Olive trees start at $15 for a 1-gallon size tree. For more information, visit the Web site novavine.com.
T.C.
RELATED ARTICLE: Napa Valley Futures Raise Nearly $1 Million At Premiere Napa Valley Auction
Months before the glamour and hoopla of the annual Napa Valley Wine Auction, national and international wine wholesalers, retailers and restaurateurs descended on St. Helena for the auction-before-the-auction: Premiere Napa Valley.
The eighth annual event, held Feb. 21 at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, raised a total of $987,200 to help support programs sponsored by the Napa Valley Vintners, official host of the auction.
Before the auction began, more than 500 trade and media attendees sampled unique barrel wines, primarily 2002 and 2003 reds created from special vineyard blocks, using innovative winemaking techniques. While most producers poured Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot wines, some chose to experiment with different varietals. For example, Ceja Vineyards poured an unusual blend of Merlot, Pinot noir and Syrah, while Sterling Vineyards and Flora Springs presented Malbec wines.
More than 270 paddle holders competed for 158 lots of Napa wine futures, and a total of 1,065 cases were sold to 60 winning bidders. The highest single bid of the day was $35,000 for a 20-case lot of Silver Oak Cellars 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon blend.
As was the case last year, the event's top bidder was Gary Fisch, owner of Gary's Wine and Marketplace in Madison, N.J. Fisch spent $203,900 on 20 different lots, including the five-case Shafer Vineyards and Stag's Leap Wine Cellars lots, selling for $28,000 and $21,000 respectively.Top Lots at Premiere Napa Valley 2004
Silver Oak Cellars $35,000
Shafer Vineyards $28,000
Joseph Phelps Vineyards $26,000
Pride Mountain Vineyards $26,000
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars $21,000
Viader Vineyards & Winery $18,000
Vineyard 29 $17,000
Beringer Vineyards $14,500
Duckhorn Vineyards $14,000
Lewis Cellars $14,000
Staglin Family Vineyard $14,000
Beaulieu Vineyard $13,000
Darioush Vineyard $13,000
Husic Vineyards $13,000
Spottswoode Vineyard & Winery $13,000
The auction wines are scheduled for private release, to the successful
bidders only, between 2004 and 2007.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Wines & VinesCOPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning

The Pocket Money

2008-12-13T06:35:00.000-08:00

Characters: Narrator(N), Salesman(S), Dad(D), Maggie(M), Alice(A), Candy(C), Policeman(P)
Preparation: 学校布景，做糖果用桌及相关材料，小贩家布景
Scene1（At Salesman’s home） N: In a dark dirty house, there lived a small, dirty salesman. He always makes unhealthy candies and sells them to the students. He has a lot of money now. But how does he make the candies? Oh, xu …… He is coming! S: Hello, do you know me? No? Oh, let me tell you .I’m the famous candy salesman at the school gate. My candies are very popular,(展示)，I don’t know why. The foolish students always come here. I’ll be a boss soon! Candy, money, candy, money…… Oops! It’s time to make candies now.(看表) First, put the flour on the table. Then, water, sugar, flour.(边说边做) Now press, press…… Oh, my dirty hands! Never mind! Just do it!(满不在意的神情) Press, press…… Oh, my god!(鼻涕)Never mind! Just do it! Press, press, the children will not know it , it’s OK,hehehe…… Now let me cut it into pieces! One, two, three, four, five……（用脏菜刀） Wow, everything is ready! 糖果钻出来（跳舞），跳完后，非常难过地说：Oh, I’m so dirty and ugly! What can I do? The students will eat me! And they will be ill! Wuwuwu… S: Mmmm…It looks dirty, let me give you a nice coat! (给它穿上) Wow! Now it’s so beautiful! Haha…… C: Oh, no! Don’t sell me! I’m dirty!(拖糖果下场)
Scene2（At the school gate） N: The next day, when the class is over, all the students come out happily and the salesman goes to the school gate as usual. （Maggie和Alice 欢快地跑出校门，看到小贩） (小贩拉着糖上场，吆喝)：Candies! Candies! Sweet candies! …… M: Oh, Alice! Look! Candies! A: Yeah! I think they are yummy! M: Let’s ask him. A: OK! C: Don’t buy me！（非常焦急） M&A: Why? C: I’m dirty！ M: No, you look nice! C: What can I do? (面向观众) Wuwuwu…(小贩将她拉在后面) S: Candies! Candies!（引诱两个女孩） M&A: How much are they? S: Do you have money?（轻蔑） M&A: Money?(对视) M:Oh, I’ve no money!（失落之极） A: Me too. S: No money? So sorry!(吆喝着走开，下场) M: What can we do now? A: Let’s ask dad for money. M: But how to ask? A: How?…Oh,I know ,let’s make him happy ,and he will give us money.（自信） M: Good idea!(全部下场)
Scene 3:（At Maggie’s home） N: The children have to go home and ask dad for some money, and they know their father is good at playing guitar, so they will do something clever. (爸爸看报) M: Dad,dad,let’s sing a song ,OK? (同时Alice去取吉他准备拿给爸爸) A: And play the guitar for us! M: We know you play so well! (爸爸诧异地看着孩子) D: Oh? What a bright day today! M&A: Please, dad!(哀求) D:OKOK! Let’s. (取吉他，开始准备)D: Which song do you like? How about Edelweiss? M&A: Of course! (开始弹，第一段孩子随节奏起舞，第二段孩子开始轻声讨论起来“you first”之类的话，爸爸停止弹琴。) D: What’s the matter? M: Dad, we have no money! A: Can we have some please? D: I think you have lots of pocket money ,and you don’t need any more. M:I want to buy some candies at the school gate.
A: They look so sweet and nice! M: Other students always buy them! D: But……You can’t ! They are quite unhealthy. Please go and do your homework..(置之不理，转头看报，孩子回到房间) M: What shall we do now? A: Let me think …well, I know!(轻声在Maggie耳边说) M: Oh, you are so clever! Let’s go.(回到爸爸身边) M: Dad, I want a new eraser! A: I want a longer ruler! M&A: Dad, please！ D: Things are expensive these days. We have to save money! M: But dad, my eraser is too small now!(拿出破橡皮来给爸爸看) A: And my ruler is broken.（拿出断尺） D: OK, children. I believe you this time, make sure, don’t buy the food at the school gate. It’s unhealthy! Do you know? M&A: Yes, sir! D: Here you are !( 给钱) M&A: Thanks very much, dad! Bye!(非常高兴，下场) N: The next day, when the class is over ,Maggie and Alice come to the salesman again. They are happy to buy the candies and then have them, but soon they feel a stomachache. (孩子高兴地买了糖，边吃边回家，小贩下场，孩子到家后肚子痛) M: Aiyo!……（两人躬着背进场） A: ……. D: What’s wrong? M: I’ve a stomachache! A: Me too! D: What did you eat? The food at the school gate? M: Yes. We had some candies just now. A: I had some too! D: Oh! You’ve cheated me! You bought the candies instead of the eraser and ruler. I always tell you that don’t buy the food at the school gate, they are unhealthy!（生气） M: But they look nice! A: And tastes good! M&A: Aiyo…… D:Well, Let’s go to the salesman together and have a look! M&A: OK.
Scene 4: (At the school gate) N: When they get to the school gate, a policeman is asking the salesman to go away. (正走到校门口，发现警察驱赶校门口的小贩) P: Hey! You shouldn’t stay here, leave now! C: Let’s go home, let’s go home! (轻声并拉小贩) S: No! My candies are nice and popular here! And… C: You are telling a lie! I’m very dirty and unhealthy! M&A: Dad, it’s him! Aiyo…（指着小贩） D: He? (警察走过来问爸爸，朝小孩) P: What’s the matter with them? D: They got a stomachache after having his candies. S: Really? But I’ve never heard of it. And…… P: Stop, stop!(打断小贩) Look at the two girls! Are you guilty? You must be honest with the students, and don’t sell candies any more.（非常严厉） S: OK. I know. (羞愧) C: Let’s go home. Let’s go home. Policeman(对小孩): Girls, please listen! Don’t buy the candies next time. They are bad for your health. D: Yes, he is right. And you shouldn’t tell a lie to me. Try to be an honest person! Will you? M&A: OK, dad! P: Let’s take them to the hospital now. D: OK, Let’s go. N（出场）: A few days later, the girls recovered. And this story is trying to tell you that some of the phenomenon must be kept down, we hope it could be improved soon.

The Best Kept Money Making Secret

2008-12-13T06:22:00.000-08:00

Real estate investing is currently a very hot topic because of the increasing property values and the number of investors who are looking for a safer alternative to the stock market.
In the last 10 years, stock investors lost trillions of dollars in the stock market, so they are still understandably skittish about returning to the market.
Most beginner real estate investors often start in real estate investing by a rental property using the traditional method. That is, they put down 5% to 10% and then borrow the balance from the bank. While this works, it requires more capital than most investors can initially raise, but more importantly, it creates unnecessary risks.
A better and lower-risk way is to use a real estate option, which is arguably the best kept money making secret in the industry. Having talked to thousands of investors, I have found that probably less than 10% understand how to use this very powerful technique. However, savvy investors such as Donald Trump use real estate options in almost all of his deals.
A real estate option can be used for multiple reasons (estate planning, speculation, etc.), but this article will focus on using a real estate option to quickly generate cash.
Unlike stock options, which can be high risk, a real estate option is less volatile and offers some key advantages.
A real estate option allows you to control a property without owning it. Ideally, you want to use an option on an owner-occupied property. Most homeowners are not trained to sell a house and often end up not being able to sell it within a reasonable time frame.
Essentially, you use an option to control a property while marketing it and as soon as you sell the house, you pocket the difference between the strike price (the price the seller agreed to sell the house for) and the selling price.
When done properly, you can get a real estate option on a property, market it and cash out 30 to 45 days (I have a client who has done it as little as 4 days and made $9,800).
By using options only on owner-occupied homes, you avoid many of the drawbacks of traditional real estate investing (vacancies, holding costs, mortgages, repairs and tenants).
Another huge advantage is that in any city, there is a large number of homeowners who would gladly let you option their house, especially if you can know how to sell it quickly. The key is to demonstrate that you have a pool of eager buyers who are ready to purchase, and you can build this pool of eager buyers through marketing and networking.
The amount of money you risk is low because you can often negotiate a 90 day option on a $100,000 house for $10 (yes, ten dollars). If you can't sell the house, then you are out of $10 and some sweat equity. However, with every house you option, you are continually building a more complete database of what your buyers want.
Using options doesn't require you to get a license. Starting today, you can go out and acquire an option on a property and start marketing it.
Real estate options are very flexible because you can option almost anything. While single residential homes are the most common thing to option, you can also purchase an option on land, commercial buildings, apartment buildings and even trailer parks.
In summary, using real estate options is not a well known technique but savvy real estate investors have been quietly using them to make a fortune for years.
Isn't it time you did the same?

Money Doesn't Grow on Trees

2008-12-07T07:56:00.000-08:00

"Money isn't everything - but a lack of it is.""Money is a terrible master, but an excellent servant."- PT Barnum (American circus showman)"Money can't buy you happiness. But it helps you to be miserable in comfort." - Woody Allen (I think)INTRODUCTION These thoughts are extracted from Oprah Winfrey's fine show. which I watch regularly (enough free advertising for her - she doesn't need it!). I've written this piece in point form for brevity. * Like it or not, money makes the world go round. Plan for the future. Service a business. House trading is good in a recession. Be financially cautious. Buy for investment and not personal happiness. You will be taxed, if you trade too frequently. Think ahead. Don't invest money that you can't afford to lose. Ask yourself WHAT you really want? Then sketch a path to take you there. Phantasize what you'd like to be doing in ten years time. Require education capital. Put on a wall chart. Also what do you want for the rest of your family? Ask yourself: How does your family's present life prepare them for what you want? What can you change to make your life better (especially in the area of finances)?... 5 ways of protecting the family: Make a vow to stop criticizing yourself. Begin to learn to like yourself. When we change our thinking, we are changing our reality. Allow prosperity to enter your life. Move away from poverty to PROSPERITY THINKING. Be at one with God, the Power that created us, ie. act in faith and trust the outcomes. (Enough spirituality for a money article here, Craig!). More on Money:A lot depends on how you view money, as you are growing up. Are you are a saver or a spender? Some people like to spend, others love to save. Studies with identical twins have shown that your emotional attachment to money as a child will determine how you spend it. However, it's never too late to change your childhood impressions of money - that is what might be holding you back to attain true happiness. You have to have the happiness for the money to do anything. Happiness, like wealth or poverty is very much a state of mind. Happiness, I believe, is who you are, and how you feel about yourself. I don't believe there is anything like a "money making gene" - you are not born with it. No one is born genetically with the ability to become rich. It all depends on our desire and dedication (ie. how motivated we are) to become financially independent or even wealthy (I far prefer that word to rich, btw). Ask yourself, Does money buy me FREEDOM?... or perhaps envy, love or recognition. Ask yourself and be totally honest. Saving small amounts of money all adds up - it's never too late to start. People have become multi-millionaires by putting away small amounts of money over a long period of time. Even $35 per week can be meaningful...IN TIME. (I had to say those words after being in life assurance all those years!). Don't focus on what other people have...and your "lack". "It's easy to get in a hole trying to keep up with the Jones's". Just think about what it is really important to you. Instill the value of the work ethic in your family. Make your children a part of the financial situation. Teach your children to save a portion of their pocket money and spend some. Let them know their parent's income and how a budget works. We are very secretive about money...and kids easily pick up our values. Most millionaires have been fired, bankkrupt, suicidal at some times in their life: it's not what happened to them; but how they REACTED to the situation. Most people who make big money try to buy the very best. Buy ONE good share, buy ONE good shirt, rather than many. "Money not made properly does not stick.""By giving you get.""Money doesn't grow on trees."BELIEVE, really BELIEVE you can make money, no matter where you are in the continium ("cycle of life"). Even if "deep in the smelly brown stuff (like most writers). Remind yourself that you deserve it. Money is not a solution to all your problems. A single minded drive for money at any cost does not make you feel like a millionaire. Fear of failure/success/rejection is important here: Fear of the unknown, fear of loss, shame of wanting money - nothing wrong with that! However, being motivated in your work solely by money provides no satisfaction whatsoever. Money is a game - it represents freedom and gives one CHOICES in life. Find work that you love, then sell yourself vigorously, deliver quality service. Ask fair prices. Money is a form of self expression. Having money isn't bad - it's the way you use it that's vitally important. How much is enough to make me really happy? Only YOU can answer that question. NB: Most people want more and more money and are never satisfied ...but few people are prepared to do anything about it. There is no creative training at school in money management. Perhaps a niche for me there? Ask yourself : WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE IN LIFE? Attitudes to money are the number one factor...and are also a prime cause of divorce...together with financial pressures, of course. Are you financially compatible or incompatible with your partner (or spouse - like that word!): are you a spender-saver-phobic, shopper or hoarder? a: phobic a dreameror perhaps even a miser."I am what I am, hoard...or save". Your parents make an indelible mark on your savings habits, as well as our attitudes to money management. Be assertive, communicate honestly about your finances with your spouse (partner). Is there any denial of your financial situation? Develop a money consciousness...then a prosperity consciousness.Follow these money management hints and you are sure to be well on the way to financial security/prosperity. Good luck*Craig Lock (Eagle Productions) * "luck", as they say, is where preparedness (is there such a word?) meets opportunity.

Top Secret Way You Can Get Google Adwords Pay-Per-Clicks Free Now Revealed

2008-12-03T07:43:00.000-08:00

New secret is all you now need in order to get your Google Adwords pay-per-clicks free. I have tested this and I can say it 100% works. It does require some work and advertising selling on your part.New York city man uncovered what he calls an "oversight" on the part of 99.9% of all marketers that allows him to get otherwise paid-for advertising at Google as well as all other search engines that allow sponsored ads like yahoo, MSN and others.The New Yorker proudly tells "...this is something that I caught onto just before 2000 when there was so much search engine craze running around, and started doing small just to test things at first ... but which I later expanded on it after getting the hang of it." This system allowed him to get his pay-per-click ads free when other had to pay for there. You can see his tremendous sales advantage with zero advertising costs.This same fellow went on to start and operate sixteen separate online companies selling everything from pet food, DVDs, children's toys & games, books, software, and sold not only his own manufactured products but became an affiliate for other web businesses. During this time, he applied his secret of getting free ads on the search engines.During the last eight years or so, the New Yorker states "I've actually gotten over $87 million in advertising that using my secret I never had to pay for ... and the largest share of which was more recently in Google pay-per-clicks as well as other forms of paid advertising at search engines ... all of which I got for free ..." This secret that I am now revealing is worth millions.So wonderful is his secret that he's able to monopolize any niche online, and can always secure the top premium spots just above the usual organic results featured at most search engines. This is where the sponsored are usually shown.Using his secret he still has to set up accounts with the search engines but, after applying his secret his ads ride for free and from having to pay for all the costs involved.Nothing about his secret is either illegal or steals from the search engines. In fact, they actually love it because it brings them more business in the long run.The New Yorker revealed that in the eight years period of time since applying his secret he's done well over $300 million in sales revenue with a most diverse line of products, from pet supplies like dog food to electronic games and toys. Recently in the last two years netted nearly $166 million after really "buckling down and pressing my secret to its fullest potential" he stated.Now to the fortunate, the New Yorker is releasing his secret for getting an unlimited amount of pay-per-click ads to the public who uses them. But he's not promising us for how long or how much longer.A bit of an eccentric, the gentleman says "We'll see just how long I can make it available before it saturates things."One famous web guru pointed out that although this man may gain economically more so as a result of the publication of his secret "he's already so amazingly rich that whether he continues or discontinues its sale will neither make nor break the man, but not grabbing it for yourself while it's still available could prove disastrous for you as you may only have one chance, and a very limited one at that, to get this." So you may want to head on over there now and get it.It's in a easily readable format and is quickly and readily understood and mastered by anyone with even a 4th grade reading level. I found reading this secret to be very interesting and I am working on applying its principles already on my websites.Review for yourself the huge successes others are now having with this incredible breakthrough in targeted advertising now made freely available to the rest of us.

"How Many Emails Can You Process A Day?"

2008-12-03T05:47:00.000-08:00

This title is copied from my Yahoo Email, i didn't take part in such kind of way of earning money, but i am glad to show this email:

Hello Friends,

How Many Emails Can You Process A Day?
If you can process 30 a day,
you'll earn $750.00 every day!
GUARANTEED!
Earn $25.00 For Every Email You Process!
You Are Guaranteed To Get Paid Instantly For Each Email You Process!
This is an easy, profitable opportunity to earn $1000's every week from home.
No experience required.

Your Earnings Are Unlimited... Below are your potential earnings!!!

5 e-mails processed 5x$25.00 = $125 Per Day!10 e-mails processed 10x$25.00 = $250 Per Day!25 e-mails processed 25x$25.00 = $625 Per Day!30 e-mails processed 25x$25.00 = $750 Per Day!
$273,750 a year income!

YOUR INSTANT ACCESS TO THE 50% PRICE

Regards,
Patricia Taylor

Kindly disregard this message if you received this by mistake.
To stop receiving messages from us, please use the link here.
Thank you.

That's the email, is it true or not? wow........ do you believe it ? or anybody who have took part in it? post your message! thank you!

Negotiating When You Have Leverage, don't feel embarrassed!

2008-12-03T01:19:00.000-08:00

Let's face it. One of the reasons why many of us dislike salary negotiations is the feeling that we are rarely in a powerful position. It often seems as if we have little leverage as we deal with our employers who have more information and the final say in whether we get what we want. However, one of the benefits of advancing in a career is that the balance of power can change. Your leverage in salary negotiations can increase as you gain knowledge, expertise and experience. All of a sudden, you realize that you are now quite valuable to the company, and irreplaceable should you decide to leave for one of those great offers you keep receiving. When you are sitting in that position, your negotiation will likely feel much different than it has before. You may feel great temptation to use your leverage to exact revenge for the numerous slights (real or imagined) that were inflicted upon you in the past. Still, most people do not want to gain a reputation for being greedy, tyrannical or exploitative. Therefore, instead of flaunting your power and doing unto them as they have done unto you, why not focus on your long-term goals and negotiate in a way that enables you to get what you deserve and enhance your status as a leader and loyal team player. Consider the following advice:

Focus on getting the best deal for yourself that is still good for them, too.

Begin with the realization that this is your opportunity to maximise your compensation. Now is not the time to sell yourself short or leave items on the table. Instead, focus on what you feel you need and ought to have, and then negotiate for it. Many employers will provide their most valuable executives generous packages of stock options, profit-sharing bonuses, generous severance packages, along with non-financial compensation like paid sabbaticals. At the same time, unless your proposal helps the company satisfy its interests (e.g. retaining your services, maintaining internal equity among executives and establishing good precedents for the future) your negotiations will go nowhere. For that reason, you must make sure that your agreement benefits the company and helps it achieve its objectives. Try connecting some of your compensation to the achievement of key strategic objectives. Or, make part of your bonus contingent on receiving good feedback on your ability to personally lead your team. If your compensation richly rewards you for acting in the company's best interest, you have struck a good deal for them and for you.

Make sure you have a fair deal

Just because you have more leverage does not mean you have to be greedy. Asking for an unreasonable package or item may jeopardise the process and will likely upset the other negotiator, causing her or him to fight much harder on other issues. It will also cause resentment among your co-workers and staff (remember them - they help you look good). If you do your research on what other star performers receive (both in your company and at its competitors) you will be able to stake out terms that are quite beneficial to you and justifiable as appropriate given the value you provide.

Refer to your 'BATNA' - Your Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement when you have to, but use it as a warning, not as a threat

There may come a time in your negotiation when you have to consider walking away. Perhaps the company is not appreciating the value you bring or does not realize that you have a great offer somewhere else. If you want to continue the negotiations, you may find it advantageous to let the company know that you have other opportunities and that they will suffer negative consequences if you leave. That dose of reality may bring them to their senses, and alert them to the fact that you do have leverage here. However, how you raise these opportunities is critical. Use it as a warning, for example, saying "I would prefer to work something out, but I just want to be clear about what I think will happen if I leave ..." or "As you may know, I have an outstanding offer from another leading firm ...". Making threats like "If you do not give me this point, I will work for ..." only tends to inflame the situation. In many ways, negotiating your compensation package is a form of leadership. When you have the power to lead, you will want to act honourably and effectively. You should not act differently when you negotiate and you hold most of the cards.

How to Manage Money in College?

