Who Needs Individual Health Insurance?

Health insurance is a hot topic in America these days, and for good reason. It's one of the most important assets an individual can have, yet many people think they either cannot afford it or cannot get it. These assumptions are often wrong. No matter what your employment situation is, if you are not already covered by another plan, you should consider signing up for individual health insurance. Here are just a few of the people who should have an individual health coverage plan.

Self Employed

Being self employed can be a fantastic and liberating experience. However, you don't want to always be worrying about having an accident or getting sick, especially since these things can cause you to be out of work. With individual health insurance, you have the security of knowing that the health issues you face can be tended to in a timely fashion without costing you your entire year's salary.

Those Without Company Health Insurance

There can be a wide variety of reasons why you might not have group health insurance through your employer. You may not meet certain conditions to qualify, like not working full time. Your employer might just be too small to have a group plan. You might have to wait for open enrollment. Whatever the reason, you are uninsured for the time being, which means you should look into an individual plan.

Temporary Employees

If you are a contract or seasonal worker, your company may not extend the same benefits to you as they would their regular employees. If you're in that situation, having your own health insurance policy can be a relief. You know you have the coverage you need, and you know that coverage will be able to go with you no matter what path your career opportunities go down.

Job Seekers

If you're looking for a job, having individual health insurance can actually be an excellent bargaining chip to have once you reach the negotiation table. Because you are already privately insured, you will need less in the way of benefits than other candidates might. This can both make you very appealing to a company and can allow you to negotiate for a higher salary or better benefits.

Students

Full time students who can't be on their parents' plan are excellent candidates for individual health coverage, and they're one of the groups with the least coverage in the nation. Students often assume that because they are young and reasonably healthy, they will not need health coverage. However, college campuses are well known for the ease at which they spread diseases and for the frequency of student accidents, and you certainly don't want to waste an entire semester's tuition just because the unexpected happened.

Failure Is an Opinion Not Reality - Story of 360 Million Hits - Susan Boyle

How long can you dance to someone else's tune, it's time that you try dancing to your own tune. Go through the records of most successful people and you would see a common thread; all of them were branded as failures at one or another time in their life's journey.

They could have sulked, cried and taken the opinion of the few zombies to their heart and relinquished their filed. The victorious choose a different way; they see failure as an opinion and not a reality.

Susan Boyle is a story of a commoner - not highly educated middle-aged woman in an ordinary dress, unknown outside her small village in Scotland, who by her sheer determination catapulted herself in five minutes onto an international arena mostly reserved for those who meet a carefully promoted standard of elegance, glamour & fashion.

The clip of her audition in Britain's Got Talent has been viewed 360 million times, more than any other video in history. Her debut album titled "I Dreamed a Dream" was a super hit, along with her subsequent releases she has sold more than 14 million albums worldwide.

Who is Susan Boyle?

Susan Boyle was a small town girl raised in the unknown town of Blackburn, Scotland. Her Father was a miner and veteran of the Second World and her mother was a shorthand typist. Susan Boyle was the youngest of nine siblings - four brothers and five sisters.

It is said that Susan was briefly deprived of oxygen during a difficult birth resulting in a learning disability. Boyle says she was bullied as a child, and was nicknamed "Susie Simple" at school. In an interview she told one newspaper that her classmates' jibes left behind the kind of scars that don't heal.

She had not had an easy life, for most of her adult life she was unemployed and earned a living by performing at local churches and pubs. Nevertheless she won numerous awards at the local level. Boyle never married, and she dedicated herself to care for her ageing mother until she died in 2007 at the age of 91.

It is said that Boyle abandoned an audition for The X Factor because she believed people were being chosen for their looks. She almost abandoned her plan to enter Britain's Got Talent believing she was too old, but her coach O'Neil persuaded her to audition.

Susan Boyle says that she entered the musical career to make her mom's wishes come true and pay tribute to her. That was her calling - so it didn't matter what other were saying about her looks, age or societal status. She was focused on what she wanted and overturned all the odds to make a new life for herself.

If you watch the audition video you would notice the sneers, looks, judgments, and assumptions that nearly everyone makes - including the respective judges when Susan Boyle comes to stage. Susan Boyle in her audition declared to the judges and audience that her dream was to become a professional singer. Everyone frowned including the judges. This does not unnerve her, in fact it makes her will stronger to give her best!

Within 7 days her audition video had been watched more than 66 million times. Within three years she had sold 14 million records and earned more than US $25m. Is anybody laughing at her now?

7 lessons from Susan Boyle's story

  1. Don't make age an excuse for not doing something great
  2. Never give up, never give up, never give up
  3. Believe in yourself from deep within
  4. Find yourself a coach
  5. Dream big and make it big!
  6. Be focused on what you are doing, don't let other's comments derail your plans
  7. God gives everybody talent, all of us are gifted one way or another - discover it

Human spirit is indomitable by design; we set our targets high or low. What is stopping you from dreaming and making it big in life like Susan Boyle?

Thanks

Jappreet Sethi

Yoga Poses: Creating Innumerable Options For The Users

The modern fitness industry has metamorphosed into special categories where people can select the exercises based on their requirements and specifications. The Yoga Poses are very important because they develop individual body parts of the person and help them to develop the personality. Sun salutation is the start of the yoga exercise and should be done in a proper manner.

Warming up of the body is essential by stretching for the Surya Namaskar since it helps in eliminating the restlessness of the body. It is important to face the eastern direction while performing the exercise. Yoga Posture must be done in an impeccable manner because wrong postures are known to cause damage to the body. A smiling face while doing Yoga is necessary because it is important to introduce a sense of awareness.

Breathing exercises should be done in a slow manner and forceful actions should be avoided. The Tree pose is a Yoga Posture where the person has to stand tall and lift the arms straight. After a period of time one should bend the right knee and put the foot on the thigh so that desired results could be obtained. The left leg should be against the body so that balance could be obtained within the stipulated period of time.

By exhaling and inhaling the breath one is sure of the amazing results that would be obtained after doing the exercise. The spine must be straight and body should be curved in the form of a tree to facilitate the blood circulation. Individuals should look straight bringing the feeling of equilibrium. If the person is suffering from nerve related disorders, it can help to get the best results.

Yoga is a part of Ayurveda which ascertains that food is not evaluated according to the composition of the elements in it. Rather it lays stress on vegetarian food that would make the mind and body pure. In yoga the body and the mind are entwined together to create amazing health solutions for the users.

Pranayam is the way to exhale and inhale the air out of the system so that people are able to enjoy the exercise in an impeccable manner. If the yoga is done in a proper way it would lead to glowing skin and rejuvenate the living cells of the body. Fibrous food is necessary to consume so that the digestive system is improved without any problems.

Joining the yoga classes is very necessary because it helps to do the exercise in an accurate fashion under the guidance of the instructor. To carry on with the breathing techniques much like Pranayam, one needs to press the index finger against the cartilage of the ears. As the air is inhaled and exhaled, it is important to exert the force of the finger. High pitched sound is better because it is bound to produce amazing results. It is one of the most important techniques to make the mind calm. Moreover by doing yoga people tend to build confidence and memory within a certain time frame.

How to Get Website Traffic Through Blogging

In the Internet, most users believe that they are given the freedom to express their thoughts regardless of their nature. People gain more courage in telling others how they feel and what they think about specific societal issues. This is why social networking and blogging have become popular among Internet users. You get to tell people what you are thinking of and share with them what you are currently experiencing.

In the business industry, blogging has also proven to be very effective. Companies get to inform their existing and potential clients their products and services. They also get to share happenings and events relevant to their brand. Consumers become partial with companies that show transparency in the information they share through their corporate blogs.

There is also quite a lot of strategies on how to get website traffic focused on blogging as a means of actually generating sales. If you are looking for an online career or even a business opportunity, you might want to consider how blogging would be useful in your venture. This is especially true when you have a major website in which your business is concentrated. You can make use of blogging to help your website gain more traffic, which can potentially increase your sales.

Here are some ways on how you can drive traffic to your website through blogging:

1. Publish relevant and interesting content.

A blog, above anything else, should have interesting content. It is the main reason that people would spend time reading your page. Therefore, you have to make them feel that they are gaining something from reading your blog. You should be able to post content with information that they can use in their daily life. You may also write about current events in politics, entertainment, and fashion. Of course, you have to ensure that whatever content you post would be related to the product you are offering. Otherwise, you would not be able to provide meaningful content.

