Funerals and the many customs associated with marking the passing of a loved one allow people to express sadness over their loss. During times of grief and change, people often turn to different forms of art to and to express their pain. Usually, a close friend or family member is asked to deliver a memorial speech, also called to honor the deceased. Today, a eulogy can take the form of a speech, a letter and even a poem. Writing a funeral poem as part of a eulogy, to display at the visitation or for your own comfort allows you to use the art of language to convey what you’re feeling.

Writing a funeral poem
If you choose to write a funeral poem, decide first who the poem will be shared with. Will the poem be for your own personal use or will it be for a group of people sharing the loss of a loved one? If the poem is a private expression to help you address your own feelings, you can be more liberal in what you write. Private verses allow you to be completely open about how the deceased’s passing makes you feel. This personal type of poetry allows you to write about more intimate or private memories that you may not be comfortable sharing with others. Don’t feel that you have to write what others want to hear - just be honest in your writing and people will appreciate your thoughts and words. If you’ve decided to share your poem with others, be sure to consider the thoughts and feelings of others as you write.

Gathering your thoughts
After you’ve decided the purpose and audience of your poem, take some quiet time to let your thoughts flow. Think about the memories you have of your friend or family member - your fondest times spent together, their personality, passions and life achievements. Don’t feel hampered by rhyme structures or worry about your writing skills - simply let the word come; a funeral poem that takes the form of a verse, a letter or a speech is perfectly suitable.

Delivering a funeral poem
Usually, a funeral poem is read during the If you choose to deliver your poem during the service, bring a copy of the poem to read from. Trying to memorize touching words while you’re coping with a host of emotions is very difficult. It can be even harder to remember the words if your voice falters or if you’re uncomfortable speaking in front of a group. Be sure to write legibly in large type and take some time to review the poem carefully several times.

You may prefer not to read your poem aloud, but still share it with others. Consider writing out the poem and displaying it in a frame at the visitation. Many funeral homes offer memorial pamphlets to mourners. Heartfelt words can be a touching addition to any funeral program or pamphlet and are often kept as mementos.

If you’ve chosen to write a funeral poem just for yourself you can preserve the poem in a frame on its own or behind a picture. Some families choose to place a memorial announcement in their local newspaper a year after the loved one’s passing. This is another option if you feel more comfortable sharing your writing after some time has passed.

Inspiration
If you’re not sure where to begin, we suggest reading a few of the classic poems below. Some of these poems are about loss and grieving and others are about honoring life. They can be used as inspiration, or can be read at the funeral if you’re having difficulty putting your own thoughts into words.

–Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep - Mary Frye
–All is Well - Henry Scott Holland
–Death, Be Not Proud - John Donne
–The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
–The Oak - Alfred Lord Tennyson
–No Coward Soul is Mine - Emily Bronte
–Remember - Christina Rossetti
–A Parable of Immortality - Henry Van Dyke

Funeral poems are a very personal expression of your loss. While they can be touching and comforting for others to hear, thoughts and emotions can also be difficult to capture on paper. Talk to other people who were close to the departed if you need inspiration for your poem - this will help inspire you and allow you to share your memories with others.

Charles Sieger is a writer for the online funeral planning resource funeralplanning101.com. Her grandmother’s recent passing has given Gwen insight into the various responsibilities associated with funeral planning.

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” - Leo F. Buscaglia

One square inch of human skin contains 19 million cells, 625 sweat glands, 90 oil glands, 65 hairs, 19 feet of blood vessels, and 19,000 sensory cells. The human skin is considered the largest organ in the body (about 16% of your body weight), and covers an area of 20 square feet. Your skin, or integument, has many different protective and metabolic functions that help keep your body stabilized.

Touch and Pressure

The technical description of touch can often minimize the emotive response associated with the act of touch. Our brains can sense whether touch is comforting or confrontational. However, it is technical descriptions that can help us see how many elements must work together to provide a proper sense of touch.

