That Payday Punch

Life happens. It doesn’t matter how positive an attitude you have or how balanced and centered you are, there are going to be times when you are knocked down. Ties when your carefully organized life is turned upside down and you get knocked on your rear end. Life happens.

You will no doubt experience serious illness in either yourself or someone close to you. You may be challenged with the loss of a loved one, a divorce or perhaps the loss of a job or any number of situations that will leave you feeling like you were kicked in the stomach.

Let’s face it. These things will happen. They’re part of life and no matter how you try to explain them away with the idea that, “everything happens for a reason,” they hurt. A lot! They hurt at the very core of your being. The pain begins in your heart and radiates throughout your entire being. Repeating positive phrases does not make it stop hurting.

At times like these, you’re going to feel down, even depressed. You probably feel anger or some other manifestation of your pain. Whatever you’re feeling, it’s ok. It’s ok to feel hurt, sad, angry or whatever your true feelings are. You cannot deny pain any more than can deny fear. The only way through either of them is to give yourself permission to feel the feeling.

The question is not whether or not you will feel down. The question is for how ling will you stay in this state?

The difference between people who get through life’s challenging moments, regardless of the seriousness, and those who are immobilized by the events is what I call the “Bounce factor.”

How quickly can you bounce back? Of course, the severity of the event will have a lot to do with the time it will take you to get past the pain and on with your life.

Take the example of two people being downsized from their high technology jobs, something that is becoming a natural occurrence these days. One, whom we’ll call John, is floored by the news of his dismissal. He expresses his pain by becoming angry at the company, his co-workers and the system in general. He spends his days telling anyone who’ll listen, about his “problem.” Usually from a bar stool.

As he sees it, his life is ruined and he’s blaming everyone for his troubles. People who react like John spend weeks, even months, wallowing in despair until, if they’re fortunate, someone close to them convinces them to seek professional help.

Mary, on the other hand, reacts much differently. Although she has gone through the same experience as John and has pretty much the same issues like living expenses, etc., she chooses to react differently.

After a brief period of feeling a loss of self-esteem, self-pity and anger, Mary decides to get back in the game. She begins contacting her network of colleagues and co-workers, avails herself of the outplacement services her former employer offered everyone and starts actively looking for a new position. In a short time, Mary finds her “dream job” with an exciting new company.

While both people in our hypothetical example Had the same experience and both went through a period of hurting, the time each allowed themselves to remain in that dis-empowering state was vastly different. While John remained “stuck” in his problem, Mary handled her loss and moved on with her life.

This is the key. It’s not whether life occasionally puts you into a tailspin, it’s how long you remain there.

When something devastating happens to you, allow yourself some time to grieve your loss, however, don’t allow yourself to get stuck there. Take some action. Join a support group, talk about your feelings with a trusted friend or your spiritual advisor. If necessary, seek professional help.

In the case of a job loss, perhaps you want to take some time to re-evaluate your career goals. You may even consider a change in fields. When you’re ready, you can begin networking and making new contacts. Attend social or church events. Call people you know. Do something!

One of the most important things to remember in high stress situations is not to allow yourself to isolate. While spending some time alone is normal, even necessary, isolation can be dangerous and should be avoided at all costs. Get out and be with people as soon as possible. As a friend recently reminded me, “life is for the living.” It’s important to get back to your life. In time, the pain will pass.

Jim Donovan is a motivational speaker and the author of several books, including Handbook to a Happier Life (New World Library). For a free ebook or audio and a subscription to his newsletter visit www.jimdonovan.com

Why isn’t your golf swing improving? Have you ever had your golf swing analysed? That’s not just having a golf professional look at your swing but check out your golf swing plane, posture, your spine angle, balance and general biomechanics. If you haven’t you are not having a true swing analysis done.

You understand the basics… how to hold the club, where to stand, but things go wrong from there. The reason your golf swing goes astray when you take your club back is because your biomechanics are faulty. For example, if you have a functional short leg on your left side, when you take your stance your hips will rotate resulting in an open stance. You might think that you are square to the target line, but you are not.