2. Encourage interaction among your readers.

Another way to encourage more readers is to engage them through interactive content. Games, quizzes, and contests are popular interactive content that most blog readers enjoy. They help prevent your blog from becoming a bore. A lot of studies find that people tend to visit more the blogs that have quiz promos and competitions that they can win freebies from. In some seasons, you can offer up your own products (especially the new releases) as prizes for these promos. That way, you can encourage more participation especially from your existing pool of clients.

3. Create a link from your blog to your website.

Definitely, the most direct way of generating website traffic through your blog is by putting up links and brand badges. When you keep your blog interesting enough to make your readers visit frequently, you can gain reader stats in increasing amount. This way, there is higher probability of your readers clicking through the link and being redirected to your website. You can also encourage more click-through if you put up links in the promotional and interactive portions of your blog.

These are all very basic ways of generating traffic to your website through blogging. You can utilize all of these methods in an overlapping manner to maximize the readership potential of your blog. What you have to remember is that the main goal must be to keep your readers coming back. If they visit your blog frequently, your updates are sure to be noticed. This way, you can also be certain that your business would be easily patronized.

If you are looking for work from home opportunities focused on how to get website traffic, you can also try paid blogging stints. There are a lot of companies that put a premium in their written campaigns online and they are willing to pay a good sum for articles that would help boost their sales potential. You can utilize all the blogging techniques that are mentioned in this post. Just keep in mind that in this kind of blogging, your goal does not simply end with making your readers come back to your page. You have to engage them in such a way that they would actually want to purchase the product being offered in the linked website.

Hit the Slopes With a Complete Array of Burton Snowboard Pants

When it comes to extreme sports such as snowboarding, Burton is the number one brand in the industry. From Jackets, pants, snowboards, bindings to mittens, Burton has been producing quality products since 1977. Since then, people from all age groups can't resist the tempting flakes of snow and how crazy snowboarding can heighten your optimum level of energy. For this winter season, be significantly perfect with Burton Snowboard Pants.

So why wear Burton Snowboarding pants? Because it has all you need. The product simply gives you the feel of comfort by keeping your legs dry and warm and with plenty of room to maneuver your body and board. These pants can be a little costly but of course you pay for quality and I'm sure you don't want to ruin your adventure because you feel cold and wet, right?

The clothing comes in a variety of colors. For men, you have many choices of colors to choose from. Camouflage for that manly style, funky designs for you and your school buddies, bright colors to attract he opposite sex or basic solid ones just to keep the air warm during the wild exciting runs.

Specifically for the ladies, Burton loves creating a fashion statement. With technical waterproofing, a stylish forward fit, chic graphics and first-class tailoring you are always on the go and looking good doing it.

There are many options and different lines of pants for both men and women, girls and boys. Here are just a couple to consider when choosing your snowboard pants:

  • Burton Cargo Pants - I bought this last winter and I am still on the go to wear it this season. It is super waterproof and has tons of side pockets for whatever knick knacks you like to bring to the slope. Made of nylon with a 2-layer outer-laminate combined with inner mesh lining that wicks away sweat. I prefer this pair on the really cold days.

  • Burton Poacher Pants - Perfect for the novice-extreme boarder. You'll have plenty of room to move around and also more storage in the side pockets for sunscreen, lip balm, passes, and other special items you might need. These pants come not insulated and are just right for the warmer sunnier days on the mountain. Feel free to wear these and experience the perfect match of fire and ice!

So grab your boards and a pair of these so you feel warm and comfortable up to the last minute throughout your adventure, yet look amazingly stylish.

Outrageous Attributes to Love Men For

What Substance... or Quality... Do You Look For In Men?

Why do you suppose women, all over the world, have trouble discerning "marriage material" men from "non-marriage material" candidates?

What's the deep mystery behind determining if a first date, or a distant acquaintance, or an old college love who wants to get back into your life... is worthy enough to share your future?

No mystery really. It takes knowing what you want and who you want to bring into your life.

Let's face it - to find a man who is as enthusiastic as you are about love, marriage, family, as well as a lifelong commitment to you and what you want is outrageous! Isn't it?

But you know what? Women do it every day. Why not you?

What About the Way Men Look?

Looks, physical appearance, can be very a very deceiving attribute and cannot be relied on as an indicator of anything... other than how a man looks.

Have you ever considered Mr. Right may be fashion challenged?

Or that Mr. Wrong, who may be cut, can be camouflaged a great looking suit or even a T-shirt and look like he stepped right out of Men's Health or GQ magazine?

Don't be fooled.

What About Men and A Woman's Looks?

Well, men tend to be very easily visually stimulated. Typically, what excites a man at first sight tends to be what he thinks he wants. Certain physical attributes of women stimulate some men more than others. "Love at first sight." You get the idea.

Form follows function.

And don't blame guys for this. I'm sure Mother Nature had something in mind when she designed men's hormones to cause men to act in seemingly very confusing ways.

One More thing About A Guy's Looks - And This is Important

A man's looks should be secondary to the positive personal qualities he possesses. If you are in doubt about this, just ask your Mother. She'll be more than happy to explain it to you.

Just kidding.

But think about this...

You may find a man, not the most handsome man in the world, with a great personality who likes going to the mall, sometimes, likes dancing as much as you do and takes as much interest in your career outside the home as much as you do.

It can happen!

Some Attributes to Look For?

Determination, personality, intelligence, ambition, a sense of humor, caring, commitment to you and your family, and a willingness to share a long life together... are certainly useful.

Have you considered someone who would be permanent and reliable in your life? Someone who possesses a world view rather than a narrow view of life and living? Someone who can see most, if not all sides of an issue or problem... someone you can depend on to act in the best interests of you and your family at all times?

These are some outrageous attributes you might look for in a man.

Which of these, or other attributes, mean the most to you?

Those are the ones to look for!

One last thing - and this is important too... have fun looking!

Buy Articles: Factors That Determine the Cost of Buying Articles

It is in the nature of human beings to desire knowledge and to be able to understand their world. However, some people rarely have the opportunity to acquire knowledge to their satisfaction. This might be because of limited time to research and read widely depending on the topic of interest. Others prefer to buy articles from a professional writer who has the time, skills and opportunity to perfect them. Indeed, people make a career out of selling articles to other people when needed. Buying of articles is mainly done on the Internet because this is one place that has no restrictions of time, language and distance.

Different articles have different prices. When you decide to buy articles, you must consider the cost and budgetary requirements. The first thing that determines the cost of buying articles is the topic. The more popular the topic, the more expensive it will be. The most popular topics or trends include fashion, cars and other power driven vehicles, business and entertainment. Articles that fall under these categories are usually requested every day. Most writers choose to specialize on a specific topic and become very good at writing that topic. This means that specialist writers can be more expensive that general writers.

Different writers have different skills and experience. Most buyers usually request for experienced writers because of the quality of their work. Similarly, people who buy articles for the first time usually depend on the advice and recommendations of other buyers. This is because these buyers have developed trust and have a proven record of accomplishment and offering great service. The most experienced writers sell their articles at a higher price than new writers do.

One of the most important aspects about articles for people who buy articles is originality and creativity. Article buyers appreciate new and unique content that does not exist anywhere else on the Internet. Those who have websites are always looking to display fresh articles because this encourages a constant flow of traffic to the website. This is very important especially for businesses that are looking to attract new customers and expand their services and products. The cost of buying fresh and unique articles might be costly but this depends on the writer. The secret to getting a great price when you buy articles is buying them in bulk. This means that you will enjoy all the attractive discounts offered in an effort to promote and encourage your request.

Facebook Application for iPhone

Social media has become an indispensable part of our life. Today, they help us in connecting and interacting with one another in a way we have never imagined. Now, we can stay connected with our co-workers and colleagues, if we are on a field job, through social media. Also, if we are handling a desk job, we could sneak and peak in the outer world with Twitter or Facebook and stay in touch with friends outside of work.

Demand for social media is increasing day-by-day, and Facebook plays a major role in this. It has proven to be the most in demand social media source. It not only helps you connect with your friends and family, but also help you in achieving your professional goals. It helps you in improving your brand image, enhancing your website traffic with Social Media SEO, increase your sale through Search Engine Marketing.

Just like Facebook is grabbing all the attention in social media market, Apple's iPhone has seen new zenith in the smart phone market. It has almost 17% share in the worldwide smart phone market. It is also regarded as a status symbol to have an iPhone. With the launch of iPhone 5, Apple Inc. has introduced new, innovative and improved features that are driving the population crazy for it.

And when the IT solution providers developed Facebook apps for the iPhone; it seemed as if the increase in demand for Facebook as well as iPhones were at new heights. In a way, they both complimented each other and the opportunity was fully en-cashed by the app development companies and iPhone app developers.

