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I worked at a Profession that was a Family Tradition my entire working career.

I started out working after class got out, every day through High School, while a Teen.

After that, I went to College during the Mid – Seventies.

• Through the years, I was simply too caught up making a living to realize what else I would enjoy doing.
• The money and benefits were good, so I stuck with it until I retired.
• I have always had an interest in Psychology and Writing.
• There was this prevailing Feeling within, constantly reminding me to follow my Heart and choose a different Profession.
• I never knew what that would be, until recently.
• Do any of the above Ring true for You?
• I decided that if I were to do a Midlife Career Change, my Career Choice would have to be one that not only inspired me, but could be worked at directly from home.

I was able to take an early retirement at age 55. I desperately wanted a change in career. I was searching for something I would have a passion for doing. I wanted to do something on the Internet, but did not know what I wanted to do, or how to go about doing it.

I searched and searched, and ended up confused and completely frustrated with the information overload I absorbed from the Web.

I recalled all those Career Assessment Tests I took way back in College. I remember one test told me I had the personality traits of a Bus Driver and College Professor. Interesting… I had forgotten what the other tests told me about me.

I was looking for something I could do on the internet as a business. I went to various Career Test Websites and took some of their practice tests to see what my aptitudes were.

I did not come up with any suggestions I favored. These Tests were free tests I took, but each one told me something different about myself. There did not seem to be any consistencies I could recognize.

So, maybe you want a Second Career too. But, This time around, you want to do something you are Passionate about. Why do it any other way – Especially, if you did not like your previous profession that much? You do not want to choose something to do you will not like doing again, right? You want to Love doing it this time. Now is your chance to do it right.

Maybe you are a bit UNSURE about what it is you would fit into as a brand new career. No problem. There are Career Assessment Tests you can take that can help you. There are also Free Tests, but you have to be careful. If they are not researched and Scientifically validated tests, the test results may not be as reliable as you would like.

You could end up choosing the wrong education and training for a career you really don’t have the interest or aptitude for. The Test may say you are more of an Artist type, when in fact you love Public Speaking and are an Extrovert. This potential Career Mismatch could mean a lot of wasted time, effort, money and one big disappointment and heartache.

Teens looking for their first job, and someone making a Midlife Career Change may have something in common. They may be both unsure about what it is their passion resides in. If you are middle aged, you have an advantage, that you at least have had a career or two under your belt. A teen may not have even been employed once.

If you already know what your passion is, fine. But, if you do not, you will have to search yourself for it. Discovering Mine came late. But, Better late than never. Find your passion and Verify it through the Sounding Board of a Career Test. This will Make Certain you have the Career Aptitude and Working Personality for doing the Career Choice you have in mind. You can always receive training and the schooling to fit your passion and make it into a Career Reality.

You Do Have Options…

• Find out what you Love to do or are Passionate about, be it a Hobby or any Special Interest.
• Then take a couple Career Aptitude and Personality Assessments to reality check the possibility of turning it into a Career.
• Study the list of compatible careers in the printable read out which they will give you after you take the Career Test.
• If the tests you take are Scientifically Validated and Reliable tests, the suggestions and results from the various tests will collectively parallel each other.
• In other words, you will start to hear the same things ringing true about your skills, abilities and interests over and over, as they pertain to certain repeated Career Recommendations.
• Do the research about what the Job Duties are for your Dream Job, and judge for yourself if you are going to like to do them or not.
• Visit and talk to those people within those jobs. Get it first hand from those who know the best.
• Weigh all outward Data received against your inner Personal Core Values.
• Know How much all the training costs, where it is and how long it will take to complete.
• Figure out how you are going to put your plan together. Make a strategy with small doable goal steps to pull the entire plan into one big clear picture.
• Will you work at your old job and train for the another in your spare time? It has been done, and it still can be. You can do it if you make it one of your personal priority career goals.
• You can also create a budget plan, if times will be on the lean side while financing your new career training.

To Change Careers or Not

You don not have to make a Mid Life Career Change at all. You do not have to do anything but what you want to do. You can keep things just the way they are. It’s your life, live it your way. Chances are that if you are here now, you want another career.

But, You do have options. All we need to do is examine them. The most important thing to do is to examine you and question how you feel about you, your life, the world and where it is you think you want to fit.

What things do you want out of life at this point? You could have made a name for yourself in your last career and made your money, raised a family and now you wonder what to do next?

You may not even need to work. Maybe you want to work and find that last career that represents who you are. You want a career change for what it will mean to you. You seek meaningful employment more than the money.

Chances are that you continue to need the extra income, but either want to retire or quit what you’ve been doing for the last 20 or so years because you have had enough of it and it’s time to move on. Maybe you want a part time job. Maybe you don’t even know exactly what you want, but you want to explore and see if there is anything out there for you or not.

So, Why even Change Careers to begin with?

Is it because Your Job is Not YOU anymore?

In other words, has what you value in a job changed?

Did you choose your profession a long time ago, and the job became a career mismatch?

Maybe the job doesn’t do it for you anymore. Maybe it’s a boring, not challenging, tedious, energy draining job, etc.

Maybe there Is there no single reason other than you simply want a change. That’s OK. Maybe you are just tired of doing the same thing for over twenty years. This is OK.

You could be going through a Midlife Crisis where you are beginning to question a few things about your past and present life.

Statistics show that it is not uncommon for people change careers at least three times in their working years.

Why not change careers, what’s the problem?

It’s not like you are Married to it, right? There are similarities though, like familiarity, security and predictability. You know what you have to deal with on a daily basis and there are usually no surprises. On second thought, Maybe in a way, we have become Married to our Jobs. But the question is, is it a happy or unhappy Job Marriage?

There is a lot to making a Midlife Career Transition happen. It’s harder adjusting and doing everything related to changing your career than when you were young. Everything is harder now. Maybe you don’t even feel as good as you did and do not have the energy you had. That’s probably why some don’t do it. The new Career takes researching, job interviews, training, returning to school, or possibly working part time in your newly chosen field to see if you like it or not. You may even be worried about age discrimination, finances for training and living expenses. It takes a lot of effort and energy. Maybe you would rather not. All this is even making me tired.

Nevertheless, How do you take an inventory of YOU if you would like to make a Career Change in Midlife, but are afraid to do so. Start Thinking about those skills or jobs you like doing. Also, think about those jobs or duties that you don’t like to do so you know what to avoid. What Hobbies or special interests draw out the passion in you. Who says you can’t turn a hobby into a full time job? Did you have any part time jobs you liked in the past? You can even go so far as to try to remember what it was you wanted to do when you were a kid – A Doctor, a Lawyer?

If you are over 55, you have to admit that some professions are probably unattainable, because you don’t have enough time left to live. You may not want to go to school again for another ten or so years and then build up your business or practice through time – Which is another story in itself.

Thankfully, There are Careers in between – Some that require technical school training, or certification. These Careers don’t take near as long to master. Again, it depends on what you are willing to do in order to get the new career you want. It is never too late to go to school for ten years if you want to, and it is your life to spend any way you wish.

• Remember – The older you get, the wiser you have to be about where and how you spend your remaining years.

I am sure someone has decided to become a Doctor or a Lawyer when he was 55 and then began his education. Maybe by 65 he had served his internship and residence and got his degree and started his practice in his own home town. It’s possible.

The question to ask yourself is this – If you really want to do something, and it takes four or more years to get there and you do not start to do it now, where will You be in four years? You guessed it, you will be right where you are right now. And, You will be wondering why you did not do it, and may regret not doing it, because you would have been done with the training and starting in the career by now.

But, if you look back and are glad you did not do it because you changed your mind about it in the meantime, then passing it up was a good thing.

If you would love to do a certain occupation, why not start training for it? What else are you doing that is better? Will you Stay in a Soul Killing Job that you are in presently, or making an attempt to get out of it through training for something else? Isn’t it better to train for something new that you’ll love rather than keep the same Status?

As long as you are alive, you have a Future.

Questions to ask Yourself

• Are you a people person, or would you rather work with things?
• Do you like working with Statistics and Data?
• Do like to Lead? Do you like instructing others, or Teaching?
• Are you a natural born Salesman?
• Are you mechanical? Do you like working with your hands? Fixing things?
• Are You Artistic?
• Do you like working outside?

Can You See You in the Job Picture?

Thinking about those things you like to do and the conditions you prefer on the job can determine what Career Choice is best for what you are made of. Only you can know what it is you like. If you do not already know, you can find it out through taking a Career Assessment Test and choose from a list of Career Choices the Test recommends. Matter of fact, taking the test is part of being able to set career goals and plan for your new career.

Be open to new ideas from any source. I personally like to look through Mother Earth News Magazine for business and career ideas. I like reading about the do it yourself stuff on a farm, and articles on going solar. So, Pick up your favorite magazine and page through it and check out the local classifieds for business opportunities, or even employment. These are all potential Career Choices.

Investigate what it is you are interested in and passionate about. Even if you don’t know what that is, investigate anyway. You will eventually find your Dream.

You have been focusing on the Money factor most, if not all your previous career and life. But From Now on, try focusing on the Fun Factor. Look to a new Career for the enjoyment of it, not the money. You may have needed more money before, because you had a family to support. Now, it may be somewhat different financially.

If you do what you love, you will be willing to work harder at it that much longer each day. It will still seem like work, but there will be a distinct difference. It will be work you love to do. You will not have to be dishonest with yourself and cover up your distaste for a job you hate doing anymore. You may already know what working hard at a job you hate brings into your life.