2008-12-03T01:12:00.000-08:00

Living away from home is a personal and financial turning point for many young people. But the feeling of freedom can quickly give way to anxiety. The financial pressures can be daunting -- many students work during the academic year or have to stretch income from summer jobs.
Here are some hints on making the transition from Patricia Q. Brennan, a family and consumer sciences educator with Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Morris County, New Jersey. Brennan is a certified financial planner who teaches courses on money management for young adults and young couples. She is co-chair of "Investing for Your Future," a non-credit, self-paced, online money management course found at http://www.investing.rutgers.edu.
Know Your Money Personality
Understanding your money type, or the feelings you have about money, can help you better manage your resources and ward off future money problems. Brennan cites the following "money types" from "Money Harmony," a book by Olivia Mellan:
Read on to find your "money type"...
• SPENDERS have a hard time delaying gratification and can always think of something to spend their money on right now.

• HOARDERS love to hold on to money, enjoy checking account balances, and feel uncomfortable spending money on immediate pleasures.
• AVOIDERS tend to live in a financial fog, procrastinating or avoiding money maintenance chores such as checkbook balancing, bill paying, saving or keeping track of income and debts.
• AMASSERS spend a great deal of time and energy trying to accumulate large amounts of money to spend, save and invest. Their main goal is making money grow.
• MONEY MONKS think that too much money will corrupt them politically or spiritually and feel superior to those who focus their attention on earning or amassing a lot of it.
Plastic: Handle With Care
Credit cards bring freedom and flexibility when you're away at college, but they can quickly become a trap for the unwary. Credit card offers made to college students are inviting, but should be carefully scrutinized.
Shop around for the lowest interest rates on credit cards and read the fine print on any offer before signing up. Be wary of cards with low introductory rates that jump up after a set period. Skip cards with annual fees.
Charge only as much as you can afford to pay every month.
Avoid using the card for impulse purchases, meals in restaurants or gifts that you otherwise couldn't afford.
Plan for Emergencies

Save a little, regularly. If you work during the academic year, set aside something from each paycheck. Treat this savings like a bill. If most of your annual income comes from a summer job, set aside a portion in a separate account. This will cover those expenses you couldn't anticipate: a lost book or wallet, or expensive car repairs.
Set Goals
If you can be realistic about your financial goals and priorities, you have a much greater chance of achieving them.
Write down your goal.
Put a price tag on it and the date you wish to reach it.
Divide and conquer. Take the total dollar amount needed and divide by the number of weeks/paychecks until the target date.
Know Your Cash -- and Where it's Going
Having a spending plan is crucial to managing your day-to-day finances at school. Getting a handle on your cash flow is an important part of developing a spending plan because it is difficult to "plug the leaks" if you don't know where your money goes.
A cash flow statement need not be elaborate. To get started, keep careful track of your expenses during a typical day, week or month, then evaluate which expenses mean a lot and which could be cut without significant impact on your life.
Include a reasonable amount for fun, too, such as a present for a friend's birthday or dinner out with friends.
Know What You've Got Covered (By Insurance)
When you go away to college, your insurance coverage may change.
Check whether you are still covered under your family homeowners or auto policies. If not, make sure you have adequate coverage through a separate policy.
Don't buy more insurance than you need, and don't go for the small deductible; policies with small deductibles cost more.
You can probably skip some types of insurance, such as extended warranty, credit life, daily hospitalization, collision damage waiver (CDW) on auto rentals, and flight insurance.

How to manage our money effectively?

2008-12-03T01:03:00.000-08:00

There are 3-step plan to control our finances

Do a financial health check

We should review our financial situation at least once a year. This will show us:
1.how much we are earning
2.how much we are spending
3.what we are spending our money on.
A review will give us a better understanding of our financial circumstances and we may notice areas that we would like to change. Use our budget planner to help us work out our income and spending.
If we don't have details of our day-to-day or one-off expenses, make a rough estimate based on our bank and credit card statements and bills.
Don't overestimate or underestimate our income and spending as this will affect us in the next stages - when we are planning our goals and budgeting.
Identify our goals
When we have done our financial health check, we may be surprised by what we spend most money on, and what our lifestyle is costing us. But, if we have a clear idea of what we want now and in the future, we can make changes to help us achieve what our want.
To help us identify our goals, ask ourself the following questions:
What do I want? You may want to pay off a loan or buy a new car, to begin saving for your children's education or to put some extra money away for your retirement or a combination of some or all of the above.
How long will it take? Your goals can be short, medium or long-term. Be realistic and look at the cost and how affordable it is to reach your goals within the time you want.
How much will it cost? Work out the overall cost first. Then break this down to monthly or weekly costs as this will give you a better idea of the actual cost and how affordable it is.
How do I start? You need an action plan to help you reach your goals. For example, you may need to start a regular savings plan, or cut back on some spending so that you can pay extra off a loan and clear it more quickly.
Examples of goals
Short-term
Pay off your debts
Save for Christmas or back-to-school expenses
Save for a special holiday
0 to 5 years
Medium-term
Save for a mortgage or home improvements
5 to 10 years
Long-term
Have a pension in place for retirement
Pay off your mortgage
Save for your children's education
10 years and over

Make a budget and keep to it

The most reliable way to manage your money is to make a realistic budget and stick to it. A budget is a plan of how much money you get and what you spend it on. Budgeting helps you to save, manage loans and avoid debt problems.
Before you draw up a budget, you should consider who it is for. Is the budget for you or is it also taking other people into account? If you have a family or share your home with a partner, you should take into account all household income, spending and other commitments.
Budgeting can help you to:
handle your money better and deal with unexpected events
see where your money is going
choose to reduce or increase your spending on certain things
spend your money on what's more important to you
avoid getting into debt.
Tips to help you manage your budget
Use our budget planne for a sample budget layout.
The total of all your expenses should not be more than your total income at any stage. Otherwise, you will need to revise your budget so that you don't fall behind on essential bills and expenses. This will involve either spending less or earning more.
If you need to free up some extra cash, cut back on non-essential items first. But don't stop spending money on luxuries completely. If your budget is too tight, you may not stick to it.
Shop around before you buy to help you save your money. If you reduce everything by a small amount, it will add up. Our financial products cost comparisons will help you find the best deals for you.
Budget accounts, offered by some banks and credit unions, can help you spread out the cost of your bills over the year. Instead of paying different amounts each month, you have one set payment. These accounts also make sure that you pay your bills on time.
You should talk regularly to your partner or family about how you are doing with your budget. Check how much closer you are to achieving your goals.
If you fail, don't be discouraged. Start again. It can take time to adjust to a new spending pattern. You may also find you need to change your budget a few times before you get it right.

Why should we manage our money?

2008-12-03T00:58:00.000-08:00

Managing our money is an essential life skill that will help us plan for our future and avoid the problems that can arise from too much debt. If we manage our money well, we can:
have peace of mind from spending only what we know we can afford
control our spending and avoid impulse buying
achieve our future goals such as a holiday or home improvement
avoid unnecessary debt by focusing on what's essential and what's not
prepare ourself for emergencies by putting some money aside for a "rainy day"
save money by budgeting and planning ahead.
If we live with a partner or family member we need to share the responsibility of managing our money and make sure each of us:
knows our financial situation
discuss our finances and share in the planning process
understands how much money we can afford to save or spend.
Joint accounts can be a convenient way for us to handle shared income and spending and help us pay household bills.

I Recommend You to Read"Rich Dad, Poor Dad"

2008-12-01T09:42:00.000-08:00

Personal-finance author and lecturer Robert Kiyosaki developed his unique economic perspective through exposure to a pair of disparate influences: his own highly educated but fiscally unstable father, and the multimillionaire eighth-grade dropout father of his closest friend. The lifelong monetary problems experienced by his "poor dad" (whose weekly paychecks, while respectable, were never quite sufficient to meet family needs) pounded home the counterpoint communicated by his "rich dad" (that "the poor and the middle class work for money," but "the rich have money work for them"). Taking that message to heart, Kiyosaki was able to retire at 47. Rich Dad, Poor Dad, written with consultant and CPA Sharon L. Lechter, lays out his the philosophy behind his relationship with money. Although Kiyosaki can take a frustratingly long time to make his points, his book nonetheless compellingly advocates for the type of "financial literacy" that's never taught in schools. Based on the principle that income-generating assets always provide healthier bottom-line results than even the best of traditional jobs, it explains how those assets might be acquired so that the jobs can eventually be shed. --Howard Rothman

The book is the story of a person (the narrator and author) who has two fathers: the first was his biological father – the poor dad - and the other was the father of his childhood best friend, Mike – the rich dad. Both fathers taught the author how to achieve success but with very disparate approaches. It became evident to the author which father's approach made more financial sense. Throughout the book, the author compares both fathers – their principles, ideas, financial practices, and degree of dynamism and how his real father, the poor and struggling but highly educated man, paled against his rich dad in terms of asset building and business acumen.
The author compares his poor dad to those people who are perpetually scampering in the Rat Race, helplessly trapped in a vicious cycle of needing more but never able to satisfy their dreams for wealth because of one glaring lack: financial literacy. They spend so much time in school learning about the problems of the world, but have not acquired any valuable lessons about money, simply because it is never taught in school. His rich dad, by contrast, represents the independently wealthy core of society who deliberately takes advantage of the power of corporations and their personal knowledge of tax and accounting (or that of their financial advisers) which they manipulate to their advantage.
The book’s theme reduces to two fundamental concepts: a can-do attitude and fearless entrepreneurship. The author highlights these two concepts by providing multiple examples for each and focusing on the need for financial literacy, how the power of corporations contribute to making the wealthy even wealthier, minding your own business, overcoming obstacles by not fostering laziness, fear, cynicism and other negative attitudes, and recognizing the characteristics of humans and how their preconceived notions and upbringing hamper their financial freedom goals.
The author presents six major lessons which he discusses throughout the book:
The rich don’t work for money
The importance of financial literacy
Minding Your own business
Taxes and corporations
The rich invent money
The need to work to learn and not to work for money
Character Summaries
Rich Dad, Poor Dad revolves around three main characters: poor dad, rich dad (Kiyosaki’s second father) and the son (the author himself as narrator of the book). The essence of each character is:
Poor dad – educated but lacking the street smarts
Rich dad – very little education (eighth grade), tons of street smarts
Kiyosaki – the spectator who learns lessons from both but internalizes only rich dad’s traits

Poor Dad
The author compares his poor dad to the millions of fathers who encourage their sons to do well in school so they could get a good job with a good company. Poor dad believed in the traditional principles of working hard, saving money, and not buying material things that one cannot afford. He believed that having a good job with a solid company is what one should aspire for; hence he expresses disappointment when his son leaves the employ of a large, reputable corporation.
Poor dad looks to education as the passport to success. He held a doctorate degree, went to Ivy League universities, but was always struggling financially. He believed he would never be a rich man and the author points out that this became a self-fulfilling prophecy. Poor dad was more interested in a good education than the subject of money. The author wrote that his poor dad would always say things like, “I’m not interested in money” or “money doesn’t matter.”
The author points out that poor dad was preoccupied with things like job tenure and security, Social Security, vacation and sick leaves, company insurance and salary raises and promotions. The author felt that his poor dad was more interested in these factors rather than on the job itself. This is what the author calls being trapped in the Rat Race. His poor dad worked hard incessantly but somehow never made it ahead financially. Poor dad’s approach to the subject of money was based on working hard to have enough money to pay the bills (in contrast to rich dad’s approach to make one’s money work for him).
Rich Dad
The author wrote that it was when he was nine years old that he started realizing that his rich dad made much more sense than his poor dad. It was from rich dad that the author learned not to say, “I can’t afford it”, but instead to ask, “how can I afford it?” He explains this principle by relating an incident when he and his best friend Mike went to work for Mike’s father. Rich dad paid them very low wages deliberately so that would stir anger and a sense of injustice in them and eventually for them to realize that in order to get ahead, one must work for himself and not for others. For example, in that part of the book when the author complains to rich dad that he can hardly afford to buy anything with the wages he is paid, rich dad tells him that he shouldn’t dwell on the fact that his wages are low, but instead ask “how can I make more money” because this stimulates the brain to take action. His rich dad says that when someone says, “I can’t afford it”, his brain stops working. It therefore kills initiative and promotes passivity.
The author adds that while his poor dad invested time and effort in education, he did not have any knowledge on investing. His rich dad, by contrast, was very skilled in the investment game because that’s all he did. The attitude of his rich dad about money was manifested in the saying “the lack of money is the root of all evil” (his poor dad, on the other hand, believed that the love of money is the root of all evil).
According to the author, rich dad also nurtured the idea that taxes punished producers and rewarded the non-producers. He was the type who encouraged money talk at the dinner table and was portrayed by the author as someone who learned to manage risk, instead of not taking risks.

The Son (Robert T. Kiyosaki)
The author begins his book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, by saying that he is fortunate in having had two fathers. He learned valuable lessons from both of them, but in Chapter One it becomes evident which father had the more sensible approach towards money. He compares and contrasts both fathers’ views about working hard, getting an education, saving and investing and realizing how habits of the rich and poor significantly differ. He attributes his financial acumen through the many conversations he carried out with his rich dad.
The author takes a common sense approach to the subject of money and emphasizes the need for accounting knowledge so that the reader clearly understands what assets and liabilities are. He makes simple diagrams that show the inflow and outflow of money and how the rich build up the asset column and the poor build up the liability column (expenses). It is obvious that the author places much importance on accounting knowledge – no matter how boring it is - because he says it is “the most important subject in your life.”
By using numerous examples and anecdotes, the author drives home his messages effectively, revealing his pro-capitalist stance.
The author also shows his understanding of the mechanisms employed by the government and the tax man and concludes that it is the middle class that actually pay for the poor. The rich are the ones who are hardly taxed because they have the knowledge to use tax legislation to their advantage.
Chapter Summaries
Chapter 1: Rich Dad, Poor Dad
The story of Robert Kiyosaki and Mike starts in 1956 Hawaii, when both boys were a nine years old. Their first get-rich scheme was a counterfeit nickel making company. They made plaster molds of the nickels and melted lead toothpaste tubes and filled the molds to produce the nickels. Their plan was foiled by Mike's father, who informed the boys of their illegal activity. After that day, the boys dedicated their free time to leaning about finance and economics from Mike’s father, the rich dad. The first lesson Mike’s dad made the boys experience was hatred of the “Rat Race”. He was able to achieve this by making the boys work in one of his grocery stores for three hours for ten cents an hour pay. Within a few weeks, Kiyosaki, tired of being exploited for labor, demanded that he receive a raise, but instead, Mike’s father cut his pay and told him to work for free. Eventually, both boys tired of being under appreciated (and unpaid) and they met individually with Mike's father. In their meetings with rich dad, he apologized for lack of pay and he offered them either the moral of the lesson or a pay raise. Both boys chose to learn the moral of the lesson, while rich dad offered them pay raises. He started at twenty-five cents, a dollar, two dollars, and even five dollars, which would have been considered a large amount of money for an hourly wage, but the boys still remained strong with their decision to learn the moral of the lesson. The lesson to get out of the “Rat Race” and instead of spending your whole life working to put a little money in your pocket and a bunch of money in someone else’s pocket, have people work hard to put money in your pocket. Out of all the lessons that were taught to the boys, this one was the most important. (Kiyosaki and Lechter 28-35)
Chapter 2: The Rich Don’t Work for Money
The author tells his readers to forget the notion that life teaches. He says “the only thing that life does is push you around.”
This chapter talks about people who are more comfortable in playing it safe because they were not taught early to take risks. The author develops the ideas that the poor and the middle class work for money, fear and greed cause ignorance and poverty, and the importance of using one’s emotions versus thinking with emotions. The author also stresses that opportunities in life come and go; the rich recognize them instantly and turn them into gold bullions. Others do not see these opportunities because they’re too busy seeking money and security. As the author says, well “that’s all they’re going to get.”
Chapter 3: Why Teach Financial Literacy
The story of Kiyosaki and Mike continues later in life, 1990, and both of the now adults have made incredible leaps and bounds with regards to their finances and their socioeconomic status. Mike was able to take the lesson from his father and apply them to his life. He took control of his father’s large business and increased every aspect of the empire and he is currently raising his son to take control of the company once he retires. As for Kiyosaki, he was able to retire at the age of 47 with his wife Kim. At a business meeting at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago, Charles Schwab, Samuel Insull, Howard Hopson, Ivar Kreuger, Leon Frazier, Richard Whitney, Arthur Cotton, Jesse Livermore and Albert Fall met to talk about different investments and money schemes. Twenty-five years later, a report stated that a large majority of those extremely wealthy people that met in Chicago either ended up in jail, dead or penniless. The major idea to take from the results of these unfortunate entrepreneurs is that you need financial literacy to be and stay safe. The idea that was represented with the big 1920’s entrepreneurs is still prevalent today with some of the professional athletes making poor financial decisions and ending up with next to nothing. This specific lesson is meant to teach people not to be wise with your money once you have it, but rather be smart with your money before you have it. In a way, don’t try to build a skyscraper or even a house without building a strong foundation first. According to Kiyosaki, there is one rule, and only rule that can help a person to build a strong foundation; know the difference between an asset and a liability, and make sure that you only control assets. (Kiyosaki and Lechter 56)
When it comes to beliefs about money buying freedom and the ability to enjoy retirement without fear of outliving one’s money, this chapter catches the essence of the author’s advocacy for financial independence. He says, “Intelligence solves problems and produces money. Money without financial intelligence is money soon gone.”
The author believes that financial literacy begins with a working knowledge of accounting. It is essential to know the difference between assets and liabilities. To make these two terms understandable to readers, the author makes a rudimentary diagram of these two concepts to motivate them to purchase assets in order to solidify the asset column, while keeping the liabilities (expenses) to a bare minimum. The author states that poor people remain poor because they do the opposite. They pile up on their liabilities and have zero assets so that their balance sheets and income statements look out of kilter. People have to understand that it’s not how much they make, but how much they keep according to the author, and this is an essential principle that this chapter focuses on.
Chapter 4: Mind Your Own Business
In this chapter, the author slowly introduces the concept of real estate investing and uses McDonald’s as an example. He points out that McDonald’s may not make the best hamburgers in the world, but owns the “most valuable intersections and streets in America.” The author remarks that individuals need to mind their own business if they wish to become financially self-sufficient. They shouldn’t mind their employer’s business, they should strive for ways to become their own boss and nurture their own businesses.
The author continues his discussion on building assets. To him, real assets are anything with value – stocks, bonds, mutual funds, income-producing real estate, notes, royalties from intellectual property, etc.
This chapter also reveals the author’s investment preferences: real estate and stocks. For real estate, he says he starts small, and trades his properties for bigger ones and then delays paying taxes on capital gains through one IRS mechanism.

Chapter 5: The History of Taxes and the Power of Corporations
The author states that the poor let the big machinery (corporations) manipulate them whereas the rich know how to use big machinery. This means that the rich possess the knowledge and savoir faire to use the power of the corporation to protect and enhance their assets. The advantage of a corporation versus that of the individual lies in how corporations pay taxes, according to the author. He makes this point clearly: individuals earn money, pay taxes on that money, and live with what’s left. The corporation, on the other hand, earns money, spends everything it can, and is taxed on anything that’s left. The author adds that individuals may not be aware of how much they’re being manipulated; they work from January to mid-May to enrich the government by paying taxes on their income. In the meantime, the rich are hardly taxed.
The author recommends developing one’s financial IQ as one way of leaving the humdrum of daily existence. This is accomplished by gaining knowledge of accounting, investing, understanding the markets, and the law. He says being ignorant gets you bullied whereas being informed translates into “you have a fighting chance.”

Chapter 6: The Rich Invent Money
The author develops the concept of self-doubt. He says that each person is born with talent but that talent is suppressed because of self-doubt and fear. He remarks that it’s not necessarily the educated smart people who get ahead but the bold and adventurous. People never get ahead financially even if they have plenty of money because they have opportunities that they fail to tap, he stresses. Most of them just sit around waiting for opportunity to happen. The author’s idea is that people create luck; they should not wait around for it. He says it’s the same with money. It has to be created.
In this chapter, the author discusses the importance of an education (although some critics say that he appears to downplay its importance). The author is clear by saying, “a trained mind is a rich mind.” In his analysis, there are two types of investors, each with a different mind set: those who go for the packaged investment, and those who customize investments to suit their objectives.
The author encourages people to hire people more intelligent than they because by capitalizing on the knowledge of others, an intelligent individual builds his own knowledge base and therefore has more power over those who don’t know.
Chapter 7: Work to Learn, Don’t Work for Money
This is the chapter where the author talks about the skills individuals need to develop for financial success.
The reader is given an example of a young woman who had a Master’s Degree in English Literature and who was offended when it was suggested that she learn to sell and do direct marketing. After all the hard work for her degree, she didn’t think she would have to stoop so low to learn how to be a salesperson, a profession she didn’t think very highly of. The author uses this example to emphasize that there are other skills people need to cultivate to help them on the road towards financial freedom.
The author mentions management skills. He says individuals need to know how to manage cash flow, systems, and people. To that he throws in selling and marketing skills. He puts equal emphasis on communication skills. He says there are many people who have the scientific bent and hence have a powerhouse of knowledge, but they fail miserably in communications. These are the people who are “one skill away from great wealth.”
The author calls attention to one outstanding trait of great wealthy families: they give money away – plenty of it – unlike the poor who feel that charity begins at home.

Chapter 8: Overcoming Obstacles
The opinion of the author is that five personality traits hamper human beings: fear, cynicism, laziness, bad habits, arrogance. He explains that while it’s normal to have fear, what matters is how one handles it. The author shares his sentiment about his particular fondness for Texas and Texans: “When they win, they win big and when they lose, it’s spectacular.”
The author maintains that it’s not merely a question of balance but also FOCUS. He recommends that the Chicken Littles of the world be ignored. They’re only concerned about the sky falling, spending the rest of their lives in pessimism. He says he constantly hears people saying they want to be rich, but when it’s suggested that money can be made from real estate, their initial reaction is “but I don’t want to fix toilets.” The author believes it’s ironic that they’re more concerned about trivia like fixing toilets rather than what lies ahead in real estate. As a final point, the author states that it is healthy to be greedy, so when faced with a decision, a person must always ask, “What’s in it for me?”

