Flowing With The Tide

Archive for November, 2009

There isn’t anything recent about the pastime of gambling. Since before records began people have gambled on the outcome of a variety of events. The rise of the Internet has transformed all this and produced a pursuit available to everybody. The Internet makes it painless to bet on nearly any sporting event you can think of from the comfort of your living room. In the beginning, betting was a pursuit for only the most wealthy individuals. Gentlemen racing on their steeds and pre-arranged fights provided the aristocracy with the opportunity to wager on who would win. With the passage of time, games of chance moved into the bars, here people were granted license to gamble on cards and simple bar brawling. Boxing, horse racing, tennis, and even soccer betting soon spread across the world. Over time, everyday people were able to drop in to their neighborhood bookmaker and place wagers on their favorite sports matches, their favorite events, and sometimes on competitions arranged especially. Gambling is not merely reserved for fans either. It is not unusual for players to gamble sometimes. All this was great for gamblers in major cities but gamblers in rural environments were not lucky enough to have the same number of bookies close by, certainly not legitimately. In addition people were limited to wagering on matches happening locally or to those featured on TV or radio.

When Internet gambling came alive, however, all the issues were wiped out straightaway. Nowadays, people are able to switch on their laptop computer and find out everything they need to place a wager on their favorite soccer team or person, regardless of where they are. The major sites also have payment gateways provided to make getting at your bank account painless. The variety of pricing levels available means you do not have to be well-heeled to gamble. So thanks to the Internet, today no-one is excluded from the fun no matter their geographical location.

Indeed these days everybody may have the enjoyment of gambling without worrying about where they live. In addition to all this many people earn a lot of money doing it, you can easily see why online gambling is such a popular pastime.

If you are reading this, you are likely interested in searching for ways to moderate your finances. The best way to do this is to develop a monthly budget and sticking to it. A sound budget is an essential tool for managing money, one that has allowed me to live well even on limited funds. Monitoring my monthly budget is one of the most critical things I do every month, this has allowed me to systematically meet all expenses, grow my savings, and reduce debt.

I usually map out my budget for the coming month towards the end of the month. This will prepare me of what’s down the road. It’s not a good idea to produce a budget after getting paid because, too often, that flush feeling of having a paycheck results to nonessential and impulsive spending before the paycheck ever reaches the bank.

Managing my personal budget includes outlining all the things that must be paid that month like mortgage/rent, utility bills, and other necessities like insurance, car loan repayment, transportation costs, and phone. These are the essential things that I must pay to keep a comfortable roof over my head. I like to pad these essentials to create “money back” after paying the bills and, if costs increase unexpectedly, I’m always covered.

Next, my budget is subjected to a list of discretionary things I need to cover but could live without if absolutely unavoidable. An example are monthly savings deposits, credit card repayments and donations. These things are also necessary, but in instance of emergency I could put them off for a short time. By paying credit card companies the maximum instead of the minimum, I keep my credit score high and my debt low.

My budget does not include the cost of living such as food and entertainment. Ultimately, these items get covered by what’s left in the budget. Some months involve lots of beans and rice, slow-cooker meals, free or cheap entertainment, and only one inexpensive piece of clothing . This strategy of managing my monthly budget has worked out very well over the long term as long as I observe it scrupulously.

Here’s a particularly deep secret hardly any Internet masters are ready to share or actually point out without a fee. Part of the rationalizations to their achievement is they were among first to start it all. If you’ll remember hearing,’first come, first serve’ it’s the same way on the internet.

People usually remember who was first, not 2nd. For example, who was the first to sell books online? Amazon ; who was second? Who was first to start mass production cars? Ford ; who was second? Which company was first to start the fast-food chain restaurant? McDonalds ; who was second? Who was the first to build an airplane? The Wright siblings ; who was second?

Did you at any time notice the crickets when I asked for the second provider?

We all tend to remember who was first but seldom do we remember too much further than that. Whomever enters the market first usually makes the largest impression. The majority of our Internet experts are filthy rich because they were first to present their products. Is that fair? Well, from their standpoint, naturally it is. But from ours, it isn’t very fascinating.

Now you are thinking that you have to be first at something to become rich but you do not know what to be first at ; so, you think it’s impossible. Take it simple, my friend. There are ways around it. Let me ask you a question. Who owns money?