WAY TO PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS

Facebook Applications gives you an unbelievable command, and you enjoy a great exposure with your Social Media Marketing. Using 'Facebook iPhone app', you can develop your public relation, release your latest product with huge public announcement, receive donations through it, make other important announcements, spread the breaking news among your users and clients, etc.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF FACEBOOK APPLICATION

Today, IT companies are hiring talented software engineers and application developers for developing various innovative iPhone apps for Facebook. Few most famous apps are:

  • Quizzes & Trivia
  • Reminders
  • Utilities
  • Trends & Fashions
  • Applications add-ons
  • Social Campaigns & Causes
  • Avatar Building
  • Social Games
  • Role Playing Games
  • And much more...

WHO BENEFITS FROM IPHONE APPS FOR FACEBOOK?

Developing Facebook apps are a win-win situation for all. Software companies are getting it developed for their clients, thus are getting a lot of outsourcing projects. Their clients get it developed either for in-house use or for selling it in the market, both are beneficial for them. And ultimately, the end-user is benefiting from the thrill and excitement they experience on this app. Hence these apps are truly beneficial for all.

Interactive Trade Show Displays Appeal To All The Senses

Creating trade show displays that are unique attention grabbers becomes more difficult as the years go by. More and more companies are using unusual or startling techniques to draw visitors into their booths. For trade shows, many companies invest a considerable amount of money every year in the latest trends. In recent years, interactive trade show displays have become more popular, and with good reason. Interactive exhibits catch visitors' attention, then pull them along with interesting activities, demonstrations or opportunities to test a product in a "hands on" fashion. Because interactive displays appeal to both reason and the senses, they reinforce your message and help visitors retain the information more thoroughly and for longer periods of time.

Reasoning And The Senses

Demos can appeal to a potential customer's rational nature by illustrating clearly how a product will change their life or make their life easier. Those same demos in booths for trade shows can also appeal to the senses by allowing attendees to touch a material, smell an inviting aroma or hear the difference between your item and a competitor's. With every layer, trade show displays can underline the advantages of your product or service.

Interactive Display Techniques

The electronics revolution makes it easier every year to combine more traditional banner stands and booths for trade shows with interactive media. Individuals can take quizzes, scroll through catalogs or even observe how your product works using iPads located at stations within your booth. Or you can use computerized reveal screens that respond to an individual's touch to start a short video clip.

Other innovative methods of interacting with visitors include walk-on floors that light up or display images as people walk over them. They can create a version of the yellow brick road, leading them to their destination. Tactile interaction is also very popular. By allowing guests to handle the materials used, a company can give them tangible proof that their material is superior, whether it is softer, thicker or stronger. The sense of smell can also evoke powerful responses. It's why so many realtors have cookies baking in the oven when they do an open house!

Personalized Stories Make Selling More Effective

Some interactive trade show displays use personal stories to lead their visitors through their booths. A personal story can be told in parts, with each part tied to a specific area in your display. For instance, each brief segment can be read or listened to next to banner stands that point the way to the next 'chapter' in the story. Self-paced, personalized stories that are enhanced with sensory notes throughout your displays will immerse the attendee in an experience that will tie them closely to your product or service, turning them from visitors to customers.

Electronic Document Management Systems

Document management systems, DMS for short, are systems used to trail and store images of tangible paper documents or electronic documents. The system functions through either a computer system or a set of computer programs that do all the work. These systems are often treated as vital components of enterprise content management (ECM) systems. It is also recognized as being related to systems for workflow, document imaging, record management systems, and digital asset management.

How it first began

Although foreign to most people, the idea of software systems managing images of hard documents, be it paper or pictures, is actually old. The idea behind this kind of system began in the 1980s; vendors began to research and develop software that would manage these types of files. These systems were known as electronic document management systems (EDM).

Eventually, later developers began to focus on systems that would focus on managing electronic documents. These systems managed the files that were created and stored on a computer's local file system. Early systems could only manage proprietary formats or a very limited number of file formats.

The evolution of electronic document management systems

Continued development of EDM systems steered it towards a direction where it was eventually able to manage security, electronic documents, workflow, collaborations tools and many more.

An EDM system basically allows any organization to receive faxes and forms and save copies of it as digital images. The documents are then stored in a depository for future reference or use. One of the two main advantages of such systems is that they do not require physical space for storage, at least the digital documents themselves.

Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of EDM systems is that they can withdraw documents from the depository at a very quick rate. The EDM system is responsible for extracting text from the document. The EDM system is able to retrieve files in quick fashion because of a text-indexer function.

EDM systems of today

There are a lot of EDM systems out there in the market today. One of the most common features among all of them is that they can store documents in their native format, i.e. Microsoft Word or PDF formats. However, recent trends have shown an increasing tendency to require users to store their documents in an HTML format.

Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) is the markup language used in displaying webpages on a web browser. This requirement makes it necessary to import all documents into an html format. The idea behind such a change is that doing so will making looking for documents a whole lot easier. Modern EDM systems that rely on this method can act like search engines, such as Google, Bing or Yahoo.

Why organizations use EDM systems

Organizations spend a lot of money in labor when it comes to filling documents. A significant portion of these files are also lost or misfiled. A survey even notes how more people spend more time looking for something than actually reading what it is they were looking for. Electronic document management systems make storage and retrieval faster and more efficient, thus lowering operational costs.

Cut Through The Clutter: Getting Your Advertising Portfolio Noticed

The business world is a dog-eat-dog world. It is based on the spirit of competition, and one brand's success is often determined by a zero-sum game where another brand must fail. But before one considers how rival companies must compete, one must think about the professionals who work for these companies. Landing that job at a top firm is the first real taste of the competition inherent in business. You must outsmart, outdo, and outshine rival applicants.

Getting a job at an advertising firm crystallizes the business experience of competition more than any other industry. This is because the process of getting a job is basically a form of advertising yourself. In going through the process of having your resume selected, your cover letter carefully read, landing that interview and making a great impression, one has to imagine how one's resume, cover letter, and first impression will stand out over other people equally as eager to get that position.

More and more people are flocking to business programs to study advertising today, perhaps partly due to the popularity of the television program Mad Men, perhaps because of the proliferation of new media where advertising thrives, like the internet and mobile platforms. Some of the most sought-after jobs in an advertising firm are the creative jobs: copywriters and art directors. Both of these positions rely mostly on their portfolios to get hired. So, considering the competition of talented applicants, how can you make your copywriting or art portfolio stand out, or in advertising lingo, how can you cut through the clutter and get noticed?

Less is more

Don't turn in a huge portfolio with everything you've ever done. Carefully select a sample of your best work. Most creative directors won't take the time to go through every ad you've done, so you want to make sure every sample is excellent.

Know your audience

If you trying to get a job with a firm that specializes in one type of client, for example, domestic goods or high fashion, hand in advertising examples that are for that specific market. If you are applying to a creative director known for witty ads, gear your portfolio towards your more comedic samples. If it is a big agency that does everything, show off your diversity.

Exploit new mediums

One can not rely solely on print, TV and radio ads today, but your portfolio should demonstrate your ability to work with online content, interactive advertising, and even ambient public campaigns. Try including links to websites, or showing up to an interview with a tablet computer.

Let the work speak for itself

Gimmicks are lame and they are often seen as compensation for sub-par work. Don't try and be cute or clever in your attempt to get noticed. Make your portfolio the centerpiece of your application, because your portfolio is the ultimate piece of advertising to sell yourself.

A good educational background with a combination of business courses and creative practice goes a long way in advertising. It is this combination of competitive business and creative talent that makes the ad game so exciting. If you want to get cut through the clutter, start with a razor-sharp portfolio.

Tissot Touch Watch - Men's Best Choice

Tissot watches, an elegant timepiece never goes out of the fashion field. The business is still based in Le Locle, Switzerland, nevertheless owing to its top-notch quality; it has a presence in over 150 countries of the world. Since 1853, the year of its birth, till the present, time has witnessed the great achievements and glory of Tissot. It is said that Tissot watches will never go out of style because they are watch style itself. It is true: from its initial pocket watch with two time-zones in 1853 to its revolutionary touch-screen technology Tissot Men Touch, Tissot has managed a succession of "firsts" in terms of technology, materials and design. Being sold by 16,000 Sales locations across five continents, Tissot products offer an extensive collection of watches to suit varied functional requirements and tastes. Not only are the watches well made but are loved by the people. The name offers a wide array of watches for both men and women to choose from.