Chapter 9: Getting Started
This chapter serves as a section on tips to create and build personal wealth. His first tip is, find a reason greater than reality to motivate you. What he means by this is to wake up the financial genius in oneself by empowering the mind. He says that people must have a strong /purpose for living.
The next tip is to feed the mind. By feeding the mind, the author contends that people acquire power of choice.
The author also advises people to choose friends carefully. He says to avoid people who proclaim incessantly that the sky is falling and instead encourages readers to spend time with people who enjoy talking about money because they may have valuable lessons to share. The author also believes that people should study one field, and then go out and learn a new one, although it is important to choose what one studies.
Here is another tip that the author observes most people don’t practice: pay yourself first. Even if short of cash, people must pay themselves first. This goes in tandem with managing three things efficiently: cash flow, people and personal time.
Another tip the author gives is being generous. He thinks it makes a lot of sense to pay one’s broker well as he’s an ally, and “your eyes and ears to the market.”
The author suggests having heroes. They are indispensable in life because they not only inspire, they also make it seem so easy. They stimulate the human mind into thinking, “If they can do it, why can’t I?”
“Teach and you shall receive” is another tip that the author shares. His words are eloquent concerning this idea: “There are powers in this world that are much smarter than we are. You can get there on your own, but it’s easier with the help of the powers that be. All you need to be is generous with what you have, and the powers will be generous with you.”

Chapter 10: Still Want More? Here are Some To Do’s
This chapter is sort of a supplement to the previous chapter. It gives readers additional tips to help them reach for financial rewards. One tip is to stop doing what you’re doing – that is, if it’s no longer working or viable. The author encourages readers to look for new ideas, to pick the brains of individuals who have the experience and who have already done what one aspires to do. He advises on keeping the learning curve alive, taking courses, buying tapes, attending seminars.
In looking for real estate investment opportunities, the author recommends looking in the right places. One way of doing this is to jog around the neighborhood one is interested in. People can acquire real estate even if they don’t have sufficient funds for the down payment. In fact, with a bit of cleverness, the author says people can even make money with no capital.

Themes in Rich Dad, Poor Dad
One theme that’s apparent in this book is that for an individual to be wealthy, he must aim to own the system or means of production, rather than work for another individual. The author stresses that there is obviously something confining about being an employee; it shuts the mind to other possibilities and it stunts initiative.
Financial intelligence is THE most powerful asset. By studying the precepts of accounting and investing, the author believes that individuals will be able to see the difference between an asset and a liability; in fact it is the more concrete application of learning what’s right and what’s wrong. Generating a string of expenses is wrong, building assets is right.
Unlike individuals who earn and then pay taxes on what they earn, corporations earn, spend what they want to spend, and pay taxes on what’s left. Corporations, therefore, hold a certain degree of power. The rich know how to use this power, the poor don’t.
The author also believes that true luxuries are experienced when they are the outward manifestations of intelligent investing and asset building. He cites the example of his wife purchasing a Mercedes Benz because it was the car she liked and worked hard to be able to purchase it. The author cautions however about keeping up with the Joneses and getting into debt because of this human frailty.
Fear, laziness, cynicism and arrogance are to be blamed for most of human inaction.

How to Save Money?

2008-12-01T09:28:00.000-08:00

It's also a lesson for most of us to learn saving money, suppose you have 1,000,000USD, how do you use these money? i am not sure you can save these money! after all , it's too much!

Learning to save is something we should all learn, but it isn't as simple as one would think. There are several prerequisites before you even think about investing in the stock market, retirement plans, or anything else above and beyond what you use for paying bills. This article will explain the steps you should take to make sure you are secure enough to invest for other goals beyond basic living expenses as well as trying to maximize your cash flow. This will be very in-depth and should answer any questions you may have. As a former Financial Advisor, these are all the things I did for clients to help them get started. There will be some simple math, but I will try my best to keep everything as simple as possible and explain it in detail. A calculator to do simple addition and multiplication would be helpful.

Budget: First and foremost, you need to have a budget. I know this is something that doesn't seem relatively difficult, but many people skip this step entirely. A budget is the basis for anyone who wants to invest. It helps give you a scope of where your money is going and what you may have left to invest later.
Keep in mind that the matter at hand is your gross income -- what you make before you save taxes. Your gross income will be listed on your check before they show the deductions for taxes, medical, insurance, etc. Your net income is what you take home after these expenses. I want you to look at things in this way to develop an idea of where ALL of your money is going. I will provide some tips about this later, but let's start at the beginning.
Expenses Worksheet: When conceiving a budget you must first know your expenses and what you spend money on regularly for leisure. I have included a relatively simple worksheet that you can use to track your monthly expenses so that you will be able to determine average spending every month.
This Expense Worksheet is relatively self explanatory and is broken down into weekly increments. If you have never tracked your expenses before, you will want to start with this worksheet. Keep it with you; make sure to update it when you pay a bill, make a purchase, or spend money on a service. You need to do this step to provide yourself with a realistic expense list. I recommend that you add Taxes, all insurance premiums, and any other things that are deducted from your check in the Other section. Those are all expenses that you pay too, but unless you look at your paycheck, you really won't think of them as expenses. We are trying to maximize your total Net Income here, so we need to start at the top.
For expenses you pay annually, such as insurance premiums, I want you to break them down into a monthly number. Just take the entire amount you pay annually and divide it by 12. Enter that on the right with the totals. You don't need to break it down into weeks. We do this is because we really want to earmark that money for the premiums you have to pay and make sure you are planning for them. This money is not "extra" cash; it will be used for these expenses at some point in the year. For that reason, it should have an impact on how much you spend on a monthly basis. You may not actually have a particular expense every month, but you do need to plan ahead and save money for that purpose.
You may want to do this for longer than a month to get a better idea of averages.
Budget Worksheet: The next step is to actually create your budget. After compiling all you expense information, you are ready to get rolling on your income. Here we will determine your cash flow. Cash flow is the difference between what you make and what you spend. It may not be the same every month, but if you plan ahead and create a budget, you should be able to determine an average that shows you how much extra you have per month, or how much you are going in the hole every month.
Now that you have your expense numbers you can start entering information into this Budget Worksheet:
The budget worksheet combines everything from your other worksheet with your income. Notice that it says "Gross Income" at the top. This is what you make before taxes. You might wonder how we can determine your average income per month since there are 28, 30, or 31 days in any given month. As with anything else, we have to do a bit of math. Simple math, though, so don't worry. Here is a formula:
Gross Income per Month = (Weekly Gross Income * 52)/12+(Total bonuses/12)+(Other income/12)
As the formula states, we take what we make every week and multiply it by 52 (number of weeks in a year). Then we divide that number by 12 (number of months in a year) to come up with what we average per month. If you get bonuses in a year and their amount is known to you, you will also have to divide that by 12 to get an average. If you have any other income during the year, you also will want to total it up and divide it by 12 for that average. Then you add it all together to arrive at your average total monthly earnings. If you only have income from wages and nothing else, just disregard the rest of the formula.
This formula can be used for what you pay in taxes as well, but isn't typically necessary since you already logged them weekly in your expense worksheet. If you want a genuine total, multiply the weekly taxes by 52 and divide them by 12 to get a true monthly average.
Those previously mentioned annual expenses should be entered here in their monthly form as well. There are also some other expenses you should consider. Gifts are a great example. What do you spend during holidays or for birthdays? This is a really tough question, because many don't plan ahead for these types of expenses and spend a random amount. Do you spend $1000 a year for Christmas gifts? $2000? More? This should be considered a monthly expense even if it only happens a couple months out of the year. Do as you would with insurance premiums and divide that total by 12 to get an average for the month. No one likes to skimp on giving, so be sure to save ahead for gifts. You also can save by using coupons for your purchases. ChristmasCoupons.com is an excellent website to help you save at the holidays.
Phew...that's a lot of information about expenses and income. We're not quite done with this worksheet yet, however. Now on the worksheet you have all these expense totals and your Gross Income total. Just subtract all the expenses on the sheet at the bottom from the Gross Income at the top to come up with your monthly surplus/shortage. This is called your monthly cash flow as well.
Does it look accurate to you? Is it really far off? If it looks fishy, you will definitely have to go back through and make some adjustments. Sometimes you may overestimate certain expenses, or simply underestimate others.

Cash flow (positive). So what do we do with that little monthly number at the bottom of our budget? If it is a positive number, we have to verify that you are actually ahead every month. Are you building up cash in a savings account every month? If so, that is a definite start to show you have a positive monthly cash flow. I hope you aren't saving cash by putting expenses on credit cards though. Unless you have 0% interest and are going to have enough to pay that off before the rate jumps, you really aren't in the best position to save quite yet.
It's nice to have some cash sitting in savings, but think about it a bit more realistically. A savings account pays you maybe 2% interest if you are lucky, while a credit card charges you a significant amount more than that. It really isn't in your best interest to string out a credit card balance if you have cash on hand. Some of my past clients have had a few thousand dollars in savings, yet had a credit card balance of a few hundred dollars at 10% interest; they were just paying it off monthly instead of biting the bullet and paying the whole amount. If you are a fan of credit card companies and like to donate extra money to them, that is fine, but I for one don't recommend donating money to for-profit businesses if you can avoid it.
We have some options to help you increase that number if you are negative, or positive. First and foremost I want you to understand your taxes.

Do you get a HUGE tax refund every year? Is your refund in the thousands? Has the IRS ever given you interest on the tax money they have been lent by you all year? Of course they haven't. So why do you insist on letting them hold your money for free all year?
I understand this is kind of an arcane way to force yourself to save money but, aside from earning extra money, there is no better way to increase your monthly cash flow than to know what you will pay in taxes for the year. If you get a refund of $1200, you may be shortchanging yourself every month. That's an extra $100 a month you get NOW instead of next year. If your tax refund is larger than that, you have even more per check. Many people allow the government to hold this money for them, but are short every month and are forced to put purchases on credit cards.
The easiest way to figure this out is to look at your previous year's tax return. If you make relatively the same amount as you did the year before and have the same deductions for the most part for the upcoming year you should have the ability to add something to your monthly cash flow considering you had a large refund the year before. You should be able to estimate how much more you could have a month just by dividing your past refund by 12. By knowing this you can adjust the amount of exemptions you claim on your W9 at work.
**DISCLAIMER**DO NOT MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO YOUR W9 WITH OUT SPEAKING TO A TAX PROFESSIONAL**
There is really nothing more rewarding for me than to find a way to increase a client's monthly cash flow. The tax tip is really just a taste of some things you can do to help yourself, but every individual is different. If you got to this point and found you have a steady positive cash flow, are actually putting money into savings on a month to month basis, and have little credit card debt, then you are in a good position to start saving.
If you find yourself with a negative cash flow, you need to start cutting back and living within your means. Adding a bit per month from taxes will help, but your efforts to save might need to extend beyond that. Other options you have to consider are to cut back, make more money, or find yourself some debt counseling. I know how difficult it is to cut back. Self-control needs to be learned and practiced.

Cash Reserve: Yes...you need to have some money in your bank accounts before you can start pumping money into the stock market, real estate and mutual funds. Typically for a client, I would recommend that they have at least three months of expenses saved. You need that little nest egg for yourself just in case an unexpected expense or emergency comes up. What if the car breaks down? What if you need a new refrigerator? Where is that money going to come from? Credit? That's what most people think, and that is why many people are in debt all the time. I really don't want you to put yourself in a position where you must use credit cards to pay for things. Credit cards are great for emergencies, when you are out in the middle of nowhere and have no access to cash, but they are a bad habit if you are not able to control yourself with them. I want to take the temptation away as much as possible by having you build a cash reserve.
A cash reserve is like any other investment goal. In fact it is priority #1 for me. It precedes every other investment you will undertake, and building a cash reserve is easy. If you already have a positive cash flow, you probably already have a reserve, unless you just go out and buy something fun when you see you have a bit of money in your account. If you have the positive cash flow, you will want to maintain a three month reserve. Keep saving your excess money until you get there.
Tiered Cash Reserve: You were probably thinking that having three months of expenses sitting in a regular bank account is rather silly. I agree. That is why I advised clients to maintain a three-tiered reserve. Each tier is one month of expenses.
The first tier is simply your normal bank accounts -- checking and savings accounts. This is above what you put in there for monthly bills and what-not. You still have income, so you typically won't be spending this money every month. You will, however, prevent yourself from over-drafting by having this money in your primary bill paying accounts.
The second tier is more of a Money Market savings account. A money market account is available at most banks and is used much like regular checking accounts if they allow you to do so. The difference is that the interest paid is much higher than a regular checking account, so you will be able to earn something on this money while keeping it easily accessible. If your money market account allows for bill paying, debit cards, etc., you may want to just disregard the first tier and keep two months of expenses in this account.
The third tier is still pretty accessible in an emergency, but will have some restrictions placed on it. You are looking for a better rate of return on this money than you are for your other tiers. The only issue is that, to get this kind of return, your money may be locked up for a few months. CDs, Stock Market Certificates, etc. are the kinds of investment you want to consider here. These investments will pay higher interest than a Money Market account, but only if you leave them invested for the entire period (three months, six months, or even 12 months). If an emergency does arise, you can get your money back from these investments fairly easily, but may lose some interest that you made.
Now that you have learned to budget and have built a suitable cash reserve, you are ready to start with other goals -- retirement, college, vacations, or any other goal you may have. At this point you are really in a position to speak with a professional financial advisor to have them take care of your investments. They spend their days learning all there is to know about investing, whereas you have your own job, kids, and home projects to worry about. The best way to find an advisor is through someone else you trust. All advisors will give you a free consultation, so you can see if they are a right fit for you. If you decide to start investing on your own, please spend a significant amount of time learning about your options and determining what is important. It isn't all about the highest return mutual fund all the time; there are many other factors. Spend time learning them, as well as learning how taxes affect your investment.

What is Happening in China under the Worldwide Economic Crisis

2008-11-30T20:02:00.000-08:00

Financial tsunami has changed the daily lives of people in mainland China. At present, many people regain their financial books, self-economy, "Why are 100,000", and even repair bicycles on the streets of Zhengzhou uncle said, "I Tiantian Kan CCTV 'Wall Street turmoil'." 32-year-old Zhang Xu Zhengzhou members of the public, even though they engage in non-economic aspects of the work, but he has to buy fund shares, under these circumstances can not do something about it. Zhang Xu referred to the "situation" is the number of his friends bought the fund are paid. Today, Zhengzhou in Central China Book Building, with Zhang Xu, "did not understand the Chinese economy" and "Why do we have the money to thinning - inflation Truth" books, told reporters, "We hope that by reading to a more comprehensive understanding of this Financial crisis in order to calm the face of the current situation. " China's publishing industry here has said that China's domestic market last year, the Financial category of the 10 best-selling book and most of the stocks, while in 2008 the situation has changed completely. Is expected this year's best-selling book Financial is a financial crisis and the macro-economic aspects. Zhengzhou in Henan Province will, in the face of the financial tsunami sweeping through the world, more and more ordinary people began to focus on its impact. In local bookstores, economic books appeared in the wave of selling. Zhengzhou is located in the path of the people of the Book Building, Central Plains, as "sub-loan crisis," and "currency war" and "Everybody Loves economics," which closely follow the world economic situation and the development of the latest books, have been put in the books recommended by the位置. Bookstore staff say that in the past, these books before the special Menkeluoque, no one thought of as a result of financial turmoil will fire up. The work of Lu, who just turned two and a half of the name of staff, told reporters that this year the financial books sold particularly well, especially in the second quarter, this kind of book sales increase, it is estimated that not less than two-cheng. Zhengzhou worked in a real estate company bought Miss Zheng's "The Great Game - the rise of Wall Street financial empire". She said that now buy the book to "cramming" about the economic environment and fluctuations in the law, or a more rational view of the crisis in financial management is also more calm, not too passive. To buy books mentioned in the economy, another reason is that Miss Zheng economics of the contents of the book has become a user-friendly, "some type of economic good book, such as" Rich Dad Poor Dad "is very interesting The book is worth learning. "She said. In an interview with reporters, the same economists also hit the lecture. Since September this year, the average has each weekend at the invitation of the local business economists or financial and economic celebrities to do a speech, Tang, Ma, Lang all appearances, such as Zhengzhou. A consulting firm's managers said that economists say are more popular, especially the analysis of the place, and the incisive. However, there Zhengzhou readers, viewers said that the book or expert lectures on the content similar to the phenomenon, there are a lot of books or expert views and cited the case is not the same as similar. They complained that "a lot of books is to foreign Web sites (content), translated into the Chinese." It is clear that the current amount of information has been unable to meet those seemingly easy to pass the "ordinary." In the face of some simple financial issues, they have been able to speak and economists. Zhengzhou here held an economic forum, experts and the public will have "zero distance" dialogue.

Economic crisis offers a good chance to teach your kids money lessons

2008-11-30T19:56:00.000-08:00

Taylor Grimminger has watched the national economic crisis unfolding in front of her and has gleaned many lessons that she and her generation can take into adulthood.
"It's a matter of knowing the means within which you can live and knowing how much you spend and not applying for a loan you can't pay back," said the 18-year-old senior at Liberty High School in Frisco and a student teller at Texans Credit Union.
Parents, take a page from Taylor and use this economic mess to show your children how happenings in the world can have a major impact on your family's finances.
"This economic crisis is one that most people have not had to deal with and have not had any kind of experience with," said Jack Smith, vice president of branch sales at Texans Credit Union. "This is a great opportunity for them [parents] to instill the right values and beliefs in their children."
Cynthia Nevels, executive director of the Jr. Finance Literacy Academy Inc. in Irving, said she hopes young people "will learn a lesson that if they cannot afford a home, if they cannot afford that car, they won't buy it."
Taylor's gotten that message loud and clear.
"People are spending money that they don't have," she said. "They really don't need to be buying huge houses they really don't need."
Taylor works in the perfect setting to learn about finances. Texans Credit Union has a student-run branch at the Career & Technical Education Center in the Frisco Independent School District.
"I saw my first credit report," she said. "It's really important that young people see what it looks like and what affects your credit score these days."
She admits to being nervous about applying for her first credit card.
"I'm nervous about it because I'm an impulse buyer," Taylor said. "I'm going to use it for gas. You need to make sure you can pay that in full at the end of the month."
That's a lesson that more young people should learn, said Mr. Smith.
"Kids need to learn at a very young age that by paying bills on time, it will help them in the future because they will be able to get better loans," Mr. Smith said.
Taylor's parents and Texans officials talked to her about the importance of a 401(k), so she's started one, putting her on track to potentially become a millionaire when she retires if she continues to save consistently.
What approach you take with your kids about the financial crisis' impact on your family depends on their age. Don't bog your young kids down with the minutiae. They won't understand it, nor do they need to.
"Especially for young children, they need to understand that money is of finite quantity," said Kent Eastman, area president for Dallas-Fort Worth at Capital One Bank. "Connect the dots for children on some of the national issues that connect back to our family and how we make decisions."
Use the economy's troubles to teach kids the importance of savings. The root of the crisis lies with debt – those with poor finances who never should have gotten mortgages and now with people who are falling behind on credit card payments.
Open up a savings account for your child. Although interest rates are low, it can still show them how money grows over time if they keep saving.
"If they can learn to manage cash first, they will be much better credit managers," said Janet Bodnar, editor of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, who writes a column on kids and money.
If you've lost your job because your employer downsized, remember this: What children – especially young children – need most is reassurance.
"If you're losing your job, tell them, 'I'm not going to be working at the same place that I've been working at, but I will be looking for another job,' " Ms. Bodnar said. "They want to know that they will have a roof over their head, that there will be food on the table."
So painful as the economic turmoil may be, it has provided parents with a unique opportunity to teach their children valuable financial lessons.
Don't let it slip by.

Protecting Your Search Engine Rankings

2008-11-30T12:00:00.000-08:00

Your website's ranking on search engines is a vital element of your overall marketing campaign, and there are ways to improve your link popularity through legitimate methods. Unfortunately, the Internet is populated by bands of dishonest webmasters seeking to improve their link popularity by faking out search engines.
The good news is that search engines have figured this out, and are now on guard for "spam" pages and sites that have increased their rankings by artificial methods. When a search engine tracks down such a site, that site is demoted in ranking or completely removed from the search engine's index.
The bad news is that some high quality, completely above-board sites are being mistaken for these web page criminals. Your page may be in danger of being caught up in the "spam" net and tossed from a search engine's index, even though you have done nothing to deserve such harsh treatment. But there are things you can do - and things you should be sure NOT to do - which will prevent this kind of misperception.
Link popularity is mostly based on the quality of sites you are linked to. Google pioneered this criteria for assigning website ranking, and virtually all search engines on the Internet now use it. There are legitimate ways to go about increasing your link popularity, but at the same time, you must be scrupulously careful about which sites you choose to link to. Google frequently imposes penalties on sites that have linked to other sites solely for the purpose of artificially boosting their link popularity. They have actually labeled these links "bad neighborhoods."
You can raise a toast to the fact that you cannot be penalized when a bad neighborhood links to your site; penalty happens only when you are the one sending out the link to a bad neighborhood. But you must check, and double-check, all the links that are active on your links page to make sure you haven't linked to a bad neighborhood.
The first thing to check out is whether or not the pages you have linked to have been penalized. The most direct way to do this is to download the Google toolbar at http://toolbar.google.com/. You will then see that most pages are given a "Pagerank" which is represented by a sliding green scale on the Google toolbar.
Do not link to any site that shows no green at all on the scale. This is especially important when the scale is completely gray. It is more than likely that these pages have been penalized. If you are linked to these pages, you may catch their penalty, and like the flu, it may be difficult to recover from the infection.
There is no need to be afraid of linking to sites whose scale shows only a tiny sliver of green on their scale. These sites have not been penalized, and their links may grow in value and popularity. However, do make sure that you closely monitor these kind of links to ascertain that at some point they do not sustain a penalty once you have linked to them from your links page.
Another evil trick that illicit webmasters use to artificially boost their link popularity is the use of hidden text. Search engines usually use the words on web pages as a factor in determining their rankings, which means that if the text on your page contains your keywords, you have more of an opportuníty to íncrease your search engine ranking than a page that does not contain text inclusive of keywords.
Some webmasters have gotten around this formula by hiding their keywords in such a way so that they are invisible to any visitors to their site. For example, they have used the keywords but made them the same color as the background color of the page, such as a plethora of white keywords on a white background. You cannot see these words with the human eye - but the eye of a search engine spider can spot them easily! A spider is the program search engines use to index web pages, and when it sees these invisible words, it goes back and boosts that page's link ranking.
Webmasters may be brilliant and sometimes devious, but search engines have figured these tricks out. As soon as a search engine perceives the use of hidden text - splat! - the page is penalized.
The downside of this is that sometimes the spider is a bit overzealous and will penalize a page by mistake. For example, if the background color of your page is gray, and you have placed gray text inside a black box, the spider will only take note of the gray text and assume you are employing hidden text. To avoid any risk of false penalty, simply direct your webmaster not to assign the same color to text as the background color of the page - ever!
Another potential problem that can result in a penalty is called "keyword stuffing." It is important to have your keywords appear in the text on your page, but sometimes you can go a little overboard in your enthusiasm to please those spiders. A search engine uses what is called "Keyphrase Density" to determine if a site is trying to artificially boost their ranking. This is the ratio of keywords to the rest of the words on the page. Search engines assign a limit to the number of times you can use a keyword before it decides you have overdone it and penalizes your site.
This ratio is quite high, so it is difficult to surpass without sounding as if you are stuttering - unless your keyword is part of your company name. If this is the case, it is easy for keyword density to soar. So, if your keyword is "renters insurance," be sure you don't use this phrase in every sentence. Carefully edit the text on your site so that the copy flows naturally and the keyword is not repeated incessantly. A good rule of thumb is your keyword should never appear in more than half the sentences on the page.
The final potential risk factor is known as "cloaking." To those of you who are diligent Trekkies, this concept should be easy to understand. For the rest of you - cloaking is when the server directs a visitor to one page and a search engine spider to a different page. The page the spider sees is "cloaked" because it is invisible to regular traffic, and deliberately set-up to raise the site's search engine ranking. A cloaked page tries to feed the spider everything it needs to rocket that page's ranking to the top of the líst.
It is natural that search engines have responded to this act of deception with extreme enmity, imposing steep penalties on these sites. The problem on your end is that sometimes pages are cloaked for legitimate reasons, such as prevention against the theft of code, often referred to as "pagejacking." This kind of shielding is unnecessary these days due to the use of "off page" elements, such as link popularity, that cannot be stolen.
To be on the safe side, be sure that your webmaster is aware that absolutely no cloaking is acceptable. Make sure the webmaster understands that cloaking of any kind will put your website at great risk.
Just as you must be diligent in increasing your link popularity and your ranking, you must be equally diligent to avoid being unfairly penalized. So be sure to monitor your site closely and avoid any appearance of artificially boosting your rankings.
About The AuthorUsing one way links for your Web Promotíon gets results. WHY? Link popularity is one of the most important factors in search engine performance. Increasing the number of links to your Website will get your site lísted higher in search engine results, generating more Website Traffic, increasing your Google PR and improving your site's overall strength.