Did you try asserting Bill Gates? Did you try announcing Donald Trump? Did you even try saying George Bush? It doesn’t matter WHO you claim to possess money, you are wrong. No one owns money. Bill Gates has money, Donald Trump has money, George Bush has money and YOU have money but no one will ever own it.

Though money is man-made it is very like nature. No one owns it. No one owns the weather we feel, nobody owns the water we drink, no one owns the air we breathe and so on .

‘Oh, but folks own land!’

Do we really?

My point is this, money belongs to no one so do not think you cannot become as wealthy as any other guru you know of. And notice that I never once related being first automatically makes you rich. That’s not always the case and that’s the reason why I say the 1st will make the most important impression.

If wealth was made for only those that were 1st in line, then there would be no such thing as a line. They’d benefit before us but it doesn’t mean we cannot benefit anything.

—
Original article was written by Kevin Lam from www.TexasSEO.com – Texas SEO is a Dallas-based web marketing and consulting firm specializing in SEO & SEM, PPC, copywriting, web designing and more.

How has Net poker turned into one of the hottest games of the early twenty-first century? Put simply, the accessibility of a top web site, any time, any place. Be this the first time you’ve tried poker or the hundredth, you’re welcome to play it online. You’ll uncover so many sites you’ll be certain of finding one suited for you to learn on while winning.

Internet poker game sites have exploded over the time since the first web site was launched just over a decade ago, with thousands of game sites, a few of the bigger being among the largest online poker stamping grounds globally. Millions of people join in as part of their regular routine and enjoy the full range of forms of poker, right from their home. Over the course of the game’s adaptation and growth in support, however, it reduced the distinction between the Net game and what you’d find in circulation in casinos.

The biggest poker sites debuted competitions for their regulars featuring prizes, including places in World Poker Tours. And, after the online amateur and Net student of the game Chris Moneymaker competed at and was victorious in the following year’s World Poker Tour, the Net version of the game found the spotlight fixed firmly upon it. That victory confirmed it was possible, and over the next few days new players were flocking to these sites to improve their game with professional play as their goal. Flash forward in time to now, and you’ll find a substantial proportion of the important sites offer seats at real world events. And we don’t only mean local tournaments. The prize at some sites, for example, is access to the annual World Series of Poker where spectators see over one hundred million dollars awarded annually. The WSOP takes its entrants on a tour of several of the best known casinos playing before that scene of luxury and high-rolling excess.

Have you heard of the World Poker Tour? It’s the contest which saw the first victory by a star of Net poker – and you can still gain entry in the same manner. Big names are going to play, big money will be at stake, and throughout these celebrated casinos you’ll experience lots of excitement on and off tour.

Players who win can earn entry to the tours they watched as fans on television. You don’t have to start out already well known. You don’t have to play in some perceived ‘right place’, or even make your home in a particular country. Take our advice, develop your talents, and beat the competition in your chosen Net leagues – and this could be you. This means that that experts waiting for their shot at the big time and enthusiasts intending to expand their experience at the simpler poker sites can all find the solution to their problems in the Net poker world.

You’ve decided to make press releases part of your public relations program – Now what?

Developing newsworthy material can be tougher than you think. Reporters get barraged with scores of article submissions every day, so they eagerly look for reasons to ignore them. While nobody can say for sure what the news is, these Top 7 stories definitely are not:

#1. Shameless self-promotion, any topic. Reporters have no interest in singing your praises; their job is to inform the public. Articles littered with hype flags like “world’s greatest” and “revolutionary new product” go straight to the recycle bin.

#2. News blobs. Even if you have actual news, reporters want a sharp angle, not a confused pile of facts. Arrange your information into a story people want to hear. Suppose you’re announcing a newly opened branch officewho cares? But if you explain how it created 30 jobs for an economically ravaged community, people will care plenty.

#3. Blah, blah, blah. Press releases over 650 words have no chance. Ideal is 300-400 words.

#4. Better never than late. Do not submit stories about an event that will take place the next day. Print and online media need at least 48 hours (often more) to edit material and prepare layouts. Respect their lead times and reporters will respect you.

#5. Announcing! Stories about new online store openings are so common they have ceased to be news. So unless you have a spectacular angle, put your ramp-up efforts into SEO and PPC.

#6. So-and-so got promoted. People get promoted all the time. You need to be able to tell the reporter why this promotion is special, different, and worth taking up valuable space in his publication.