This way, if you are hard working and (most importantly) true to yourself and to your own happiness, the money will come later because of all your loving toil and diligence. Think about the concept of making money at something that is fun to do – Would that not be nice doing just that?

What you love attracts the same positive vibes and material conditions, what you hate brings Negativity. Stop doing what you dislike, it will never bring Success to you nor to anyone who depends upon you. There is no Success without Fulfillment.

Why not start to Be who you want to be, and do what you want to do. If you already have not done this, Try Thinking how you want to think. Not how you think others want you to. And, start doing those duties and activities that bring you the joy and the passion you’ve always wanted. The focus has always been on hard work. Change the focus to enjoyable work. Would it not be great if you focused on who you wanted to be and acted that out instead of focusing on deadlines based on money and people you would rather not be around?

When you find and do what you love, you will come across like minded people…You will have something in common with and be surrounded by Your own kind.

Deadlines are dead. You are alive. Change your scene. Change your life. Change your mindset. Don’t let someone else define YOU. You define YOU from now on. Who do you want to be? You can be that person, you know…Only if it is true to being YOU and to who you are.

The Occupational Outlook Handbook by the US Dept. of Labor is filled with hundreds, if not thousands of Careers. Learn about each one you are interested in. More than that, seek those Career Opportunities that make you feel Passionate. Would it not be great to be so restless at night that you could not wait to get up in the morning to go to work? Well, maybe we don’t want that much excitement, do we? Maybe, maybe not. At least not right away. But, you can grow into it slowly and start liking it.

We sleep a third of our lives, and work a third of our lives. With so much time preparing for work, should not work be a Pleasure instead of a dreaded chore?

After you take a Career Assessment Test and have your Career Choices in hand and have made your choice, then it is time to put a plan together. This means where the education is located, how long it takes to complete the program, how you are going to pay for it, putting together a resume, practicing up with your job interviewing skills, possibly a part time job in your chosen profession, goals and steps to achieve the same, etc.

A way to bypass job interviews and resumes etc., is to become self employed and Work from the comfort of your own home. This is the golden opportunity for those who are Midlife Career Changers. You are older, wiser, mature and solid in those things you want. And you can still find yourself through the right second and possibly last career. You may have the savings to put you through the necessary training for that work at home job.

There are many legitimate work from home businesses to choose from. There are franchises and there is also your own knowledge of a business you have already been in that you could turn into your own. Sometimes, being your own Boss can be the key to the experience of job happiness.

You may have all the responsibility, but you can still call all the shots your way. Well, realistically not everything will be your way, but you will have much greater latitude in making business decisions without having to answer to someone.

Probably one of the most important aspects of Mid life Career Change is having a plan. Equal to that is support from family and friends. They need to be behind you on this one. Without support, you will be hard pressed to make anything happen. Sell everyone on what you are about to do. Put your finances in order. Sell your plan to them. Get the right feedback you need. Make them feel good about what you are about to do. Calm their fears while Dealing with your own.

It takes time to put a Plan of Action together. A Career Guidance Counselor can help. He/She can guide you by suggesting Career Tests and even help you plan for the education, and assist you with your own job placement.

Steve Humphreys

http://www.career-test-for-teens.com

Key to ideal career discovery is self-knowledge. Find, develop, and plan your career choice with our self-help resources. Teens, career changers, or job searchers will find helpful advice and articles about career tests, resumes, interviews, and more. Let us help you find your dream career on your journey.

Free ebook http://www.career-test-for-teens.com/career_ebooks_download.html

Part 1

The first thing a cat owner should know about home décor is to keep it simple. Cats are completely convinced that they are in charge, that the house and its possessions belong to them, and that they have every right to break rip or shred anything they like. Even a well trained cat (a possible oxymoron) will occasionally get overzealous, and with an inadvertent sweep of their tail will knock your favorite decoration from its place to a pile on the floor.

This disregard for your possessions, overt or otherwise, requires that you use some strategy when deciding on the placement of various decorative pieces. This is going to amount basically to common sense. Any surface that a cat can reach, they will walk on. Therefore low shelves or dressers should not contain any objects that are fragile. Items should be moved towards the middle of a surface, or back against the wall, to prevent them being knocked onto the floor. Items that have a broad or sturdy base should replace other more top heavy objects. Decorative accents that can shatter, such as ceramics or stone statues, may have to be replaced by steal or wood.

One way to display fragile items is to move them up. High shelves that are isolated from cat “stepping stones” will be out of dangers way. The same may be true of tall dressers, although unfortunately some cats will take a tall isolated dresser as a personal challenge, which they simply have to climb. Your décor will have to be matched to the personality of your cat.

Mirrors can also provide a problem, as some cats tend to attack their own reflection. If your cat has a problem with this, buying velvet or satin cloth and draping it over the mirror can be a decorative way to solve this.

Plants can be one of the biggest décor problems a cat owner will face. Your pet can chew on leaves, dig in the soil, or urinate in them. Luckily, there are ways both to decorate around these problems as well as to train your cat out of them. For biting and chewing of leaves, a natural spray repellent applied to the plant will cause most cats to avoid it. To stop a cat from rooting in or excreting in your plant you have to realize that the dirt in the pot is reminiscent of the cats litter box. In order to change this, use stones or gravel to fill over the top of the dirt. This will remove the cat’s fascination with the soil, and can be a lovely decorative accent to your plant

Cat grass is a special kind of plant you can grow in your home that is specifically formulated to be safe for felines, and to provide them with certain vitamins they may be lacking. Purchasing this can give your cat an acceptable alternative to messing with your plants. When you see your cat eating the cat grass, reward them lavishly. When you see them going near other plants, pick them up and place them in front of the cat grass. If they eat the offered vegetation, then reward them. In this way you can use positive reinforcement to turn one behavior into another

Cats will scratch anything which is made of cloth, including couches, drapes, and pillows. Because of this, you may want to start by spraying natural cat repellent on your more attractive pieces. A plastic couch cover may have to be used for a short time while the cat learns to behave itself. Buying your pet a scratching post and praising it for scratching that instead of your couch is a good way to positively reinforce the negative behavior out of the cat. You will have to carefully monitor their progress, and only remove protective coverings from your furniture when you are sure they are safe.

While cats are a hazard to most décor, planning ahead can minimize these problems. Cats are so difficult to train that it is often easier to simply decorate around them. Using common sense, and paying attention, should allow you to develop a setting that compliments your pet owning experience.

Part 2: Protecting your pet

If you own a cat, then designing the décor of your home will require taking several precautions in order to protect your pet from harm. Glass items should be avoided both because they are easy to shatter, and because fragments of glass can then become embedded in your cat’s skin. Other items to avoid are those that have sharp edges, spikes, or that have small pieces which can break off and be swallowed.

You should also consider whether any object you bring into your home would be unhealthy if eaten by the feline. These items may include plants, flowers, and scented candles. Cats are fairly self-sufficient, as well as intelligent, however they are also curious, and you do not want to give them any easy method for hurting themselves.

Cats are fascinated by string, as part of their inherent instinct to kill snakes. This fascination may carry over to electrical wires. If you catch your cat attacking or playing with electric cords you should stop them immediately. This is a very dangerous problem that can not only result in the cat electrocuting themselves, but also in causing a fire. If your pet persists in this problem, one way to protect your wires is to wrap them in duct tape. This will make them harder to break through and less appetizing for a cat to chew on. There are also many natural sprays which have specially formulated smells that will cause a cat to avoid an area in which it is sprayed.

Curtain cords hold much the same fascination that electrical wires do, and they can also be a danger from strangulation. If you have rope that dangles too far from your curtain, the cat may attack it, causing it to tangle. If the cat becomes caught in the tangle itself, it can be very dangerous. Long hanging cords should be tied up out of the cats reach, or cut so that they do not dangle where a feline can reach them.

The level of caution you should use is based upon your individual cat. Monitor your pet and your home, and change your setting as necessary. Always use caution when bringing a new object into an area, and be certain you don’t introduce anything which can be harmful to the cat. Mostly, just use common sense and try to remove any obvious hazards to where they can’t be reached.

Interior Decorating for Cat Owners

Part 3: The Beauty of Cat Decor

For the most part cat décor is less about being beautiful and more about keeping your pet safe and comfortable. However there are so many manufacturers of cat products that you can fine almost any of the items mentioned above in several different colors. Try purchasing items such as litter boxes and scratching posts in matching or complimentary colors. If you match the hue to the rest of your setting you may be able to blend them seamlessly into the area

Alternatively, you may want to set aside a space just for the cat’s things, in order to separate them from the look of the rest of the room. While this won’t completely eliminate the intrusion of cat toys onto your setting, it can allow you to create interplay between the cat’s possessions and yours. If your home is predominated by a single color such as green or blue, purchasing matching black cat possessions can actually compliment this look. If your colors are more mottled, then patterned cat toys, or subdued sandy colored ones, may be a better way to create equality in the room’s hue.

The litter box is one of the most troublesome cat possessions to decorate around. It stinks, it’s dirty, and it’s generally surrounded by stray litter tramped out of the box by your oblivious cat. One way to deal with this item is to hide it, either in a bathroom, or somewhere out of the way such as a closet. If you don’t have anywhere to hide it, then you should consider getting a covered cat box. They are much more attractive then leaving the litter bare, and will also reduce the smell. Unfortunately these are rarely attractive, and become dirty easy. To create your own custom covering, get a giant cardboard box and place it over the litter. Cut a hole in the front where the door is. Cover the box in decorative paper, such as wrapping paper, and then coat this in plastic to protect it from moisture. This method should only be used in conjunction with an existing plastic cat cover; otherwise moisture will seep into the cardboard and turn it to mush.