Are you confused, frustrated and fed up about your Internet business?

2008-11-30T11:51:00.000-08:00

Don't worry, you are NOT alone. There are many online business owners in the same situation as you. The major reason is that they simply don't know how to get visitors to their websites. As a result, it's impossible to get any business. You don't just need visitors, you need targeted visitors meaning people who will be interested in what you have to offer. If you've been told you can't make money online, usually it's from people who haven't made any money themselves. These people have tried but in vain and most of the times, it's because of lack of targeted traffic. But the truth is there are thousands of websites right now who are generating vast amounts of targeted traffic, getting truckloads of sales and raking in thousands of dollars every month.Most of the times, search engines will deliver targeted traffic and what you should do is give your website more visibility in the search engines for people to find you. Obviously you need to have decent search engine rankings for your keyword phrases because if your site is buried say on page 20 of Google, chances of getting traffic is extremely low. But getting in the top 10 and top 20 will deliver traffic and generate orders. And this is what this SEO course will guide you to.

you need to know it if you are involved in internet business

2008-11-30T11:48:00.000-08:00

The world has changed dramatically since the days when neighborhood shopping was the main option, and people relied on their local merchants for products and services. The world of commerce today seems to be divided between two competing scenarios: on the one hand, people are more mobile than ever before, and more willing to travel to buy what they want, even with wildly fluctuating energy costs; and on the other hand, people are busier than ever and use the Internet to seek out the companies, products, and services they want and need. What seems to be consistent is the underlying need to feel something, to experience the process. The higher the value, the greater the psychological component to the buying experience. The same is true for products and services that are considered non-essential. People Wonder Why They Can't Sell More StuffWe all have our favorite stores and websites, where we know we will be looked-after with more than the ubiquitous and perfunctory, "have a nice day," but sadly that sense of service is all but lost in a misguided rush to pseudo efficiency. Brick and mortar stores with their part-time, minimum wage time-fillers whose only talent seems to be a vacant blank stare accompanied by "that's not my department" is bad enough. But what of websites that don't accept phone calls, or any other kind of inquiry other than a form email that you can be assured will be answered in a week or two, along with a request for more information that generally corresponds to the information you've already provided - that's what passes for website service today. And people wonder why they can't sell more stuff. The Web Is An International VenueThe Web of course presents one additional wrinkle to the service issue, one that puts a premium on communicating your message effectively: the Web is an international venue. No matter what you do, or where you're located, you can be sure people from all parts of the world are visiting your website if you have something of value to say. This then puts a premium on your ability to articulate a coherent message, one that eliminates the need for visitors to phone Mumbai, Beijing, or Lickskillet, Ohio. English speaking companies have a hard enough time communicating effectively, but what of non-English speaking companies trying to break into the North American market? You find websites in many different languages, catering to local markets, but if you're looking for North American exposure, you best deliver your message in the language of the Web, and like it or not, that language is English.
Words Have MeaningFar be it from me to criticize CBS news anchor Katie Couric, who generally does a fine job, but when she refers to the Democrats winníng the House, Senate, and Presidency as "single party rule" it raises the hackles on the back of my neck. Words have meaning and presentation has impact. But I am not just talking about proper grammar, syntax, and usage, something many of us stumble over at times, but what of idiom, metaphor, and voice; elements that are just as important in effective marketing communication as proper usage.Years ago while visiting London, England I passed a store with the sign that read "Fags and Mags," a disconcerting message until I got acclimatized to the British slang. When it comes to marketing, you can get away with a lot, but even countries that speak the same language have different patois, slang, and cultural references. One of the great advantages of being from Canada with its proximity to the USA, its historical ties to the British Commonwealth, and its multicultural population is that we understand these differences and can translate them into effective North American marketing campaigns. Crafting Your Web Marketing MessageWhat do you sell? A seemingly simple question any business executive should be able to answer, but can they answer it accurately? Ask yourself: do you sell a product, a service, or a concept? Does a shoe store sell shoes, or comfort and status? Does an accountant sell auditing services, or legitimacy and security? Does a politician sell tax cuts, or a better future?When it comes to marketing you have to think concepts; if you build your advertising around products or services rather than concepts you won't ever be able to develop an effective campaign, let alone an effective website presentation.Take Target and Walmart for example: they both sell similar products for the most part, a problem many retailers and most distributors have but refuse to face. Target markets itself as the leader in low priced, designer-styled merchandise, a distinct marketing position compared to Walmart that markets itself as the low priced leader and the heck with design. Each company delivers a unique marketing concept, one targeting consumers interested in price alone, the other aimed at shoppers who want a little style with their bargains: two different concepts, two different brand positions, and two different marketing strategies.
We All Sell Concepts Not Products and ServicesOne way or another we all sell a concept no matter what the product or service. When a client approaches us with the question "why aren't we selling more stuff?" a quick review of their site usually provides the answer: their website is not articulating in any meaningful, memorable manner, the conceptual premium their product or service delivers.Before you invest in a new website or Web marketing campaign, decide what concept you are actually delivering. That concept is the basis of your marketing strategy and it informs what you say and how you say it. Selling Concepts Is All About The PresentationThe recent US election is a great example of how to sell a concept. Putting all political bias aside look at the difference between how Obama approached his speeches and how McCain approached his. Of course both men talked about their policies and how they would handle different domestic and international situations. McCain spoke to his constituency and delivered what they wanted to hear, but his words and presentation style fell far short of motivating the undecided or converting non-believers. Accusing a fellow Senator and Harvard Law alumni, with red baiting language like "redistributing the wealth" was obvious code language that failed the sniff test to all but his staunch backers.Compare McCain's efforts to motivate through distrust and fear to Obama's message of hope, with his "Yes We Can" catchphrase echoing the American 'can do' spirit and traditional approach to solving problems. Not only did Obama say the right words to motivate his audience, he delivered his message with the motivational rhythm and cadence of an inspirational preacher. Whether you're selling a political agenda or carbonated sugar water, you must learn to communicate your marketing concept in a way that people will understand, remember, and act upon.Concepts Are UniversalThe Web is an international venue. If you have something of value to say or sell, you will attract an international audience. Foreign companies that want to access the USA market must learn to speak "American" or hire a marketing communication company that does. American companies that want to grow beyond their local markets must learn to think concepts, the universal language of sales.

7 Steps to Greater Link Popularity and Higher Search Engine Rankings

2008-11-30T11:40:00.000-08:00

If you are earning your living by Google or any other advertising company, the most thing you want of course is traffic and higher search engine ranking, and how?
there is a way to make your dream come true, 7 days to greater link popularity and higher search engine rankings, be patient to read next.
Link Popularity is one of the most important factors affecting your Search Engine rankings. When your site is popular with other web-sites, the Search Engines love you, but if you are the new kid on the block, they ignore you - totally. It's great to be popular and improving your Link Popularity will also get you higher rankings on the search engines.Why is Link Popularity important for Higher Rankings?
Search Engines are just software programs that try to analyze the utility and validity of your content with regard to certain keywords. They also try to understand the importance or ranking of your site against all competing sites in their indices.
Just How do Search Engines Learn About the Utility and the Validity of Your Content?
Search Engines just love sites that users love to visit. They love it even more if users spend more time at the site before they browse away. Now how do they know which sites humans love? Obviously with the billions of web pages on the world wide web, the Search Engines cannot manually go to each site and check their content. They let other humans do that work for them. Then they watch as others link to your site. They watch your Link Popularity.
Link popularity simply means how popular are you on the World Wide Web. And your popularity is determined by the number of people linking to your website. The greater the number of external links pointing to your web-site, the greater your ranking. Simple, isn't it?
Here is how to find YOUR link popularity: Go to Google.com and type in "link: followed by your URL". This returns all the sites that link to you in the Google index. eg. link:http://www.yourdomain.com.
How Do You Get a Lot of People to Link to You?
Getting people to link to you is easy if you establish your presence. Show that you are a master of your domain. Even if you deal in manure, and there are people out there wanting to know more about it, you have an audience. And if you establish your presence well enough, the links will automatically follow.
Here are a few ways you can grow your inbound links.
1) Articles: Almost anybody can write articles. This is the easiest way to get started on your way to Search Engine manna. It's just a question of putting down your thoughts in a coherent manner. As long as the information you are providing is useful and valid, your articles will be sought after by publishers out there. There are also hundreds of article directories on the net.
To find article directories, Google 'Article Directories'. You get nearly 53 million hits. There are also some awesome free tools available for this.
For those with a morbid fear of writing, you can find 'Ghostwriters' as well as 'Virtual Assistants' on the Internet. Search on Google for those terms and you will find many a link to sites that provide you suitable services. You may also use sites like Elance.com and RentACoder.com for people who will write articles for you.
2) Blogs: Blogs are not as easy to do as Articles are. But they are a very useful tool, nevertheless. When you have a blog, you have an audience. It's like a fan base. They have certain expectations of you. They want you to churn out hit singles or albums. But they want you to give them more. Even though they started out as mere diaries or daily jottings of a few people, currently they are excellent link building, content management and search engine optimization tools.
In fact almost any industry can have a blog portal. As always run a search and you will find something in your industry. Or you can go to blogger.com or wordpress.com to start your own blog free of charge.
3) Free Products: The easiest way to do this is to write a tool and provide it for download. Or maybe even provide a service for free. The greatest example of building a business with free service that comes to mind is hotmail.com. Once your service becomes a must-have, it's only a matter of time before you can start making money from it. Also you can have people point to your site to give their customers access to your tool.
4) Trackbacks: This is the easiest way to get your links out there. What you do is go to other blogs (Authority Sites) in your industry and become a regular contributor. Or comment on the blogs. Along with your signature, most people provide a link to your web-site. And the more links you have pointing back to you, the more popular you get. Also, when you become a major contributor/commentor, people start valuing your opinion more.
5) Syndication: You can offer your articles to other sites for publishing for free or for payment. Your article links back to your site.
6) Reciprocal links: You provide a link to another peer site, in return for them linking back to you. This is a good way to get your target industry users to come to your site. Also you introduce your users to other sites that they may be interested in visiting. They will be thankful to you for pointing them in the right direction. And they come to trust you more.
7) Partner links: Your local Chamber of commerce, Suppliers, Resellers, Affiliates, Sites selling complementary products etc.
Study your competition. Google your product and study the linking strategy of top ranking sites. There are tools that help you do this. Webposition.com has a good tool but I prefer EliteSEOTool.com as it has some additional features that I love. These tools help you conduct an ongoing study of your competition and their rankings thereby helping you beat them consistently.
Of course, no amount of link popularity will help you if don't have the content to keep visitors at your site. So start with good content.
A note of caution! Make sure that you are being linked to by Authority sites with a Good PageRank. Also the linking sites should somehow be relevant to your industry. If not, it only serves to confuse the Search Engines and your rankings will suffer.
About The AuthorGet top rankings on any Search Engine! Use the 7 simple SEO steps outlined here to achieve greater Link Popularity and get your website ranked higher in no time at all. For tools and other Search Engine Optimization ideas to create greater profíts, visit http://www.nobleriver.com and clíck Articles.

The Smart Price of Google Adsense Help You Earn More Money!

2008-11-30T11:31:00.000-08:00

As long as you master the smart price of Google adsense, what can you get? of course, it's money, now, let's read on:

One poorly converting site can “smart price” an entire AdSense accountGoogle has said very little publicly about Smart Pricing secret sauce which results in some publishers earning more money for a click while others earn less (and yes, the advertiser will also pay less accordingly).Here is the basis of how smart pricing works:Google’s smart pricing feature automatically adjusts the cost of a keyword-targeted content click. So if our data shows that a click from a content page is less likely to turn into actionable business results - such as online sales, registrations, phone calls, or newsletter signups - we reduce the price you pay for that click. And this often used example explains how this works more precisely.As an example of smart pricing, consider two websites, each related to digital photography. The first page features digital camera reviews, while the second offers photography tips. Clicks from the page of photography tips might be charged less, because they are expected to convert into sales less frequently, resulting in lower value for advertisers. Google data determines that clicks from the digital camera reviews convert better, so clicks from this page are not discounted. And since very little is publicly disclosed to publishers about how smart pricing specifically works, there are many questions surrounding it. However, while AdSense was attempting to get a publisher back from YPN, one support team member disclosed more details than perhaps he or she should have.Here is what that team member disclosed, as well as other tidbits already known about smart pricing.Smart pricing affects an entire account. It is not on a per page or per site basis.One poorly converting site can result in smart pricing impacting an entire account, even sites completely unrelated to the poorly converting one. Smart pricing is evaluated each week. So removing ads from sites you suspect are converting poorly could result in seeing an adjustment to a higher smart pricing percent in as little as a week.Smart pricing is tracked with a 30 day cookie, so you could be rewarded for new conversions that saw the initial click from your site up to 29 days earlier. Image ads are also affected by smart pricing.With smart pricing, an advertiser could end up paying less than their minimum bid, which would theoretically include the minimum bid price available, meaning publishers earn less for even the minimum valued clicks.Conversions for smart pricing publisher accounts are tracked by those advertisers who have opted into AdWords Conversion Tracking.This raises the question about whether publishers should be removing AdSense from sites they suspect are converting poorly, in order to increase their smart pricing percentage. The loss of revenue could be more than made up with higher smart pricing across the rest of the account. But publishers do not have access to any of the data that would be used to determine which sites (if any) are converting better than others.It would also be hard to tell this from AdSense stats - even using channels to differentiate sites because one site with a low CPM could actually be converting the highest, but is simply in a lower earning niche. But a publisher could mistaken a low CPM for also being poorly converting and remove those ads… which could result in even smart pricing reducing overall per click earnings even more.Other things can also affect day to day earnings that have absolutely nothing to do with smart pricing. This means it is extremely hard to track without information AdSense is unwilling to disclose about each account.This kind of unknown situation makes it very tempting for publishers to want a second AdSense account, especially for publishers that have quality sites as well as “less than quality” sites. While second accounts are hard to get, I bet there are publishers who will be working on getting a new company name for this purpose.How do you plan on using this information? Removing AdSense - or swapping it for YPN instead - and wait a week or two and see if there seems to be an increase in CPM? Wait and see what others do?

警察与赞美诗原文英文版"The Cop and the Anthem" by O Henry

2008-11-30T01:19:00.000-08:00

On his bench in Madison Square Soapy moved uneasily. When wild geese honk high of nights, and when women without sealskin coats grow kind to their husbands, and when Soapy moves uneasily on his bench in the park, you may know that winter is near at hand.
A dead leaf fell in Soapy's lap. That was Jack Frost's card. Jack is kind to the regular denizens of Madison Square, and gives fair warning of his annual call. At the corners of four streets he hands his pasteboard to the North Wind, footman of the mansion of All Outdoors, so that the inhabitants thereof may make ready.
Soapy's mind became cognisant of the fact that the time had come for him to resolve himself into a singular Committee of Ways and Means to provide against the coming rigour. And therefore he moved uneasily on his bench.
The hibernatorial ambitions of Soapy were not of the highest. In them there were no considerations of Mediterranean cruises, of soporific Southern skies drifting in the Vesuvian Bay. Three months on the Island was what his soul craved. Three months of assured board and bed and congenial company, safe from Boreas and bluecoats, seemed to Soapy the essence of things desirable.
For years the hospitable Blackwell's had been his winter quarters. Just as his more fortunate fellow New Yorkers had bought their tickets to Palm Beach and the Riviera each winter, so Soapy had made his humble arrangements for his annual hegira to the Island. And now the time was come. On the previous night three Sabbath newspapers, distributed beneath his coat, about his ankles and over his lap, had failed to repulse the cold as he slept on his bench near the spurting fountain in the ancient square. So the Island loomed big and timely in Soapy's mind. He scorned the provisions made in the name of charity for the city's dependents. In Soapy's opinion the Law was more benign than Philanthropy. There was an endless round of institutions, municipal and eleemosynary, on which he might set out and receive lodging and food accordant with the simple life. But to one of Soapy's proud spirit the gifts of charity are encumbered. If not in coin you must pay in humiliation of spirit for every benefit received at the hands of philanthropy. As Caesar had his Brutus, every bed of charity must have its toll of a bath, every loaf of bread its compensation of a private and personal inquisition. Wherefore it is better to be a guest of the law, which though conducted by rules, does not meddle unduly with a gentleman's private affairs.
Soapy, having decided to go to the Island, at once set about accomplishing his desire. There were many easy ways of doing this. The pleasantest was to dine luxuriously at some expensive restaurant; and then, after declaring insolvency, be handed over quietly and without uproar to a policeman. An accommodating magistrate would do the rest.
Soapy left his bench and strolled out of the square and across the level sea of asphalt, where Broadway and Fifth Avenue flow together. Up Broadway he turned, and halted at a glittering cafe, where are gathered together nightly the choicest products of the grape, the silkworm and the protoplasm.
Soapy had confidence in himself from the lowest button of his vest upward. He was shaven, and his coat was decent and his neat black, ready-tied four-in-hand had been presented to him by a lady missionary on Thanksgiving Day. If he could reach a table in the restaurant unsuspected success would be his. The portion of him that would show above the table would raise no doubt in the waiter's mind. A roasted mallard duck, thought Soapy, would be about the thing--with a bottle of Chablis, and then Camembert, a demi-tasse and a cigar. One dollar for the cigar would be enough. The total would not be so high as to call forth any supreme manifestation of revenge from the cafe management; and yet the meat would leave him filled and happy for the journey to his winter refuge.
But as Soapy set foot inside the restaurant door the head waiter's eye fell upon his frayed trousers and decadent shoes. Strong and ready hands turned him about and conveyed him in silence and haste to the sidewalk and averted the ignoble fate of the menaced mallard.
Soapy turned off Broadway. It seemed that his route to the coveted island was not to be an epicurean one. Some other way of entering limbo must be thought of.
At a corner of Sixth Avenue electric lights and cunningly displayed wares behind plate-glass made a shop window conspicuous. Soapy took a cobblestone and dashed it through the glass. People came running around the corner, a policeman in the lead. Soapy stood still, with his hands in his pockets, and smiled at the sight of brass buttons.
"Where's the man that done that?" inquired the officer excitedly.
"Don't you figure out that I might have had something to do with it?" said Soapy, not without sarcasm, but friendly, as one greets good fortune.
The policeman's mind refused to accept Soapy even as a clue. Men who smash windows do not remain to parley with the law's minions. They take to their heels. The policeman saw a man half way down the block running to catch a car. With drawn club he joined in the pursuit. Soapy, with disgust in his heart, loafed along, twice unsuccessful.
On the opposite side of the street was a restaurant of no great pretensions. It catered to large appetites and modest purses. Its crockery and atmosphere were thick; its soup and napery thin. Into this place Soapy took his accusive shoes and telltale trousers without challenge. At a table he sat and consumed beefsteak, flapjacks, doughnuts and pie. And then to the waiter be betrayed the fact that the minutest coin and himself were strangers.
"Now, get busy and call a cop," said Soapy. "And don't keep a gentleman waiting."
"No cop for youse," said the waiter, with a voice like butter cakes and an eye like the cherry in a Manhattan cocktail. "Hey, Con!"
Neatly upon his left ear on the callous pavement two waiters pitched Soapy. He arose, joint by joint, as a carpenter's rule opens, and beat the dust from his clothes. Arrest seemed but a rosy dream. The Island seemed very far away. A policeman who stood before a drug store two doors away laughed and walked down the street.
Five blocks Soapy travelled before his courage permitted him to woo capture again. This time the opportunity presented what he fatuously termed to himself a "cinch." A young woman of a modest and pleasing guise was standing before a show window gazing with sprightly interest at its display of shaving mugs and inkstands, and two yards from the window a large policeman of severe demeanour leaned against a water plug.
It was Soapy's design to assume the role of the despicable and execrated "masher." The refined and elegant appearance of his victim and the contiguity of the conscientious cop encouraged him to believe that he would soon feel the pleasant official clutch upon his arm that would insure his winter quarters on the right little, tight little isle.
Soapy straightened the lady missionary's readymade tie, dragged his shrinking cuffs into the open, set his hat at a killing cant and sidled toward the young woman. He made eyes at her, was taken with sudden coughs and "hems," smiled, smirked and went brazenly through the impudent and contemptible litany of the "masher." With half an eye Soapy saw that the policeman was watching him fixedly. The young woman moved away a few steps, and again bestowed her absorbed attention upon the shaving mugs. Soapy followed, boldly stepping to her side, raised his hat and said:
"Ah there, Bedelia! Don't you want to come and play in my yard?"
The policeman was still looking. The persecuted young woman had but to beckon a finger and Soapy would be practically en route for his insular haven. Already he imagined he could feel the cozy warmth of the station-house. The young woman faced him and, stretching out a hand, caught Soapy's coat sleeve.
Sure, Mike," she said joyfully, "if you'll blow me to a pail of suds. I'd have spoke to you sooner, but the cop was watching."
With the young woman playing the clinging ivy to his oak Soapy walked past the policeman overcome with gloom. He seemed doomed to liberty.
At the next corner he shook off his companion and ran. He halted in the district where by night are found the lightest streets, hearts, vows and librettos.
Women in furs and men in greatcoats moved gaily in the wintry air. A sudden fear seized Soapy that some dreadful enchantment had rendered him immune to arrest. The thought brought a little of panic upon it, and when he came upon another policeman lounging grandly in front of a transplendent theatre he caught at the immediate straw of "disorderly conduct."
On the sidewalk Soapy began to yell drunken gibberish at the top of his harsh voice. He danced, howled, raved and otherwise disturbed the welkin.
The policeman twirled his club, turned his back to Soapy and remarked to a citizen.
"'Tis one of them Yale lads celebratin' the goose egg they give to the Hartford College. Noisy; but no harm. We've instructions to lave them be."
Disconsolate, Soapy ceased his unavailing racket. Would never a policeman lay hands on him? In his fancy the Island seemed an unattainable Arcadia. He buttoned his thin coat against the chilling wind.
In a cigar store he saw a well-dressed man lighting a cigar at a swinging light. His silk umbrella he had set by the door on entering. Soapy stepped inside, secured the umbrella and sauntered off with it slowly. The man at the cigar light followed hastily.
"My umbrella," he said, sternly.
"Oh, is it?" sneered Soapy, adding insult to petit larceny. "Well, why don't you call a policeman? I took it. Your umbrella! Why don't you call a cop? There stands one on the corner."
The umbrella owner slowed his steps. Soapy did likewise, with a presentiment that luck would again run against him. The policeman looked at the two curiously.
"Of course," said the umbrella man--"that is--well, you know how these mistakes occur--I--if it's your umbrella I hope you'll excuse me--I picked it up this morning in a restaurant--If you recognise it as yours, why--I hope you'll--"
"Of course it's mine," said Soapy, viciously.
The ex-umbrella man retreated. The policeman hurried to assist a tall blonde in an opera cloak across the street in front of a street car that was approaching two blocks away.
Soapy walked eastward through a street damaged by improvements. He hurled the umbrella wrathfully into an excavation. He muttered against the men who wear helmets and carry clubs. Because he wanted to fall into their clutches, they seemed to regard him as a king who could do no wrong.
At length Soapy reached one of the avenues to the east where the glitter and turmoil was but faint. He set his face down this toward Madison Square, for the homing instinct survives even when the home is a park bench.
But on an unusually quiet corner Soapy came to a standstill. Here was an old church, quaint and rambling and gabled. Through one violet-stained window a soft light glowed, where, no doubt, the organist loitered over the keys, making sure of his mastery of the coming Sabbath anthem. For there drifted out to Soapy's ears sweet music that caught and held him transfixed against the convolutions of the iron fence.
The moon was above, lustrous and serene; vehicles and pedestrians were few; sparrows twittered sleepily in the eaves--for a little while the scene might have been a country churchyard. And the anthem that the organist played cemented Soapy to the iron fence, for he had known it well in the days when his life contained such things as mothers and roses and ambitions and friends and immaculate thoughts and collars.
The conjunction of Soapy's receptive state of mind and the influences about the old church wrought a sudden and wonderful change in his soul. He viewed with swift horror the pit into which he had tumbled, the degraded days, unworthy desires, dead hopes, wrecked faculties and base motives that made up his existence.
And also in a moment his heart responded thrillingly to this novel mood. An instantaneous and strong impulse moved him to battle with his desperate fate. He would pull himself out of the mire; he would make a man of himself again; he would conquer the evil that had taken possession of him. There was time; he was comparatively young yet; he would resurrect his old eager ambitions and pursue them without faltering. Those solemn but sweet organ notes had set up a revolution in him. To-morrow he would go into the roaring downtown district and find work. A fur importer had once offered him a place as driver. He would find him to-morrow and ask for the position. He would be somebody in the world. He would--
Soapy felt a hand laid on his arm. He looked quickly around into the broad face of a policeman.
"What are you doin' here?" asked the officer.
"Nothin'," said Soapy.
"Then come along," said the policeman.
"Three months on the Island," said the Magistrate in the Police Court the next morning.