A sense of touch is derived from the skin, which is the body’s largest organ. While the skin contains hair follicles, blood vessels and sweat glands, it is the nerve endings that help us determine touch. Sensory Receptors are most acute in the fingertips making them a prime ‘touch screen’ for the brain. The brain captures a picture of the item touched and makes conclusions about the stimuli as to whether it is something that is hot or cold, sharp or dull, distasteful or pleasurable. Sensory receptors allow us to detect if an insect is crawling on our skin.

Our covering of skin is helpful in feeling for and locating objects through millions of sensory receptors that send information directly to the brain. To help you understand that impulse you might try grasping an item with thick gloves on. In this scenario your fingers have trouble detecting the pressure needed to fully grasp the item, so your grip on the item will be different than if your fingers had been in direct contact with the item.

The nerve endings for touch are most acute in the tongue, lips and especially your fingertips.

Pain Receptors

If a painful sensation has been introduced to the skin the sensory receptors are quick to inform the mind. Without this sensitivity we could hold our hands over an open flame and never realize the flesh was being singed. The sensation of pain can also cause you to withdraw from sharp objects or respond to a puncture or laceration of the skin. It may be interesting to note that the sensory receptors are not all located on the surface of the skin. Many of the sensory receptors are located below the skin and may respond in a slightly different way that their surface counterparts.

Cold and Heat

Nerve endings also allow you to detect the presence of extreme cold or heat. The detection of these elements can cause you to withdraw and seek protection from these elements.

The Human Touch

The British Heart Foundation has observed that the sense of touch through hugging seems to result in lower blood pressure, reduced heart rates and minimized stress responses. The Foundation further asserts, “Scientists are increasingly interested in the possibility that positive emotions can be good for your health. This study has reinforced research findings that support from a partner, in this case a hug from a loved one, can have beneficial effects on heart health.”

The sense of touch has both utilitarian purposes as well as wellness benefits that seem to operate independent of the actual sense of touch.

Conclusion

The body contains 6-10 pounds of skin, yet it is the sense of touch that is most often used to facilitate lasting connections between parents and children, husband and wife and the hugs associate with the closest of friends. The sense of touch while operating on two different levels relies on a very sophisticated relay system between the skin and a mind capable of reacting to the touch in an appropriate way.

It is impossible that evolution could have produced such an important and complex organ as the human skin. The many intricacies of its functions are evidence of a Creator. One writer remarked: “The skin is a miracle of evolutionary engineering: it waterproofs the body, blocks out and destroys harmful bacteria, regulates temperature, and continuously communicates with the brain” (McCutcheon, 1989, p. 113). Yes, the skin is a “miracle” all right-but not a miracle of evolution. And yes, the skin was “engineered”-but the engineer was God!

Perhaps the sense of touch looks designed because it is designed.

(1) Apologetics Press
(2) McCutcheon, Marc (1989), The Compass in Your Nose (Los Angeles, CA: Jeremy P. Tarcher).

Scott Langley is a staff writer for ObviousTruths.com. Discover truth using simple everyday logic. Learn the truth about evolution and intelligent design. Obvious Truths: http://www.obvioustruths.com/

The health benefits of wheatgrass juice have been documented since the 1930s. It juices every cell in the body and has a hand in the health of the heart, digestion and energy supply.

Chlorophyll and Haemoglobin

The effects of wheatgrass are attributed to its high chlorophyll content - over 70 percent of the plant’s solid content is chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is a plant’s version of haemoglobin, which is the part of red blood cells that carries oxygen in humans. Chlorophyll and haemoglobin are similar in structure, the main difference being that in harmoglobin the central element is iron (which gives our blood the red color) while in chlorophyll it is magenesium. Chlorophyll converts sunlight into energy, which is stored in the plant - a reason why wheatgrass juice is sometimes nicknamed ‘liquid sunshine’.

A Powerful Antiseptic

Chlorophyll is a powerful antiseptic and detoxifying agent, explaining why wheatgrass has been used successfully for a variety o finternal and external infections (e.g. sinusitis), as well as to hasten skin grafting and wound healing as a gargle for sore throats and to prevent tooth decay, and in bowel cleansing programs. Research also indecates chlorphyll has anti-mutagenic properties, and therefore may be able to inhibit or reduce cancer formation.