Cats can make wonderful loving pets. They are fairly self sufficient, and don’t require much attention. However, they are still animals, and will be oblivious to the beauty of your home. In order to maintain the look of your setting, while maintaining the safety of your pet, you will have to plan the décor that you develop in your home. Every cat is different, so let your home evolve with the pet, until you reach a stasis in which safety and beauty are at their best.

Joey Lewitin is an artist, author, and designer that specializes in innovative decorating ideas. Click here to see more Interior decorating and home décor ideas from him and experts.

Having an attention-grabbing resume is one of the most important parts of the job search. Your resume and cover letter are your introduction to a potential employer; and without a strong introduction, you may never get another chance to make a good impression. As a result, the success of your job hunt can hang on how well your resume is written.

Maybe you are entering the work force after graduating from college. Or maybe you just need to find a new job. Regardless of why you are looking for work, a skilled resume writer has the power to help you get your foot in the door.

Why Should I Use a Resume Writer?

Resume writing services are more than just a word processing or proofreading service. A resume writer takes your work experience, education, your strengths and weakness, and ties it all up into one little package. Although people usually think of their resume as a simplistic listing of their education and experience, it is actually more like a sales document. In order for your resume to effectively sell you, it not only has to be well written and visually appealing, but also has to present the goods – you – in the best possible light.

Sound easy? Of course not. Why is it, then, that so many people attempt to write their resumes on their own? You wouldn’t try to write a legal contract when the outcome could impact the rest of your life – you would hire a lawyer. By the same token, you should entrust your resume to a professional resume writer.

What Does a Resume Writer Do?

A resume writer’s goal is to convince potential employers that you are perfect for the job. In order to sell your strengths, a resume writer will:

• Discuss your career focus and gear your resume to your unique goals
• Choose the best format to highlight your strengths
• Write an attention-getting summary or list of objectives
• Use convincing language to maximize your strengths and minimize your weaknesses
• Personalize your resume in a way that shows you off to your best advantage
• Make your resume available in different file formats if needed
• Make changes as necessary

Of course, a resume doesn’t really stand by itself. Your career decisions, where and how you search for jobs, and the quality of your cover letter all impact how your resume is received. In other words, if you are looking for work in the wrong places, or don’t introduce your resume properly in the cover letter, it won’t matter how dazzling your resume is.

Resume writing services often offer a whole package approach to resume writing. To ensure that you land your dream job, your resume writer may offer additional services, such as:

• Career consultation
• Job search consultation
• Cover letter writing
• Resume distribution
• Interview preparation

What Should I Look for in a Resume Writing Service?

A good resume writing service is one that offers you everything necessary to get the attention of potential employers. When shopping for a resume writer, you should look for:

• Convincing literature on their services - Whether you are browsing a website or looking at an informational pamphlet, pay close attention to how convincing the literature is. If they can’t sell themselves, they likely won’t be able to do a good job of selling you.
• A good reputation - Don’t forget to Google! If a resume writing service is worth its salt, you should be able to find good reports from happy customers. Even more importantly, if they aren’t any good you are almost certain to find complaints.
• Experience - Your career is in your resume writer’s hands, so make sure you choose someone with experience. If your career is in a specialized field, you might even want to look for a resume writer who specializes in the field – a writing service that knows the industry will also know what its employers look for in a resume.
• Education - Submitting a resume with errors is embarrassing enough, but when you’ve paid to have it done right it’s downright tragic. Make sure your resume writer is educated and/or certified, so that you can be sure you’re getting your money’s worth.
• Personal attention - You don’t want someone who is going to simply plug your information into a resume writing program – you could do that yourself. In order for your resume to stand out, it needs a unique touch that can only be achieved if your resume writer has taken the time to discuss it with you.

Of course, when you are shopping for a resume writing service, don’t forget to listen to your gut. You will have to work closely with the writer during the creation of your resume, so it is important to feel comfortable with him or her.

Putting Your Career First

Hiring a resume writer ensures that your resume looks professional and gets attention. Although the expense may seem unnecessary, consider that you have already invested thousands of dollars into your education so that you could simply get to this point. When your entire career is at stake, don’t throw it away over a typo or a passive verb! A resume writing service can help you make your dream job a reality.

Jason Kay is a professional resume writer who contributes to websites such as JobGoRound, which provides career information and advice. Learn the best resume writing tips, cover letter tips, and interviewing tips. Also read resume service reviews and submit your resume for a free resume analysis

If you are planning a skiing vacation or maybe you are already at the resort and are preparing for a day of skiing then there is a lot to think about. This is especially so if you are new to winter sports. You need to get your skis, boots and poles. You need to organize your lift pass and then you need to hook up with your ski class. Without these things your day would be unsuccessful, however there are a few other things that people often overlook that can also impact on your day. Here is a checklist of 7 things you may need on the ski slopes.

First thing to take is a trail map. No doubt you have looked at the trail maps that are dotted throughout the resort or even at your pocket version but it is essential that you take it with you when you are skiing. Despite your studies you will need to refer to it at least a few times on the first day. Maybe less as the week goes by but it is always handy to have especially if you take a turn that you are not used to.

Lip balm and sunscreen. The lips are very sensitive to the sun and wind. They are one of the few parts of your body that will be exposed to the elements. Make sure they are protected as chapped lips can spoil your vacation. Take a small tube of sunscreen and top up every few hours or so. This is mainly around the face and ears but this depends on the weather and what you are wearing. If it a pleasant day you may decide to ski in a shirt and will need to protect the shoulders and arms.

Something to clean your goggles or sunglasses. Sunglasses often come with a bag that doubles as a cleaner so this is fairly easy to cater for unless you have lost the bag a long time ago like me. If you don’t have the bag then any cloth, like a chamois, will do the trick. Obviously you need to be able to see where you are skiing so clear vision is essential. I’d suggest goggles or glasses are essential too as the glare from the snow is too much even on an overcast day. Goggles are best but sunglasses are more comfortable in my opinion (depending on the type of skiing you are doing).

Carry some water and a snack. There are many cafes and rest stops dotted around the slopes and you won’t have to look far to get a drink at the bottom of the slope but a bottle of water is handy if you need a break during a run. It also means you don’t have to stop skiing for too long. As for a snack, I like a chocolate bar and skiing is my excuse to indulge my chocoholic tendencies. Other people may take an energy bar or even a sandwich.

A cell phone is a good device to have on you if you have an accident or need to keep in touch with friends. You need to find out where to meet up for lunch at the very least ! Take your wallet with some form of id and a credit card or small amount of money. You don’t want a heavy wallet weighing you down.

For more skiing and snowboarding tips and reviews of equipment then visit [http://www.snowboardnskiing.com] The site gives advice on things to carry when skiing [http://www.snowboardnskiing.com/skiing/things-to-carry-when-skiing-21/] and types of snow skiing [http://www.snowboardnskiing.com/skiing/types-of-snow-skiing-10/] Adrian Whittle writes on skiing and snowboarding.

Before you go shopping for a pair of hiking boots, you must have some of the accessories first. This article will tell you what you need to know about hiking socks and liners for your hiking boots so you’re sure to get the right fit. It will also discuss a few other accessories that you might need to think about before you choose.

In this article, we will mainly talk about the accessories themselves, but you should keep in mind that many of these accessories will become involved in your choice of hiking boots. This is especially true when it comes to picking the right size. Your hiking boots must fit not only your feet, but the socks and insoles and any custom inserts you use.

So, let’s talk about hiking socks, insoles, laces, and crampons, and how these affect your choice of hiking boots.

Hiking Socks

There are at least two general types of hiking socks, and if you are planning any serious hiking, you will need both:

1. Cushioning and insulation socks.

2. Liner socks.

You may do without the liners on shorter hikes, including most day-hikes. I wear liners only on multi-day backpacking hikes.

Whatever socks you end up choosing, choose them first, and wear them when you go shopping for hiking boots. Your hiking boots must fit you properly with the socks on. And in colder weather, you might need two pairs of cushioning and insulation socks, so make sure your boots can accommodate them.

Both types of socks must be made of a wicking material that will draw moisture away from your skin. Wool is the only good natural wicking material that wears reasonably well. (Silk works also for liner socks, but it doesn’t last long.) Cotton just absorbs moisture and holds it, without wicking it away. Some compositions of polypropylene and nylon can be effective wicking materials for those who may be allergic to wool.

The liner socks go next to your skin. They must be very smooth. This is where you can use silk or sheer nylon if you are prepared to replace the socks every other hike. Or you can use a very fine-knit wool sock. Polypropylene socks, even if they appear to be very smooth and fine, are usually too rough for hiking liners.

Cushioning and insulation socks, which you need even for moderate hiking, must be thick enough to keep your feet warm and to cushion the impact of heavy walking. They don’t have to be soft, unless you are doing without the liner socks. Wool is best, unless you are allergic to it, in which case you can use polypropylene or heavier nylon socks (or a blend of these synthetics).