While, here I am going to give you a fine example ---T-Touch, which has been spoken highly of since it was firstly seen in the movies Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life and Mr. & Mrs. Smith. The design of T-Touch is perfect and it has exceeded the technology. The material of watchband and watchcase is stainless steel and the movement is made of sapphire crystal. The perfect design is not only depend on the excellent appearance, but its six functions: barometer, altimeter, chronograph, compass, alarm and thermo. T-Touch is driven by touch the crystal surface gently. Once we touch the surface lightly the six functions can show. In spite of its unique perfect design, T-Touch also has other functions that are owned by all the other Tissot watches such as water resistance, shockproof. Wearing a T-Touch watch means that in one way or another, you're going places. A man can wear T-Touch no mater he is working or playing, it doesn't settle for the ordinary and the average. Whether you're a mountaineer or a business man, this watch will stand you in good state and provide all the functionality you could ask for, as well demonstrate that you're shooting straight for the summit, figuratively or literally. Tissot Touch men watch is a combination of cutting edge technology and design. It is spotless.

The classy watches from Tissot is a good choice when choosing a cooperate gift. If you are looking for a classy gift to present your boss, or a senior, or a business associate, Tissot has a great collection of watches with stunning designs and marvelous poise. Carson, Trend Flower, Heritage Classic and the latest T-Touch are some of the super-stylish watch models that you can choose as a gift. Tissot has also been chosen as official time keeper for outstanding sports meets, which makes no compromise in superior and innovation. No matter the appearance, the style, Tissot touch, men's best choice.

2012 Memorial Weekend Tournament

2012 Memorial Tournament: Tiger Rekindles His Golf Magic

This weekend in golf was filled with chips we will never forget, and putts we wished we didn't see. The tournament started by the "Golden Bear" himself, Jack Nicklaus, was truly a magic filled weekend.

Jack Nicklaus had a vision to create a golf club that encompassed his personal and professional life; to create a golf tournament that would embody his passion for golf. In May of 1976 is when the first Memorial tournament took placed, and the roster was a Star Studded roster, with only the best in the world competing.

The first winner of the whole tournament was Roger Maltbie. Maltbie overtook Hale Irwin in a playoff, shooting a birdie in the fourth extra hole, solidifying himself in Memorial Tournament history.

Today the competition, the tension and the pressure are just as thick as they were over 30 years ago. With World Renowned golfers, coming to compete from invitations only, inviting only golfers who were in the top 75 for purse winnings in the previous year, guarantees that only the best, and the most formidable are competing each and every year.

This year's winner however won in dramatic, high drama fashion, rekindling some of the old Tiger magic. Tiger Woods was down 2 strokes before he teed off on the 15th hole, only four more holes until the winner of the tournament would be decided. Birding on the 15th hole the tear began that would shake the golf world would begin.

On the 16th hole, par-3, Tiger Woods' was playing 201 yards, having to go over water to a back left with the wind adding even more of a challenge than ever. Than Tiger with his mojo, his magic, whatever you decide to call it, birdies the hole, but not just birdies the hole, makes a shot that is in the top 10 of greatest plays ever.

Woods using an 8-iron to approach, launched the ball a bit far to the right, and overshot his mark passing the green. After the long approach Woods was faced with a challenging chip shot, 50 feet from the pin, a shot where most golfers just hope to get within just ten feet of the pin.

"This was one of the hardest ones I've pulled off,'' Woods said.

Jack Nicklaus, the same man who founded the tournament and designed the course, said Tiger had little room for error.

"If he leaves it short, he's going to leave himself again a very difficult shot. If he hits it long, he's probably going to lose the tournament,'' Nicklaus said. "He lands the ball exactly where it has to land. It doesn't make a difference whether it went in the hole or not. Going in the hole was a bonus. But what a shot.

"I don't think under the circumstances I've ever seen a better shot.''

The shot is the golf shot that was heard around the world; it will be long remembered, as the tournament when Tiger Woods matched Jack Nicklaus overall wins at 73, ten years the younger to Jack when Nicklaus won his 73rd tournament. Another great achievement for Tiger Woods' this week is he moved up into the number 4 position in the world standings, ranked just behind Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood.

The question now comes up, is Tiger back? And is he really back, with the roller coaster of a career he has had in the past years since his major trail and tribulations he faced in life, it is really hard to tell.

My personal opinion, I sure hope he is. The man is electrical and he can really get the crowd fired up. The way he plays will bring even more life to the golf of sport and recharge the younger community of golfers.

Necessary Elements of a Retail Space

Developing methods to enhance a retail space can be tricky. Many companies use elements that are unnecessary and provide more harm than good. Necessary properties can give market areas the chance to display their goods and services for greatest effect.

When considering the specifics of marketing and advertising, some features become important in giving companies an edge over the competition. Though modifications eventually take the place of basic retail provisions, there are still some basics that remain the foundation of any retail space:

Shelves and Counters

Shops looking to showcase their wares should invest in sturdy shelves. These should be well built to support the weight of heavier products. The material of these racks determines the weight they can bear. Metal shelves, for example, can take on larger sized products compared to wood or glass. Ambiance is also something affected by the use of proper shelving. Shops selling delicate ceramic pieces should favour similarly styled shelves, and so on. Counter tops can also provide platforms for more outstanding merchandise. This draws a customer's eye to the details and properties of a certain product.

Proper Lighting

Well-lighted stores are not only bright and welcoming, as they also help enhance the beauty of merchandise. Fluorescent lighting can help bring out the hard edges of hardware products and those of a similar kind. Yellow lighting is great for enhancing the soft edges and curves of cushions and bedding, or providing appeal for beauty products. Like shelving, the type of lighting is dependent on the products sold.

Mirrors

Fashion and beauty retailers can make great use of mirrors in their spaces. This helps customers to double check the fit or look of products they wish to purchase. It also gives the illusion of a more expansive area. Wide open stores are more appealing as clients do not feel cramped or crowded. Reflective glass also makes it easier for shoppers to view hidden labels or other angles of a product that are not apparent at first glance.

Storage Areas

Creating ample room for surplus stock is a necessity for store owners. These store rooms also double as back offices, creating a space for record keeping and calculations. The size of these rooms depends on the amount of merchandise to be stored. Proper cataloguing is necessary, so products do not get lost all over the place. Placing additional shelves and labels in these areas can help when it comes to tallying sales and inventory.

Security Measures

Deterring potential crooks is always a must. Installing dedicated alarm systems is one way to prevent crime. These can be further enhanced by placing security cameras at strategic locations. The newest devices can often catch burglars in the act, making them valuable. Locking up at closing time is also important. Heavy duty locks and latches prevent entry. security shutters pulled over doors and windows can make access almost impossible. Dangerous times dictate the abundance of these strategies that should be employed for safety and peace of mind.

Planning a retail space is simple with the proper elements. Adding everything necessary to a commercial area can help make it a place to get goods and services. Sometimes, the best industrial areas make great places to hang out and spend time with close friends and family. Installing security shutters can help you protect your home.

Lead Generation Challenge: Changing Buying Habits Of Prospects

As we go along our sales lead generation campaign, we will encounter stumbling blocks that will affect our business performance. Among these challenges is the ever-changing buying behavior of business prospects. Not knowing the latest trends or habits of people we want to get in touch with can affect our capabilities in generating sales leads. These days, getting B2B leads is no longer about offering the best product or service. Quality is no longer the gold standard in capturing a portion of the market; it is much more than that. For you to catch a prospect's attention, you also have to offer everything else in between. How you do it will determine whether you clinch a deal or not.

In the past, if we want to be assured of getting quality B2B leads, we focus a lot of attention in improving what we offer. Often times, we would spend a lot of our energy, money, and research in improving our product line. It did get us a lot of sales leads - in the past. But that is not the case at present. As a marketing professor in college once said, "The product is not everything; we must constantly delight and surprise our customers". All the little details that go along with our offer can make or break our sales operation. This focus on presentation and appearance could perhaps best explain why the late Steve Jobs was able to make Apple, Inc. the business powerhouse it is today. From the curves of his electronic gadgets to the packaging, Jobs made sure that it is appealing to the eyes of the buying public.

Aside from appearances, the level of customer service provided by your company also plays a key role. It matters not if you have the most advanced product or service, if you cannot provide a level of customer service so desired by prospects at present. In other words, you have to be constantly in touch with your market, ready to answer every concern raised about your offer. You will have to employ a variety of communication tools in order to monitor what is going in. Emails, forums, social media and even telemarketing all play a key role in providing your customers and prospects a level of assurance that you will be there for them even after purchase.

It will also pay to be proactive in anticipating customer concerns. In case you are certain that an issue or problem will be affecting a large number of people, it is best that you take the first step and contact them. You can do it through social media channels, an email blast, or a little old-fashioned telemarketing. It is necessary to assure your customers that you are on top of the situation and are taking steps to address the problems. You may have a reputation of product quality, but customers do not really put a lot of value to it anymore. What matters to them is whether they can get in touch with you quickly or not.