Turn Right or Left?

2008-11-29T23:55:00.000-08:00

Most of us shall face the choice of "Turn right or left", but before your made decision, you don't know which one is correct, inevitably you will think it over and over even can't go asleep till early in the morning but turn your body on bed, my friends, don't consider those useless things, just go as you like, do your favourite way and to be yourself, you are the only one no body can compare, just look around your friends, many of them have become millionaires by their own way, may be you want immitate them, you may get successed or you may completely fail, by my own experience and others, 80% of them shall fail, don't you understand? you can be rich only by your way. Believe me!
when I was poor, i often think, in fact,it's wasting my time. i am a university graduate, i am also clever, but why i am still poor? i made a conclusion to my past 23 years, i found that i was always admire others and don't have my own idea.
finally i step my own way, after one year's striving, i earned my first 1000000 USD, now i am still go my own way. i like myself , i am the best! and you?

The 3 Greatest Prosperity Books Of All Time

2008-11-29T10:55:00.000-08:00

I'm fascinated by prosperity.
This past year I read numerous books on the topic. Here are my three favorites:
Seed Money In Action by Jon Speller has stood the test of time. This forty-year-old little booklet has gone through 53 editions, sold 1,000,000 copies, and caused 40,000 people to write the authors and praise it.
The basic message is that as you give, you will receive ten-fold in return. This ancient secret helped create millionaires and billionaires throughout time, and still works today.
There's a catch, of course. You have a give with a mind-set of non-judgmental expectation. When you do, you're in the flow. Most people who are broke are practicing the scarcity principle, not the seed money principle.
Most people who are having money problems would never even think of giving money away, let alone think of the proper way to think AS they give money away. Yet that's the secret to prosperity in this famous booklet.
Then there's The Millionaire's Mind by two authors in a country I never heard of before last year. Two Slovenian authors wrote a book that sold out within 15 days in their country.
When they came to me, I was skeptical. When I read the book, I was amazed. Here's a complete course on how to think like a wealthy person. Long, detailed, practical, and eye-opening, it continues to blow me away.
Do you want to know what happened in the first few hours after I announced the release of that book?
* A German businessman contacted us wanting to start selling this e-book in Germany and building his own website just to promote it to his audience.
* An Indian businessman contacted us wanting to find ways of marketing this e-book in India, and also said: "I got so excited that I decided to mail you right away since I feel this book can help millions here in INDIA."
* A Scandinavian author agent contacted us wanting to translate and publish the book in print and electronic formats in Norway.
* 15 people contacted us immediately wanting to sell this e-book through their websites and e-zines.
* HUNDREDS of people ordered the book within just five hours of getting the email.
* Dozens of people wrote from overseas, begging to find a way to pay for the book and get it right NOW.
* Still others wrote to me, asking if the book would be released in hardcover (not this year).
And all this in just a few hours after I pre-released the e-book.
Is this miraculous or what?
Finally there's the book I co-authored with Stuart Lichtman, called How to Get Lots of Money For Anything Fast.
Stuart is a genius. I have never met anyone like him. He has spent at least four decades studying the unconscious mind. The result is that he can pin-point where our unconscious trips us up --- and show us how to correct it.
This is incredible. Where before you would set a goal and wonder why you stopped going for it, now you can discover why you stopped yourself --- and remove the block. This book really describes how to get clear, which is a key step in my Spiritual Marketing book.
Well, let me throw in one more book on prosperity.
When Tom Pauley wrote his masterpiece, I'm Rich Beyond My Wildest Dreams, I Am I Am I Am, he didn't know he would begin a new business.
Since writing that book he has gone on to teach e-classes based on his simple method, give teleseminars, land a publishing contract for the book, and now sell it as an e-book, too. His book is helping people create miracles. His book helped me manifest the home of my dreams.
If you're looking to create prosperity, I suggest you get all of the above titles. They are all e-books so you can have them instantly. They're better reading than the daily newspaper and will lead to far more profit.
Read them and get rich.
Resources:
Seed Money In Action is here:
http://www.mrfire.com/seedmoney.html
The Millionaire Mind is here:
http://hop.clickbank.net/hop.cgi?outrageous/vitale
I'm Rich Beyond My Wildest Dreams is here:
http://hop.clickbank.net/hop.cgi?outrageous/tpauley
How to Get Lots of Money For Anything Fast is here:
http://hop.clickbank.net/hop.cgi?outrageous/fastmoney

Where Will You Give Today?

2008-11-29T10:54:00.000-08:00

Now it's your turn.
Where will you give today?
Ask yourself: Where did I receive the most joy?
Write down your answers.
—————————————————————————————————Now, if you want further clarity, or more questions to assist you in knowing where to give money, try these on for size:
Where were you reminded of your divinity?
—————————————————————————————————
Where were you encouraged to go for your dreams?
—————————————————————————————————
Who made you feel glad to be alive?
—————————————————————————————————
Whatever your answers, that's where to give your money.
You can give some money to all the people or places you listed above, or you can pick one and give them something now.
And keep these basic principles in mind:
Give freely, without expectations.
Give anonymously, if at all possible.
Give joyously, with a smile.
You are making a difference in the world when you give.
You are making a difference in your own life when you give.
You are making a difference right now when you give.
Give!

How To Tell If You Will Be Rich

2008-11-29T10:53:00.000-08:00

Do you want to know if you will ever be wealthy?
There's a simple way to find out.
Just answer this question:
Do you give freely, regularly, generously, with no expectation of return and with a joyous heart?
If your answer is yes, you are probably already wealthy.
If you have a no on any part of the question, then take a look at that, release it, and begin to give freely, regularly, generously, with no expectation of return and with a joyous heart.
The path is clear.
Giving is the way.

The Couple Who Created A Debt-Free Spiritual Empire

2008-11-29T10:49:00.000-08:00

I want to end this book of mine with another story or two, and then a call to action.
The success of Unity Church is another case in point.
Founded in 1889 in Kansas City, Missouri, by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, Unity School of Christianity is the world headquarters of the Unity movement. After Mrs. Fillmore's remarkable healing using prayer and affirmations, many friends became interested in how she accomplished her healing miracle. From those small prayer circles in living rooms, Unity grew.
Charles and Myrtle Fillmore managed to raise all the money they needed to build and expand their new business. Today Unity Church is a community of people interested in the practical and prosperous messages of the divine. Today their reach expands the globe. They've done it with nothing, and remain debt-free.
It wasn't until 1942 that the real secret of the Fillmore's financial support was revealed. According to Charles Braden's book, Spirits In Rebellion, the Fillmores had created a now-famous "Dedication and Covenant" on December 7, 1892, that reads as follows:
We, Charles Fillmore and Myrtle Fillmore, husband and wife, hereby dedicate our selves, our time, our money, all we have and all we expect to have, to the Spirit of Truth, and through it, to the Society of Silent Unity.
It being understood and agreed that the said Spirit of Truth shall render unto us an equivalent for this dedication, in peace of mind, health of body, wisdom, understanding, love, life and an abundant supply of all things necessary to meet every want without our making any of these things the object of our existence.
In the presence of the Conscious Mind of Christ Jesus, this 7th day of December, 1892 A.D.
As Charles Braden goes on to explain in his book, "Unity has never put a price upon its services other than a nominal one, because of legal necessity, on its publications...Unity has given freely, and yet there seems always to be money available to meet any obvious need."
What greater proof do you need that trusting in the spiritual laws will provide all you will ever need?
And the greatest of these laws is giving.

Why Giving Is Really Hidden Selling

2008-11-29T10:44:00.000-08:00

I was listening to Joe Vitale's best-selling Nightingale-Conant tape set, The Power of Outrageous Marketing.
Joe's hypnotic voice took me on a road trip.
"Who was the REAL beneficiary behind Bill Phillip's Body For Life Challenge?" he asked on the tapes.
It rang in my head and bounced off the walls of my brain like a rubber ball. I was in deep thought.
There is probably hardly a soul on this planet who has not seen those touching "Before" and "After" pictures and how the Body For Life Challenge has radically improved their lives. People were touched. People were motivated. Who did not want to undertake their own Body For Life Campaign and try to get trim?
But aside from implementing your 20-minute aerobic solution and grazing on 6 wholesome meals with nothing but quality fat-free, low-calorie food, what else do you need to accelerate your results?
Is it no surprise that EAS Supplements just POP right into your head immediately?
Bill Phillips was the CEO of EAS at that time. Now he's probably enjoying life on some tropical island somewhere, savoring his Myoplex Deluxe.
How much do you think EAS made from the Body For Life Challenge, and all its other sources of ancillary revenue like its Muscle Media magazine..which promotes more EAS supplements and success stories of Body For Life?
How would you feel if every success story credited their stunning success to proper supplementation of EAS products and they would never have done it without the help of EAS?
Would you want to run out to your friendly neighborhood GNC to buy a truckload of that stuff?
"Who was the REAL beneficiary behind Bill Phillip's Body For Life Challenge?"
You guess.
Yet on the surface, Bill Phillips gave hope to overweight people and changed the life of hundreds of thousands, and reaffirmed people, that they could do it, too!! And of course, the unseen bracket after that statement would imply (if they used EAS Supplements).
It stirred within me a stunning revelation of the REAL key to unlocking the secret of wealth and abundance.
Giving is really hidden selling!!
The truth about selling is, if you're gonna sell something, you'll encounter resistance. Doesn't matter if you're a Zig Ziglar or not. Even Zig Ziglar could not achieve a 100% sales closure rate.
But if you want to GIVE something, guess how much resistance you'll encounter?
Zero. Zilch. Nada.
Not only will you NOT meet any resistance, but chances are people will RUSH to GRAB your gift with open arms. They cannot help but love you and think good things of you when you give them something.
When I started out writing copy I offered to write for FREE. I put in 10,000% of myself in these "free" services.
Were people impressed? You bet. Did they like me? How could they not? I delivered everything for free.
How would you think my "free" clients would feel about me when they start gaining a lifetime of profits from a sales letter I wrote for them --- for free?
If all I asked for was just a testimonial for my services rendered, what kind of testimonial would they write for me?
Would they have any problems writing me a raving testimonial?
Would they be willing to refer MORE clients to me?
Did I gain credibility from all the testimonials I acquired? Did my giving of myself work?
I think it did. I literally have people banging on my door asking me to write copy for them.
Recap: On the surface, it's seem like I gave myself away as a copywriter. Let's reframe that: I SOLD myself as a copywriter. Claude Hopkins said, "The best way to sell anything is to give away a free sample!"
I was selling, through giving!!! Can you think of a MORE POWERFUL method to sell?
I think not.
One of the most powerful engines behind giving is the Law of Reciprocity. It's human nature to want to give back when you receive something for free.
The Hare Krishnas knew that, and had a field day in soliciting funds by walking up to people and putting flowers in their lapel pockets.
Think about it. You'd feel literally OBLIGATED to give back if you were caught in the same situation.
That being said, however, the REAL key to giving is NOT to expect anything in return. You cannot GIVE if you're expecting to get. A gift will cost you something. To qualify as a gift, it MUST cost you something.
The Biblical King David puts this very aptly when he had an issue with burnt offerings and said:
"I will not offer unto the Lord something that costs me nothing!"
It seems paradoxical, but if you give without any expectation, you'll receive MORE because you never did expect anything in return.
Meditate on that.
Lastly, it's not my intention to preach, but something metaphysical happens when you tithe. A tithe is simply offering 10% of your gross income back to society.
In organized religion, it is regarded as giving back 10% to God.
When you do that, you'll not only experience spiritual fulfillment, but it also opens up more gateways for you to receive more abundance into your life. You can see it as good karma.
As an interesting fact, the area of tithing is the only part in the Christian Bible which allows Christians to actually CHALLENGE God by tithing, in Malachi 3:10:
"Bring all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this, says the Lord of hosts, If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it."
You may or may not subscribe to this, but as my favorite author C.S Lewis puts it so eloquently:
"It's a win/win situation. Either way, you win!"
Selah.
　
Jo Han Mok is my co-author on the book, "E-Code." He is the Director of my Hypnotic Marketing Institute at http://www.hypnoticmarketinginstitute.com/ , President of Super Fast Profit Enterprise, and has been featured on America's #1 Personal Development Show alongside Tony Robbins, Mark Victor Hansen and other top achievers, as the Internet's foremost expert on Joint Venture Marketing. Visit his portal site and find out how Jo Han can help explode your sales and triple your time off in under 7 days. See his main website at http://www.superfastprofit.com/

The Principle of Giving and The Hypnotic Interchange Phenomenon

2008-11-29T10:41:00.000-08:00

Many years ago I discovered the Principle of Giving almost by accident.
Initially, around 1994, I noticed that several business clients sent me markedly more referrals after I sent them a huge box of Godiva Chocolates as a thank-you for their business. I noticed that the clients who received chocolates referred around 40% more clients to me than the clients who did not receive my tasty gifts. Actually, in earlier years prior to my chocolateering endeavors most of my clients gave me "no referrals" whatsoever--and I might add, in those days quite regularly.
One day upon receiving a swarm of referrals I decided to deepen my commitment to giving. Initially, honestly, it was for self-serving reasons. I was simply blown away by what appeared to be a strong causal relationship between giving and receiving. At that time all I knew was that I had to learn more because I recognized a new, almost mysteriously powerful, aspect of giving at work behind the scenes here.
For the first time I understood clearly that somehow in the vast scheme of life we are rewarded in direct proportion to the value we create for others. I had heard once that the secret to abundant wealth was in creating massive value for others. But, based on my newfound experiences, I was now discovering with renewed white heat fervor that the Principle of Giving was the "gold-rush flume-ride" to expedite that flow of wealth into my life.
My self-serving commitment to discover more about giving soon led to a way of life that I later realized would continue to fuel me much more spiritually than it ever would economically. Little did I realize that my seemingly rare flowering rose-like discovery would soon open up into an entire inner garden paradise for me.
I conducted several very powerful experiments on the subject of how giving leads to receiving. I made a deeper, less self-interested, but more self-enlightened commitment. It was out of my simple curiosity to see how I could change others' lives through profound value-sharing as a regular business and life practice.
I began giving more than merely chocolate candies -- although Godiva certainly soothes the deepest recesses of my own soul. I gave valuable advice. There were bonus hours spent with clients, e-books, and article clippings sent to friends about their favorite hobbies. I gave as much as I could to those with whom I had a regular influence.
If someone crossed my pathway, I figured it was for a higher- causal purpose and I just shared the most appropriate level of value I could with that person. I did it everyday, one person at a time. I did it with my lists of exclusive business mastermind participants. I did it with my e-list recipients.
For me, it felt like magic. It flowed effortlessly. It transformed my soul. It replaced expensive marketing in my businesses. Best of all, my interior castle would soar into the highest heaven with each person whose life I had the privilege of touching.
Soon my hidden objective was to cause everyone I met to think of me as a value creator. My goal was to become a selfless abundant resource. You see, I had a hunch that if focused more on opening the doorway of my heart to the needs of other people by giving, that this would cause the doorway of my recipients' hearts to open back up to me.
So acting on the Principle of Giving first induces openness in others. This is a powerful precursor for relationship-building --- business, personal and otherwise.
I then discovered that as a value creator I must give sincerely, selflessly, abundantly, effortlessly, with absolutely no expectation of a direct immediate reward. I also realized that I must be balanced in giving in order to respect the true value of the gifts I gave. Gifts are not only reflections of us, but actual experiential portions of ourselves embodied in external expressions.
The same goes for you, too. Every gift that you give which has exceptional meaning and value for your recipient is actually a portion of yourself.
The gift is a part of you that reaches out, makes a connection point and creates a powerful relationship-building bond to your recipient.
The act of bestowing value on others exerts a positive supernatural influence upon any recipient who understands and values your gift.
Shortly after committing to the Principle of Giving as a philosophy of life, I began to notice the occurrence of quite a remarkable spin-off phenomenon occurring.
As a disciple of Joe Vitale's Hypnotic Mindset and Principles, I named my unique observation "the Hypnotic Interchange Phenomenon" because it describes a result of giving that is so subtle it flies under the radar of most people's conscious "rejection detection."
The Hypnotic Interchange Phenomenon is this:
The recipient of my valuable gift unknowingly enters into an implied equal psychological exchange with me instantly upon receiving what I give them.
That's right. By receiving what I had freely given them, my recipients were becoming programmed to look for every way possible to give something of equal value back to me. At times it would be through a kind word they said about me to a friend. Often it would be a referral to two or three other business partners.
Often I would contact someone to ask him or her if they received a gift I had sent to them, and they would usually overflow with gratitude. It was at those times I realized that my gifts were like planted seeds that would produce a good harvest in a very reasonable time.
It is vital to remind ourselves of the importance of giving something that has a true, high-perceived value for those you choose to lavish your gifts upon.
The psychology of human behavior is relatively timeless. Master philosophers of past centuries share incredible secrets about the Principle of Giving. Here is a small sample:
Eric Hoffer, of the 20th century, a profound U.S. philosopher, said, "Someone gives us all he has and we are his."
20th-Century German philosopher Walter Benjamin said, "Gifts must affect the receiver to the point of shock."
Jean de La Bruyere, 17th-century French writer, said, "Generosity lies less in giving much than in giving at the right moment."
6th-Century Chinese philosopher, Lao-Tsu, said, "The sage does not hoard. Having bestowed all he has on others, he has yet more. Having given all he has to others, he is richer still."
My most recent life work, over two years in the making, has expanded to spurring others to give extreme levels of value. I have been working hard to successfully funnel-influence my dearest friends who are famous writers and authors to give massive value through me.
These are people who have earned the right to be called rich and famous because they have sold millions of books using the Principle of Giving. They are profound master contributors in our modern world. Now they are freely sharing their secrets with you.
These master contributors include Joe Vitale (Spiritual Marketing), James Redfield (The Celestine Prophecy), Dick Bolles (What Color Is Your Parachute?), Dave Chilton (The Wealthy Barber), and many others.
In keeping with my commitment to becoming an extreme value creator, we are lavishing on anyone who visits site over $468 worth of valuable book publishing, e-book, and infopreneur marketing insights from masters who have made millions and have given away a lot. They include the best minds I have ever known or worked with in over 14 years of publishing, marketing and consulting.
Most of all, when you visit TotalBookMarketing you'll be encouraged, uplifted and overwhelmed to see that there are people who truly want to help others - who take action to give by putting the needs of others before their own needs. That alone is a testimony to giving--that it works and works well.
Interestingly, Joe Vitale was one of the very first friends to jump at the chance to contribute to "TotalBookMarketing.com." Joe is the greatest value creator I know --- because he puts his heart into giving and he is always sharing all the value he's got.
Learn and do.
To see a great example of the Principle of Giving and the Hypnotic Interchange Phenomenon at work on the Internet, visit Allen's website.
"A gift with reservations is not a gift; it is a bribe. There is no promise of increase unless we give freely. Let go of the gift entirely. Recognize the universal scope of the law. Then the gift has a chance to go out and to come back multiplied. There is no telling how far the blessing may travel before it comes back. It is a beautiful and encouraging fact that the longer it is in returning, the more hands it is passing through and the more hearts it is blessing. All these hands and hearts add something to it in substance. It is increased all the more when it does return."
-- Charles Fillmore, Dynamics for Living

How Giving Made A Book A #1 Best-Seller

2008-11-29T10:36:00.000-08:00

Over the course of a year, I worked to heap as much life-changing value and content on my newsletter readers: Information that would literally blow them away from what they were compared to getting from other ezines on the Internet.
Each week, I'd ask these questions, "How can I go the extra mile for my valued readers?" and "How can I give them more than they'd ever expect?"
My newsletter subscribers grew to love me and my work. I was continuously giving them all I could.
In the middle of 2001, I wrote a book. A host of book publishers mocked us saying, "No one will read your book Conversations with Millionaires. No one wants to read your actual conversations from your little radio show." So we were left to go down this road alone.
My co-author, Jason Oman, and I were first-time authors, self- publishing a book. We didn't know what to do. But we knew we had a list of loyal followers. All we had to do is ask for their help.
What the publishers didn't get is that we had thousands of people who were ready to help us because of how we first went the extra mile and served them.
That's the power of what I call Loverage.
On January 18, 2002, 76 days after the book's release, without spending money on advertising, public relations and without public speaking, we knocked John Grisham off the top spot at Amazon.com and claimed it!
We had ourselves a number #1 best-selling book.
Also, it brought in over $31,070 in sales!
The power of giving leads to the fountain of receiving.
We've received an abundance of money, new friends, and a 'path' that helps many. Also, the book has already been translated into three languages.
Since then this 'little book that could' has been touching the lives of tens of thousands of people, all because when you give without expecting anything in return, you get more than you could ever want. As you sow, so shall you reap.
When 'they' mock you because you desire to serve and give, you think about the story of Conversations with Millionaires.
Mike Litman is the co-author of the #1 Best-Selling book "Conversations with Millionaires."

