Archive for March, 2008

Motivate Your Motivation

Auto Date Monday, March 31st, 2008

This week you finally did it. You brought the gym bag out of storage and joined a spinning class. Or, you finally decided to quit smoking. Or, you bought that juicer and have vowed to start eating healthy. Whatever the goal is, you finally have what it takes - motivation.

And so you plunge ahead. Until…

Until that point in time when the big motivation train starts losing its steam. When you’re just too tired to go to the gym after work. When you decide “just one” cigarette wouldn’t hurt. When you look at that juicer and that mound of carrots and kale and decide it’s easier just to have a glass of milk

If only you had it like the good old days. You remember the good old days, don’t you? The days good old Mom used to nag you to do your homework, nag you to write your term paper, nag you to go to soccer practice, nag you to stop biting your nails. Ah, Mom, the original Life Coach.

You now find yourself faced with two options - give up like you’ve done so many times in the past, or give your motivation a kick in the butt with the “Magic 30 Minutes.”

Don’t let the name fool you. The “Magic 30 Minutes” doesn’t require you to purchase either a rabbit or a hat. Although it’s so simple you’ll feel like you’ve pulled a rabbit out of a hat. The “Magic 30 Minutes” is that 30-minute period between waking and falling asleep, where your mind begins to shift from a waking state, through a light trance state, to a sleeping state. That’s right; you actually go into a light state of hypnosis before going to sleep.

Used effectively, such as reading a pleasant story to children before they sleep, the mind is filled with positive images, which helps promote positive thinking. And, since you’re already in a light state of hypnosis, your subconscious is most suggestible to positive and negative suggestions. Unfortunately, most people use the “Magic 30 Minutes” ineffectively, watching the news before retiring, thus filling their minds with crime, tragedy and fear - very negative suggestions indeed.

So, how can the “Magic 30 Minutes” help motivate your motivation? Simple. Thirty minutes before falling asleep write out positive affirmations to yourself about whatever goal you’d like to achieve, such as “I love my body and will treat it well, like going to the gym or drinking a glass of fresh vegetable juice.” Repeating one’s positive affirmations are good, but since the act of writing involves using many different senses - touch, sight, thought - writing out your affirmations sends an even stronger message to the subconscious, resulting in quicker positive changes.

Utilizing the “Magic 30 Minutes” can work with motivation for any goal, can boost confidence and self-esteem (”every day in every way my confidence grows”), and can even be used to attract prosperity to one’s life (”I am open and receptive to a more prosperous life”). You have no more excuses. Just five minutes of writing affirmations before going to bed can change your life.

Of course, if you’d prefer to move back in with Mom… I didn’t think so.

Shari Hearn, C.Ht., is a writer and certified hypnotist in Southern California. You can visit her juicing website at http://www.myjuicer-reviews.com

Paying For it on Your Own?

Auto Date Sunday, March 30th, 2008

So your sister was awarded a full ride to her first choice school with the intent to double major in bio-molecular chemistry and electro-physics and your brother (who was actually getting paid to go to school) just finished his last football season. Cursing your parents for giving away all the really good genes before you had a chance to nab your fair share isn’t going to help but with a little creativity, you too can find a way to put yourself through college. Aside from the traditional scholarships offered to those who are blessed with the diligence to live life with their faces in books, or the grace and athleticism of a gazelle, there is also a plethora of scholarships for those of us who are darn proud of what we do but don’t quite make it too the coveted over-achiever status.

Many of us have heard the stories of the friend of a friend who didn’t have to pay a dime for their education simply because they were left handed or happened to measure in over 6′ 2″. And though these tales seem too good to be true, rest assured there is nothing fabricated about it (honestly, who could make this stuff up?) and these types of financial backing may be more available than you realize. Whether you pride yourself on your duck call or you think your um, unique fashion sense combined with your passion for duck tape merits a little assistance from a third party, look around and it’s likely to be out there. Some of the more strange scholarships we found include everything from an apple pie baking contest (first prize gets $25,000 to the Culinary Institute of America’s) to one that encourages young minds to study the Klingon language; naturally this one is given by the Klingon Language Institute.