This is the challenge for today's lead generation and appointment setting work. Can you handle it?

Develop Your Digital Strategy to Uncover the Perfect Digital Solution

Digital strategy involves developing a vision around identifying the opportunities and/or challenges in a business where the digital assets can be utilized to provide a digital solution that will fulfill the business goals and objectives. Identifying the unmet needs and goals of the customers that most closely align with those key business opportunities and/or challenges and prioritizing a set of online initiatives which can deliver on this vision developed around this strategy are critical for its success.

This strategy offers brands and companies new, unique ways of engaging with their customers and audiences to a far higher level than has been previously possible. Initial faltering steps in digital marketing such as PPC and SEO are the tip of the iceberg as to what is possible. Well-conceived digital strategies and campaigns will push brands ever forward in the consciousness of their audience and lead to lasting adoption, advocacy and, over time, increase expectation from industries as a whole. From an audience perspective, cutting edge digital solutions allows the engagement to change from being a monologue to a dialogue.

The lifetime of a digital strategy is a frequently debated subject. Given the different approaches, aims and strategies employed, there is very rarely a 'one size fits all' answer to questions concerning the length and lifecycle of the this strategy. Digital strategies do not have lifetimes. Campaigns within a digital strategy are likely to have a set lifetime, but the strategy continues with evaluated aims and successes from previous campaigns taken into account and expanded upon. This is why the visual representation of a digital strategy is circular, each campaign building and growing into the next.

The perfect digital solution which can empower the marketers during the entire customer lifecycle, from acquisition to engagement should have the right blend of strategy, experience and technology. Moreover the digital solution should define the long term strategy that is measurable and iterative to ensure that the digital initiatives are successful.

Engagement is at the heart of digital strategy. When audiences are engaged they react with the brand, build against the goals of this strategy and ultimately deliver the value of the campaign. Engagement can either be with an audience or an individual. Monitoring and engagement run hand in hand. It is important to react in a timely fashion and in the right way through adequate personalization. Regardless of the campaign or goals of the originating message, the key to engagement is to understand what the audience need. If a member of the audience has taken time to react to the message - now it is the responsibility of the team managing the engagement to deliver on the implicit promise made by the brand, and attempt to start a dialogue. Digital strategies run in cycles and the purpose of evaluating any particular cycle is not to apportion congratulations or blame, but to learn about how to improve the next cycle.

The digital solution which makes sure all your digital assets are utilized to justify the ROI on digital marketing should incorporate the capabilities to bridge the gap between the present state and the desired sate outlined by the vision of this strategy.

Show Your Love With Pearl Earrings

Considering how stressful life can get, many men have found themselves on the receiving end of some industrial-grade drama when they get caught up in their schedules and forgot their anniversaries. Assuming you remember what day it is, your focus then switches over to expectations. Picking the right anniversary gift involves a lot of second-guessing and hand wringing worry. Will she like it? Will my gift show how much I care? Will my gift break the bank? So many thoughts cross many guys' minds as they finally pull the trigger and go with a particular gift. Next comes the gift unwrapping or giving. It's anyone's guess at this point. Oftentimes, guys will get a dull 'thanks' or 'I like it' but her eyes say otherwise. If you want to successfully overcome the double whammy described above, try giving your significant other pearl jewelry. In particular, give her a nice radiant pair of pearl earrings.

Pearls symbolize maturing relationships

Unlike most other gems and jewelry pieces, pearls are all natural. Unlike diamonds, it doesn't take thousands of years and tons of pressure to create a pearl. All it takes is some sand and an oyster. When an oyster gets a bit of sand or a very small pebble trapped in its shell, the oyster's soft-tissue body gets very irritated. To cope with the sand or pebble, the oyster secretes a liquid called nacre which coats the irritating foreign object. As time passes, the oyster keeps secreting nacre over the previous layer and what started out as a small pebble or few grains of sand grows into a nice pearl.

There's a poetic quality to this organic gem's beginning-from an inconvenient and irritating annoyance, it develops into a thing of beauty. Maybe a little bit of that transformation is present in your relationship? Things that used to annoy you about each other are now inside jokes between you two? Maybe giving pearls for anniversaries is a good way to symbolize the fact that the things that used to annoy you about each other are now things you can't leave without?

Akoya pearls are quite versatile

Thanks to modern pearl culture, what took random chance and many years to produce can now be produced regularly. Cultured pearls start out with beads put into oysters. One particularly nice-looking culture pearl is the Akoya pearl. These pearls are created when oysters found mostly in Japan and China are beaded. What sets these pearls apart is their versatility. They go with pretty much any women's outfit. From rugged jeans to smart casual to office formal to formalwear, you can always find a pearl piece that will not only complement the outfit but complete it as well.

Akoya pearl earrings, for example, are great since they come in different sizes, shapes, and colors. This variety alone ensures that whatever outfit she is wearing, your pearl gift can manage to keep up. Also, most pearl earrings follow a classic and basic design. This means your gift won't be hidden away in a dresser drawer somewhere because tastes and fashions change. Talk about a gift that stays in style! Show your wife, girlfriend, or special friend how much you care today and give her pearl earrings.

Resigning From Your Job

A time may well come in your career when your resignation is required for you to move forward. But before it comes to this definitive action, there are several things to consider.

Firstly, you must be absolutely sure about resigning.

If you are considering resigning, you will (in most cases) need another job to move into. Unless you taking a glorious year-long sabbatical and enjoying life to the full - it would be prudent to secure another position of employment before casting your current job aside.

Once you are out of work, it can be difficult and testing trying to find a new job.

Hunting for a new job takes patience and perseverance. You will need to surreptitiously answer telephone calls and fill in application forms, and you will almost certainly need to escape during working hours to attend interviews.

So - be utterly certain and resolved that resigning (and finding a new job) is right for you.

Weighing it up your mind, you must ask yourself:

How determined are you to leave? What are your reasons - lack of opportunity for progression; dislike of working conditions/colleagues/boss; not enough money?

There are of course many more reasons. Just be rational and collected about summarising why you want to leave, speak to your friends and family about it. People you trust will give you some perspective and clarity on your thought-process.

And when you have justified your reasons to leave and made up your mind, ask yourself: would you stay put if you were offered more money or a promotion?

So, you are decided. Here are the two choices ahead of you:

You can either resign verbally or in writing.

The Written Resignation is standard procedure in most workplaces. It gives you ample time to prepare what you going to say and craft your reasons in a more linear fashion than perhaps when speaking. Writing is concise, professional and devoid of any ambiguity.

You can keep it very simple. Include your name, date of resignation and the person it's addressed to. By all means include your appreciation for your time there and any warmth you still hold for the company; but under no circumstance should you use it as a vehicle to voice any opinions you may have or slander the company. It is not a parting shot or final salvo against the tyranny of the workplace. You need a new job, right? Then you may very well require a reference, so do not leave on a bad note.

If you choose the Verbal Resignation, deciding to deal with your boss in person and talk over your reasons at a scheduled meeting, here are some guidelines that might help you through this thorny subject. (It is possible that your boss may schedule a meeting with you anyway to discuss your letter, should you send one first).

Have your reasons prepared, structured and defined. Waffling away about a muddle of problems will not indicate your intentions, and you will hear yourself putting forward an unconvincing reason for your departure.

You don't want to be belligerent or overly forceful, but be resolute and truthful about your feelings and your boss will listen.

Your boss will probably be somewhat disappointed in your decision. But if the exchange is amicable, try to highlight the positives you have experienced and benefited from during your tenure.

Perhaps if you are leaving because you loathe the job then there won't be a raft of positivity - but at least show appropriate gratitude and grace in the meeting. This will demonstrate you have made a considered decision as opposed to a rash and impulsive one.

And at all costs - retain your composure. If your boss becomes annoyed, agitated or even angry, do not change your tone or deviate from your initial strategy.

Your placid reasoning will give you all the leverage you need in the event of things turning sour. One would hope that if you act in good grace (as mentioned above) then your superiors would respect this and act in accordance.

If not, at the very least you can leave the office with your dignity and composure intact.

And that concludes your action of resignation. But the process may not end there - your boss may yet have an ace up his sleeve...

Expect to be "bought back"!