How Giving and "Swiping" Led to Passive Income

2008-11-29T10:31:00.000-08:00

It was back in September, 2001 when I completed an e-book titled The Hypnotic Writer's Swipe File. The term "swipe file" was coined by copywriters who collected sales generating words and phrases throughout their careers to model and use in their own sales letters.
My problem was I wasn't sure how I was going to market the e- book. I really didn't have a targeted customer base at the time. So I decided to ask Joe Vitale if he would co-author the book with me for a share of the profits. I was willing to give him authorship credit and share the profits with him, too.
I knew that Joe's series of "hypnotic" e-books was already branded and famous. When you think of hypnotic writing, copywriting, and marketing, you think of Joe Vitale, "The World's First Hypnotic Writer and Marketer."
Joe agreed. He wrote a truly hypnotic introduction to the book, added a lot of his own material to what I had already compiled, and we released our book later that same year.
The rest is history. Since that first e-book, Joe and I have coauthored 7 more hypnotic e-books.
And when Joe was planning to write an e-book on "Hypnotic Stories" by himself --- which he was obviously capable of doing --- he asked me if I wanted to be the co-author of it. He didn't have to do that. But because I gave to him, he felt like giving to me. That end result was a beautiful e-book called Hypnotic Selling Stories.
By giving to Joe, and him giving back to me, we both received. We make a good amount of money every month from our e-books, and we developed a strong online friendship and solid business relationship. To this date, we still haven't met in person, or even talked by phone. All of our co-authoring has been done by Email only.
And it all started from giving.

It Took Me 30 Years to Learn This Secret

2008-11-29T10:28:00.000-08:00

I have always given, but funnily enough, I gave out of fear.
If someone asked me for money, I would always put my hand in my pocket. If they didn't ask, I would walk past without offering anything.
My thinking was that if someone asked, I had a choice of saying "yes" or "no". If I gave them money, it meant I would always have money. If I said "no," I was subconsciously attracting a lack of money.
So it was the fear of having a lack of money that made me give. Of course, although I was giving, it was always small amounts.
The Richard Webster Popular Fiction Award changed my life. It developed from a slightly boozy lunch I had with some writer friends. We were bemoaning the fact that authors of popular fiction found it hard to get published and receive any recognition. Writers of literary fiction received grants and other handouts to get their work published, but commercial writers received nothing. I announced that I'd launch an award, with a prize of $1,000. My friends laughed, and the conversation went to other things.
However, the thought stayed with me, and eventually I decided to go ahead with it. I must admit my motives were selfish. I thought that having an award with my name on it would increase my name and reputation, and that might help book sales.
I found a publisher who was prepared to publish the winning entry, and two years ago we launched it. I increased the first prize to $5,000, and added a second prize of $1,000. This seemed like a huge amount of money to give away.
To my pleasure, the award did increase my exposure, and I gave dozens of newspaper articles and radio interviews. I don't think any author has ever sponsored an award for other authors before, and this made it newsworthy. I felt good about doing it, but didn't expect any other benefits.
However, to my amazement, this award seemed to open a floodgate of money.
My book sales increased.
The foreign language rights sales to my books multiplied, and I received paid offers to speak all around the world.
My income, which comes entirely from my books, more than doubled in the first twelve months.
Naturally, I'm much more generous now than I used to be. I love giving money away. And the more I give away, the better off I become.
I wish I'd learned this secret thirty years ago.
Richard Webster lives in New Zealand and has written numerous books, including "Is Your Pet Psychic?" 　
"Act wealthy. Talk prosperously. Be a free avenue through which riches may pass to all. The world needs to learn the spiritual science of wealth, and your home can be a classroom."
--Annie Rix Militz, Both Riches and Honor 　

What to Give When You Don't Have Any Money

2008-11-29T10:25:00.000-08:00

About two years ago, although I had several high-income businesses, I had very little personal income from those businesses - but I still felt a passion for giving - I just had nothing to give (or so I thought).
During the months that I stopped tithing (giving), I found that things got even harder - in fact - even proven marketing campaigns that my company had run many times in the past stopped pulling in revenue. At times I felt like there was a dark cloud following me.
I knew from years of experience that the more I gave, the more I would receive in return, but again, I had little to give (financially) and several business to support, along with all the families of the employees that went along with each of those businesses. What I learned in those early days was that my giving didn't necessarily have to come from my bank account. And that during the lean years, I needn't give money. I just had to keep "giving" to help set up for all the "receiving" that was in store for me in later years.
I learned that when I stopped giving, I literally 'clogged up' all the good that God had in store for me. So I began giving what I did have - time, prayers, and lots of help to those who needed my specialized help.
When I look back, I see those lean years as a test to see if I could learn how to give even when it seemed to hurt to do so. I also look back and thank God for that experience and for what it taught me -- which was -- to never stop giving. I can change the form of my tithing, I can even change the amount of my tithing, but I will never stop tithing.
I now tithe as much as I can financially, then I make up the difference in some other category. I always financially tithe first, because to reach the goals I have in life I need a lot of money to circulate through me and my businesses.
It's been my experience that giving is the secret to keeping money, success, health, love and happiness circulating through your life.
Christopher Guerriero, Author of the best-selling book "Maximize Your Metabolism - Double your metabolism in 30 days or less!"

How to Get What You Want

2008-11-29T10:21:00.000-08:00

It seems like such a strange concept, but when you give away what you want -- you really do get more of it.
We're living proof. And here's why...
We have an incredible relationship filled with lots of love, passion and a deep connection with each other and with our creator.
Our relationships weren't always like this. In fact our previous relationships were in many ways a mirror for what we didn't want.
Before getting together, totally independent of each other, we each decided we were willing to do whatever was necessary to create the relationship of our dreams.
Out of our passion to have this incredible relationship, we read every book, went to every seminar, listened to every tape and spent countless hours talking about and discussing relationships trying to figuring out what it takes to create the relationship of our dreams.
So what did we do next?
We began giving love away.
Out of our own passion for love, connection and having a great relationship--we began sharing with others what we had discovered.
As a result of our desire to "give love away" and share with others what we've learned about love, relationships and happiness, not only has our own relationship grown deeper and more connected but our bank account has grown as well.
People started asking us what we did to create such a great relationship.
So in 1999 we started an online newsletter on relationships and personal growth.
We simply shared tips and ideas we used to create a great relationship.
In other words we gave away what we most wanted: Love.
Now, almost 20,000 people get our free weekly Relationship Gold newsletter.
We've also written three books on relationships including Communication Magic, Should You Stay or Should You Go? and Creating Relationship Magic. We have two others planned.
We're not counselors or therapists. We simply share from our hearts and lives what we know about love and relationships that we wish we'd known years ago.
What we have is so great that we want others to know how they can have it too.
We have discovered that just like money, there is an abundance of love that is there wanting to be tapped into.
We just have to be willing to be open to it.
What we wanted more than anything else was a deep, connected, loving relationship.
We are now happy to say that with each other we have the kind of relationship that we want.
As a result of "giving love away" --- we're not only getting love back --- but, now we're being rewarded with financial abundance as well.
This is an abundant universe we live in.
Give, Give, Give.
There will be more where that came from.
Susie and Otto Collins are Relationship Coaches, Authors and married Life Partners from Ohio. For more info on their books, tapes or seminars.

Giving and Receiving: The Fine Print No One Told You About

2008-11-29T10:19:00.001-08:00

Much has been written about the universal law of giving and receiving, but I have discovered in my dealings with others that there is often a great deal of misunderstanding about how to apply the principle.
The general notion is that the more you give, the more you get. As you sow, so shall you reap. That's all well and good, but I believe the misunderstanding of this wonderful secret could be easily cleared up with a simple corollary to the law of giving. The corollary is that it's not what you do but why you do it. Intention and motivation are everything.
What this means is that you should only give if you are giving for the pure joy of giving. If you give because you expect to get, you are defeating the purpose. The universe is not so easily fooled.
Giving with the motive of getting is actually an affirmation of lack. Saying that you have to get because you have just given is saying to the world "I don't have enough." Your belief will soon be proven correct. The energy vibration of lack will only attract more lack.
Again, as you sow, so shall you reap.
Many people I know give grudgingly or feel deprived after they have made a gift of time or money. If you give out of a feeling of obligation or a sense of sacrifice, the underlying feeling is one of lack. Dressing up a feeling of lack under of mask of generosity will only lead to disappointment. It's not what you do but why you do it.
Don't waste your time by giving with the expectation of getting a return on your investment. God is not a share of stock that you trade on the NASDAQ (ticker symbol GODD). "If I give, I'd better get something back or else." Such thinking originates from a position of "there's not enough."
While some people give with ulterior motives, there are others of us who rarely give at all because of the belief, "I can't afford it." Henry Ford often said that there are two kinds of people - Those that think they can and those that think they can't; and they're both right. Your beliefs create your experience every time.
So much for the ways NOT to give. What to do instead?
My personal experience suggests waiting until you are in flow with life. We all have mood swings. Sometimes we feel good, and sometimes we feel bad. When you happen to catch yourself feeling good, seize that opportunity to give out of a sense of sharing the abundance that is already yours.
By being grateful for whatever you currently have, it is much easier to pass some of your good fortune onto someone else. In those moments, you get the sense that there is more where that came from.
My first experience with true giving, at least in recent memory, occurred during a relapse of cancer several years ago. Once I got over the initial shock of the diagnosis, spiritual aspects within me started to awaken and I began to count my blessings.
After several months of chemotherapy, I had the opportunity to visit New York City during the Christmas holiday season. My doctor had decided to give me a few weeks off from chemotherapy to enjoy the holidays, and a mini-vacation was just what I needed. The Christmas lights in NYC, the crisp winter air, and the fact that I was still alive put me in good spirits. I was feeling abundant and grateful.
One evening on the way to dinner with my wife and my brother, a homeless man outside the restaurant we had selected asked me if I could spare a dollar. I was feeling great, and I gave him $20 instead. This in turn made him feel great, and it made me feel even better that I had made his day. The important subtlety for me was that I had waited for my wife and my brother to go inside the restaurant before I gave him the money. I wanted the act to be anonymous, and I didn't want anyone questioning the wisdom of giving away a $20 bill while I was on medical leave with a very limited income. If I had to defend or justify my actions to anyone else, it would have taken away the joy and spontaneity of the moment.
At that point, I did not know what the future had in store for me, but in that instant things were perfect. I was feeling good, and I didn't want anyone else to ruin the feeling of that moment by telling me to be sensible. Waiting until no one was looking to give this man some money seemed like the best means to that end.
It was a win-win situation. The guy felt great, and I continued to feel great the rest of the evening. It was my secret. I was feeling prosperous for no apparent reason, and I made someone else feel prosperous by giving him 20 times more than he had asked for or expected. I happened to be in the flow of life in that moment, and it was a perfect time to give.
Over the next few months, my supposedly "fixed" disability payments somehow increased by 20%. I don't know how or why, and I certainly didn't ask.
I did not know about the law of giving and receiving at that time in my life. I was just acting on pure impulse. It was only after I began my spiritual studies that I came across this principle. With my new understanding and the benefit of hindsight, I began to see the connection.
The most important aspect of this principle to me, and it bears repeating, is to remember that it is not what you do but why you do it. If you are having a bad day, or you are in a negative frame of mind, don't give just because you think you are supposed to. There is no extra credit for God, and it won't benefit you or the other person under those conditions.
Instead, wait until you are having a particularly good day and are feeling great. Then give while you are in that state, and observe what happens. If you find yourself doing mathematical calculations to decide how much you can afford to give or worry over what others think is sensible, don't bother. You've lost the feeling.
Wait until you're back in the flow and just choose an amount based on your first impulse. Go with whatever amount makes you feel good and that won't cause you to feel poorer because there is that much less in your wallet or bank account.
This universal law may take only a moment to understand, but it can take a lifetime to master. But just because you haven't mastered it does not mean that you can't have fun practicing. Give it a try, and let your own experience be the judge.
John Zappa is a publicity consultant in Austin, Texas. As a refugee from Corporate America, he now chooses to invent his own work.

Giving Really Does Lead To Receiving

2008-11-29T09:59:00.000-08:00

Whenever I speak on the topic of Networking, I always make sure to provide my definition of what the term "Networking" means to me.
By and large, the very concept is misunderstood and carries with it a somewhat negative preconceived notion (i.e., shove as many business cards into people's faces as you can while telling them all about yourself and your products or services while attending a one-hour business/social mixer).
I define Networking as "The cultivating of mutually beneficial, give and take, win/win relationships..
As you can see, the emphasis is on the "give" part.
"But wait," the person asks, "Isn't that just Pollyanna-type thinking that doesn't work in the real world?"
Not at all. Giving works.
Let me say it again. Giving works!
And there's nothing "Pollyanna" about it. Giving works both from a practical, as well as spiritual side. Let's look though, at just the practical side.
What I call "The Golden Rule" of Networking is, "All things being equal, people will do business with, and refer business to, those people they know, like and trust."
When we give to - or do something for - someone, we take an important step toward causing those "know, like and trust" feelings toward us in that other person. I've often said that the best way to get business and get referrals is to first give business and give referrals.
Why? Because when someone knows you care about them enough to send business their way, they feel good about you. No, they feel great about you, and desire to give back to you.
Of course, it doesn't have to be actual business that you give. It could be information, whether that information is something that would help them in regard to their business, personal, social, or recreational lives.
Perhaps you suggested a book (or bought them that book) that you know would be of true value to that person.
Maybe you knew their son or daughter was looking for work at a certain company and, knowing someone there who knew the personnel director, you made a call and put in the kind word that helped ensure employment.
It really doesn't matter. Allow me, if you will, to share one example from my personal life. This took place several years after I had begun speaking professionally. There was one corporate client in particular - one with many divisions - I had been trying to "land." However, I could not seem to even get a foot in the door. Not only that, I couldn't even find the door to try and stick my foot in.
It happened that at a Speakers' convention I met a man who had been speaking professionally for quite a while. I struck up a friendship with him and his family and looked forward to seeing them at various events.
During that time, despite the fact that I knew he was quite successful, I never asked him for anything. I did, however, help him as much as I could. Several times, when I was already booked for an engagement on a certain date, I would refer him to the person from the company who had called me.
Having articles published fairly often in magazines, I would refer him as a contributor to the editor. This was appreciated by all parties, of course, and didn't take anything from me in any way. That's one of the great things about giving; it helps everyone and hurts no one.
It was only a couple of years after meeting him that I found out, through a third party, that the client I had been unsuccessfully seeking, was a major client of this speaker friend of mine.
Now, I probably could have come right out and asked him for help but I didn't feel that would be quite right. I didn't want him to feel that because I had gone out of my way for him that he "owed" me anything. I did feel comfortable, however, asking for his advice on how I might myself best pursue them.
I said to him, "I know this is a huge client of yours and am not in any way asking for you to make a connection for me. I'd love to know, though, how would be the best way for me to contact the person myself to at least let them know who I am and how I could help them, so that I get the opportunity to establish and develop a relationship?"
Well, to make a long story end, he would have none of that.
He said, "I'll have the guy who's my main contact call you."
And he did.
And that client, together will all the spin-off engagements I've had wetting that company's umbrella over the years has accounted for several million dollars in sales.
And that was not the first, and certainly not the only time, that giving first has literally paid big financial dividends. It's the way I run my business; it's the way I run my life.
Giving first works.
There is a major caution here, however: You cannot give with the expectation of direct reciprocation or, for that matter, any reciprocation.
This won't work if you are thinking, "Okay, what is he or she going to do for me?"
Not that you might not get something in return. But that something will more than likely be a one-time something, done out of obligation, and not inspiring the "know you, like you, and trust you" feelings toward you from that other person that will elicit this person desiring to see you successful.
No, give because it's the right thing, without the expectation of direct reciprocation, and you'll find this principle to be one of the truest of universal truths.
Bob Burg speaks internationally on the topics of "Business Networking" and "Positive Persuasion Skills." His books "Endless Referrals" and "Winning Without Intimidation" have each sold over 100,000 copies.

A Law That Never Fails

2008-11-29T09:57:00.000-08:00

Two years ago I received an email from a friend that said, "I just came across a website that has a quote from one of your books right on the front page."
I checked it out and sure enough, there was a quote from my book, Advanced Formula For Total Success, prominently featured on the main page.
After looking over the website I was impressed with the service the owner was offering. I contacted him and told him so. In addition to the quote, I offered to write a short article endorsing his service. He couldn't believe I would do this for him without compensation.
My intention was to support him and help him to succeed. It never even occurred to me to ask for anything in return. I knew that the universe would take care of any "compensation."
As a result of my endorsement I found out that during the following year he had increased his sales significantly. During that time we never kept in contact and truthfully I had forgotten all about it.
A little over a year later I received an email from him that said, "Someone contacted me because they saw your endorsement on my website and said they wanted to get in touch with you. He says it is very important. Do you want me to give him your personal email address?"
Strangely enough I had no hesitation and said, "Yes, have him contact me."
This is the only communication I had with the website owner since I helped him over a year ago.
I followed up and contacted the man who wrote to him. That one contact changed my life.
As it turned out, this individual became a close friend as well as my new business manager and marketer. As a result, with his help, my business increased over 500%!
All this from giving freely to someone without asking for something in return. This was a clear and direct result of the Law of Reciprocation (giving/receiving) in action.
A law that NEVER fails.
Dr. Robert Anthony

How Giving Led to $1,500,000

2008-11-29T09:54:00.000-08:00

Lots of authors take custody of the "best-seller" claim for their book. Yeah, well... it may be a best-seller at the "Ain't Words Cool" book store in their own home town, but... It's a whole other thing to be able to say that a book has sold a million copies!
That's just what John Milton Fogg can claim for his book "The Greatest Networker in the World". How did he do that? John's answer is...
I gave the book away.
I wrote The Greatest Networker... in 1992. At the time I was the owner/editor of a publication named Upline, that served men and women in the network marketing profession. At that time, we probably had a couple of thousand subscribers at most.
I didn't have the money for the first-print run. A friend and mentor of mine in the business, Tom "Big Al" Schreiter, suggested I "pre-sell" the books to people who could sell them to others: book wholesalers, vendors to network marketers, people who had magazines or catalogs which sold books, tapes and tools. Tom told me to make a great low-price deal to these folks so they could make more money. That would pay for the printing, make a profit for myself and generate the money to print more books. Tom bought 1000 copies at $3 each.
I asked him how he was going to sell those books. He told me he wasn't. He was going to give them away.
That got my attention, so I asked, "Why?"
Tom explained he was going to "seed" the market. He figured people would like or love the book, and they'd come back and buy more to give or sell to other people. And, it would create word-of-mouth advertising for the book, which meant more sales for him (and me).
Tom also explained the idea of a "value-added" premium to me: He'd make an offer of one of his products to his people and give The Greatest Networker... away free as an incentive to buy. People would get a $10 value, which Tom only paid $3 for.
Good deal for him - helped him sell more of his products.
Good deal for them - they got a free gift, felt great and were more inclined to buy his offer.
I don't know how many of my books Tom sold over the years. I do know he made his investment back and them some -lots of some.
I knew a great idea when I saw one, so I started giving The Greatest Networker... away with every single subscription to Upline. My subscribers got a free gift and were more likely to buy the magazine to begin with. I got my book being read by the best possible people who could spread the word and help me sell more.
When the Internet came along, I put The Greatest Networker... up on our website and gave it away there, too.
Over the years I probably gave away 40,000-plus copies of my book. The cost of that was, say, $50,000. So one way to look at it was I gave away $50,000.
But I earned a buck a book royalty on all the copies of The Greatest Networker in the World that were sold. That doesn't include any "extra" money I earned from the wholesale or retail sales when people bought the book.
Do the math.
My guess would be all-in-all that's $1.5 million of net profit to me.
All because I gave my book away.
Here's yet another true story about the power of giving:
Do you know who Seth Godin is? (He's the other Internet Marketing guru besides Joe.) :-) Seth wrote The Idea Virus. That book started a revolution. Seth gave it away on-line. People told him he was crazy. More than a million and a-half of Seth's e-books are out there. AND, after he gave it away for free, he printed up a hardcover edition for $45 and made a fortune selling that! Go figure.
I had the fascinating privilege of interviewing Seth Godin for Networking Times magazine. He told me the following "Giving- Marketing" story and it just blew me away. This is utterly brilliant!
Seth knows a great folksinger who does music for kids. She has five CDs and she sells them on her own. Now, Seth doesn't do consulting any more, but this lady is a personal friend, so when she asked if he had any ideas on how she could sell more of her CDs, Mr. Permission Marketing (he wrote that book, too) complied.
Seth asked how much she sold her CDs for. She told him $15. Seth asked how much one cost her to produce and package. She told him 80 cents. So Seth said...
"Look, every time someone buys one CD, send them two. Nobody has any use for a second CD, because it's the same music. What are they going to do? They're going to give it away, probably as a present. One of these kids gives one of these CDs to another kid as a birthday present and they're likely to buy two, three or four more, because the parents get tired of hearing the same songs over and over again."
Like I said, "Brilliant." Each one of those give-away CDs that results in just one additional sale nets the folksinger $14.20. And as Seth pointed out, parents will probably buy two or three more, perhaps all five. And each time they do, they get an extra one free, that they turn around and give to a friend saying, "This is great. Little Harry will really love this."
Oh, that lady folksinger doubled, then tripled her business with that CD she gave away.
　
John Milton Fogg