With your poor biomechanics the club is being forced into an out-to-in swing so you will hit the ball with a clockwise spine. Correcting your hip and spine angle will square the club face at impact so you can hit the ball with an anti-clockwise spin. The hips and shoulders must return to a square position this will not only cure your slice but you allow distance from more power being generated from the correct body turn and the square club face. If your hips are rotated you will not be able to align your feet, hips and shoulders square to the target. If your posture is corrected your muscles will groove your new swing so you will naturally return to a stance with a square club face. Also if your hips are rotated your centre of gravity will not be right this will force your shoulders to turn too quickly with an open stance due to a poor hip rotation the body will be in front of the ball. If your spine angle is wrong you will not setup with your head behind the ball you will begin your downswing before you have complete your back swing with your arms.

Every golf swing fault can be analysed this way. That’s why your golf swing is not improving. You are not addressing your main piece of golf equipment…YOUR BODY…and how it affects your golf swing. This is why you have difficulty repeating a good shot. Your biomechanics aren’t grooved to a good swing. Muscle memory is going to return you to a poor posture unless it is retrained. Your golf professional is telling you to have good balance, keep good posture and maintain your spine angle throughout the shot. But how can you maintain your golf swing if your body won’t allow it? You need your golf swing analysed from a biomechanical point of view to determine how your posture and muscle imbalances are affecting your swing.

So I broke the golf swing down from a purely biomechanical view. How does your posture affect your swing? Can it cause you to hook, slice, hit the ball fat or thin etc? The answer was yes. Because as your posture changes so does your swing plane. Then I looked at the variations in posture. Can they relate to swing faults? …Yes, they are definitely related to every swing fault. So I came up with a basic equation. Muscle imbalance = poor posture = poor swing. I looked at every posture and muscle imbalance and came up with a simple formula to analyse these faults related to a swing fault. So this is how Get Fit to Golf and the ChiroFit Program was born. If you can maintain a constant posture and spine angle through a shot you will be able to repeat the same swing and return the club face square to the target line. I also looked at well know golf champions past and present, from Ben Hogan, Jack Nickalus, Greg Norman, Tiger Woods etc. Even though they have variations in their swings at first glance, if you break their golf swing down they all have something in common. At the impact zone they have maintained good posture, spine angle and balance, and they are able to repeat this. Tiger woods is a good example. When he first came on the golf scene he had the best posture of any golfer I had seen.

If you want to improve your golf game, your golf swing training and analysis should have a physical component. Have your golf swing analysed from a biomechanical standard and then fit it to your game. This is the basis to Get Fit to Golf. An easy to access online assessment process which will highlight and analyse your golf swing faults and then you can download a tailor-made easy to use program all done online. All it takes is 30 minutes of posture balancing three times a week to dramatically change your golf swing and improve your game for life.

Ronald Burke is the owner of
Get Fit to Golf
which is a premier site for Golf information and membership programs.
for more information, go to http://www.getfittogolf.com

One of the best ways to improve your on-camera interviews is by conducting mini-interviews with your subjects before the camera rolls. This was really helpful for a recent San Diego video production. An apprehensive, nervous CEO became a solid, confident presenter on tape largely because our producer spent time preparing him.

Ideally, this is done in person with the subject a few weeks or days before your video production. That way, they’ll become comfortable with your interview style and you’ll have an idea what they’ll look and sound like on tape. It will also give you an opportunity to evaluate their chances of performing as required for the program. It may be possible to schedule some quick media training or suggest other ways to enhance their performance. This could include the addition of a teleprompter or a hair/makeup stylist.

If time doesn’t permit a personal visit, a phone conversation is the next best thing. This is when you can determine whether your subject is long-winded, lacks energy, etc., so that you can find a better interview subject. You can help your subject to be succinct and clear (i.e., “Am I understanding you correctly when you say…” or “Do you mean to say…”). It will also give you the chance to help the subject gather their thoughts. Busy professionals often wait until the last minute to scan briefing notes and then sit down and want the interview over in five minutes. The client then wonders why the program wasn’t successful.

Pre-interviews can also help you formulate better questions because you’ll know what your subject is going to say. At the very least, take a few minutes before the camera rolls, while the crew is setting up, for a mini pre-interview to find out what your subject will say and to help him or her relax. The worst thing to do is to sit in the room during setup. There are too many distractions. The client will be listening to where the audio guy went on vacation instead of discussing the subject at hand with you. This is the time to take control, isolate the client from handlers if possible, and accomplish your goal of making the subject comfortable with you and their material.