Whatever you choose, and whatever type of hiking you plan to do, test your socks on something less strenuous first. Try them on a shorter hike, or in your everyday walking, and check for hot spots. If your socks create hot spots on your feet after a few miles of walking, they will cause blisters on a longer hike. You want to learn this close to home, and not out in the middle of the wilderness. Even if you’re an experienced hiker, if you are trying a new type of sock, try it on short walks before you commit to it on a long hike.

Insoles and Orthopedic Inserts

Cushioned insoles can make a world of difference in your hiking comfort. Even though hiking boots have built-in cushioning, it is a good idea to use removable insoles that you can replace periodically. That way, if you wear through them, you can simply get a new pair instead of having to repair your hiking boots.

There is a bewildering array of removable insoles out there. I’m not going to recommend any particular type, as this is mostly a matter of personal preference. I will only recommend two things:

1. Try them on short hikes or in your everyday walking before you set out on a long hike. If you don’t like them, try a different type.

2. Bring them with you when you go shopping for your hiking boots. Your boots must fit properly with the insoles in place, so choose a size of hiking boot that fits your feet, socks, and insoles together.

If you wear any orthopedic inserts in your shoes, bring them with you when you go shopping for hiking boots. Again, your hiking boots must fit everything that you’re going to put inside them.

Laces for Hiking Boots

Laces are one accessory for your hiking boots that you can think about afterward. The laces that come with your hiking boots are probably fine. However, you will want to carry an extra set of laces on a long hike, in case one breaks. You may even want to replace your laces before they break, if you find some reason to dislike the ones that came with your boots.

Generally, boot laces are braided nylon or similar synthetics. You can get rawhide boot laces, but these are problematic. Yes, they may last longer than braided nylon, but that might just mean that you have to put up with the problems they cause for that much longer. Problems with rawhide boot laces are:

* They tend to stretch with changes in humidity, or even with the passage of time. This requires frequent adjustment.

* Solid rawhide can have sharp edges which can cut your hands as you adjust or tie them. This is less true for braided rawhide or rawhide covered in a braided nylon shell.

Look for laces with a round cross-section. Flat laces may look stylish on your boots, but they tend to break more easily than round ones.

Crampons

Crampons are accessories you can attach to your hiking boots for traction on ice and snow. They are usually metal spikes, sometimes plastic, in a frame that fits under the sole of your hiking boots, attached by adjustable straps or clamps.

There are heavy-duty crampons designed for ice climbing. These are beyond the scope of this article. Just be aware that they exist, and when you see the giant bear-trap spikes sticking out of the bottom and front of the crampons, move along and choose a less aggressive pair.

Light crampons can attach to your hiking boots even if your hiking boots do not have purpose-made crampon attachment points. Just make sure your hiking boots have a distinct lip at the top of the sole that the crampons can attach to.

There are traction accessories designed for walking on icy pavement, but these are not appropriate for hiking. They simply can not stand up to the stress of walking on a steep slope, and they can not stand up to much wear. Make sure you choose a pair of crampons that are purpose-made for hiking.

Conventional crampons extend the full length of your hiking boots. You can also find crampons that fit only into the instep and do not extend to the heel or toe. I have used these, and they work better than you might expect. You have to remember not to walk on your toes when you cross icy patches, but I found that this comes pretty naturally anyway. Your natural reaction to an icy slope is to walk with your feet sideways to the slope and dig in with the edges of your boots, and that’s where the spikes of these half-length crampons are. Works beautifully.

Conclusion

The main thing to remember about accessories for your hiking boots is to think about them first. Choose your socks and insoles first, and bring them and any orthopedic inserts you need with you when you shop for hiking boots so you can be sure to get the right fit. Think about whether you will need crampons, and make sure your hiking boots can accommodate them.

Chuck Bonner is a lifelong hiker and amateur naturalist, and webmaster of http://www.HikingWithChuck.com For more information about hiking boots and other hiking equipment based on many years on the trail, visit [http://www.hikingwithchuck.com/Gear/HikingGear.htm]

Advanced programmers know a secret. The secret that they know relates to how a PHP program is constructed.

Here is the secret:

“Complex programs are built up from simple programs. If you can learn how to create a simple program, you can learn how to build a complex program, no matter how complicated.”

A program can be constructed of only a few lines. They always start the same way. Start with the PHP start tag, followed by your programming code, and last by the PHP end tag.

Example 1:</p> <p>Line 1: <php line your program goes here></php>

The PHP program shown above has only 3 lines. Line 1 & 3 are the start and end tags, line 2 is your functional code. In this case however, line 2 is a comment and will not perform any specific action other than to remind you of something. Comments are not processed by the interpreter. Once a comment is encountered, it is basically ignored.

Example 2:</p> <p>Line 1: <php line this is one comment another the last></php>

The code in example 1 behaves exactly as the code in example 2. Even though example 2 has 2 more lines. If you noticed, the additional lines in example 2 are only comments. Once again they are ignored by the PHP interpreter (PHP Engine).

If there is one comment or multiple comments, the interpreter will act the same way. It will ignore any comments that it finds.

Example 3:</p> <p>Line 1: <php line below this is a real php programming command echo first program></php>

In example 3 you will see your first functioning PHP program. The ‘echo’ command was added to this program, located on line 3. An ‘echo’ statement is a built in PHP command that will output whatever follows it to the screen. Anytime you want to output something using PHP to the screen, web browser, or visual display. Use the simple ‘echo’ command.

As you can see, the words ‘My First Real Program’ follows the ‘echo’ command. It is very important to enclose the words that you want ‘echoed’ on the screen inside single or double quotes. This way the echo command knows from what character to start with, and

what character to end with, as it generates the output to the screen.

When the echo command is called, it takes the contents inside the quotes, and sends it out to the screen – minus the quotes. So the output would be:

My First Real Program

Example 4:</p> <p>Line 1: <php line the next is first echo command are second how to last in php></php>

The output to this program would be:

You are learning how to program in PHP.

When you start programming, there is no limit to how many comments and commands you can enter in your program. Go ahead, try it yourself. As you get better you won’t need so many comments to remind you of what you are doing in your program.

Complex programs are made up of simple programs. Learning how to mix simple commands together, along with PHP start and end tags makes a fully functioning PHP program. As you are learning, a good suggestion is to add as many comments as you need to help remember what you are doing. Comments are like taking notes that you can refer back to. As you get better at programming, you will naturally enter less comments. The PHP ‘echo’ command outputs characters to the screen. Enclose all characters after an ‘echo’ command with single or double quotes.

Congratulations, you just wrote your first PHP program.

Paul Markovich is a Lead Technical Trainer.

He has been designing and building custom web sites for entrepreneurs since 1997. He’ll help you get the answers to your burning open source programming questions!

Looking For More PHP Programming Tips?

Discover Proven Programming Strategies.

Learn to Program faster, while saving time, energy, and money!

http://centeroftech.com

Cooking games for girls used to be cliche but now with the rise of cooking video games and handy mobile games for cooking that act as self guided cooking classes they are rising in popularity. When you say cooking games for girls and for boys its not just the plastic Fisher Price games that bring the world of make believe to life. Nintendo DS is a popular platform for cooking video games for kids and also adults as it walks you through cooking different types of meals. This article will walk you through the different types of games for girls, boys and adults. The article will follow up with the benefits of using the different games in your childs play time as well as benefits of adults using the cooking video games. Its fun for the whole family.

The first niche of cooking games is the classic make believe games. Generally these games are stereotype as cooking games for girls but as the culture grows games involving cooking should be included in any genders toy collection. Cooking games made by Fisher Price or Smart Gear were top on the list years back when you searched online. Now you have to scroll a few pages to find quality cooking games for girls and boys made from high quality plastics meant to last a childhood or two. The benefits of these types games are the same as you get from sending your child to soccer or youth football. They allow for the creative part of the brain to develop and help with social skills. A few of the children using cooking games will turn out to be the next Chef Ramsey. So be sure that you include cooking games for girls and boys of the make believe variety in your home.

As of recent the top searches for just “cooking games” returns Cooking Mama, Cooking Dash, even Cooking Mama 2 and Cooking Mama 3. What are these titles you ask? Video Games of course. The days of playing outside or playing house and make believe are dwindling sadly taken over by the hand-held graphical games. Nintendo seems to have cornered the market on games about cooking and even pulls in the adult crown with “Personal Trainer: Cooking”. This is not all bad although make believe toys mentioned above such as “Smart Gear Cooking Center” provide imagination through play the video game version can bring the reality of flour plus water and sugar equals dough without destroying your kitchen.

Better yet adults can learn how to cook in the comfort of their home while using their kids Nintendo DS. Personal Trainer: Cooking will have you delivering mouth watering food to your families table in no time. So although cooking games for girls and boys deliver hours of stimulating play for them; these video games can be just as entertaining for adults. Girls cooking games usually come in pink, but recently you will see blue as a popular color for these toys noting the shift in gender role association.

If your child shows interest in these games encourage them to take cooking classes for children. Your local community center often will have cooking classes that you can take with your children. If not be sure to include them in baking activities you partake in. Even if you are not a particularly great cook your children will appreciate the time you give them. Be prepared and don’t get mad there will be a mess made. Make the cleanup just as fun as the cooking. It is important to raise your children with an appreciation for cooking and baking especially as families lose the sit down family dinner and restaurants are more often the default over home cooking.

If you are looking for classic a game about cooking there is a website that has done the searching for you and separated them into cooking games for girls, for boys and for all. The products are all sold from Amazon.com which is a quality online retailer with reasonable shipping especially if you have Amazon Prime. I’ve used this site before just a note though – even though you add items to the cart on the site checkout actually happens in amazon.com so you can be assured of a safe secure shopping experience while shopping. The site is http://www.cookinggamesforgirls.biz a invaluable resource while shopping for any type of game about cooking.