#7. New client! Companies like to brag when they land a big client. Occasionally these events get written up into effective press releases, case studies, and white papers. But typically, the stories sound like self-promotion and never see the light of day or dark of ink.

Remember: reporting and advertising are entirely different disciplines. Advertisers tell why, but reporters need who, what, where and when. Advertisers are partisan and make claims; reporters are objective and demand facts. Finally, advertising is eternally optimistic, but a solid news story often contains information that is negative from the company’s point of view. Make sense? If so, pick up your press credentials and start typing.

1. Disguise Repetition

Students can drop out very quickly if there classes are monotonous,to develop skill students do need lots of repetition. It’s your job to make the learning process exciting and fun through variation. Be creative have students work with partners, on pads, in lines, circles
and facing the instructor, keep things moving.

2. Keep Your Students Progressing

The martial arts belts system is one of our biggest advantages over other activities. It helps set goals for students and gives them something new around their waist that tells them they are progressing as they succeed at each learning hurdle, which motivates and builds confidence. Make the curriculum the main focus of your school, infact make it your responsibility to help every single person be ready to take their next test, if you do this 80% and above of your student body will be ready
to take the test. We are not talking about reducing your standards we are talking about refining your focus; encouraging students to attend class consistently and practice at home. Introduce mini monthly assessments, awarding stripes to belts to breakdown the testing phase into small chunks “inch by inch it’s a cinch, yard by yard it’s hard!”

3. Recognise Your Students Efforts

Students must feel progress; we all thrive on someone recognising our efforts and giving us praise, so if your student’s side kick has improved tell them about it, make their day! Be honest and sincere and learn to look for the good in your students.

4. Keep Safety In Mind

Protect your students especially beginners, consider proper pairing of students, teach correct use of equipment, preframe control at all times, and introduce sparring gradually. Make sure you can see and maintain control of the full class at all times. Beware of any past injuries or medical concerns, and plan your classes accordingly to be within people’s physical limitations. Check the floor space is clear and that people are not training too close together.

5. Motivational Curriculum

The perfect curriculum should be like a pyramid upside down, with less material at the beginning and gradual increases at each belt level. Using this method will not reduce the standards of your black belts and will dramatically increase the numbers that achieve this standard.
Having too much material at the early stages of a curriculum just overwhelms students and tells them this is too difficult for me.

6. Know Your Students

Make the effort to learn and use all our student’s names every time they come to class. Make eye contact with all your students and make appropriate physical contact such as handshake or high five.
Seek out the quite ones that disappear without anyone noticing, make an extra effort to speak to those students. Take time to develop rapport and show your students they are important to you, be careful not to overdue it, be friendly but not friends. Students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care!

7. Smiling Sweating & Learning

Try and achieve a balance to your classes so students can smile and enjoy themselves without losing discipline, they get a workout as well as practicing the technical elements and they learn something in every class no matter how small. Using SSL will ensure your classes have a healthy balance that encompasses all your students’ needs.

8. Paint The Picture

Never assume your students know where they are going with their
training, make every class encompass the theme of achieving the goal of Black Belt, this will keep your students focused. So when something comes up in their life and something has to give, it will not be their martial arts training as they will realise how important it is to achieve their goals. Help your students to visualise the mental and physical skills they will achieve through their black belt goal.

Lee Mainprizer is a martial arts business expert and founder of http://www.mainstructor.com “the ultimate instructors tool”

When you decide to become self-employed, you automatically become the “Chief, Cook, and Bottle Washer.”

In other words, you do it all.

You do the bookkeeping, buy the paper clips, market your business, and you even provide your business’s product or service.

But you are better at some tasks than others and there are some tasks that you just hate to do.

Fortunately, there is someone out there who likes doing what you hate-or what you do poorly. And, for a fee, they’ll be happy to do it for you.

The payoff? Your productivity increases and you have more time to do the things you enjoy.

Most people will quickly hire an accountant or tax preparer to prepare their taxes if that is an area in which they have little expertise.

That payoff is obvious. The work is time consuming and tedious for most non-tax people. A competent tax pro will get the job done quickly and efficiently. Best of all, in an area where the consequences for getting it wrong can be huge, his expertise will ensure that the job gets done right.

Then there are additional benefits. If there is a problem, many will represent you before the tax authorities. And your tax pro can advise you on tax questions and strategies.

So the money spent is a bargain and the decision to hire his services is easy.