Vitamin-rich Superfood

Wheatgrass contains vitamins (A, C, E and various Bs), amino acids, antioxidant enzymes that aid in fat, carbohydrate and protein metabolism, minerals (calcium, magnesium, iodine, iron, manganese, potassium and selenium), plus it’s a good source of MSM, a sulphur containing molecule that reduces inflammation and allergy-type reactions and detoxifies the body. Enthusiasts who take it regularly often comment on the energy ‘hit’ they get from wheatgrass; this is most likely a combination of teh concentrated nutrition present and its detoxification properties.

Research Briefs

- Thalassemia Major. This hereditary disease affects the harmoglobin in red blood cells. Patients are usually dependent on repeated blood transfusions and are at risk of anemia, spleen enlargement and bone marrow problmes. An Indian pilot study (2004) found that taking 100 ml of wheatgrass juice daily dramatically reduced the transfusion requirements of patients with thalassemia major - by over 25 percent in half the patients in the study, and by over 40 percent in thress cases. The average interval between transfusions also incrased by 29.5 percent.

- Foetal Haemoglobin. A wheatgrass extract has been used in a preliminary trial at the Murdoch Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. The extract was tested on cells to see if it could cause a significant increase in fortal haemoglobin. (This harmoglobin develops in the foetus and has an extremely high affinity for oxygen. After birth it is not so essential and the levels fall in adults to only around two percent of our total haemoglobin.) The trial found that using the wheatgrass extract over a 5-day period suggested a 3 to 5 fold incrase in the production of fortal haemoglobin. This could explain why some thalassemia patients in the Indian study experienced benefits from the juice although it also indicates these benefits are not due to the chlorophyll content, as the extract contains almost no chlorophyll.

- Ulcerative Colitis. A 2002 double-blind Israeli study showed that regular use of wheatgrass juicecan be useful in the treatment of active ulcerative colitis. Patients took either 100 cc of wheatgrass juice or a placebo daily for a month. Treatment with the wheatgrass juice was associated with significant reductions in the overall disease activity and in the severity of rectal bleeding.

User’s Guide

Wheatgrass is widely available at juice bars, health food shops and cafes. You can also buy wheatgrass sprouter kits from healthfood stores and juice your own sprouts at home.

When drinking wheatgrass juice, mix it well with your saliva before swallowing - this improves digestion as well as supporting oral hygiene.

Please visit Naturopedia.com for more on natural health and healing. Click here for the original article.

Since the ugg phenomena hit the UK I have been wearing sheepskin boots and getting taunted by my peers. Is this right?

Everywhere you look, be it in Heat magazine or the Sun you will see celebrities wearing the latest sheepskin fashion boots. So why is it OK for the ladies to look Chic and yet still keep their tootsies warm whereas us chaps have to stick to trainers?

It is now 5 years since I first slipped on a set of boots and from the moment my toes hit the insides I was in love with them. I have since moved to the Alps where you would think that the cold conditions and the excessive strain of a days snowboarding on your feet would lend to a more favourable opinion from the boys. Oh no. Now admittedly I tend to wear my boots around the house as a high class slipper, or when I take off my snowboard boots at the bottom of the slopes and drive back home. Now yesterday, be it lazy or be it a more daring move, I wore them out to the supermarket to fetch my dinner. Lo and behold I bumped into the snowboard crew only for them to look down at my feet and the taunting started. Now it’s a good job that I couldn’t give a hoot what other people think of me, so long as my feet are warm - I’m a happy man.

The question I am posing though is what can we do to promote the sheepskin phenomena into the male market force?

Answers on a postcard

LFA Boots

I gave up the rat race and moved to Chamonix France where I work from my apartment doing contract recruitment and telecoms, still selling to the UK but at least I can now looka at Mont Blanc from my desk!

You can check out my pics and videos at My Chamonix Home Page

When it comes to the art of booking, there’s a new twist on an old saying “Give a Direct Seller a show and she has income for a day. Teach a Direct Seller to book a show and she has income for a life time!” That is why successful Direct Sellers take time to learn the art of understanding and addressing the concerns of potential hostesses and customers.