Kurt Snider is the owner of Solana Productions, an Emmy award winning video production company with offices located in San Diego, Los Angeles and Seattle. For more information, please visit http://www.solanaproductions.com

If you are looking for a real steady income, look no further, or if you are counting on the lottery or for a family member to leave you their fortune. Stop wasting your time, you can start building your own pot of gold at the end of the rainbow with paid membership sites.

If you have something unique and fresh to bring to the table you too could be cashing in with your own successful paid membership site learn more here on getting started ===> http://uniquelyit.paidsite.hop.clickbank.net.
There are many ways to get started I have listed a few that will get you started in no time. You could go about this in several ways:

1. Joint Ventures

You could do joint ventures with other online entrepreneurs who are already successful with paid membership sites or start off fresh with partners looking to do the same thing. This does not have to about anything in particular; it can something as simple as finding unusual gadgets or your favorite hobby. You want find a niche that no one has tapped into yet; this is key to your success.

Think about what you are good at, what can you offer; search out partners that specialize in something that you need help in this way all will benefit in the end. Once you have found some partners to work with you can pool your resources to come up with a product or service that is not already being offered by someone else and not offered free on the internet already.

2. USP

You may already have a unique selling proposition (USP) but don’t know how to market it to the world. Partnering up with someone may be just what you need to make it work. Building a paid membership site could just be the tool you need to get it started. Having a USP is the key to building a solid foundation for any business.

I mentioned doing joint ventures specifically, you might decide to go do this alone. If that is the case you still need to find a way to harness what you have to offer members. Your knowledge, wisdom, education and experiences along with proven documentation to prove it works all you need to build a paid membership site. Your USP may be the special way you can explain, illustrate and break down vital information so others can understand the first time around who knows, that is the point we don’t know only you can bring this to the surface.

3. Creating a Niche

Don’t just start a paid membership site for the profits alone that will not work. You must target your market and you can do that by finding a specific niche that is only specific to those who are looking for that what you have to offer. For example, beanie babies or sure fire proven tips and techniques that work for finding products at rock bottom wholesale prices guaranteed. As mention earlier this can be on just about anything you can build upon.

You want to make your niche is fresh, unique, original and innovative and make sure it is NOT offered for free on the internet anywhere; this will be hard to do but it can be done. You want to corner the market for that product or service you have created. Research what is available and find something that is not being offered and create a ebook or product or service that solves problems people are facing in their daily businesses and lives. Being able to solve other people’s problems or provide them with solutions to existing issue’s they are seeking answer’s to, you will create a steady stream of monthly income for yourself while helping others at the same time.

4. Finding Prospects

This one is easy, your can find prospects for all your joint venture’s by posting offers on message boards or forums. Post what you are looking for, many forums have threads where you can post what you want freely. You can also use your signature file to advertise you are looking for joint venture deals. Interested prospects can contact you by using the private message feature right on the forum.

5. How much to charge

This will depend on what you have to offer, and if what you have is of value and can’t be easily found elsewhere. You want it to be well worth the monthly fee, you can set up live seminars, or weekly online brainstorming meeting with special guess or new products, ebooks that only members have access to. You will have no problem with getting people to join, if you target your markets carefully. How much can you earn, well that depends on what you have to offer. I have seen many sites charge anywhere from $19.95 to $69.95 a month and more.

Let’s do some simple math to give you a idea of your income potential here, if you decide to start at $19.95 a month and you get 25 sign-ups in the first day you would have made $498.75 right off the top. Now let’s see what that would come to at the $69.95 rate for the same 25 sign-ups; does $1,748.75 should like something you would be interested in monthly. Keep in mind if are offering top of the line information, along with top speakers on the seminar circuit you will make a great deal more. Surely you can get 25 sign-ups from your list alone.

One final thing to think about, if you have done your homework you can put a cap on the number of members you allow to join. Top marketers do this so the internet is not saturated with members who are not using the material offered in the membership. The want people who are going to ‘take action’ and do not just idlely sit around. This will also add more demand as well; if it’s good you will have a waiting list.

So as you can see this could be something big, but you must have all of ducks in a roll standing tall. This is not for some old rehashed information; product or service that has been recycled so many times on the internet everyone has a copy. If that is what you have in mind, please stop now go back to brainstorming and re-think, with others your plan of action. Remember you have to offer something that is not already offered on the internet elsewhere for free, research this until you have exhausted all options and good luck.