The same logic applies to other areas. If you find it difficult to write good copy for the postcards and letters you use for your direct mail campaigns, consider hiring a copywriter.

If you hate keeping your books, hire a bookkeeper. Or at least buy decent accounting software and hire someone to help you set it up properly.

These days, virtual assistants can work on specific projects or handle everyday mundane tasks. And you won’t even have to carve out a place in your bedroom home office for them.

And if there is too little money available, a business consultant can help you grow your business.

The money spent will more than repay itself in greater time for you-and a better result.

Ellen Zucker has been self-employed for over 10 years. She owns the site http://selfemployment101.com

Self-Employment 101: It’s about making a living and creating a life! … Observations, information and resources for those of us who are self employed or just thinking about it.

It’s official! Australia is the largest nation of shareholders with direct share ownership more than doubling since 1997 to 40.6 per cent. That figure rises to 54 per cent of all adult Australians when managed funds are taken into account.

We’re also trading more shares. The Australian Stock Exchange reports the average number of trades has nearly trebled in the past year to 79,000 a day.

Large new floats such as Telstra has fueled the growth of private share ownership. For example, almost one million of the two million people who invested in our largest telecommunications company were first time investors. They haven’t been disappointed with their return on capital and many have branched out into other well-known stock such as Coles-Myer, Qantas, AMP, Commonwealth Bank and others.

Smaller and less-well known companies are also floating on the stock exchange in record numbers. In the last half of 1999 more than 104 new companies went public.

Share ownership in Australia cuts across all age groups, socio-economic, ethnic and geographical boundaries. The motivation for most investors is to make money and create wealth.

Newer investors have been in a rising or “bull” market and seen their so-called “paper profits” soar. Internet and technology based companies have also been floated in record numbers with astonishing results. Many “Mum and Dad” investors are instant experts and looking for that next “dot com” company on which to make their fortune.

But what are the keys to successful share investing? Ron Bennetts is Principle Manager WA for stockbrokers J.B. Were and author of “The Australian Stock Market: A Guide for Players, Planners and Procrastinators”.

His advice is simple, “invest some time as well as money, look for quality management in quality companies with earnings growth.”

Bennetts defines these companies as ones that are strong and likely to increase their earnings per share. He believes the technology area is a growth sector and the bubble may burst but there will be growth.

“Look at the companies that have the qualities rather than a marketing plan that has little chance of bearing fruit,” he says.

One of the keys too successful investing is diversification and Bennetts says you don’t need more than 12 stocks to diversify your portfolio. He also believes 15 per should be overseas shares and this is often 25 per cent for more aggressive investors.

On seeking independent advice versus investing yourself, Bennetts says “the cost of buying and selling is often viewed as a false economy” and suggests first time investors seek professional advice.

Ten Tips for First Time Share Investors

1. Set your objectives and work out a budget for how much you want to invest.

2. Avoid speculating. Do some homework about the risks of investing in the stock market and spend time gaining knowledge on how the stock market works.

3. Take a long-term view of your investment.

4. Avoid reacting to short-term pressure and expect some volatility in the market.

5. Identify quality shares in a growth sector. Look for good quality management in industries likely to grow in the future.

6. Diversify your portfolio to spread your risk. This should ideally include about 10 stocks. Less than 10 are not enough diversification and more than 15 is too hard to handle.

7. Compliment your Australian share portfolio with international shares. Exposure overseas can typically be through managed funds.

8. Buy into a managed fund if you only have small amounts of money to invest. A managed fund is an investment where you have a manager that gives you diversification in pooled funds with other investors. To buy direct most advisors believe you need a minimum of $50,000 to do anything meaningful.

9. Monitor your portfolio as closely as possible on the performance of the companies you are investing in.

10. Seek professional advice from a qualified stockbroker or financial planner.

Thomas Murrell MBA CSP is an international business speaker, consultant and award-winning broadcaster. Media Motivators is his regular electronic magazine read by 7,000 professionals in 15 different countries.

You can subscribe by visiting http://www.8mmedia.com. Thomas can be contacted directly at +6189388 6888 and is available to speak to your conference, seminar or event. Visit Tom’s blog at http://www.8mmedia.blogspot.com.