Ceramic Bathroom Tiles Blend Well With Any Type Of Bathroom Theme

Bathrooms of today are fashion statements in any home. A villa, a bungalow, a European themed chateau, a rustic cottage, a modern apartment, condominium or a traditional row house - any home is incomplete without the use of ceramic bathroom tiles. The name 'tile' is synonymous with ceramic as this was the only material used to cover the floors and walls of baths from ancient times. Whether your theme is bold, creative, natural, modern or traditional you can use ceramic, which blends absolutely well. The variety of ceramic tiles ranges from single colour to intricate patterns and textures. Create a theme according to your personality and be sure of finding a ceramic tile that suits your imagination and design.

Ceramic bathroom tiles are available in various finishes, sizes, shapes and textures. Depending on your theme you can style a perfect bathroom. You can use these tiles on the floors and walls of the bath and showers. Some designers use them on ceiling too in the form of mosaic for a unique design interpretation. Use the textures and colours to your advantage and create a bath that speaks volumes about your personality.

Large ceramic tiles are the talk of the day. They give a contemporary look to the showers and baths. The textures and finishes add to the functionality of the tiles. Large tiles need to have some texture that adds the slip resistance. Ceramic is almost completely water resistant and hence is considered best for bathrooms. Neutral colours with fewer patterns blend perfectly well for large spaces. Large tiles give a sense of extra space and seamlessness. Large format tiles result in less number of grout lines and the floor looks uniform and smooth.

If you prefer a rustic or traditional look in the baths, go for smaller sized ones or mosaics. Combine designs and colours to create unique interiors in your traditional bathroom. Use of black and white in traditional patterns is also stylish today. Another way to get a traditional look in the bathroom is by using subway tiles. They are the perfect designs for a rustic or traditional bath. The colours and textures of subway tiles create a unique character in the bathroom.

If you want to create a vibrant interior, choose from the many bright shades of ceramic bathroom tiles. Vibrant walls are embellished with pattern borders for that extra oomph. Mixtures of shades and textures on a single wall will add a lot of depth to the space. Intricate etchings and embossing on ceramic add another dimension to the bathroom. How would you like some hand painted tiles on your shower walls? They are perfect for creating a subtle, yet charming setting in your home.

Do not be hesitant to use new textures or colours in your house. Go with the trends, but do not choose something that is totally different from your personality.

What Is Interior Architecture and Design?

Look around where you're sitting. Notice what you're sitting on. You're living in a world of interior architecture and design. It's everywhere! Individuals in this highly competitive industry have to have the eye of a graphic designer, the skills of an illustrator, the ingenuity of an industrial designer, the passion of a photographer, the style of a fashion designer and the soul of a fine artist. These are the Jack and Jills of all trades and create inspiring environments for people to live in, work in and admire.

What is Interior Architecture and Design?

Interior architecture and design is a multi-faceted profession in which creative and technical solutions are applied within a structure to achieve a built interior environment. These solutions are functional, enhance the quality of life and culture of the occupants and are aesthetically attractive. Interior architecture follows as process of systematic and coordinated methodology, including research, analysis and integration of knowledge into the creative process, whereby the needs and resources of the client are satisfied to produce an interior space that fulfills the project goals.

Who Works in the Industry?

Interior designers are artistic, creative and imaginative. They also need to be organized, self-disciplined and skilled business people. Combining interior architecture knowledge with artistic vision, interior designers work with clients and other design professionals to develop design solutions that are safe, functional, be aesthetically pleasing and meet the needs of the people using the space. As members of a service profession, interior designers' fortunes depend on their ability to satisfy clients. Thus, they must understand artistic and technical requirements of a project, interpersonal communication and management strategies.

How Do You Get Started?

This industry and area includes a scope of services performed by a professional design practitioner, qualified by means of education, experience and examination, to protect and enhance the health, life, safety and welfare of the public. To ensure this level of expertise, a formal education is required for this profession. Obtaining a degree from a well-known and accredited interior design school or online interior design school is of the utmost importance for getting started in interior architecture.

Now that the profession has been defined and its requirements outlined, you are equipped to go and get started in this highly competitive industry. It's important to keep in mind that there can be subtle differences between interior architecture and interior design - although both of these aspects are important for any career in this industry.

The Toyota Way - Book Review

By: Jeffrey K. Liker (2004)

ISBN 0-07-139231-9

Book Price: $39.95

Lean manufacturing and product development

Jeffrey K. Liker, Ph.D., is Professor of Industrial and Operations Engineering at the University of Michigan, and cofounder and Director of the Japan Technology Management Program and the Lean Manufacturing and Lean Product Development Certificate Programs at the university. He is a winner of 4 Shingo Prizes for excellence.

The world's greatest manufacturer

Dr. Jeffrey K. Liker explores 14 management principles from the world's greatest manufacturer. He shares, How Toyota became the world's best (Ch. 2); building a culture of stopping to fix problems (Ch. 11); continuous improvement and employee empowerment (Ch. 12); develop exceptional people (Ch. 16), and so much more!

Clues for great business success

Dr. Liker's style is comprehensive and well researched, as in his interview with Toyota President, Fujio Cho, who states, "The key to the Toyota Way... is not any of the individual elements... But what is important is having all the elements together as a system. It must be practiced every day in a very consistent manner-not in spurts."

Jeffrey introduces key concepts; he announces that the 14 management principles are divided into four sections: "Long-Term Philosophy... The Right Process Will Produce the Right Results... Add Value to the Organization by Developing Your People and Partners... Continuously Solving Root Problems Drives Organizational Learning."

Relaying key principles in a succinct fashion gives value to Jeffrey Liker's work. This is seen in the description of Toyota's principles, as, "Principle 1: Base your management decisions on a long-term philosophy, even at the expense of short-term financial goals." Toyota's attention to principles and process are vital to their success!

Historical data pinpoints success keys. Liker reveals, "... Toyota Motor Company started small with few resources. Everyone had to chip in on every activity and do what was necessary to engineer and build a car."

Liker points to problems to inspire solutions, stating, "... workers in technical and service organizations are so immersed in doing their jobs it is difficult for them to see the flow in their work." Show workers where they fit!

Mechanisms and heart

Dr. Jeffrey K. Liker explains the mechanisms and heart that have propelled TOYOTA Motor Company to the top.

I Heart My Planner

Yes, it is 2012 and I am still using a paper planner! And, if you know me at all, you know I don't like having any paper cluttering up the place. I even had an iPad-like tablet computer back in 2004 before anyone knew what a tablet was. It even had a "pen" and Franklin-Covey software to emulate the paper planner with my own handwriting electronically, but that didn't work either. There is just something magical about the paper planner. I have strayed many times over the past 20 years when a new gadget, app, or system would come out and I really did feel a sense of guilt. My planner had been my BFF through so many highs and lows in my life.

People who know me virtually really well give me strange looks when they meet me in person and see me (of all people) break out a paper planner in meeting, but then they are always intrigued at my calmness and ask me a ton of questions about it.

What I have come to realize is that our life planner system is just way too important to leave up to a virtual cloud. And, although to the untrained eye it may just look like a bunch of notes, appointments, and task lists - the planner is really a blueprint for creating our entire lifestyle. It contains and lays out all the components, plans, and goals that it takes to create the life we want neatly in one place. So you I grant you permission to cut your electronic leash and try working in the clean open space paper allows.

You will not only look more professional using the planner, but have a tremendous confidence that you know where everything is at all times, have a clear head because you use your planner as a "dumping ground" - keep track of things in your planner and then you can completely forget about them until it's time to handle them. And, eliminate ALL stray papers.

Here are some common objections I get when suggestion my stressed-out clients try going back to a paper based planner system:

"I must sync my calendars online so my whole team has access to it. How do I do that with the paper planner?"

If you must sync calendars with your team you can have an assistant (traditional or virtual) update the online calendar for you a few times a day. You should be planning ahead right? At least a day in advance. For example, I don't let my assistant or online calendar book anything for the next day as a general rule (unless it is a big opportunity). For most of us, we don't have a life or death situation at work tomorrow and Oprah isn't calling us anytime soon. There should not be too many last minute items that you need to add to your calendar immediately. Give yourself that space. If there is anything that is an emergency just email your assistant to add it to the online calendar or add those very few and far between last minute appointments yourself.

"The paper planner is so much bigger than my phone! Do I have to carry that thing around all the time?"

Yes, isn't building a successful career, arriving gracefully and on-time to appointments, having visibility of your entire month, eliminating all scrap paper and sticky notes and mail, etc. more important that saving a little space in your workbag? Do you like to be in control and plan monthly or weekly to avoid just reacting to your day and filling it with busy work? Besides, I've seen your big fashionable handbags ladies! This planner will fit and eliminate the paper clutter in your purse and on your desk.

"Having everything in my phone is efficient for me."