Cut through all the noise and find the toys and games you need. [http://www.cookinggamesforgirls.biz] delivers top quality products on Amazon in an organized fashion. You are actually buying from Amazon when you checkout the site is just a collection of amazon products targeted at helping you find quality cooking games for girls, boys and adults.

Have you always had a passion for cars? And often thought of having your own business? The time is now to check out the many automotive franchise opportunities available with little start up investment and plenty of rewarding benefits. The number of franchises is increasing as more consumers realize the great earning potential and appeal of becoming a business owner. There are many automotive franchises available catering to various kinds of car maintenance, repair and sales depending on your individual preference and interest.

With franchise opportunities ranging from windshield repair, oil changes, auto parts and even automotive insurance, there is sure to be one that is right for you. While there are several considerations in determining which automotive franchise would be the most suitable, the benefits of purchasing your own franchise are clearly favorable. Just imagine how satisfying it would be to go to work each day knowing that you are your own boss and the business that you operate is your own.

Which Automotive Franchise is the One for You?

There are many factors that might be important as you decide if an automotive franchise is the kind of business that you want to purchase. If you enjoy the busy shop atmosphere and have a special interest in cars and the many aspects of the automotive industry, a franchise in which you can invest and build a solid, long-lasting business that is car-related, may be the one you are looking for.

As well as the general type of franchise, you may also want to know what kind of investment and initial start-up costs are associated with purchasing an auto franchise. Many of the top car franchises available require minimal up front costs. For example, a Novus Glass Windshield Repair franchise has initial investment costs starting at only $14,900. This is very affordable and provides limited risk when you consider the popularity of this kind of franchise and the potential business and profit as it grows over time. If you are more interested in automotive accessories, you could purchase a Millennium Plus franchise in which you become a GPS distributor with an initial investment of just $10,000 and you can even run your business from your own home!

While there are many automotive franchises available at very reasonable investment costs, there are also plenty of other franchises that offer solid and proven earning potential with the added assurance of owning your own business and boasting a brand name service. The initial start-up costs may vary but the decision to become a franchise owner puts you in a very advantageous position from day one. Since today’s consumer often seeks businesses with familiar names and a good reputation, a franchise may be a wise investment since the brand name provides an immediate client base. Although there is definitely a great deal of work and determination necessary to build your franchise into a strong and thriving venture, you need not start from scratch as you would with a non-franchise business.

Other Important Considerations

Deciding on the particular auto franchise may be one of your first considerations but learning about various other aspects of having your own business may be just as important. Being a franchise owner has a number of benefits. From taking advantage of the franchise name, to the potential income potential, the benefits are many.

When you purchase an automotive franchise, you automatically access a complete and proven business operating system that covers virtually all aspects of operating that particular franchise. Essentially, the framework is already in place and the franchise will provide extensive instruction and support before, during and after your purchase. After all, it is their name and reputation that comes with your franchise and all legitimate franchisers want to ensure that your business represents their company in a strong and positive way. Their ongoing interest and training keeps you on top of the latest franchise information and up-to-date with any changes or new company initiatives.

Franchise owners pay pre-determined “royalties” to the franchisers depending on the size and income related to the car franchise. Before purchasing your own, make sure that you discuss all these operating details and get it in writing. Reputable franchisers will have no issues in providing this information and will be very willing to explain the system fully and answer any questions that you may have about any of the business aspects of your auto franchise. There are also some legal considerations as well and these should be reviewed carefully as you decide whether your own automotive franchise is the business for you.

Location is another consideration that may be crucial in determining if a car franchise is feasible as well. Some of the current franchises available may be operated from your own home. So you must decide whether you have adequate space and if it would be possible to run your own business with your home as central base. Some of the bigger franchises require a larger location that would not be appropriate as a home based business. Automotive franchises such as a Meineke Car Care Center or Eagle Transmission involve greater space requirements and significant amounts of equipment that would simply not be suitable for a business at home.

Something to Think About

Is an automotive franchise in your future? The benefits are clear as the strong base and proven potential for success in franchise ownership in the industry gains attention worldwide. Making the decision to purchase your own franchise is indeed a huge responsibility but it may also be the answer to your desire to experience business ownership and the ability to work for yourself.

Ultimately, an automotive franchise has many attractive features and it is definitely a franchise that could generate a significant amount of business since most consumers own or operate vehicles. So, the need is there. An automotive franchise may be a great way to tap into that earning potential. If becoming a business owner in the automotive industry appeals to you, a franchise may be exactly the way to a bright and profitable future!

Research automotive franchise opportunities, including franchises for sale, at Franchise Gator!

What I am going to teach you here is the fact that there is a physical reason for our feeling frightened when put into a position to speak in public. That reason is our body’s perception that speaking in front of others is a “threatening situation” that demands the over-creation of adrenalin. And it is the over-creation of adrenalin that gives us our symptoms of feeling frightened.

Here’s the Good News on managing speech anxiety – I can tell you exactly how to control the over-creation of adrenalin within 15 minutes of you having to stand up to give a speech. I am going to inform you of a doctor-prescribed, safe, inexpensive and non-addictive pill (medication) that will eliminate your symptoms of fear almost instantaneously. Therefore, I can show you how to speak in public without the symptoms of feeling frightened. And if you can “speak in public without the symptoms of feeling frightened ” guess what – YOU CAN SPEAK IN PUBLIC”! Since the pill is a doctor-prescribed medication, not an over-the-counter medication, you will have an opportunity to discuss it with your doctor to confirm that it is safe for you to take. But I can assure you – it is perfectly safe for the vast majority of us. This may sound too easy, but believe me once you learn the physical reason for your speech anxiety or stage fright , you will be able to speak in public better than you’ve ever thought possible.

Let me also say this up-front – The information I present here will help those with a moderate to serious fear of speaking in public, as well as give “an edge” to those who do not really fear public speaking, but just want to improve their performance . Those that have used this information successfully have included many in business who must routinely give presentations , show business folks who want to be able to deliver the best performance possible and those who just join an organization and must participate in large meetings once in a while. The symptoms of fear that I will explain how to control are identical to all of us. The only thing that separates us in terms of public speaking is the severity of those symptoms and how we’re able to control them.

One more thing – you do not have to take the medication I will recommend here forever. It is only necessary during the period of time that you are re-training your brain to understand that speaking in public is not a threatening situation and therefore it doesn’t have to create an over-abundance of adrenaline in order to survive THEREFORE, THE MEDICATION IS REALLY A “TRAINING AID”, NOT A “CRUTCH”.

Speaking in public is the No. 1 fear of Americans. It surpasses our fear of losing our jobs, losing our relationships and, believe it or not, people write in surveys they fear public speaking even more than death (although I suspect that given a true life and death situation, they could muster the courage to give a little speech).

Because speaking in public opens the opportunity for us to be judged by others in a very personal way more so than any other activity we do in life. And it is this fear of being judged that creates anxiety that can be paralyzing at times. Simply put, many of us have a fear of looking foolish, of being laughed at, of making a mistake, of being vulnerable.

That was exactly my problem. For many years my fear of speaking in public kept me from advancement in my company because even though I was very competent in my field (in fact, more competent than many of my peers), I was perceived as not being as competent as those that could speak more authoritatively than I. It got so bad I had difficulty participating effectively in large meetings where I was an expert in the discussion area. I had to do something or my career, and my life for that matter, was going to be mediocre, at best and, at worst, a dismal failure.

My background was research and so I began to investigate the causes of my inordinate fear to speak in public.

Simply put – what I found changed my life forever and it will change yours too.

BackGround

When it comes to public speaking, there are several categories of people:

About 5% of the population do not fear speaking in public at all and actually look forward to it in many cases.

Another 10% are apprehensive to speak in public, but do not have a real fear of it.

However, the vast majority of us (about 80%) have a mild to serious fear of speaking in public; we don’t do it unless we have to and we tend to minimize the opportunities to speak in public if at all possible;

Then there are about 5% of us that have an excessive and almost debilitating fear of speaking in public.

I should admit to you now that I have a serious, and at times, excessive fear of public speaking

and am therefore in the “gray” zone between the 80% and 5% categories. Therefore, I know from

experience what I am going to teach you will help the vast majority of everyone who has a fear of standing up and speaking in public. In addition, this information will also help those who do not really fear public speaking, but just want to give a better performance.

Where Does Our Fear Come From?

This, of course, is a hard question to answer. For many of us the cause of a moderate to serious fear of speaking in public cannot be associated with anything in particular in our childhood. However for others, it can be traced back to a particular incident that has triggered the symptoms felt when faced with the necessity to speak in public. Some of us can vividly remember a particular incident in our lives where we became very self-conscious and embarrassed for some reason in front of a crowd of people. Often this incident occurred as far back as elementary school when our self-worth and self esteem were just beginning to develop and may not relate to actually speaking in public at all.

For instance, if we were in a situation where we stood embarrassed in front of our schoolmates without saying a word,— that could be it. Even though we were not speaking in public, our brains perceived our fear just standing there in front of other people as we thought that we looked foolish and/or scared. In a nutshell – what happens to some of us during this type of incident is our brain links our intense negative feelings with merely standing in front of other people as they look at us. It almost sounds silly that deep fears that control us as adults often have such trivial moments of creation in childhood. Often they last only a minute, but it is a minute that can last a lifetime. I’m sure the people who initiated these terrible incidents in our lives so many years ago never think back to them or to us for that matter. They have no idea what they said or did during that incident had such a profound and lasting effect on us.