IT network managers have to fight the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” mindset to win resources. With computer networks, that mindset is dangerously complacent. IT networks will keep pumping data until they die or let in hackers. Here are some winning arguments against “if it ain’t broke…”

IT Network Maintenance: Better Analogies

Don’t let your IT network’s budget get lumped with IT in general–or worse, operations in general. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” sometimes makes sense in IT or operations. Upgrading workstations or desks can cost productivity, making it self-defeating. You have to stress that IT networks are different from workstations or desks.

• IT networks are harder to repair.
• IT networks cannot be done without until fixed. You depend on them for email, web, file transfers, and in some organizations, printing, fax and telephone. If your network breaks you may be forced to rely on hand-written letters.
• IT network improvements rarely lower productivity on the front line. Instead, a faster, more reliable network can improve front-line productivity.

Here are the analogies you should stress to counter “if it ain’t broke”:

• Plumbing: IT networks will appear to function until they burst. The damage will be more expensive than maintenance ever could have been. In the meantime, you are losing productivity to all the little “leaks.”
• Dams: If a poorly maintained IT network bursts, the eventual flood will harm overall productivity.
• War: There is no such thing as “good enough” when you are in competition. With an IT network, you’re in a quiet arms race with hackers. You are also competing with your business competitors in terms of productivity.
• Health: Your IT network has to be in top physical condition. You can’t make up for bad habits with a week or two of “rejuvenation.” Meanwhile, your day-to-day performance will suffer.
• Cars: Don’t wait for your IT network to conk out. Get a regular tune-up of up-to-date equipment.

IT Network Maintenance: What Can Go Wrong

Now, let’s drive the point home. Here are some concrete, easy-to-explain reasons to keep your network up-to-date:

• Power supplies. Without redundant backups, your network is vulnerable to a shutdown. The lost productivity will make extra equipment seem inexpensive in comparison.
• Integrity. Faulty or contradictory data can break older networks. Newer equipment has solved these problems. Again, the potential cost of lost productivity makes newer equipment a good value.
• Firewalls. Hackers can leak trade secrets stolen from unprotected networks. Firewall software upgrades are relatively inexpensive.
• VOIP. Organizations worldwide are switching to VOIP–not just outside-line telephones but also switchboard and teleconferencing. If your network is out-of-date, it may fail when you eventually try this new technology.
• Speed. Older platforms such as 10BASET will throttle your bandwidth. You can now upgrade to a Terabit or more. Just think of the seconds, minutes, hours, and days lost as staff wait for email to arrive and web pages to load.

Final tip: show how cost-effective IT network maintenance really is. Get a firm cost estimate from a vendor. Just make sure your cost estimate is as competitive as it can be. You can often get new equipment at half the cost of retail by buying refurbished equipment.

Close your case for a better network with this wisdom: no matter what you pay, keeping your network up-to-date is cheaper than the consequences of letting it fall into disrepair.

Joel Walsh is a business and technology writer. Get an IT network cost estimate from Genesis Global, specialist in guaranteed used cisco switches: www.genesisglobalinc.com

Hair loss is hereditary in my family but I never thought that it would hit me at such an early age. I first discovered that my hairline was receding shortly before my thirtieth birthday. I was frightened and in denial that I was losing my hair. I even started balding on the back of my head.

For the first time in my life, I felt old. I felt like the best years of my life were behind me. I even stopped seeing other people. My love life was non-existent. There was one girl I had been dating nonchalantly and even though I liked her, I just stopped returning her calls. I realised that I hadn’t found the woman of my dreams with a full head of hair so there was no way I was going to find somebody with my growing bald spot. I was too demoralized to even try having a romantic relationship.

Hair loss taken a toll on me tremendously, it changed me from a confident person to a dismayed loner. I was very determined to address the issue and get the problem fixed. I started trying various hair loss treatments that are available over the counter. I have tried every single treatment and solution available from the chemist, nothing worked. After spend lots of money on products, I stopped trying for a while. It was a real low point in my life. I even stopped going out with my friends, I was so gloomy.

Fortunately, one night a close friend dragged me out of the house for a few beverages. The first thing he observed about me was my mood, he knew that the hair loss has affected how I felt. He mentioned to me about the hair loss studio in the city. My friend had gone there for hair loss treatments and had been impressed with the results. I was even more impressed. I wouldn’t have thought that he had endured from hair loss, he had a full head of hair. He made me promise to give them a shot and I agreed.

I could not have been happier with the hair loss studio recommended to me. Only after a few treatments, I had a full head of hair again. The results were excellent, they did not just give me my hair back but also my self-confidence.