Michelle has been online for about 7-years now. She started out on ebay which she still does some work on occasion. After doing the ebay thing for 2-years Michelle moved over to Internet and Affiliate Marketing. She has not stopped since. Build a home business now visit http://home-making-money.com for more information today.

We all agree Strategic Planning is a critical part of a company’s success. All too often, however, strategic plans stall before they ever make it to execution – or they gradually lose momentum. The organization is then left in a vulnerable and uncomfortable position of continuing to go about its business with good intentions but no focused direction or aligned action. Move intention into action using this three step remedy.

Step 1. Accountability – Get a grip on Results

Get a grip on results by having each member clearly articulate the end results rather than just activities. We use an Accountability Agreement to accomplish this (see www.AlignOnline.com). An Accountability Agreement defines the business outcomes an individual is promising to deliver, and outlines the resources and support that he or she needs from others in order to deliver these results. An Accountability Agreement is broken down into seven areas:

Business Focus Statement – Understand your company and your role within it.

No employee should sit on the sidelines as a casual observer of an organization’s success. This area focuses on the business of the company and the unique value each member brings to the organization. In short, why does the job exist and what do you bring to the table? This is then related to the role each person plays in the execution of the strategic plan.

Operational Accountabilities – Outline the end results you are accountable for achieving.

The strategic plan serves as a template to outline who is accountable for bringing about various end results of the strategic plan. Focusing Accountability for various parts of the strategic plan that the individual can significantly influence and achieve is the key to clearly articulating who is accountable for producing specific end-results.

Leadership Accountabilities – Set the tone and culture.

Integrating the leadership style into your strategic plan sets a tone throughout the organization. Leaders successfully execute the plan by focusing on the people side of their role and how they expect people to work together. Leadership accountabilities set the tone for the leadership style, and introduces the notion that “leaders model the way”.

Goals- Your road markers.

Goals are specific milestones that are derived directly from your accountabilities. Goals can be described as SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time Based.

Support Requirements- Identify the support and resources you need.

Success in organizations demands a significant level of teamwork and reciprocity. The individual is accountable for achieving end results in a context of mutual support. No one gets anything done alone. The alignment meeting described below creates a conversation where this interdependence is made visible and negotiated.

Sustainment Plan- Plan to keep it alive.

This describes how to keep accountabilities up-to-date and focused on business results as circumstances change. As things change, agreements must be adapted, renewed and revitalized.

Positive Consequences

A job is a business bargain between an individual and an organization. To get beyond the parent/child or master/servant relationship, effective individuals bargain for what they want, and can realistically expect, through a fair and reasonable exchange.

Step 2: Alignment- Align like a laser

When all members of a workgroup have completed their individual Accountability Agreements as described above, hold an alignment meeting. This process makes difficult issues discussable. Gaps and overlaps in individual accountabilities and goals are resolved and interdependencies and mutual support is agreed upon. At the end of an alignment meeting you can revise Accountability Agreements and realign on a regular basis as circumstances change or memories of agreements fade.

Gaining traction for your strategic plan ideally begins with your senior management team. Once you’ve identified who’s accountable, made commitments and aligned this senior group, you can then cascade it down a level at a time. The process of cascading continues until all employees understand what results they are expected to produce and how they are aligned interdependently with the rest of the company.

Step 3: Achievement
Individuals usually experience immediate value from the clarity of their business bargain provided by this process. The Alignment of individuals who know what is expected of them and who know what they want in return creates a powerful force for corporate success.

About the Accountability/Alignment Process:

The process we’ve outlined above has been consistently successful with our clients. We’ve made this process available to the public through our books Accountability: getting a grip on results, and Aligned like a laser, and have recently made our online tool (AlignOnline) available to organizations and consultants who wish to use it in their consulting practice. Visit us at www.AlignOnline.com for more articles on Strategic Planning, Accountability, and Alignment and information on our books and online Accountability tool.

Shaun Murphy, Ph.D. and Bruce Klatt, M.A. are senior partners in Murphy Klatt Consulting and authors of Aligned Like a Laser (2004) and Accountability: Getting a Grip on Results (1997). They are internationally recognized experts in the field of Organizational Effectiveness whose books have sold over 100,000 copies internationally.