Our fears may only be “in our head” but that’s enough to make us react as we do to speaking in public and other anxiety-prone situations. I’m sure you already realize – it’s pretty difficult to change what’s “in our head” even if we can figure out why it’s “in our head” to begin with and why we react as we do to perceived “threatening situations” such as speaking in public.

Luckily for us, understanding the true source of our fear doesn’t really matter. For some reason our brains have created a connection/link between standing up in front of people and speaking with a “threatening situation” of intense vulnerability.

And let me say this now – our fears are completely independent of our intelligence. In fact, I believe those with higher IQ’s may actually be more susceptible to fears brought about by childhood events than those of lower intelligence.

Realistically, a deep-seeded fear may not be “curable” (in the clinical sense of the word). This is because it is a result of our genetic makeup and our external & internal conditioning which is a result of one or more of those incidents I mentioned that created our feelings of anxiety in the first place. But, as I’ll explain in a moment – you do not have to cure your fear; you need only to cure the symptoms of that fear in order to be able to function without fear.

GOOD NEWS & BAD NEWS

First, the Bad News!

For those of us with a serious fear of speaking in public our minds create what I’ll call a “malfunction” of our natural defense system. It is our natural defense system that identifies a “threatening situation” that may confront us and creates the “fight or flight” response in our bodies. For us, when put into a position to speak in public our body’s natural “fight or flight” response initiates the over-creation of adrenaline because we perceive speaking in public as a very serious “threatening situation.”

Therefore, the bad news in this discussion is the fact that our minds cause our bodies to create exorbitant amounts of adrenaline completely out of our control. And it is adrenaline that creates all of the symptoms that make us look and feel frightened.

This understanding that it is the over-creation of adrenaline that creates my symptoms exactly at the time when I must speak in public was the key to finding a cure to my speech anxiety. And I promise you – it is the key for you as well.

It doesn’t matter why we react as we do to speaking in public and it doesn’t matter if we remember a particular incident that triggered our anxiety or not. Since our fear is not based on an actual threat to us, we need only eliminate the symptoms of that fear to gain back our self-confidence and function as if we don’t have fear. Intellectually, we know there is nothing really to fear when we speak in public, but our bodies act as if there is and it’s completely out of our control.

Without the symptoms of fear we can speak in public in a more thoughtful and relaxed manner than we ever thought possible. And if we can speak in public in a relaxed manner, guess what – WE CAN SPEAK IN PUBLIC!! PERIOD Really, it’s just that simple.

Now, the Really Good News!

The symptoms of fear of speaking in public are curable specifically at the time you’re put in a position to speak in public by taking a doctor-prescribed, safe, inexpensive and non-addictive medication. As I will explain, this medication allows us to control the cause of our symptoms exactly at the time when they are getting out of control. Therefore, what I am going to teach you will help those of us who have to routinely give presentations for our careers, those who need to only give several speeches a lifetime for wedding toasts, funerals, and the like, as well as those in show business who must be relaxed and confident enough to focus on their performance.

Here’s why -

As I mentioned, it is adrenaline that creates our symptoms of fear and anxiety completely out of our control. But what if you could control the adrenaline your body creates- then you would be in control!! That is what my research discovered and that is what I can show you how to do – control the adrenaline your body creates by taking a safe, inexpensive and non-addictive medication. And once I show you, you can do it anytime you want, on demand – just 15 minutes before a speaking engagement or performance.

Do I Have to Take the Medication Forever?

No you don’t and here’s why – Taking the medication during public speaking engagements over a period of time, allows the brain to re-think how it feels about speaking in public. With the medication, each public speaking event will increase your confidence as you realize you don’t look or feel frightened. Your brain will eventually understand that public speaking is not the threatening situation that it has assumed. The medication can make it much easier to transition through the period of fearing to speak in public and being confident to speak in public. Because of this, the medication should not be considered a “crutch”, but rather a “training aid” that will allow you to re-train your brain to understand that speaking in public does not require an overabundance of adrenaline in order to survive.

My Web site not only further elaborates on this subject but for a small fee you can instantly download the information to give to your doctor so he can help you be confident when speaking in public. http://www.speechanxietycure.com/

Congratulations!

By deciding to investigate the benefits of television advertising, you are taking the first step to more sales and faster profits. More businesses owners than ever are turning to television as a powerful tool to grow their profits. And it’s not the traditional “deep pockets” crowd either. Small and medium sized businesses are flocking to television advertising like never before. Some are coming away battered and bruised. But many are smiling ear to ear because they have unlocked the secrets to television advertising success – on a print or radio budget.

The Golden Rule?

Don’t let the tail wag the dog. You need to take control of your journey into television advertising so that it pays off.

Does that mean you have to be an expert?

No. But you do need to know how the industry and the medium work in order to end up with a cost-effective television advertising campaign.

Which is exactly why we prepared “An Insider Guide To Crossing Over To TV Advertising… On A Print Or Radio Budget..And Making Plenty Of Profit!”

It’s your GPS to an affordable and profitable TV Advertising experience.

Now is the best time in history for small business owners to use television advertising to explode their sales! Airtime and commercial and television production rates are the most affordable they’ve ever been! Specialty channels let you laser target your ideal sales prospect.

Television adds a level of credibility to you and your business like no other medium can do.

There’s a reason you’re seeing video pop up just about everywhere as more and more business owners come to the realization that the more senses you can appeal to, the more likely it is that you can gain a foothold in the most crowded place anywhere – your prospect’s mind.

Need any proof? Just look at the absolute astounding success of You Tube. People are attracted to watching video.

Isn’t it time you jumped on board and gave it a try?

The 5 secrets revealed below will help you leverage the power of television advertising in your business.

Secret #1 Have A Clear Unique Selling Message

This applies to all your marketing but is especially true when it comes to TV advertising.

You need to provide your prospects with a compelling reason to want to learn more about your product or service.

And, if you’re using a 30 or 60 second commercial to achieve this objective, you need to make sure your message is equipped to get your prospect to take the next step in your sales process.

That’s why you must have a very clear message.

What is the main benefit, promise or solution you want your prospect to walk away with?

Or, put another way, what is your unique selling proposition (USP)?

It’s important to have one otherwise you will have trouble differentiating your offer from those of your competitors.

Not sure how to boil it down to a simple clear message?

You can start by asking and answering the following questions:

• Why do people buy from you? Why do people NOT buy from you? Really give this some thought and make a list.
• What benefits do clients gain from doing business with you? People buy to gain benefits. What does your product or services DO for them
• What emotional appeal does your product or service have? Does it provide a sense of relief? Make your clients feel a sense of pride? Television provides the perfect forum for hitting your prospect’s emotional hot buttons.
• What problem do you solve or what need do you fulfill?

Another way to gather ideas for your USP is to survey your current clients.

Ask them WHY they bought from you. Find out what problem you solved for them why did they pick you over the competition? You may be surprised by the answers. People buy for different reasons.

In developing your USP, what you want to do is figure out the most common reason people decided to buy your product or service and then use that insight to create a powerful selling message that makes you stand out.

Don’t forget to check out your competitors. Many times what is obvious to you and your competitors, isn’t obvious to your potential clients. And you can use that differentiate yourself from the rest of the pack. Here’s an example… Years ago, Folgers coffee decided they needed to increase sales. Competition was everywhere. So what did they do? They started promoting the fact that Folger’s was mountain grown and stamped “Mountain Grown” on their coffee cans. Sales exploded. After all, coffee grown on a mountain simply had to be special. Right? What the average coffee drinker was unaware of is that fact that MOST coffee is mountain grown. Folger’s simply used this little known fact to make itself stand out. The more finely tuned your USP is, the more effective your television campaign will be – and all of your marketing for that matter.

Secret #2 Know Your Ideal Client

Your ability to generate sales leads from your television ad campaign will be greatly enhanced if you have a clear understanding of who your best prospects are and why they buy from you.

Otherwise it’s virtually impossible to create an effective television commercial.

This vital knowledge allows you to create a script that speaks to the specific needs of the people most likely to buy your offering and present your unique selling proposition in a compelling way.

Your message resonates and creates a natural attraction. But let’s say you’re not exactly sure who your ideal client is? Or why they buy? How do you go about finding out?

Well, a quick effective way to do it is to take a look at your current clients. Especially those you really enjoy working with. What do they have in common? Do they share a number of similar characteristics? You may already have a target market and just don’t realize it.

Here are just a few “target market” criteria you can use to define your niche.

• Age – try to narrow the age group range of your best prospects
• Gender – who makes the decision to purchase your products or services? Who might influence it? This is important to know so you can make the right appeal.
• Marital status (single, married, divorced)
• Household Income. Do your best to estimate the income of your target customer.
• Occupation – are your best prospects white collar construction, sales people, entrepreneurs, retired • Geographical region. (ex: Toronto, warm climate, people who live near water)
• Lifestyle (professional, conservative, risk-takers)
• Company size (self-employed professionals, Fortune 500, companies with $10 Million + in sales)
• Industry specific (a marketing consultant who focuses on solo-professionals)
• Leisure Time Activities – what do your customers do to relax and have fun? Hobbies? Pastimes? Once you complete your research – combining the information you have about your existing clients along with additional characteristics – you will be able to build your ideal target customer profile. This will give you will have a clearer understanding of the language and tone you should use in your script and what type of information your target market will be looking for.