Have you ever been trying to set date or meeting with someone and they have to click around 20 times to see if they are available? Or, have you tried to make an appointment on the phone with someone, but couldn't get to your calendar because you are on the phone with somebody and the calendar is in the phone? Have you ever lost all your data due to a software update to your smart phone? This is a personal decision, but I feel so much pressure and stress trying to get my electronic calendar up on my phone while someone is waiting for me to see if I'm available. Then, I'm always in a rush and type the appointment in wrong - most likely not even for the correct time. Myself, I just like to flip to the appropriate month's tab, write the appointment in and get on with life.

Things to consider when deciding to go to a paper planner system:

  • Having a planner that doesn't fit your own style, that you don't enjoy using, or that is overly complicated means that you probably won't use it or get the most benefit from it.
  • Your planner needs to be portable so you can take it everywhere. Yes everywhere - even if you sometimes leave it in the car you can get it quickly when needed.
  • Your planner must be customizable. This is why I favor ring-bound planners over spiral bound model. If you can't customize it to fit your business and lifestyle needs perfectly you will end up with multiple notebooks and paper clutter.

Your planner must be able to handle:

Appointments & Events - Time driven meetings. List them on the two-page monthly tabs and then your daily appointment schedule as you plan for the upcoming week

Tasks - List those "things to do" that are not time driven like an appointment is

Notes - (one page per day preferred) When you're organizing papers, if you have a planner but still write yourself notes on yellow post-its and napkins all over the place, you will continue to be stressed. So using your planner for everything means NO little post-it note reminders all over your computer, NO piles of invitations or clippings from the paper about activities you want to do... everything goes in your planner!

Reminders to Yourself - For example, make yourself a task note 7 days before the wedding you are attending to purchase, wrap and ship the gift.

Projects - Big projects can be listed in a separate section in your planner and broken down into tasks so they don't clutter up your daily task lists before you are ready to focus on them

To Dos/Errands Lists - Your basic out and about errands list... remember to batch your errands!

Goals - Have a specific space to write out the big picture and dream.

Tolerations - A whole other subject for an article. See our upcoming Ezine article about tolerations.

Contacts (this is the one exception thing you can keep in your smart phone if you don't want to have the A-Z contact tabs in your planner. Contacts in your phone make it easier to dial and change if when someone changes their information).

Your planner can also be customized to house a variety of information to simplify your life and enable you to have all vital information at your finger tips. We do of course, have some suggestions on what to use the extra tabs for a healthy and productive lifestyle such as:

  • Mileage Log - The easy way to keep track of your odometer readings for your taxes.
  • Client Intake Forms - A new prospect calls and you flip right to your intake form and gather all their info in one place.
  • Food Journal - If you are writing everything down after you eat it maybe you won't grab that extra cookie.
  • Time Journal - Feeling off track with your time? Start jotting down everything you do after you do it and see where the leaks are in your time bucket.
  • Expenses - Record them while you are out and about and then send to your bookkeeper.
  • Gym Class Schedule - pilates, yoga, Zumba! Most gyms have a printed schedule you can shrink to fit and punch holes for the planner.
  • Usernames & Passwords: It seems like everything has a username and password now-a-days! Keep track of all of them on under one tab in your planner.
  • Menu Planning for the Week w/Shopping List - You will be less stressed, eat healthier, lose weight and save a tremendous amount of time if you plan a weekly menu for your family and create a shopping list from the menu. No more guessing "What will I ever make tonight for dinner?" or having to run through a drive through!
  • Gift Lists - List your friends and family and then when you are shopping and spot a good gift item jot it down here.
  • Hobbies - Create Lists of books you would like to read, movies you want to see someday, bird watching guide, place you want to visit, wine tasting notes, helpful tips from magazines (so you don't have to tear out that paper!) etc. That way when you find yourself with nothing to do you can take a look at your list or refer back to something.

Here are the essential items to get your started:

  1. Classic Size Ring Binder
  2. Daily Pages in a design that appeals to you
  3. Two-Page per Monthly Calendar Tabs
  4. Storage Case
  5. Starter Pack with Compass and Compass Cards
  6. Clear Zipper Pouch
  7. Extra Note Paper or Half Sheets
  8. Seven Hole Punch

When you are just starting out and learning the planner system, you may feel like it is a lot of work and that it is just too cumbersome for you. It actually takes 21 days to make something a habit so keep at it! Use your planner for everything!

We all know that having clear roles, goals, and values creates our lifestyle. By having everything in one place we can check in with ourselves yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily. By bumping up your to-do list against your roles, goals and values, you may just find that a lot of tasks cluttering up your to-do lists can be simply eliminated. You will be more focused on what really matters most! How freeing this is for you!

I've been using the same planner system since high school. Yes, high school... don't laugh - get your kids started on this habit now and watch their grades soar and the scholarships come in!

Using your planner for everything takes an enormous load off your mind!

Medical Sales Vacancies: 3 Steps To Getting Hired

Medical sales vacancies are one of the most oversubscribed job vacancies around. Once you realise what a fantastic career it is and one that is incredibly well paid you will understand why. All the more reason to make sure that you are fully prepared for you interview so that you are the candidate accepted for the key medical representative role. Here are 3 key activities that all successful candidates perform

1. Understand the Medical Rep Role

So often candidates turn up for prospective medical sales vacancies without knowing anything about the role. Medical sales are different especially in the UK. In the majority of cases you will not walk away with an order. Instead you will have a conversation with the clinician about the advantages of your medication over others and what it can do for the patient it is prescribed for.

As a medical representative it helps to have an interest in science and medicine. That goes without saying. Having a qualification in Biology or human physiology will certainly help, to understand the scientific facts that need to be conveyed. At the end of the day a medical representative is also a sales person. A sales person that needs to be organised and planned and one that can also sell persuade and influence.

2. Have Knowledge About The Company

So often prospective new medical representatives turn up for an interview with little thought or planning. With the world wide web at our finger tips there is no excuse for turning up without knowing anything about the company. Savvy candidates have even been known to approach other representatives from that company to get an idea of who is who and what is what. This is easy to do with some fore thought and planning. Imagine how impressive it is for the sales manager that interviews you, to see that you have done your homework. It is a good idea to know the last year's financial results, the key therapy areas, what the company Goal and vision is. Reading their website will give you a great feel for the company its ethos and values. Remember companies don't just recruit on your skills. In today's era of corporate responsibility and employee engagement having good values is also important to your new employer.

3. Dress For Success

This might be old fashioned and yet it works. Period. If someone can't turn up smart for an interview when it really, really matters, what they will do on a cold winter's morning in Scunthorpe when no one is watching.

You don't have to spend a fortune either. A clean pressed suit or skirt and jacket does the trick. Clean shaven or a trimmed beard works as well for the guys. Personal hygiene might sound strange and pay attention to it. Make sure your hair is neat and tidy or well styled. Aftershave or perfume is fine. Just don't go crazy with it. You want to convey an image that fits with the company. If in doubt dress up rather than down. In the world of medical sales smart professional dress is expected when you see customers.

If you want to apply for a medical sales vacancy, and stand a chance of being hired make sure you focus on these 3 steps.

Places and Attractions to Visit in Kensington

Kensington is a highly sought after area in the centre of London renowned for its variety of tourist attractions and places to see in and around the W8 postcode. With many beautiful parks, gardens and townhouses in the vicinity, Kensington offers a chic residential neighbourhood. One can't help noticing the stunning houses looking over the lovely manicured squares and gardens. Not only does it have famous must-see sites and places but is also well known for its upmarket shopping options including lovely antique shops, designer clothing shops and independent boutiques...

Almost everybody likes the serenity of lush green gardens and there is abundance of greenery in Kensington. You can go to the birthplace of Queen Victoria - Kensington Palace and Gardens, set on the westerly side of infamous Hyde Park. The royal residence intrigues the interest of many visitors as it was the home of the late Diana, Princess of Wales and is now the official London residence of her son and heir to the throne, Prince William and his wife Catherine. The Serpentine Lake is also nearby where you can go for swimming, boating, rowing and waterside watching.

Then there is the world famous Royal Albert Hall which regularly hosts a range of concerts and festivals throughout the year, including the annual 'BBC Proms'. Going further along Exhibition Road, you will find and can visit three very popular museums; the Natural History Museum, ideal for those who want to learn about prehistoric history to present day, the Science Museum, where you can learn discover facts and about inventions, right from the Industrial Revolution to the Space Age and beyond. And if your inclination is more towards fashion, arts and crafts, then the Victoria and Albert Museum (popularly referred to as the V&A) is the place for you. Entry into all the three museums is free although some special tours can be chargeable.