Certain celebrities can also at times be counted on to share their own wealth such as the interest David Letterman is known for displaying through his scholarship fund awarded for outstanding creativity. Search far and wide and you’re sure to find a group that wants to support you just for being you, or maybe even just because they had supported your grandmother through school! But a word to the wise, before counting all your eggs or putting all your chickens in one basket take the time to make sure your benefactor is legitimate. Be aware of groups who request to remain anonymous (even from you) or are making outlandish requests from you in return for their so-called generosity. And finally, when it comes to applying to scholarships don’t be afraid to be greedy. Apply for as many as you are interested in and you may be surprised as to how much money your future is worth to other people.

If the scholarship route isn’t for you there are other ways of paying for school on your own (and I don’t mean that in a creepy meet-me-behind-the-student-union-next-Thursday-at-3-a.m. kind of way). There are plenty of financial institutions out there that are more than happy to help the struggling fledglings out there with enticingly low interest rates, long repayment terms, and flexible application deadlines. Student loans can be taken out for as little as $1,000 or as much as $50.000 with the option to defer payments on the principal for up to six months after graduation. And better yet they can usually be obtained from any banking establishment where you are a current account holder as well as any number of organizations which exist specifically for the purpose of helping you get through this (expensive) phase of life. Some of the top name student loan companies include Sallie Mae, Nellie Mae, and Educaid each having several different payment plans for both graduate and undergrad students.

The morale of the story kids, being asked to pay for your own education is a huge obstacle but it doesn’t have to be an insurmountable one. Just remember: ask and ye shall receive; help can come in the most unlikely forms, just ask.

Kelly Kennedy is the Communications Specialist for MindComet Corporation, a full service marketing agency for Fortune 500 companies and international conglomerates. Kelly specializes in public relations strategies focused on personal finance. Kelly has been author to hundreds of articles focusing on finance. She also acts as a contributing author for a wide variety of websites and newsletters. Kelly holds a Bachelors degree in Marketing from the University of Central Florida.

For more information pertaining to student financial advice please visit http://www.studentfinancialguide.com.

Submitting Your Articles To E-zines and Viral Marketing

Auto Date Sunday, March 30th, 2008

Viral Marketing Defined

It is allowing others to giveaway and use your free product or service in order to multiply your marketing quickly over the internet. The idea behind viral marketing is that you include your ad with the freebie people giveaway or use.

But to become successful, you must totally understand the concept in order to get the most out of it.

Brand your web site, business and yourself by submitting articles to e-zines. You could include your name, business name, your credentials, web site address and e-mail address in
your resource box. An example of a resource box is -

jerry durham lonestar enterprises - opportunity to succeed
http://www.freewebs.com/opportunity_to_succeed/
5705 marvin loving dr suite 202
garland, tx 75043

You could include something like the above at the end of each of your articles, specifing, that the resource box, as it is known, would stay with the article in the event it was used
as copy in a ezine, ebook, etc.

Understand and know, or better yet, become known as an expert on the topics you write about. This will give you and your business extra credibility which will help you compete against
your competition. Face it, if you don’t know what you’re talking about. it will become very well known around the net, spreading like a “VIRUS”. You’ll gain people’s trust. If they
read your article, like it, and they believe you, they won’t be as hesitant to buy your product or service. You will then be able to increase your profits.

Having your article placed on a publishers home page or archives will give you extra exposure. Future subscribers might want to read the back copies before they subscribe. I have several articles in archive, one of which is -

http://www.archives.zinester.com/5997/17517.html

Submiting your article to a publisher that has a free content directory on their web site, allows visitors to republish your article. Some sites are below -