Whether our intent is to schedule a sales appointment, a group demonstration or an opportunity interview, all direct sellers must learn to effectively ask for what they want on a regular basis. But that’s just the beginning, isn’t it? Acknowledging that you will, with certainty, encounter “natural consumer resistance” to your offer is important to building a thriving direct selling business. So let’s take a look at some ways you can address common booking concerns in a natural, more comfortable way.

Identify Common Concerns
Experts say there are no more than six common concerns to every selling situation. On a piece of paper, write down the most common concerns you face in your business on a regular basis. Your goal is to be prepared with one or more possible responses to each of these common concerns. Many companies provide this in their training literature so be sure to utilize the material that is already available to you.

Turn The Concern Into A Question
What makes handling concerns so challenging for many direct sellers? For most, the process of asking for what you want is frightening because it puts you in what is viewed as a vulnerable place for possible rejection. But what if you were to gain a new perspective on their response but rephrasing it not as a rejection of your offer, but a request for more information? You can do this by viewing each concern as a request for additional information.

Example: “I don’t know enough people.” Adopting a new perspective allows you to view her concern as a question. “Is it OK if I have just a small group of friends?”

Example: “I am so busy these days, I just don’t have the time to hold a show.” Viewed as a question, you can see that she is asking either: “How much time does it take to prepare?” OR “Why should I spend my precious time to hold a show with my friends?”

By viewing their concern as a simple request for more information you’ll be less likely to take their resistance personally and better able to provide them with the information they need to make a decision. Finding the underlying question gives you the opportunity to provide a potential hostess with an alternative perspective she may not have otherwise seen.

Feel - Felt - Found
Another creative way to address common concerns is the time-tested “feel, felt, found” method of offering a new perspective. What makes this so effective is that it gives you a comfortable way to remain in agreement with your potential hostess, while offering her another “view” on the subject.

Using the second example of an objection regarding “I’m too busy,” your response using the feel, felt, found method might sound something like this:

“Carol, I can understand how you feel. Some of my hostesses also felt that holding a show takes a lot of preparation and time. In fact, I’ve found that my average hostess spends only about 30 to 45 minutes preparing her guest list, making a few telephone calls and sending a few e-mails. I do the rest! On the night of the show I also keep it very simple and bring everything we’ll need for a great show. That way, you can enjoy a “girls night out” with your friends. I promise… the time you spend preparing is insignificant to the fun and free products you enjoy in return!”

Let’s look at each component of the response a little closer:
Feel: “I understand how you feel…”
This is where you show empathy with how your potential hostess is feeling. When you show you understand how they feel, they are more open to hearing what you have to say.

Felt: “I (or someone else) felt the same way…”
Let your prospect know she is not alone and you or others have felt the same way. Relate your experience and show empathy for the prospect’s feelings or objections.

Found: “I’ve found that…”
Share what others (or you) found to be true so that they can see another perspective on the situation.

Keep in mind that when you approach the process of asking for what you want and addressing common concerns as a natural and comfortable way to clarify what you are offering, you will not only enjoy the process more you will also experience the joy of having others accept your invitation more often.

Jane Deuber is a Co-Founder of http://www.DSWA.org (the only association dedicated to the needs of the independent party plan and network marketing professionals). Discover what makes the DSWA so unique. Listen to three motivating and informative free teleseminars by visiting http://www.mydswa.org/tele_class.asp

“The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them.” - Ralph Nichols

The Sound of Input

The human ear is an auditory gate that provides an incredible range of long-term memories. Through the ear the sound of music is captured and then recalled throughout your life. You ear will allow the voice of a loved one to move you to an emotional response. Your ear can take in the sounds of nature as well as the sounds of threat and violence and your body will respond in manner specific to the audible information provided.

The ear is a way to take in information, allow it to run through a mental process and respond using voice or touch.

The ear is also instrumental in allowing your body to remain stable. The body’s equilibrium is established by the amount of pressure in the inner ear.

The ear is uniquely shaped to capture sound and channel it from the outer ear through the ear canal. The middle ear converts the sound when it strikes the eardrum and conveys the sound to the inner ear and sends the information on the brain instantaneously.