For more information please go to http://www.murphyklatt.com or try their online Accountability Alignment tool at http://www.alignonline.com

“I know I should exercise,” a good friend of mine was lamenting to me late last week, “but I really hate going to gyms.” I have to admit, my initial response to this was incredulity – even in my much heavier days (when I had a BMI of 35, very little of which was due to muscle!), I still loved the gym environment. There’s something about being able to pit myself against machines that really kicks in my stubborn streak. Something in me clicks and I downright *refuse* to let the machines win. But to be honest, she’s not the first person I’ve heard say this.

So I started asking around, and quickly found that my friend wasn’t the only person who thought this way. Reasons for avoiding the gym varied, but they seemed to fall into one of four categories:

1. HYGIENE:

To quote one person, “Having to sit where other people have been sweating just grosses me out!”

2. EXPENSE:

If you’re already struggling to make ends meet, the yearly cost of a gym can feel totally unjustifiable

3. INCONVENIENCE:

The hassle of taking time out of an already overloaded schedule, not just to work out, but the travel time too

4. EMBARRASSMENT FACTOR:

The worry that everyone else on the floor will be either muscle-men or toned, tanned gym-bunnies who’d react with either disgust or derision to any less-than-perfect newbie with the audacity to profane their hallowed halls

Now, I could answer almost all of these objections (except for No. 2 – even I can accept that if the money genuinely won’t stretch, it just won’t stretch) with the suggestion that you just need to choose the right gym (both location and clientele-wise) for you, and follow basic gym etiquette (like always keeping a towel between you and the equipment).

There may, of course, be other reasons I haven’t covered as well. If you like the idea of working out in a gym, but can’t (for whatever reason), please contact me, and I’ll try to come up with a solution for you. However, that’s not what this article’s about. And the good news is, we don’t actually need to find solutions in the first place! Why? Because you really don’t *need* to go to a gym to get – or keep – fit.

Contrary to advertising image claims, gyms *don’t* have a monopoly on people’s ability to move; and that’s all exercise really is. Movement and activity is what’s important to our health, not when and where we do it. We just need to make sure we get enough of it in

Current ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) guidelines suggest that, in order to simply be healthy, you need to move aerobically for 40-60 minutes (not necessarily all at once), 3-5 times each week. If your goal is to lose weight, not just maintain your health, then this needs to happen no less than 5 times per week (although, if you’ve been inactive for some time, you may well need to build up gently to this level!) On top of this, research shows the need to include regular resistance training to help strengthen bones (especially in women), and to help offset (or even reverse) the damage caused by aging.

It sounds like a tall order, doesn’t it? Even with all the equipment of a gym available, it can take a little practice for newcomers to create routines that give them all the benefits of the strength and aerobic activities without eating into too much of their valuable time. It can be even harder to manage outside of a gym environment.

With a little planning, however, it is possible to get the activity you need to meet these guidelines without having to sign up for a gym, and Part 2 of this series, we’ll look at how you can do this.

Optimum Life Ltd provides balanced fitness & stress management services. For details of how to achieve optimum fitness on a budget, visit http://trainerforce.com/optimumlife

For our FREE ‘What is Optimum Fitness?’ Report, e-mail mailto:tanja@optimumlife.co.nz with ‘Fitness Report’ in the header

The body is composed of muscle, skeleton, skin, bone and organs [liver, kidney, brain etc]. All the parts of the body are getting their nutrients through blood. Our body needs energy for it function. The energy is derived from the food.

The excess energy is converted in to fat and stored in the body in the farm of fat. This accumulated fat is stored all over the body. This accumulated fat increases your body weight.

The heart is put under stress to pump blood for this extra fat. This results in high blood pressure. High blood pressure if not controlled may lead to stroke and heart attack. Hence excess body weight is not at all desirable.

The moment people want to reduce their weight; they will start doing exercises or start following crash diet. Of course both diet and exercise can help you to shed some weight. Of late there are many diet pills are available in the market, which are used widely by many people who are overweight or obese. These diet pills bring about the desired results rather quickly. Let us discuss about some of them here.

Although diet pills are working like anything to reduce your body weight, there are some diet pills to be concerned about. You should stay away from over-the-counter diet drugs. The first and foremost thing you should do is consulting your health care professional to discuss more conventional diets.

It is more important that the diet pills should be used under strict medical supervision. Moreover you should do lifestyle changes to lose the weight and keep it off.