Kensington High Street is still one of the most popular shopping destinations in London offering a range of boutiques, organic food halls and eclectic mix of shops. Not too far away is the Westfield Shopping Centre in Shepherd's Bush with more than 265 up-market retailers. Kensington Church Street is a great place to be if you want to look or buy artefacts and antiques in London.

You can take the underground from Kensington High Street station to go to the vibrant West End to enjoy famous theatres in Piccadilly Circus, Shaftesbury Avenue plus the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Due to all of these attractions in W8, many people who are relocating to London for work purposes are increasingly renting apartments and family homes in and around the Kensington area. The area is home to many good schools, some of the best in the country including Holland Park School, Francis Holland and the French speaking Lycee Francais Charles de Gaule. The Imperial College which specialises in science-based courses is also based in Kensington. It's not hard to see why this important area of London is so popular with corporate tenants, many who come to London with generous budgets but property rentals are high here, as you would expect with one of the Capital's most expensive neighbourhoods.

Flat Foot Shoes and Problems With Regular Shoes

In many cases, people with flat feet have no success with ordinary footwear. Flat feet are feet where the arch of the foot that is shaped by the metatarsal and tarsal bones is completely flat. This means that there is no space between the inside of the foot and the floor. Foot arches play a very important role since they act as natural shock-absorbers, and is a section of the foot that is reinforced by tendons and ligaments and assists in supporting the body weight. Due to this, certain activities can be a bit restrictive due to the arch contacting the ground; therefore, good comfortable footwear is advised.

Women and Flat Foot Shoes

Today's trend of wearing sky scraper high heels is a perfect example of how women are demanding more than their suffering feet can handle. Heels more than two-inches high alters the way women usually walk, and heels more than three-inches multiplies the force on the ball of the foot. Unfortunately, many women are not aware, or they are not concerned, that continued use of high-heels may eventually interfere with wearing flat foot shoes, making them nearly impossible to wear. Most women know that high heels affect their feet, and many admit that they hurt as well. However, they bear the discomfort for the sake of fashion.

If wearing high heels has this effect on women with arches, what about those with flat feet? Fortunately, these women have other smarter choices for shoes with heels. For women, pleasant walking pumps work well for work and social events. Shoe manufacturers have created comfort pumps for women without arches or for those who simply cannot wear high heels. These flat foot shoes are frequently produced the same as athletic shoes with reinforced heels, flexible soles, and a wider toe box.

Shoes for Women

Flip flops have their own specific problems, the same as flats. Shoes without any arch support permit the foot to function as if it were barefoot. Flip-flops are fine for children in the midst of learning how to walk; however, grownups require shoes with good support to help their feet carry the body's force and weight.

There are those who have had flat feet since they were born, and others developed flat feet later on. Flat feet that are flexible; those that have arches when they sit, but disappear when they stand, can be shoddier than feet that are flat whether standing or not! Minus support or insoles for flat feet, a flat foot will probably develop hammertoes, tendon inflammation, and bunions. Most podiatrists believe that unconfined flat-footedness is the worse of any foot problem.

The best advice for women with flat feet is to try the "three-step test" when shopping. First a flat foot shoe ought to flex where your foot flexes naturally, which is the ball of the foot. Secondly, a shoe should not bend from side to side. Lastly, compress the back of the heel of the shoe to make sure that it will tightly hold the heel. This procedure should help women with flat feet select better functioning flat foot shoes for their needs.

Benefits of An SEO Consultant For Google Ranking

What is SEO?

First of all, what is SEO? SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and basically it's a way that by employing various techniques together a website can appear high up the rankings on the major search engines. For any small business SEO is an essential part of marketing strategy. An SEO consultant is a person who has the expertise in these techniques and can use them in such a way to make a small business profit.

SEO For Small Businesses

If you own a small business, ask yourself these questions: Can your business or website be easily found easily online? Are you going out of business? Would you like to increase your Google ranking to get more customers, and therefore increase your revenue?

If you are not being found by the major search engines it means that your business could be heading for some real problems. Why is this true? SEO consultants say that businesses that can't be easily found online will be extinct, or at least having problems within the next 3-5 years. This is because when we want to find something we no longer rely on radio, TV or the newspapers. We go online and search there for what we are looking for. This is how we decide how we are going to spend our money.

Even searching for something locally, we search Google over 3,000 times for every time we check a newspapers adverts or open up a yellow pages. So having a high Google ranking is essential for any small business.

Important Of a High Google Ranking

If you are not on top, then you are missing out on a lot of new customers. Research shows that in any of the top 3 Internet search engines the top 3 in the search results get about 69% of the new customers? Think about it - how would your business benefit if you were there in the top 3, or even just on the first page?

If you provide a service then there are definitely people out there looking for you, and if you're not on top, who then are they finding? Your competition.

Trends In Advertising

Local advertising becoming less and less relevant every year. Radio and TV commercials are expensive and not really effective because they don't target a specific audience. Internet marketing is designed to target a specific audience. So the people that find you will be people that were looking for your service. Mp3s mean that everybody is listening to music with no commercials. The same is true with TV - people are watching youTube. Even word of mouth is no longer as effective as it used to be with the rise of Facebook and Twitter.

Don't Be Invisible Online

New customers are to be found everywhere. All you have to do is be found - it is that easy to get new customers.

Think about the services you can utilize for free:

  • Free local listings.
  • Google maps and directions (straight to your business)
  • Videos of your business on youTube (very easy to make, and what's better - they don't even have to be that good!)
  • Free listings on Facebook and Twitter.
  • Free blog - all these things in the process are free - but you just have to know how to show up.

Benefits of an SEO Consultant

This is where an SEO consultant is essential. They know how to use these tools to make sure that customers come to you. So, not only can you show up, but you can dominate the search engines for your key terms. You can do it fast and small business SEO can be relatively cheap compared to old-fashioned advertising. With the proper SEO consultant you can be at the top of Google, Yahoo and Bing really fast.

Citizen Journalism Vs. Traditional Journalism

I have been following this ongoing debate as to whether free journalistic content on the Internet and real-time amateur photos uploaded from the world's flashpoints will outpace traditional journalism. No, say the traditionalists: our investigative journalists go deep and cover many viewpoints. Wrong, say the citizen journalists: our information is current and we have no profit motive behind it. We are impartial, counter the traditionalists. You are paid by advertisers, so you have to be politically correct, say the rebels. Our personnel risk their lives in the world's hotspots and many of us have died in the line of duty, say the traditionalists. We are in the line of fire, says a rebel, poking his head out of a bombed-out building to snap the latest atrocity on his iPhone and upload it for the world's viewing pleasure (or horror).

I am not sure who is right. Certainly, Internet 2.0 has provided for an instantaneous dialogue between writers and readers and we are not satisfied any longer with just the bare presentation of facts, arguments, propaganda and lies. And the very static "letters to the editor," - that is, the traditionalists' old fashioned attempt to stimulate audience participation - pales under the online world's "like" and "comment" buttons that accompany most e-journal pieces these days. "Going viral" happens faster on the Internet than in traditional media. The fact that most traditionalists have embraced the Internet to issue e-versions of their paper editions means that they don't want to be left behind. To make matters worse for the old guard, the recent telephone bugging scandals of the traditionalists have not endeared them to readers. Traditional content providers are out to sell advertizing - we all know that - so mass appeal is where their interests lie and the citizen journalists are left to cover the niches. Therefore, one could argue, how comprehensive is traditional journalism if it is shaped by a powerful sponsor with vested interests?

Not getting paid for citizen journalism, while this indicates purity of intention, could also include poorly written pieces and content emanating from those with undisguised axes to grind. But we have also heard of "right wing" or "left wing" newspapers in the traditional space. On the other hand, traditionalists are lifers and insist that their journalists are immersed in their subject, and provide accuracy, structure, responsibility and voice, while citizen journalists are scattered in their presentation and may quickly get bored and move onto other pursuits once they have had their fill of saving the world or exposing its underbelly.

I too have dabbled in citizen journalism and like the fact that I do not have to pay obeisance to an uncaring editor who may edit, alter, or reject my submission because it is not to his liking or displeases his sponsors. It has allowed me to view the world and comment on its idiosyncrasies while maintaining a paid career elsewhere. I do not entertain ads on my website or blog for the privilege of being free of interference. I have thus managed to escape the moniker of "jaded journalist" or "corporate lackey."

I am not sure which side is better for both have pros and cons. I am grateful that Internet 2.0 has allowed many of us who care, to share our views with the world without relying on the narrow portal of traditional journalism to showcase us. It has also given the reader a wider spectrum of opinion to consider and a bigger headache in sorting out the wheat from the chaff.