The human ear is the most complex sensory system in the human body. Vision and smell are extraordinary senses, but they do not match in complexity to the ear’s process of turning minute waves of sound pressure from air molecules banging against the eardrum into the neural signals that get sent to the brain and interpreted as sound. (1)

The description above is a very stripped down version of the multiple processes that are required for hearing to take place.

These are just a few facts about the ear, but not everyone agrees on ‘facts’.

Scientific Evidence

“False facts are highly injurious to the progress of science, for they often endure long; but false views, if supported by some evidence, do little harm, for every one takes a salutary pleasure in proving their falseness.” - Charles Darwin

Darwin pioneered the intense questioning of scientific data. In many ways his premise was admirable while his conclusions were based on insufficient data or a scientific sample too small to be replicated.

Darwin was right when he said, “False facts are highly injurious to the progress of science.” I’m not sure even he understood how lasting his theory would become and how injurious it would become to the separation of false information that is widely believed versus fact that is dismissed because it doesn’t square with conventional wisdom. In essence, the maverick sprit that caused Darwin to question scientific data has ultimately resulted in a new status quo.

Conclusion

The design of the human ear is a wonderful example of the unique nature of mankind. The belief that natural selection, time, chance and a good bit of luck is responsible for the ear seems a bit lacking in substance when you consider the incredible receptors that send auditory signals to the brain.

The manner in which the senses of sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing work together to provide the mind with ample input to reason is something that evolutionary theory seems ill-equipped to explain and the rest of the animal kingdom cannot duplicate.

Maybe the ear looks designed because it is designed.

References:

(1) Hearingcarecenter.com

Scott Langley is a staff writer for ObviousTruths.com. Discover truth using simple everyday logic. Learn the truth about evolution and intelligent design. Obvious Truths: http://www.obvioustruths.com/

When you’re working in Photoshop, it’s important to understand that there are different colour models and colour modes available. This article aims to briefly explain the theory behind models in Photoshop and why you would choose one particular model over the other.

What is a colour model?
A colour model is simply a way to define colour. A model describes how colour will appear on the computer screen or on paper. Three of the most popular colour models are:

1. CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black)
2. RGB (Red, Green, Blue)
3. Lab Colour

Let’s take a look at each of these in turn.

1. The CMYK model is used for print work and it describes colours based on their percentage of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black. These four colours are used by commercial printers and bureaus and you may also find that your home printer uses these colours too. These four colours are needed to reproduce full colour artwork in magazines, books and brochures. By combining Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black on paper in varying percentages, the illusion of lots of colours is created.

2. The RGB model is used when working with colours destined for TV screens or computer monitors. A value between 0 and 255 is assigned to each of the colours - Red, Green and Blue. So for example if you wanted to create a purely blue colour, Red would have a value of 0, Green would have a value of 0 and Blue would have a value of 255 (pure blue). To create black, Red, Green and Blue would each have a value of 0 and to create white, each would have a value of 255.

In this situation, when we talk of “value” of colour, we’re referring to the strength of the colours in relation to each other.

3. The Lab colour model is a slightly more complex beast. It is made up of three components - the lightness component (L) ranging from 0 to 100, the “a” component comes from the green-red axis in the Adobe Color Picker, and the “b” component which comes from the blue-yellow axis in the Adobe Color Picker. Both “a” and “b” can range from +127 to -128.

When Photoshop is converting from one model to another, it uses Lab as the intermediate colour model.

So, after all that which model should you use?
If you know that your work is being sent to a commercial printer, then it’s a good idea to start your document in CMYK mode. Otherwise it’s safe to say that you can work in RGB for almost any other project. Even if you’re printing at home on your own inkjet printer then RGB is the one to go for. For any screen-based work such as websites or web graphics or DVD’s, you should always work in RGB. Your monitor works in displays in RGB so in terms of colour, what you see is what you get. If you do need to convert from one colour model to the other, it’s just a matter of choosing Image > Mode and then picking the one you need.

Jennifer Farley is a design instructor and founder of Digital Design Cottage (http://www.digitaldesigncottage.com) a website offering an online course in Photoshop.