Take careful in buying diet pills if you’re looking to drop just a few pounds. These weight loss and diet pills try to make the digestive process more efficient and to mask your appetite.

It is not advisable to use diet pills alone to reduce your weight but it requires a simple plan for weight loss through an improved diet and regular exercise.

Do follow the manufacturer’s instruction as well as your physician’s when using any diet pill. This is just like that of any medication as your own safety. You should not use the diet pills more than 4-6 weeks without consulting your doctor. Feel free to consult your doctor about when to stop.

All of us know that diet pills are very much useful in weight loss. In addition to this, the diet pills action includes improving overall health and lowering the health risks encountered during overweight.

Many clinical studies confirmed that most of the diet pills helps the body to use blood sugar effectively and decrease fats, cholesterol and blood pressure.

More information about the topic can be found on the site Trimbia diet pills directory or on the page Trimbia
diet page.

If you have an interesting article about body building,diets,supplements,vitamins or nutrition you should send it to our Email address and you will get in return a link on the page your article will be published. We only accept original articles not published anywere else!

The Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Protection Act was passed in early 2005 with the overwhelming support of the President, both houses of Congress and the major credit card companies. The law, which created sweeping changes in American bankruptcy law, was passed in order to reduce the possibility that consumers with heavy debts might avoid choose to avoid paying them by seeking debt relief through the courts. The Act has many provisions, but the one that may hurt consumers the most was the one provision that was intended to help – the requirement that debtors undergo mandatory credit counseling before filing for bankruptcy.

On the surface, the requirement seems to be laudable. Few people ever receive any sort of formal money management training, so a bit of counseling, even as bankruptcy approaches, might help debtors avoid further financial trouble in the future. The law was passed with the intention that, once educated, consumers would stay out of bankruptcy court in the years to come.

It hasn’t worked out that way, and the bankruptcy law is largely to blame. The law did not set a fee for this required credit counseling, but a fee of $50 was suggested and consumers who cannot afford to pay the fee may ask to have it waived. Only certain nonprofit counseling agencies would be approved for pre-bankruptcy counseling. These requirements have resulted in a mess in the counseling industry that benefits virtually no one. Relatively few agencies have been approved; the ones that have are very busy. The suggested fee of $50, when paid at all, is not enough to cover the costs of keeping the agencies’ offices open. Consumers are ending up getting their “counseling” via the Internet, or a conference call, or in a large group meeting. This sort of thing may satisfy the requirements of the law, but it isn’t helping the people it was intended to help.

Credit counseling is certainly a worthwhile endeavor, but only if done properly. The counselor and the client should have sufficient time to become acquainted, discuss an overview of the counseling process and to have an in-depth discussion of the client’s specific financial situation. After all, if the client cannot receive information that he or she can apply directly to his or her own finances, the entire point of providing the service becomes rather moot.

Instead, we have a situation where the clients are being poorly served and the counseling agencies are barely scraping by financially. It seems unlikely that this is what Congress had in mind when they passed the bill. Anyone who has a problem with debt would certainly benefit from counseling and is encouraged to seek it out. Those who do would be advised to select a counseling agency that has the time and resources to provide the in-depth sort of help from which a client can actually benefit. Otherwise, the result is a waste of time for all involved.

©Copyright 2006 by Retro Marketing. Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including End-Your-Debt.com, a site devoted to credit counseling , debt consolidation payday loans and personal bankruptcy.

Are You overweight? Believe it or not, when you were born, your parents did not get to choose your size. Your parents didn’t get to choose your sex, hair color or any other physical characteristic that makes you ….you. They didn’t choose your weight either, or your bone structure. They just couldn’t take over that job; it was hard enough bringing you into the world.

Being overweight seems to be a pre-determined fate for so many Americans. An estimated 64% of Americans are considered overweight. That equates to over 125 million people that are overweight and need to loose weight. Or you can call a spade a spade, which equates to over 125 million FAT Americans, which also means that there are a lot of very unattractive Americans.

Supposedly having too much body weight has been the result of you being lazy, unhealthy, unhappy, selfish, greedy, and unattractive. NO, it hasn’t been the result of any of those reasons! Overweight Americans are often some of the most tenacious career-conscious individuals. They are overworked and often fall into weight problems because they are working long hours, without enough rest and exercise! Approximately of the other 36% of thinner adults choose to condemn those Americans who aren’t as fortunate to have a fast metabolism and the luxury of time to exercise. These very adults have the time, because they also find the time to ridicule the other 64% of the population that need to lose a few pounds.