And it will help pinpoint the type of audience your television commercial should be presented to in order to produce maximum sales results.

Secret #3 Be Involved In the Process

Many small and medium sized companies that shy away from television advertising quickly latch on to the “perceived” high cost (more about this in Secret #5) as a reason they have been reluctant to give it a try.

But there’s often another factor lurking in the background that keeps many businesses from enjoying the success a professionally created television commercial can create.

Simply put: for some, making the leap to the world of television advertising can be intimidating.

In print, you write your ad and the publication runs it. In radio, you record your commercial and the station plays it.

With television, there are a lot pieces that need to be pulled together to produce a successful advertising campaign and for those who haven’t been through the process before, it can be a real leap of faith.

You need to be a kind of project manager for your television advertising experience. Do you need to be an expert? No. But you do need a sense of what the process involves so you can add to the experience where applicable.

To help you understand the elements that provide the foundation for a successful TV advertising campaign, here is a checklist:

• Budget – Many small and medium sized businesses don’t realize that the money they are currently investing in radio or print ad campaigns could be used to create an effective television advertising campaign – provided you know the secret (we reveal it in Secret#5) to avoiding one of the major hidden costs TV advertising. Production costs and airtime will be the two main components of your budget.
• Script - The script is your ad in words. This is your core selling message. The script dictates who says what, the tone and expressions used, what is seen on screen, who moves when and where. A script will be necessary for your commercial.
• Talent – This includes on-camera talent and voiceover talent. The more well-known and in-demand the talent, the more you pay. For many advertisers, local and regional talent will produce a professional result.
• Production Elements – You need to decide what kind of graphics, audio, or music you want – along with any other special effects..
• Length – Typically, TV commercial spots run 30 seconds. You can also run in 15-second and 60-second increments. An “infomercial” often runs 30 – 60 minutes and costs more to produce and to run.

At the end of the process, your TV commercial should answer one very important question for the viewer:

‘What’s in it for me?’

The way to answer that question so that both you and your prospect end up with a positive outcome is to make sure your commercial is focused on how the viewer can benefit from your product or service.

No one can sell your offering better than you.

You must use every bit of selling information you can to gain favorable attention immediately with the viewer! Otherwise the viewer will click away and your investment will be wasted.

And last, but definitely not least…

Tell the viewer what you want him/her to do next!

It’s incredible how many new TV advertisers (and some longtime veterans) fail to ask the viewer to take the next step in their selling process make this mistake. Do you want them to visit your web site? Pick up a phone and call? Come into your store? You need to lead them to where you want them to go next. Now, let’s move on to one of the costliest mistakes television advertisers make along with tips on how you can avoid it.

Secret #4 Be “Marketing Ready” For Your Prospect

Most businesses today use advertising and marketing as a way of initiating a relationship with a prospect. The same is true of television advertising.

After all, a 30 second spot on TV isn’t going to answer every question.

If your commercial has done its job, the next step is to invite your prospect to learn more about you can benefit him/her.

This could involve an invitation to visit your web site, pick up a phone and call you or drop by your location.

It’s critical to make sure that whatever you ask your prospect to do that you’re equipped to keep your prospect moving toward a sale.

This is where many TV advertisers drop the ball and end up wasting their valuable marketing dollars..

Let’s use a visit to your web site as an example. We’ll assume your prospect has watched your commercial and is shown your web site URL on the screen as it finishes.

Your commercial piqued his curiosity and made him want to know more about you and your offering.

Congratulations. You’re past the first hurdle – getting the prospect to take the next step in your selling process.

But that’s all you’ve accomplished at this point.

Now you’re moving on to the all-important “conversion” part of the sales process. Tons of visitors to your site won’t feed your family, pay your mortgage or let you lie around on the beach in Cabo San Lucas.

For that, you need to convert your prospects initial interest into a sale.

And a web site that doesn’t clearly pick up where your television commercial left off by immediately reminding your visitor ‘what’s in it for him’ and presenting your sales story in a compelling way is going to bring a selling opportunity to a grinding halt.

What’s the point of tempting a bunch of hungry prospects only to have them arrive and you’ve nothing to feed them?

Same thing holds true if you want them to call you. Every member of your team who has public contact must be ready to keep the momentum going.

The job of your TV commercial is to attract the fish. The rest of the job – hooking the prospect (in an ethical way, of course) and getting him into the boat and converting him into a lifelong profitable client is the job of your marketing.

You need to make sure your marketing message is consistent throughout ALL your marketing. Otherwise you won’t get the ROI you should.

Secret #5 Don’t Let Tail Wag The Dog

Television advertising can be rewarding, but you need an experienced hand guiding you past the pitfalls so you can produce a profitable result. So far, we’ve armed you with the knowledge you need to make sure your television advertising efforts position you for a successful outcome. Now it’s time to introduce the key thread that ties it all together. Making sure you partner with an industry professional who knows the ropes. The first place many small and medium size businesses turn for assistance is an advertising agency. A very expensive mistake.

Here’s why: Many ad agencies focus on “institutional” type or branding type messaging. They are image builders. While having a professional image is important, most of the businesses flocking to TV advertising these days need sales. You’re probably the same. You want viewers to watch your commercial and take the next step in your selling process. Maybe a visit to your web site or a phone call. For that, you need direct response television advertising. And many advertising agencies simply aren’t equipped for that. Nor do they know how to “convert” an interested prospect into a profitable lifetime client.

But here’s the dirty little secret they hope you won’t find out about: Many don’t have in-house resources to write your script. Or television production facilities so they can shoot your commercial. Or an editing booth where they can edit your footage. Here’s what that means to you… If the ad agencies don’t have the resources themselves, they have to go outside, cobble together a team of industry professionals who can and pay them. Guess who gets stuck with all the middleman mark-ups? But this ‘don’t worry, the client will pay for it’ old school mentality doesn’t stop there. Once your commercial is ready to air, you need a TV program to run it on. For looking in a book and phoning up to schedule your spots, the ad agency will charge you 15% of your media budget. Is that how you want to spend your valuable media dollars? Having someone round up a bunch of people who can and charge you for doing it? Thought so. Here’s an alternative… Creative Bube Tube is a full-service, one source expert at producing direct response television advertising and corporate videos. We work with small and medium size business to help them generate profitable sales. Many of our clients are newbies. But we’ve opened the eyes of more than a few savvy veterans along the way.

Here are four pillars we’ve built our business model on:

• One Source – Every aspect of your television advertising is handled in-house by our team. This means you avoid the unnecessary added cost mark ups, delays and finger-pointing caused by too many fingers in the pie.
• Expertise – We are television advertising experts. Period. It’s all we do. And we know how to sell. To you, that means campaigns that not only look professional, they send you a steady stream of qualified prospects.
• Cost Efficient – Because we know our craft, we understand how and where to use your budget efficiently – without having to grease the palm of a number of disconnected middlemen. That way, every dollar you invest is working to increase your sales. The media relationships we have built through the years provide you with red carpet access to your target market – for a fraction of the cost you would pay otherwise – with no hidden fees.
• Process – The key to effective affordable television advertising is sales driven creative, efficient production, proper planning and organization. That requires precise communication. Everything we do is in-house. We don’t outsource your creative to a production company that has no marketing background. Then send the footage after filming to a post-production house. Then hire a media buyer who has likely never even seen any of the creative. Then sit back and watch the confusion, as your budget gets chewed up in a sea of disorganization and chaos. Everyone on our team intimately is involved in your project – from beginning to end.

Creative Bube Tube makes television advertising effective and efficient – for both newbies and long-time television advertisers who are tired of wasting valuable marketing dollars propping up old-school practices. If you’ve been thinking about trying television advertising but have been holding off because you were concerned it was very expensive, we’d behappy to show you not only how you can afford it, but also how you can use it to skyrocket your sales results. Please call us today at 1-855 BUBE TUBE or visit our web site at http://www.creativebubetube.com and learn more about how we can help you generate a stream of profitable lifetime clients.

2011 Creative Bube Tube

About The Author: As the President of Creative Bube Tube, Jenny Munford has been directly involved in hundreds of television advertising campaigns and corporate video productions. She created Creative Bube Tube in response to a need she saw for someone in the industry to make television advertising affordable and effective for small and medium sized businesses who felt they were tied to print and radio to market their products and services. By creating a one-source shop that can handle all of a client’s needs, Jenny is able to provide clients with cost efficiency by eliminating one of the biggest costs of TV advertising – middleman markups. To learn more about how Creative Bube Tube can help you sell more of your product or service, please visit http://www.creativebubetube.com or call us at 1-855 BUBE TUBE.

Why Use Resume Objectives

Before we can discuss the pitfalls you first need to understand the reasons for including your resume objectives and how they relate to your resume and interview selection process.

Including an objectives section at the beginning of your resume provides a brief introduction to the purpose of the resume, highlighting your career objectives and the type of job you are seeking.

It is very common for job-seekers to include a brief objectives section at the beginning of their resume The objectives section can be an important part of a resume, and might be the first thing employers looks at. Therefore you should put considerable thought into constructing focused and clear objectives.

Look At These Resume Objective Examples

A resume objective does exactly what the name suggests; it highlights your objectives and states the type of job you are seeking.

Here are some examples of career objectives:

· To obtain an elementary education teaching position with upward mobility to a principalship.