Enlightenment-by-Email, or, How to Make Your Great TUT Come True

2008-11-29T09:50:00.000-08:00

Mike Dooley didn't know what he was going to do. He quit his job at Price Waterhouse. He left the company, his security, and his home. He went to Orlando and sat there, lost, confused, waiting for direction. None came.
Meanwhile, his brother was making some money from royalties on a few t-shirts he had designed. So Mike, his brother, and later their mother, went into the T-shirt business. They called their business TUT, for Totally Unique T-shirts. Everyone from Disney to Macy's bought and sold them. Within ten years they sold more than one million shirts. Life was good.
As the market began to change, and major buyers began to make their own T-shirts, the family decided to stop business. The artistic brother began a career as an actor and improv comic. The enterprising mother, who had already written two books, began a full-time career as a writer. Mike decided to buy out the family business --- which by that time had come to be known as "Totally Unique Thoughts" --- and run it himself.
"Our most popular T-shirts had always been the ones with inspiring or spiritual sayings written on them," Mike told me over the phone one day. "So I decided to offer a Monday Morning Motivator by E-Mail to our loyal list of followers."
The Monday memos were usually poems. And his small band of followers at the time amounted to 1,000 names. Instead of writing to these people with an opening that said, "Dear loyal T-shirt customer...," Mike decided on a more unique approach.
"I created an Adventure's Club and invited them to be a member for the sum of only $36 a year," Mike explained. "They would get weekly and even daily messages from me, all of an inspiring, motivational and/or spiritual nature."
Did it work?
"No. Almost no one paid for it. So I naturally decided to offer it for free, knowing I would somehow figure out how to make money from it down the road."
Mike's Monday Morning Memos caught on. People loved the inspiring weekly poetry. Eventually he gathered the courage to add his own insightful commentaries that would accompany each poem. His subscriber base grew to 3,000 names.
"About this time I had a friend of mine who was making $15,000 every month from banner ads on his e-cards," says Mike.
"So I put all my energy into making free e-cards that people could sponsor click-through ads on. I used the old T-shirt art I had and added some commentary to make the e-cards unique."
But that didn't work out, either.
"Within six months advertisers quit taking ads on e-cards. My friend stopped making $15,000 a month. I never made more than $100 from my e-cards. But I'm still glad I did them."
Why is he glad?
"They have become a viral marketing campaign," Mike explains. "People send them to others and suddenly my website is known to potentially millions of people. Those e-cards are still a popular feature on my website."
Around this time --- in 2001 --- Mike decided to take the biggest leap of faith of all.
"I recorded 12 audiotapes, packaged them, and called them Infinite Possibilities: The Art of Living Your Dreams. They are a combination of my weekly e-memos, old talks I had given, and entirely fresh material."
That tape set became a turning point for Mike's online business.
"People would get an e-card from someone, see a link at the bottom for my tapes, and make an impulse buy right then and there."
Mike sells 40 to 60 tape sets every month, at a retail price of $125 for either cassettes or CDs.
While he's never asked for a single testimonial for his tapes, he has at this point collected an overwhelming amount of them.
Here are three quick ones:
"Riveting. Inspiring. Even miraculous. Rarely have I heard such wisdom, such mind-stretching beauty, such practical inspiration and proven advice."
"I was blown away! I squealed with delight!"
"I'm listening to the tapes repeatedly... EXCELLENT material, endless new perspectives, spin-offs...your words have set me in motion!"
While Mike has added a daily e-memo to his weekly ones, he has never advertised, done any publicity, or implemented any marketing. His tape sales come from word-of-mouth sharing. His database is currently 5,000 hot names, and growing. He plans to use pay-for-click services to build his database. Next he'll focus on his affiliate program, which he just added to his site.
In short, Mike went from a company drop-out with no mission to a man with a giant mission. And he uses the Internet as his primary vehicle to help people go for their dreams. His main marketing tool is his "Enlightenment-by-E-mail" daily and weekly inspiring messages, which continue to be free.
What's his advice for building a successful business and making your own TUT---totally unique thoughts---come true?
"As clearly as possible define the end result of what you want in emotional terms," he advises. "Get into that emotion now, even before you start working for the dream or even quitting your job. Having the end result firmly in mind now will help you weather any setbacks that may occur later."
"And don't worry about how you will get to that end result," he adds. "There are a million ways to achieve fame or wealth, or whatever you want. Don't tie the hands of the universe by thinking it has to come in one certain way. The universe has 'Infinite Possibilities' at its beck and call. Trust it."
Finally, I asked Mike if he would offer a "totally unique thought" specifically for you, the reader of this book. Here's what he sent:
"Success in the world, business or otherwise, is far more a function of how well you engage the Universe and its magic, than it is of how well you manipulate the time and space around you. This is every tycoon's secret - whether they know it or not.
"Your job is NOT to out-maneuver the competition, to play into the hands of future clients and customers, or to reinvent the wheel. Your job is to define your dream, to imagine the end result, and to move with your hunches and instincts - that's it. The rest will automatically and effortlessly fall into place...a brilliant marketing strategy, the best "location," the "clutch" idea, and perfect timing between them. The Universe is ALIVE in the unseen, and active in all of your affairs. Learn how to use it."
And here's another very relevant quote from Mike:
"GIVING tells the Universe that you believe YOU are provided for. For even as you empty your purse you fear not, demonstrating faith that you will remain whole, that your coffers will be replenished, and that your love for whomever you gave, is what's most important. Verily, as you believe these things to be true, you will experience such truths, and abundance shall be showered upon you as if the heavens had opened up."
You'll note that a large degree of Mike's success came from giving --- he gave away (and still gives away) e-cards, and he still writes and gives away his inspiring daily and weekly memos.
Total sales, plus speaking fees, and revenues from new books in the mill (Notes from the Universe, Totally Unique Thoughts, More Reminders Of Life's Everyday Magic, etc,) should top $250,000 this year, and Mike projects $1,000,000 in 2004!
Mike says, "None of this would have happened if I hadn't offered all my mailings, and club membership for free, though at the time I had no idea of where it would take me, nor of how I would eventually profit. It just felt right, people were grateful, and I was loving my 'job.'
"Sometimes the Universe doesn't always respond in kind, or by throwing dollars at you, but instead, it returns to you confidence, dreams, and inspiration...which is even better than bucks, because it's like learning to fish (as opposed to being given a fish). You then know how to go get more."

47 Limiting Beliefs About Money --And How to Release Them Right Now

2008-11-29T09:44:00.000-08:00

I've known Mandy Evans for about twenty years. She is a remarkable belief-clearing counselor. I asked her to compile a list of the most common negative or limiting beliefs about money that she could find. I also asked her to tell us how to remove them. The reason for my request is sometimes people give but have belief- blocks keeping them from receiving. Clear the blocks and the prosperity comes. The following article by Mandy offers a truly brilliant way out of the maze of limiting beliefs about money.
What you believe about money will play a greater role in your level of prosperity and in your enjoyment of that prosperity than most people imagine.
In fact, most people do not imagine the role beliefs play in their financial success or lack of it. Most people never even think about their beliefs. We just act on them.
I have been collecting examples of self-defeating beliefs like squirrels collect nuts for the winter for a long time. Here are some real beliefs about money from real people in real workshops and classes. These beliefs cut off the inflow of money into countless lives - or slowed it to a trickle. Some of them are familiar and some are so unique that they seem strange. Sometimes the same belief can be life-expanding for one person and life-extinguishing for another. Read through this list and see if you identify with any of the beliefs.
Money is the root of all evil. (The actual quote is "The love of money is the root of all evil.") 　
If I am successful people will hate me. 　
If I make a million dollars, I might lose it and then I would feel stupid and hate myself forever. 　
There is not enough money to go around. 　
If I have a little more than I need to get by, someone else has to go without. 　
If I have a lot more than I need to get by, lots of people will have to go without. 　
It is better to take less than to be responsible for someone else's hardship. 　
Democrats punish the rich. 　
Republicans punish the poor. 　
If I make a lot of money, I will be betraying my father who never made much money. 　
The rich get richer. 　
The poor get poorer. 　
I am smart and talented; I should get more! 　
You should always use money well. 　
Money is hard to deal with. 　
Money is hard to get. 　
You have to work hard to get it. 　
To save money you have to do without things. 　
Time is money. 　
I can't have money and free time.　
Money is not spiritual. 　
You have to do lots of things you don't like in order to have money. 　
I do not have enough to share or give away. 　
Accepting money obligates me. 　
It is better to take less than my due and be free from sticky situations. 　
To be a valuable person I have to work more for less money than other people do. 　
Having money stops you from being happy. 　
Money spoils you. 　
I will never have enough. 　
If I don't feel bad about past mistakes and afraid about the future I will make the same mistakes again. (From an investment broker) 　
It's best if I just want enough to get by. 　
You get what you deserve. 　
Being super-conscious about every single penny is the good-the right - thing to do. 　
Never buy anything that you don't need. 　
If you were a smart woman you would be supporting yourself easily by now. 　
If you were a smart and cute woman you would have married someone with money by now. 　
I always rent; owning a house would be too scary. 　
I would never feel secure if I had to be responsible for much more than a hammock. 　
I have to own my own home to feel secure - unless I had at least maybe a yacht. If I buy something that breaks, I'm stupid. 　
Worrying about money is tacky. 　
Daddy will like me better if I don't spend much. 　
I want to have a lot of money when I get old, then people will be nice to me. 　
I never want people to know I have so much money because people are really mean to rich people. 　
If I get paid a lot people will find out that I am a fraud.　
Daddy will love me lots more if I don't spend much. 　
Everybody wants more; when it comes to money, less is better. 　
There's somebody else inside me that spends all of my money.　
If you identify with any of these beliefs, go though them one by one and answer these three questions about each belief.
Why do I believe that? 　
Is it true? 　
What might I be concerned would happen if I did not believe that?
By asking those three probing questions of any belief, you can dis-charge it --- and become free to go for your desires.
You'll also be free to give --- as well as to receive.
Go ahead and work through those beliefs right now.
Mandy Evans has taught thousands of people how to become freer, more creative, and much happier by changing the beliefs that keep them stuck, limit them, and cause emotional pain. Her books "TRAVELING FREE: How to Recover From the Past" and "Emotional Options" drew endorsements from Deepak Chopra, Bernie Siegel, John Gray and me. --Joseph Murphy, How To Attract Money

Does Free Have Value?

2008-11-29T09:38:00.000-08:00

There's a theory in marketing that people don't appreciate what they get for free.
Is that true?
While it is true that the word "Free" is probably the most powerful and persuasive word someone can use in their marketing, it may also be true that anything someone receives for free is usually treated with disregard or disrespect.
This has been proven over and over again. Consultants who give their time and services away often find the people who received their gifts don't appreciate them. In general, only when someone pays for something do they pay attention to it.
But is that true in the art of giving money?
First, I don't think so.
Second, it doesn't matter.
Let's look at both statements.
First, I don't think people look down on gifts of money because money is such a highly charged symbol in our world. People scramble, fight, work, worry and die for money. They know its value. When most people receive it, they welcome it. Some people will grumble about the money not being enough, but that's their belief in lack and limitation. In general, give money and people will know you gave them something of real value.
Second, I don't think it matters what they think about the money or what they do with it. You're giving the money to activate your own heart.
My friend Bob Proctor, author of the book You Were Born Rich, once told me, "I don't care what they do with the money. They can take it out and burn it for all I care. I'm giving it for me."
And that's the point. While you want your gift to be received and appreciated, what you're really doing when you give it is awakening your own spirit and activating a spiritual law.
I remember giving a friend of mine a treasured copy of the now-legendary book, The Robert Collier Letter Book. The book is extremely rare, highly valued, and worth a lot of money.
My friend was at my house and said he had been looking for the book for years. I had an extra copy and just handed it to him. His eyes popped wide. He was stunned. He couldn't believe it, and he couldn't stop thanking me.
That was also the last time I saw my friend.
Did he not appreciate the gift?
Maybe.
Was it too much for him to receive as a gift?
Maybe.
Would I give it to him if I had to do it all over again?
In a heartbeat.
Giving that gift to him made me feel great.
Here's another example.
Some twenty-five years ago I was reading books and listening to tapes by Barry Neil Kaufman, founder of The Option Institute. I had little money at the time and found it hard to part with what I had. But I wanted to give something to show my support for Barry. So I sent him five dollars. It was a big deal for me, and I hoped it would somehow add to whatever others were sending to Barry.
Then, in 1985, I went to The Option Institute and studied with Barry, or "Bears," as his friends call him. On the last night of my stay there, we had a public Gratitude Night. Everyone who had been to the Institute that week gathered in a room, sat in a circle and took turns saying what we had been thankful for. This lasted three hours.
You can't imagine the energy in a room of thirty people thanking each other for three hours for all they had received. It was phenomenal. I still vividly recall that night.
When Bears took a moment to speak, he singled me out. He acknowledged me for my letters to him, for my support --- and for the five dollars I had sent him many months earlier.
I was stunned.
While it had felt great to help Bears in a small way, I realized he had felt great to receive it. It was a beautiful win-win.
Remember, how you feel as you give is the key.
If the other person feels the joy, too --- as Bears did with my gift --- it's further reason to celebrate and feel happy. And if the other person says little and maybe even drops out of your life --- as my friend with the priceless book --- allow it. Again, how you feel as you give is the key.
"Money-giving is a very good criterion of a person's mental health. Generous people are rarely mentally ill people."
-- Dr. Karl A. Menninger　

Leo Buscaglia's Big Mistake

2008-11-29T09:31:00.000-08:00

I met Leo Buscaglia many years ago. He was the charming, passionate, and colorful author of the best-selling book, Love. He once said in a lecture, "I own the copyright on love!"
He was a loveable man. His words warmed my heart and inspired my soul. Marian, my wife at the time, and I used to watch Leo on television. He inspired us.
We were learning about tithing at the time. I was very skeptical. I still thought giving was a scheme. But Marian was always more open-minded and trusting than me. She practiced giving more than I did in those early years.
One day, when Marian looked around to see who she was going to send money to, she easily remembered Leo Buscaglia. She wanted to thank him for all his sharing, and for reminding her through his books and talks to always live a life of love.
So Marian found his address and sent him a check. I remember how happy she looked as she wrote him a note and mailed him the gift. Her heart was alive.
But then something sad happened.
A few weeks later, Marian received a letter from Leo Buscaglia. He had returned her check. He added a note that said he had plenty and didn't want or need more, so please give the check to someone in need.
Marian was hurt. She was offended. She felt rejected. She saw the refusal of the gift as a dismissal of her. It was a sad moment.
While we could talk about Marian's response to the letter she received, my point here is more about Leo's action. I think Leo made a mistake. In order to be in the flow of life, you must give as well as receive. Leo cut off the flow.
Much later I learned --- from Leo himself --- that he had experienced several robberies. His house had been broken into and his belongings taken. It happened to him at least twice that I recall.
I can't help but think Leo had inner blocks about receiving. Those blocks showed up in his outer world by losing all he had. I could be wrong, but I really wonder if there was a connection between his refusing gifts and losing what he had.
Let's learn from Leo's mistake.
When someone offers you money, accept it.

How To Think Like God

2008-11-29T09:27:00.000-08:00

About ten years ago I gave a talk entitled "How to Think Like God." People loved it. The few who were there that day in Houston still remember it. And last year I put the talk online, where anyone could listen to it over the Internet. Everyone loves it.
The reason it has such broad appeal is it's so freeing. "Thinking like God" is all about no-boundary thinking. Do you really think God would have limits? Do you really think God would talk about lack and limitation? Do you really think God would have excuses for not doing things?
I don't think so.
In my talk I told stories about Barry Neil Kaufman and his wife, Susie, healing their son of autism.
I also talked about Meir Schnieder, born blind and diagnosed as incurable, who now sees and helps others to gain or regain their vision.
And I talked about my work with Jonathan, the miracles coach I had worked with years ago. (Most of the stories are in my book Spiritual Marketing.)
The point here is this: If you were to pretend you could think like God, how would you think? What would you do? What would you say?
I'm pretty sure God wouldn't balk at giving money (or anything else).
I'm pretty sure God wouldn't worry about how money would come to Him (or Her).
I'm pretty sure God wouldn't put a limit on what He/She gave, either.
So: What would you do if you thought like God?
This wonderful question spills over into every area of your life.
How would you act in your relationships if you thought like God?
How would you act at work if you thought like God?
How would you behave in society if you thought like God?
This is more than a liberating exercise in creative imaging. This is a chance to expand your heart, too.
How do you think like God?
You pretend.
You pretend you are God.
If you were God, how would you think?
Personally, I don't think with any limitations at all when I start to role-play thinking like God.
My mind starts to consider anything and everything: Cure cancer? Of course! Win millions in the lottery? Easy! Solve world hunger? No sweat!
Of course, implementing those wide-reaching goals is another story.
So let's bring it back home, to the individual, to you, and to me.
If I thought like God in my own life, what would I do different?
Well, this book is a good example.
I spoke to John Harricharan on Friday afternoon. He's a dear friend and spiritual advisor. He was in one of his psychic places that day and told me I would soon write another book.
You don't have to be psychic to know that, of course. I'm an author. I'll always write another book.
But something in me triggered when John said another book was coming. We talked about book ideas for a few minutes. He pointed out how popular my article had been, the one titled, "The Greatest Money-Making Secret in History." He said a book on that would help the world, and be very welcome.
While I hadn't told John this before, I had wanted to write a book based on my article. John's gentle push was all I needed.
I started writing the book the very next day. As I type these words it is now Monday --- three days later.
In short, by thinking like God, I removed all limits to how long it takes to write a book.
This one was done over a weekend, more or less.
Not bad.
Back to you: If you thought like God, what would you do right now?
If it's give money, go give it.
If it's write a book, start typing.
If it's start a business, get going.
There are no limits.
Just think like God.
"In my personal experience, the reasons for tithing were never explained clearly enough, and there was always so much pressure from the head of the church that it never seemed like a free-will gift, given in loving gratitude, but rather just another bill we had to pay. Because of that attitude, tithing usually doesn't have the effect of opening the prosperity flow. The attitude, motive and Spirit with which we give this money back to the Universe is the most important thing about our gift. Our motivation must be that the money we are giving away is a gift of love we are giving back to the Universe in gratitude and appreciation for our gift of life."
-- Patricia Diane Cota-Robles, It Is Time For You To Be Financially Free!

The Greatest Spiritual Mind Treatment

2008-11-29T09:24:00.000-08:00

May I offer you a gentle reminder of how the principle of giving works?
I went online and created the following short "Spiritual Mind Treatment" specifically for you. You can go to the same forms I did and create one even more personal and relevant for you. A "Spiritual Mind Treatment" or affirmative prayer is "...a recognition of Spirit's Omniscience, Omnipotence, and Omnipresence, and a realization of humanity's unity with Spirit..." (Ernest Holmes, Science of Mind textbook, pg. 149.)
That may be more than you or I can understand, so let's just call a Spiritual Mind Treatment a formula for getting in tune with the infinite. Call it magic. Call it a reminder. Call it a lucky charm. It doesn't really matter.
"Treatment is not trying to make yourself believe something that is not so, but is based upon truth," wrote Robert Bitzer in Collected Essays of Robert Bitzer. "It is to change your belief so that you can recognize and accept the truth."
In other words, a treatment is a way to remind yourself of what already exists. For example, the law of giving already exists. It is truth. A treatment would be to remind you of that fact.
You can say the words below at night, in the morning, to yourself, or out loud. Most importantly, whenever you are about to give money away, say these words (or ones of your own that have meaning for you):
"I know there is an infinite energy system in the universe that is of me, in me and around me. We are all connected to it, are in it, and are of it. I am connected to you as well as to everyone else through the energy that sustains us. I know that when I give anything into this energy system, it will return to me in kind, multiplied and amplified because the nature of the system is to grow and expand. I am grateful for this realization, and for the gifts I have now, am receiving, and will receive. I trust the process to work for me, as it does for everyone who activates it with giving. So be it. It is so!"
As always, how you feel as you say those words is what matters most. Emotion activates the law.
Feel joyous.　

Show Me The Money!

2008-11-29T09:13:00.000-08:00

Am I the only one who really saw the movie Jerry McGuire?
That hit movie starring Tom Cruise had everyone repeating the famous line, "Show me the money!"
I didn't watch the movie for nearly one year after it was released because I thought it was all about greed. Since everyone who saw the movie smiled and repeated that one line --- "Show me the money! " --- as if it were some sort of national mantra, I wasn't interested.
But then one day Nerissa and I wanted to watch something on television. As luck would have it, Jerry McGuire was coming on the tube right about then. So we settled in to watch it.
I was amazed. The movie wasn't about greed at all. Yes, Jerry came from a money-hungry place, but he soon learned that that mindset wasn't going to work.
Greed was out.
Greed was a dead-end street.
Greed led to a poverty of spirit.
Instead, Jerry the sports agent learns about the power of passion. When he truly starts to care for his client, to look for and activate the heart in the one player he represents (who does the same for him), then and only then does he start to taste real success and start to experience real happiness.
Oh, there's no doubt the refrain "Show me the money!" is a catchy one. It's done so well in the movie, and said so often, and delivered with such upbeat emotion in the one unforgettable scene, that you can't help but remember it.
But that's not what the movie is about. Not to me. The movie is about show me your heart, not show me your money.
Giving is like that.
If you give because you want money, you are not giving but simply trading.
If you give because your heart sings to do so, then you are truly giving.
It's the difference between "Show me the money!" and "Show me your heart."
The universe responds to your heart, not your money. The money is just a symbol.
Give money from your heart.
When you do, very quickly and in the most surprising ways, the universe itself will then "Show you the money!"
But don't give to get. Don't give as a negotiation with the universe.
Give to give. 　