http://www.cashflowseller.com/ArticleSubmit.html
http://article-emporium.com/submit-article.cfm
http://www.allfreelancework.com/submitarticles.php
http://articlefinders.com/submit.html
http://www.articlecity.com/article_submission.shtml
http://www.articlewarehouse.com/SubmitArticle.aspx
http://www.awomaninbusiness.com/writers.html
http://www.boconline.com/sub-art.shtml
http://www.business-opportunity.biz/addarticle.php
http://www.businesstoolchest.com/articles/submit.shtml
http://www.ebooksnbytes.com/articles/submit.shtml
http://www.family-content.com/articles/submit.shtml
http://www.howtoadvice.com/Submit/
http://www.netterweb.com/articles/
http://ebusinesshelpsite.com/Articles/submit-article.htm
http://www.powerhomebiz.com/termsofuse/articlesubmission.htm
http://www.selfgrowth.com/artman/exec/admin.cgi
http://www.businessknowhow.com/newsletter/articleguidelines.htm
http://www.uniterra.com/submit-article.htm
http://www.vectorcentral.com/articles-form.html
http://www.webmasterslibrary.com/submit.jsp
http://www.web-source.net/article_submissions.htm
http://www.webpronews.com/submit.html
http://www.goarticles.com
http://www.articlecentral.com
http://www.readycontent.com
http://www.ideamarketers.com
http://www.advertisingknowhow.com
http://www.marketing-seek.com
http://www.ezinearticles.com
http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/articledir.php
http://www.1st-in-articles.com
http://www.ezinetrendz.com
http://www.submityourarticle.com
http://www.thephantomwriters.com
http://www.articletrades.com
http://www.articlehub.com
http://www.holisticjunction.com
http://www.kickstartyourlife.com/ezinesresources/articles.htm
http://freezinesite.com/articles.cgi?action=add
http://www.searchwarp.com/Register.asp
http://www.ideamarketers.com/writers.cfm
http://www.netterweb.com/articles
http://www.certificate.net/wwio
http://www.dime-co.com
http://businessknowhow.com
http://www.selfgrowth.com/submit-article.html
http://www.ezine-writer.com.au
http://www.boazepublishing.biz/articledir
http://amazines.com
http://www.authorconnection.com
http://www.herassistant.com/1articles/subarticle.shtml
http://www.home-based-business-opportunities.com
http://powerhomebiz.com
http://smbtn.com/smallbusinesstown
http://www.homebiztools.com/index.htm
http://www.ezinearticles.com/submit
http://www.theezine.net/
http://www.stickysauce.com/articles/webarticles_index.htm
http://annamarketing.com
http://www.mag-a-zine.com/mag-a-zine/articles/
http://www.clickforcontent.com
http://www.marketing-seek.com/articles/submit.shtml
http://www.ebooksnbytes.com/articles/submit.shtml
http://www.ultimateprofits.com/index_author.htm
http://www.webbers.com/newcontent
http://www.allnetarticles.com
http://www.connectionteam.com/art.html
http://www.family-content.com
http://www.mailbiz.com/mailbiz/magcat
http://www.articlefinders.com
http://www.articlesubmissions.com
http://www.certificate.net/wwio
http://www.freesticky.com
http://www.stickysauce.com
http://www.ezinearticles.com
http://www.ideamarketers.com
http://www.marketing-seek.com
http://www.web-source.net/
http://www.addme.com/nlsubmit.htm
http://www.amazines.com
http://www.articlecentral.com
http://www.articlecity.com
http://www.articles911.com
http://www.articlewarehouse.com
http://www.authorconnection.com
http://www.boconline.com
http://www.business-dynamics.com/resource_library/index.html
http://www.businesstoolchest.com/articles/submit.shtml
http://www.bytesworth.com/articles
http://www.certificate.net/wwio/ideas.shtml
http://www.clickforcontent.com/cgi-bin/epro/print.pl
http://www.clickz.com
http://www.connectionteam.com
http://www.digital-women.com/submitarticle.htm
http://www.dime-co.com/articlesub.html
http://www.ezine-writer.com.au
http://www.ezinearticles.com
http://www.ezinepublisher.org/members/cgi-bin/content/add.cgi
http://www.submityourarticle.com
http://www.top7business.com
http://www.upromote.com/newsletter/submit.html
http://www.vectorcentral.com
http://www.web-source.net/articlesub.htm
http://www.web-http://www.womans-net.com
http://www.zineadz.com
http://www.zinos.com
http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/articledir.php
http://www.1st-in-articles.com
http://www.maxebook.com

Other publishers might want to publish your articles in their free e-books. These ebooks are given away, and your advertising could multiply all over the web. Agree to run someone
else’s article in your ezine, if they’ll run your article in theirs. It’s a win/win situation.

This is all free advertising that allows you to spend your money elsewhere on other forms of advertising. Such as, buying ad space in other ezines that don’t publish your articles.

And speaking of money, if your good enough, you could write other peoples articles, ebooks, speak at seminars, etc. This is a great way to multiply your income.

All the Best…

About the Author:

Jerry durham has been in business as “OPPORTUNTIY TO SUCCEED” since the fall of 2003. We offer ideas you need to start, manage & grow your online business! We also offer strategies,
downloads, & articles written by professionals.

Jerry Durham Lonestar Enterprises - Opportunity To Succeed
http://www.freewebs.com/opportunity_to_succeed/
5705 Marvin Loving Dr Suite 202
Garland, TX 75043

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