This all may sound a bit harsh, but suck it up! The slogan ‘Thin is in and Fat is Out’ needs to go right back out the door with the aerobics instructor that brought it in. Sure, if you have a weight problem, you know you have a weight problem. It is not something you don’t have the intelligence to see. See Barbie, while you were on the beach with Ken, the fat chics were getting an education! Being overweight is still considered one of the biggest sins someone can do to their own bodies , but what about the people out there with true medical problems that prevent them from being thin.? They still fall into the thin person’s stereotype of a FAT LAZY person? The sad truth is that people who are exceptionally overweight allow others to ridicule them about their weight. The misconceptions that people who are overweight won’t work, are overall lazy people, unhappy, unattractive is a load of bull.

Just take a look around you; Some of the most beautiful women in the world are either overweight now or have been at some time in their life. LOOK AT OPRAH! She is gorgeous, but she wasn’t always the size she is now, but she was still a pretty happy woman, not to mention a huge success. If you look in the “heftier women magazines” you will find more beautiful women than what you find on the runways of New York, it’s a fact.

Whether we want to hear it or not, the fact is that “grown-ups” still act like children to get ahead in life. It really is the “take the camera off of me and point it over there at someone else” approach. Think of your girlfriends. You likely have one in the bunch that is as cute and prissy as can be, but whenever she isn’t getting the attention from the opposite sex, she will inevitably draw attention to your weight. Don’t pay it a second thought and here’s why. Even though you could get into a dirt throwing contest and bring out all of her faults, (for example that she really wears a lot of make-up because she needs it!) there’s no point because it really doesn’t matter. So you might be overweight, big deal, you are a beautiful person inside and out. Can anyone thin top that?

Terje Brooks Ellingsen is a writer and internet marketer. He runs the
website 11-Weight-Loss.net.
Terje enjoys to give advice and help people with fast and rapid weight loss as well as tailoring a great fitness diet among other things.

Copyright 2006 business-cards.com

This just doesn’t sound fair does it? That one unhappy customer, who complains to you about your business, actually represents 7 others. So why is this so? Well it’s all centered on good old human nature. You see, as psychologists will tell us, we humans walk the earth with a general expectation of having things occur normally. Pessimists aside, we generally expect to buy what we need, and be provided with the level of service we have grown accustomed to receiving.

So when your business does just that, (performs well and satisfies its customers), people are just that – satisfied. They don’t leap with joy, they don’t run up to you and give you a big hug – they simply go on their way, and may well use your business again.

Similarly, when a customers expectations of your product or service ARE NOT fulfilled, they don’t all come angrily knocking on your office door, or dashing off terse letters to you. In fact 7 out of 8 of them you’ll never even know about, and you’ll never see again. They know you have competitors out there, so they’ll simply use them instead.

To compound this problem, a happy customer needs much more motivation than an unhappy one, to spread the word. So the unhappy customer who took the time to identify themselves + the other seven who didn’t, are all out there busily trashing your business!

Goodness, this sounds like a nightmare doesn’t it! Well yes, it is undoubtedly a threat. So how can you transform this threat into an opportunity? Like this: The one in eight unhappy customers, that take the time to voice their complaint are actually a blessing in disguise. You see not only do they give you the opportunity to convert them into happy customers, their grievances can, (over time), give you an invaluable insight into what in your business needs fixing.

For example, say you sell light fixtures. You are proud of the fact that your range and prices are unparalleled in the industry. You spend 3 days of each week on the road liaising with your contacts, and your 2 remaining days in your store revolve mainly around administration.

You take the time however to set up a register of complaints received – sorted into categories. You examine this, and see no mention of price or quality, but what you do see points to a different problem. Complaint after complaint refers to customer/staff interaction. Things like: ‘I asked for the lamp to be gift wrapped, but Mary said she couldn’t do it’, or ‘I wanted to pay $50 by EFT and the rest in cash, but Bill said I wasn’t allowed’. And remember, if you have 10 written complaints, that represents 80 disgruntled customers!

Would this give you the motivation to spend a lot more time out on the floor of your shop, assisting customers and training your staff? You bet it would.

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