What is True Giving? Or, Do Your Have An "Equation Mentality" ?

2008-11-29T09:09:00.000-08:00

I just got off the phone with my dear friend, Dr. Paul Hartunian, publicity genius, philanthropist and true lover of dogs.
I asked Paul about giving and how he saw it working in his own life and with his own personal cause. That's when he told me something truly eye-opening.
"Too many people make an equation out of giving," he said. "They give some money and then wait for it to come back to them ten-fold. That, to me, is not true giving."
This was a shocking statement to me.
"What is true giving then?" I asked.
"I believe true giving is done anonymously," Paul explained. "If someone gives a million dollars to a foundation because they are going to have a building named after them, then that is trading, not giving."
Paul was bringing up a valid point.
I remember a time when someone e-mailed me, asking what they should do if they try to give money to their friends and it's refused. I remember thinking, Why do your friends have to know it's coming from you? Can't you give in secret?
Paul went on to tell me something even more fascinating.
"I think the secret to giving is in not caring if it comes back to you or not," he explained. "Once you don't care, you're in the flow."
Ah, yes!
That's the secret!
Give without expecting return --- give because your heart moves you to give --- give because it's your joy to give --- and you're in the flow of life itself.
"All I can say is that maybe the Cosmos handles the rest," Paul told me. "I've been blessed in my life but I didn't give to be blessed. The cosmos just took care of me."
I love how Paul Hartunian explained all of this to me. He gave such a practical, level-headed view of giving.
"I have no problem with someone being recognized for giving," he added. "But if you give because you want recognition or you expect a ten-fold return, then you're not giving, you're calculating."
Paul walks his talk. Around Christmas of 2002 he sent me an email and asked if I had anything of a spiritual nature he could give to the readers of his e-newsletter. He said he always gave them publicity and money-making advice. Now he wanted to give them something spiritual.
I suggested he let his fans read the e-book version of my #1 best-seller, Spiritual Marketing.
Paul let his readers know. He was very generous to do so. After all, he didn't make a dime off my book and never would from this endorsement. He was simply giving.
Now the punch line here is that Paul had, at that time, about 76,000 readers. That meant his gift (and my gift, too) touched a lot of lives. Paul gave from his heart. I gave from my heart. How this will come back to us, no one knows --- except maybe the Cosmos.
Are you giving?
"The law of prosperity, whose first action is giving, comes so close into the heart of being that we can scarcely expect to weigh and balance it by numbers and calculations...We must give without expectation of return."
-- Ernest C. Wilson, The Great Physician

The Great Man Who Gave Away 30 Million Dollars

2008-11-29T08:56:00.000-08:00

I just learned that a famous, colorful and charming American philanthropist is dead.
I had always loved his book, Ask for the Moon and Get It: The Secret to Getting What You Want by Knowing How to Ask.
His name was Percy Ross. Maybe you heard of him. Ross gave away an estimated thirty million dollars to various charities and organizations. He also wrote a syndicated newspaper column, called Thanks a Million, for approximately 800 nationwide newspapers for 17 years. The column contained letters from people writing Ross, telling him their story and asking for his help. It was fascinating.
It was fascinating because Ross could always see through people. He would read their letters and sense if they were sincere, or lazy, or begging. And he always replied with words of wisdom -- and sometimes with a check. He gave checks 120 times per week.
And in 17 years he gave away about $30,000,000.
The thing is, Ross started with two million dollars!
Do you see the giving principle at work here?
Ross began with two million dollars as his source funds. You may not have that amount, but the story still holds true. In 17 years Ross gave away thirty million dollars!
Again, giving leads to receiving.
Consider: Have you ever experienced a situation where you were asked to donate money to a particular cause, and looking at your shrinking bank balance you were torn between giving money or not? Many people have told me stories about being in this exact situation, but after deciding to go ahead and make a donation, these same people were very surprised when suddenly a sum of money came to them from some unexpected source to replace the money they just gave away.
The truth is, if you hold on to your money, you risk losing the very thing you are hoarding. On the other hand, if you trust good things flow to those who give freely, you will always have funds available to suit your needs.
To prove this, look at Percy Ross. He started his charitable ways with $2 million dollars and yet over the course of 17 years donated some $30 million dollars!
I miss Percy Ross.
But now you can take his place.

My Great Confession

2008-11-29T08:53:00.000-08:00

Okay, I'll confess.
I found it hard to believe I would receive money if I gave money.
It just sounded like such a con, like a strategy promoted by people who wanted me to give money to them.
Well, I was too smart for that.
I decided that I would not give money, but that I would instead give books.
That's right. Books. I had plenty of books. Since I had worked as a New Age journalist and book reviewer for many years, I had collected a lot of books. I had more than I needed. Why not give some of them away?
I still remember making the decision. I was lying in bed in Houston, where I lived at the time, reflecting on how to get prosperous.
I remember thinking, "I can become the richest man in America in terms of books."
And right then and there I decided to try out the giving principle on books.
Within days I had called a few friends over and let them pick out books. I didn't let them pick out any books or all my books, of course. But I pulled a few piles of books out and let my friends take what they wanted.
Then, over the course of the next few months, whenever I gave a talk someplace, I also gave out books. I found it a terrific way to hold attention. Whenever someone's attention seemed to wander, I announced a free book for the next person who asked me a question. Everyone in the room perked up.
And when I moved into this country estate where I now live, I set about 25 boxes of books in the garage. I then threw a housewarming party and had people come over. I told them that before they left, they were encouraged to go through the boxes and take what they wanted. Everyone did. One person took so many books that he needed a dolly to wheel them to his car.
What was the result of my grand book-giving?
Ever since the day in Houston when I decided to give books to receive books, I have always had an abundance of books.
And today I own one of the largest book collections in the world on marketing, and another on metaphysics.
People see my collection whenever they visit here and are in awe.
What they don't understand is this:
Books will always come to me because I always give books.
I was activating the great giving principle, but on books.
Today I know to give money to receive money. And as a result, I have money, far more than I ever did when I lived in Houston.
But in those early days, when I feared losing money and wanted to hold on to all I had, all I could allow myself to give were books.
As a result, books came.
Listen and learn: Give what you want to receive.
"We must not try to fix the avenues through which our good is to come. There is no reason for thinking that what you give will come back through the one to whom you gave it."
--Charles Fillmore, Prosperity

Beware This Great Trap

2008-11-29T08:44:00.000-08:00

The article that gave birth to this book was called "The Greatest Money-Making Secret in History," which was a shorter version of chapter one.
That article became so popular that it was distributed to thousands of people across the Internet. Ezine publishers reproduced and distributed it. Content websites stored the article on their sites. And dozens of people wrote me, most thanking me and praising the article.
But a few of the emails I received were curious. They were from people asking me for money.
Apparently they read my article and concluded that I was someone who would give money to anyone who asked for it. So they wrote and asked for it.
The problem is, that's not what the article describes as the great secret for attracting wealth. I never wrote, "Ask for money and you'll get wealthy." Instead I conveyed the message, "Give money to wherever you received spiritual nourishment and you'll activate the money-attracting law."
I wrote to every person who had written to me asking for money. I explained the concept.
None of them wrote back.
I'm bringing this experience up for you to consider for two reasons:
Don't beg for money and expect to get wealthy. Just look at the beggars on the streets. They are not living prosperous life styles. They are just getting by, if that. Or look at the people who do fund-raising. Most of them are begging, though they would never call it that, and they never seem to have enough. Is that a clue or what?
Don't give money to beggars and expect to get wealthy. I didn't say don't help the poor, though it's questionable how much it helps them to hand them things. Instead, I'm saying don't give money to people just because they ask for it and expect to turn on the universe's cornucopia. I see giving money out of a sense of obligation or duty as a trap.
That was always the problem I had with ministers who asked people to give money because either (a) they needed it or (b) the Bible decreed it.
Either may be true. But if you or anyone gives money without a feeling of joy in your heart, it is highly unlikely that the money you gave will come back to you multiplied.
The best way to determine where to give money is to ask yourself one simple question:
Where did you receive the most joy?
And if you want further clarity, or more questions to assist you in knowing where to give money, try these on for size:
Where were you reminded of your divinity?
Where were you encouraged to go for your dreams?
Who made you feel glad to be alive?
Whatever your answer, that's where to give your money.
"Many people have had a psychological block against tithing (giving), because so many theologians have stressed what tithing would do for the church rather than what it could do for the individual."
-- Catherine Ponder, Open Your Mind to Prosperity

The Great Back-Door Secret to Wealth

2008-11-29T08:41:00.001-08:00

I received a check in the mail today from a long-lost friend.
The check is for only a portion of the money he owes me. But since he took almost ten years to send this amount, I am glad to see it.
Ten years ago he hired me to write a detailed marketing strategy for him. At that time, I charged a few thousand dollars for such a service. He agreed to it and said he would pay. I did the work and he didn't pay.
Because he was my friend, I let the invoice slide. Months went by. Then years. Then he moved to another state. And I moved to another city. He went on his way in life and basically dropped out of my awareness. I went on my own way and fairly quickly became somewhat famous on the Internet for my books and tapes.
One day a few months ago I received an email from someone who wanted to co-author a book with me. He said he knew some of my friends, and mentioned the one who owed me money.
As soon as I saw my old friend's name, my blood pressure rose. I felt myself get angry. I felt ripped off. Betrayed. Hurt.
I took some deep breaths and calmed myself down. I talked to myself. I reminded myself that the universe is a big place (some understatement) and that wealth can come from many avenues, not just from past invoices. I decided to forgive my friend. And I did, mentally. I sincerely let him and his debt go. I didn't need the money. And I didn't need to be right.
After maybe nine years, my friend sent me an email. He said he knew he owed me money. He explained that he had tough times, that he had moved, that he was trying to make it as a professional speaker. He added that he wanted to bring peace to our old friendship.
I wrote him a brief note saying we already had peace. I also invited him to pay off his invoice by sending me a check for a tiny percentage of what he owed me (about twenty percent, as I recall). He agreed.
Well, he didn't send me a check. Not right away, anyway. Several more months passed before I heard from him again. This time it was another email, and this time he was again explaining his situation to me.
I remained at peace. I knew I would have money. It didn't have to come from him. The universe---whatever you want to call that power bigger than you or I---would see that money came to me as long as I stayed in the flow. And being at peace is a good way to stay in the flow.
And, as I explained in the beginning of this chapter, the check arrived today.
I have no idea how my old friend felt as he wrote that check. I hope he did it with a heart full of joy. If so, he activated the money-attracting principle.
I know when I wrote a check for $500 to my brother, who had helped me out of a bind twenty years before and I finally paid him off, I felt exhilarated. Writing that check to Ted made me feel like a king. And it gave me such an inner sense of peace that that alone was worth a million dollars.
I'm calling this sense of peace --- or forgiveness, if you will --- a back-door secret to wealth.
Where in your life are you holding grudges because someone owes you money? Or maybe because you owe someone money?
Let it go. Talk to yourself. Allow yourself the heavenly awareness that the universe provides, not your friends. Money doesn't come to you from them, it comes to you through them.
Once you can let the grudges go, you free yourself to receive.

The Great Secret To activateThe Law

2008-11-29T08:32:00.000-08:00

The lady on the phone had a question.
"I've been giving money away for years and I haven't seen my own prosperity grow at all. What am I doing wrong?"
"Where are you giving money?"
"To my local church."
"Why are you giving them money?" I asked.
"They need it."
"How do you feel when you give it to them?"
"Like I am helping them out of a hole."
"But how do you really feel when you give them money?"
There was a moment of silence.
"Well, it's a pain," she admitted. "I cringe when I write them a check."
Not good.
"If you feel lousy when you give money, then you are associating money with bad feelings," I explained. "You probably don't want to attract more bad feelings, so you probably won't attract much more money, either."
"Wow. I never thought of it that way."
"And if you give because someone asked for it or even pleaded for it, then you are reinforcing need," I explained. "In order for you to experience increased wealth, you want to give money wherever it makes you feel good to do so. In other words, giving to someone who needs it is a noble thing to do. Do it. But that's not the principle I'm talking about here."
"I get it!" she said. I couldn't help but think some other part of the universe was helping her understand what I couldn't explain.
"What did you get?" I asked.
"I've been keeping the church in a begging mode," she said. "My heart wants to give money to wherever I feel spiritual nourishment. Sometimes that's my church. Sometimes it's not."
"You got it!" I said.
And there you have it.
You can give money to any causes you like. I've helped The Red Cross, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, cancer funds, and more. But I didn't expect my finances to increase from that giving. That generosity was helping, yes, but not necessarily activating spiritual law.
The spiritual law of financial income seems to happen when you give money freely to wherever you get your spiritual nourishment, with a small expectation that somehow, some way, some day, your finances will increase as a result.
Giving to worthy causes might activate the law if you feel you received spiritual nourishment from those causes. But if you didn't, and you give anyway, you are probably just helping people in need. That, of course, is noble. I say do it.
Again, the subject of this book is the greatest money-making secret in history. And you activate that secret when you give freely, joyously, to wherever you currently get spiritual nourishment and nurturing.
　
"Money is an outer form of spiritual substance."
-- Georgiana Tree West, Prosperity's Ten Commandments

The Greatest Money-Making you never know!

2008-11-29T08:26:00.000-08:00

If you want money, you only have to do one thing.
It's the one thing some of the wealthiest people on the planet have done and are doing.
It's the one thing written about in various ancient cultures and still promoted today.
It's the one thing that will bring money to anyone who does it but at the same time most people will fear doing it.
What is that one thing?
John D. Rockefeller did it since he was a child. He became a billionaire.
Andrew Carnegie did it, too. He became a tycoon.
What is the greatest money-making secret in history?
What is the one thing that works for everyone?
Give money away.
That's right. Give it away.
Give it to people who help you stay in touch with your inner world.
Give it to people who inspire you, serve you, heal you, love you.
Give it to people without expecting them to return it, but give it knowing it will come back to you multiplied from some source.
In 1924 John D. Rockefeller wrote to his son and explained his practice of giving away money. He wrote, "...in the beginning of getting money, away back in my childhood, I began giving it away, and continued increasing the gifts as the income increased..."
Did you notice what he said?
He gave away more money as he received more income. He gave away $550 million dollars in his lifetime.
Some people think Rockefeller started giving away dimes as a publicity stunt to improve his image. That's not true. The public relations man who worked for Rockefeller was Ivy Lee. In Courtier To The Crowd, a great biography of Lee, Ray Eldon Hiebert states Rockefeller had been giving money away for decades on his own. All Lee did was let the public know.
P.T. Barnum gave money away, too. As I wrote in my book on him, There's A Customer Born Every Minute, Barnum believed in what he called a "profitable philanthropy." He knew giving would lead to receiving. He, too, became one of the world's richest men.
Andrew Carnegie gave enormously, too. Of course, he became one of the richest men in America's history.
Bruce Barton, cofounder of the famous BBDO advertising agency and the key subject of my book The Seven Lost Secrets of Success also believed in giving. In 1927 he wrote:
"If a man practices doing things for other people until it becomes so much a habit that he is unconscious of it, all the good forces of the universe line up behind him and whatever he undertakes to do."
Barton became a best-selling author, business celebrity, contributor to numerous causes, and very, very, wealthy.
While some might argue that these early tycoons had the money to give, so it was easy for them, I would argue that they got the money in part because they were willing to freely give. The giving led to the receiving. The giving led to more wealth.
I'll repeat that:
The giving led to the receiving.
The giving led to more wealth.
Today it's fashionable for businesses to give money to worthy causes. It makes them look good and of course it helps those who receive it. Anita Roddick's Body Shop stores, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield's ice cream, and Yvon Chouinard's Patagonia, are living examples of how giving can be good for business.
But what I'm talking about here is individual giving. I'm talking about you giving money so you will receive more money.
If there's one thing I think people do wrong when they practice giving, is they give too little. They hold on to their money and let it trickle out when it comes to giving. And that's why they aren't receiving. You have to give, and give a lot, to be in the flow of life to receive.
I remember when I first heard about the idea of giving. I thought it was a scheme to get me to give money to the people who were telling me to do the giving.
If I did give, it was like a miser. Naturally, what I got in return was equivalent to what I gave. I gave little. I got little.
But then one day I decided to test the theory of giving.
I love inspiring stories. I read them, listen to them, share them, and tell them. I decided to thank Mike Dooley of www.tut.com for the inspiring messages he shares with me and others every day by email.
I decided to give him some money. In the past I would have given him maybe five dollars. But that's when I came from scarcity and feared the giving principle wouldn't work. This time would be different. I took out my checkbook and wrote a check for one thousand dollars.
It was the largest single contribution I had ever made in my life at that time.
Yes, it made me a tiny bit nervous. But it mostly made me excited. I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to reward Mike. And I wanted to see what would happen.
Mike was stunned. He got my check in the mail and nearly drove off the road as he headed home. He couldn't believe it. He even called me and thanked me. I enjoyed his boyish surprise. It made me feel like a million bucks. (Note that!)
I loved making him so happy. I delighted in giving the money to him. Whatever he did with it was fine with me. What I got was an incredible feeling of helping someone continue doing what I believed in. It was an inner rush to help him. I still rejoice at sending him the money.
And then something wonderful began to happen.
I suddenly got a call from a person who wanted me to co-author his book, a job that ended up paying me many times over what I had given away.
And then a publisher in Japan contacted me, wanting to buy the translation rights to my best-selling book, Spiritual Marketing. They, too, offered me many times what I had given Mike as a gift.
A true skeptic can say these events are unrelated. Maybe in the skeptic's mind, they aren't. In mine, they are.
When I gave money to Mike, I sent a message to myself and to the world that I was prosperous and in the flow. I also set up a magnetic principle that attracted money to me: As you give, so you will get.
Give time and you'll get time.
Give products and you'll get products.
Give love and you'll get love.
Give money and you'll get money.
This one tip alone can transform your finances. Think of the person or persons who have inspired you over the last week. Who made you feel good about yourself, your life, your dreams, or your goals?
Give that person some money. Give them something from your heart. Don't be stingy. Come from abundance, not scarcity. Give without expecting return from that person, but do expect return.
As you do, you will see your own prosperity grow. That's the Greatest Money-Making Secret in History!
"If you see it, touch it.
If you touch it, feel it.
If you feel it, love it.
If you love it...Give it. "
Because NOTHING speaks to the UNIVERSE louder, of your BELIEF in self, abundance, and love, than giving.
And when the Universe hears, more will be added unto you. NOT AS A REWARD, but because you truly believed... in self, abundance, and love.

The Power of Giving

2007-06-01T01:18:00.000-07:00

It was a really hot summer's day many years ago. I was on my way to pick up two items at the grocery store. In those days, I was a frequent visitor to the supermarket because there never seemed to be enough money for a whole week's food-shopping at once.
You see, my young wife, after a tragic battle with cancer, had died just a few months earlier. There was no insurance --just many expenses and a mountain of bills. I held a part-time job, which barely generated enough money to feed my two young children. Things were bad -- really bad.
And so it was that day, with a heavy heart and four dollars in my pocket, I was on my way to the supermarket to purchase a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread. The children were hungry and I had to get them something to eat. As I came to a red traffic light, I noticed on my right a young man, a young woman and a child on the grass next to the road. The blistering noonday sun beat down on them without mercy.
The man held up a cardboard sign which read, "Will Work for Food." The woman stood next to him. She just stared at the cars stopped at the red light. The child, probably about two years old, sat on the grass holding a one-armed doll. I noticed all this in the thirty seconds it took for the traffic light to change to green.
I wanted so desperately to give them a few dollars, but if I did that, there wouldn't be enough left to buy the milk and bread. Four dollars will only go so far. As the light changed, I took one last glance at the three of them and sped off feeling both guilty (for not helping them) and sad (because I didn't have enough money to share with them).
As I kept driving, I couldn't get the picture of the three of them out of my mind. The sad, haunting eyes of the young man and his family stayed with me for about a mile. I could take it no longer. I felt their pain and had to do something about it. I turned around and drove back to where I had last seen them.
I pulled up close to them and handed the man two of my four dollars. There were tears in his eyes as he thanked me. I smiled and drove on to the supermarket. Perhaps both milk and bread would be on sale, I thought. And what if I only got milk alone, or just the bread? Well, it would have to do.
I pulled into the parking lot, still thinking about the whole incident, yet feeling good about what I had done. As I stepped out of the car, my foot slid on something on the pavement. There by my feet was a twenty-dollar bill. I just couldn't believe it. I looked all around, picked it up with awe, went into the store and purchased not only bread and milk, but several other items I desperately needed.
I never forgot that incident. It reminded me that the universe was strange and mysterious. It confirmed my belief that you could never out give the universe. I gave away two dollars and got twenty in return. On my way back from the supermarket, I drove by the hungry family and shared five additional dollars with them.
This incident is only one of many that have occurred in my life. It seems that the more we give, the more we get. It is, perhaps, one of those universal laws that say, "If you want to receive, you must first give."
There is a little rhyme that goes like this:
"A man there was, and they called him mad,
The more he gave, the more he had."
Most times, we think that we don't have anything to give. Yet, if we look more closely, we'll see that even the little we have could be shared with others. Let us not wait for a time when we think we'll have lots and then we'll give. By giving and sharing the little we have, we open up the storehouse of the universe and permit rivers of good to come our way.
Don't take my word for it. Just honestly try to give and you'll be surprised at the results. Generally, the returns do not come back from those we give to. It comes back from sources we could hardly imagine. So give your way to riches.
Take a chance on this universal principle. Take a chance on yourself. Universal principles always work.
Sometimes the return from giving happens very quickly as in the true story above. Other times, it takes much longer. But be assured of this: Give and you will receive -- and you'll receive lots more than you ever gave.
And when you give, don't do it with a heart of fear, but with a heart full of gratitude. You will be amazed at how it all works out. Open the gates of affluence in your life by giving a bit of what you have to those in need. As the great Teacher said, .Give and it will be given unto you..
Try it. You'll like it.