· To obtain a position in manufacturing operations and development which will utilize acquired knowledge and collective experience.

· Public relations writer for a large metropolitan hospital.

· Auditor position in the public accounting field in the Philadelphia area.

As you can see, the objectives are short and sweet; meaning they are to the point in describing the purpose of creating your resume.

Doorway To The Interview… Resumes

What is a resume… usually it is the first contact you have with potential employers. It is also where you list your skills and create a marketable presentation so that companies understand the benefits of employing you.

Your resume is also the first (and possibly the last!) opportunity you have to persuade your prospective employer to give you an interview.

Clearly… it is in your best interests to ensure your resume is compelling enough to leave the recruiter with no other option but to invite you to an interview.

If you want to learn more about writing resumes that get interviews, visit a site such as Top Career Resumes where you will find numerous articles and tips.

Or, if you prefer… a cost effective alternative is to use a resume writing service to prepare your resume for you.

Pitfalls of Using Resume Objectives

You may have noticed that all previous references to objectives focus on you and therein lies the pitfall!

Employers are not interested in what you want…

If your objectives fail to match those of the employer, you will not even get to first base! So keep your options open until you find out more about their objectives.

Some people decide to omit the objectives section and use that space to highlight other abilities and accomplishments. Whether you choose to use resume objectives or not will depend greatly on your particular situation.

Reasons Against…

A few experts feel that the resume objectives section can be limiting to job seekers. It makes you be very specific as to your goals. This may be constraining if you want to be general and leave your options open.

Employers on average take only 30 seconds to look at a resume. The objectives section is the first thing that catches their eye. If you have a specific objective written, for example to obtain a managerial position, the manager may pass on your resume if he was looking for some other position.

If you are thinking about getting a professionally written resume, now would be a good time.

However, remember that the objectives section can disqualify you for jobs different from your stated objective… if you are not looking for a targeted job you can skip the section without many negative consequences.

It would be advisable to skip the resume objective section rather than be too vague. Unfocused objectives will put off many hiring managers. They may not end up looking at your experience and skills, which would of shown you to be a suitable candidate for the job.

Reasons For…

If you do include your resume objectives, you should construct several different resumes, each specifically tailored to the job you are applying for. You will want to make your resume relevant to each job. The objectives section may be the best way to create job specific resumes.

A draw back of not including the objectives section is that a hiring manager may not be willing to search your resume to figure out your job objectives and goals… and may bypass your resume.

If you have a specific job position in mind and are clear about your objectives, this section can be useful in informing potential employers about your reasons for applying.

In either case, it may pay you to seek professional advice before you make your final decision. The modest cost of doing this pales into insignificance compared with the cost of making a poor career decision.

Stating Your Resume Objectives

This has greatest benefits for career changers and recent college graduates. Your objectives should be concise and to the point, to quickly inform employers about your background and goals.

Entry-level workers can state in their resume objectives that they are recent graduates looking for positions in their particular field. Career changers should state how they can use their previously earned skills to make a transition into their new career.

Be Employer Focused

An alternative to resume objectives might be the ‘Qualifications Summary’ section. This is a section where you can briefly discuss your skills and how you intend to use them.

This can make your resume more employer focused, as the employer wants to find out what you can do for them. This might be more beneficial than having a self-focused resume, simply listing what you want to do.

Many employers prefer to have employees that are focused on their goals and motivated to achieving them. A well presented objective can be just the high-impact tool that can get a hiring manager’s attention from the start.

Finally…

When writing your resume objectives you have to consider your career plans. If you have not already done so, now would be a good time to get assistance with career assessment and planning.

When you have completed your planning and taken some time to match your interests with your chosen career, your resume objectives should complement the results you obtained through your searches.

Do you know how to use resume objective samples when writing your resume? Learn more about resume objectives by visiting my site at http://rogers-resume-help-center.com/resume-objectives.html

Stage fright Is Good and Makes You Better Looking Too!

Before you learn how to speak in public, it is important to be ready to speak in public. Stage fright is a phenomenon that you must learn to control if you want to be good at public speaking. Actually, stage fright isn’t the most accurate term for the nervousness that occurs when considering a speaking engagement. In fact, most of the fear occurs before you step on-stage. Once you’re up there, it usually goes away. Try to think of stage fright in a positive way. Fear is your friend. It makes your reflexes sharper. It heightens your energy, adds a sparkle to your eye, and color to your cheeks. When you are nervous about speaking, you are more conscious of your posture and breathing. With all those good side effects you will actually look healthier and more physically attractive.

When making public performances, many of the top performers in the world get stage fright so you are in good company. Stage fright may come and go or diminish, but it usually does not vanish permanently. You must concentrate on getting the feeling out in the open, into perspective and under control.

Remember Nobody ever died from stage fright or speaking in public. But, according to surveys, many people would rather die than speak in public. If that applies to you, try out some of the strategies in this section to help get yourself under control. Realize that you may never overcome stage fright, but you can learn to control it, and use it to your advantage in your public speaking efforts.

Symptoms of Stage fright

* Dry mouth.

* Tight throat.

* Sweaty hands.

* Cold hands.

* Shaky hands.

* Give me a hand (Oops, I couldn’t resist).

* Nausea.

* Fast pulse.

* Shaky knees.

* Trembling lips.

Any out-of-the-ordinary outward or inward feeling or manifestation of a feeling occurring before, or during, the beginning of a public speaking engagement (Wow! What a dry mouthful!).

Here are some easy to implement strategies for reducing your stage fright.

Not everyone reacts the same and there is no universal fix. Don’t try to use all these fixes at once. Pick out items from this list and try them out until you find the right combination for you.

Visualization strategies that can be used anytime

* Concentrate on how good you are at public speaking.

* Pretend you are just chatting with a group of friends.

* Close your eyes and imagine the audience listening, laughing, and applauding.

* Remember happy moments from your past.

* Think about your love for and desire to help the audience.

* Picture the audience in their underwear.

Strategies in advance of program

* Be extremely well prepared.

* Join or start a Toastmasters club for extra practice.

* Get individual or group public speaking coaching.

* Listen to music.

* Read a poem.

* Anticipate hard and easy questions.

* Organize your speaking notes.

* Absolutely memorize your opening statement so you can recite it on autopilot if you have to.

* Practice, practice, practice. Especially practice bits so you can spit out a few minutes of your program no matter how nervous you are.

* Get in shape. I don’t know why it helps stage fright, but it does.

Strategies just before the program Remember Stage fright usually goes away after you start. The tricky time is before you start.

* Be in the room at least an hour early if possible to triple check the public address system and everything else on your checklist. You can also schmooze with participants arriving early.

* Notice and think about things around you.

* Concentrate on searching for current and immediate things that are happening at the event that you can mention during your speech (especially in the opening).

* Get into conversation with people near you. Be very intent on what they are saying.

* Yawn to relax your throat.

* Doodle.

* Draw sketches of a new car you would like to have.

* Look at your notes.

* Put pictures of your kids/grandkids, dog, etc., in your notes.

* Build a cushion of time in the day so you are not rushed, but not too much time. You don’t want to have extra time to worry.

* If your legs are trembling, lean on a table, sit down, or shift your legs.

* Take a quick walk.

* Take quick drinks of tepid water.

* Double check your A/V equipment including the public address system, projectors, etc..

* Don’t drink alcohol or coffee or tea with caffeine.

* Concentrate on your speaking ideas.

* Hide speaking notes around the stage area so you know you have a backup if you happen to draw a blank.

* Concentrate on your audience.

* Listen to music.

* Read a poem.

* Do isometrics that tighten and release muscles.

* Shake hands and smile with attendees before the program.

* Say something to someone to make sure your voice is ready to go.

* Go somewhere private and warm up your voice, muscles, etc.

* Use eye contact.

* Go to a mirror and check out how you look.

* Breathe deeply, evenly, and slowly for several minutes.

* Don’t eat if you don’t want to and never take tranquilizers or other such drugs. You may think you will do better, but you will probably do worse and not know it.

Strategies when the program begins

* If legs are trembling, lean on lectern /table or shift legs or move

* Try not to hold the microphone by hand in the first minute.

* Don’t hold notes. The audience can see them shake. Use three-by-five cards instead.

* Take quick drinks of tepid water.

* Use eye contact. It will make you feel less isolated.

* Look at the friendliest faces in the audience.

* Joke about your nervousness. What’s the right wine to go with fingernails?

Remember nervousness doesn’t show one-tenth as much as it feels. Before each speaking engagement make a short list of the items you think will make you feel better. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different combinations. You never know which ones will work best until you try. Rewrite them on a separate sheet and keep the sheet with you at all times so you can refer to it quickly when the need arises.

When speaking in public use these steps to control stage fright so it doesn’t control you.

How do you become a great speaker and get paid for it?

Learn the public speaking techniques that will create the career of your dreams and change other people’s lives forever. It’s easier than you think!

Tom Antion provides entertaining speeches and educational seminars. He is the ultimate entrepreneur, having owned many businesses BEFORE graduating college. Tom is the author of the best selling presentation skills book “Wake ‘em Up Business Presentations” and “Click: The Ultimate Guide to Electronic Marketing.” It is important to Tom that his knowledge be not only absorbed, but enjoyed. This is why he delivers his speeches laced with great humor and hysterical jokes. Tom has addressed more than 87 different industries and is thoroughly committed to his clients’ needs. http://www.antion.com