Unexpected guests can add a frustrating glitch to any wedding, but what if the bride and extra individual are sharing the same seat? Back in the dark ages, expectant brides hid their pregnancies and opted for small civil ceremonies so as not to “reveal their condition.” Shed some light on your wedding planning - today, guests don’t even raise an eyebrow over pregnant brides and bridal boutiques are catering to blossoming figures. On your wedding day, there’s no reason why both you and your bump can’t look stunning and stylish.

Timing is everything
Every body and every pregnancy is different. Some moms start showing a bump only a month or two into the pregnancy, others just thicken around the waist until month four or five. If you’ll only be in the first trimester of your pregnancy on your wedding date, there’s a good chance you’ll be fine in a standard wedding dress. If you’ll be into your second or third trimester come aisle time, a maternity bridal gown might be in order. For your child’s sake and your own, don’t try to flatten your bump or define your waist with body shaping garments. It’s uncomfortable and unhealthy to try and squeeze your pregnant body into another shape.

Many brides are, shall we say, surprised when they find out they’re pregnant. Since bridal gowns can take months to create, you may already own a gown when you realize you’ll be seven months pregnant at the wedding. Some brides will opt to postpone the wedding until after the birth, others are happy to celebrate a new life and new marriage at the same time.

Gown go-round
If you’ve already bought a gown that won’t fit your wedding day bump, you have a few options. You can ask the designer to add extra panels at the front of the dress to accommodate your tummy or you can buy a new gown all together. Your boutique may have made you sign a contract agreeing you’ll purchase the gown regardless of pregnancy or weight gain. If so, you’ll get your dream dress after all - you just won’t fit into it. If you choose to buy a new dress, try to recoup some of your losses by selling the original gown on eBay. Be sure to include the good news explanation of why you’re selling the dress - some bidders are hesitant about buying dresses from cancelled engagements or divorced women. Your good news will help calm shy bidders.

Style wise
You’ve got your dream dress and you don’t want to give it up for anything. The option to sew additional panels of fabric into the front of the dress definitely exists, but don’t forget that your bust line and back will also grow with your pregnancy. Depending on how far along you’ll be at the wedding, you might have to let the dress out too much for it to still look lovely.

Most bridal boutiques offer a few selections for pregnant brides, but the designs might not fit your tastes. If you’re looking for a standard wedding gown, opt for designs with loose, flowing skirts and an empire waist line. The empire waist sits just below your bust offering much more accommodation for your growing bump. It’s also a very classic, Shakespearean look that’s popular for any bride!

Maternity gowns come in all different styles from sexy and stunning to classically chic. Most maternity gowns use loose, layered skirts to make room for baby, but others offer form fitting lines that flaunt your new found curves. On average, the most you’ll gain in measurements is an additional 1.5″ per month on your waist, bust and hips. For example, if your wedding will be three months from when you order your gown, you can expect your measurements to increase by 4.5″ each. When you order your gown, keep these measurements in mind and remember that it’s easier to take a dress in than it is to let it out. If you want to enhance your silhouette, look for designs that offer tabs that tie at the back. This will allow you to make wedding day adjustments to how your gown fits.

And one last note: let’s forget this nonsense that a pregnant bride can’t wear white. White isn’t just a symbol of virginal innocence. White means fresh beginnings, new life and purity. A pregnant bride is just as entitled to a white gown as anyone else.

Shoe sense
Weddings call for a lot of time on your feet, so you’ll want to be comfortable. Opt for low heels or flats to give you extra stability. Swollen feet are one of those cute little side effects of pregnancy, like morning sickness and stretch marks. Combat foot fatigue by purchasing two pairs of wedding shoes, one half a size larger for later in the day when your feet get fat. A pair of ballet slippers will give your feet a comfy break when the dancing gets started.

Pregnant women have a natural glow about them that makes them beautiful no matter what they’re wearing. On your wedding day you should look as beautiful as you feel. Shop for dresses that you’ll feel comfortable in. The happier you are, the more perfect your day will be.

Samanta Taylor is a writer for the wedding guide resource yourwedding101.com. In planning her own summer nuptials, Beth has learned the importance of a well-cut wedding dress that makes the bride feel beautiful.

Whether you joined your company for the additional income, the fun and products, or the tax benefits, taking the following steps will enable you to get control of your business finances for higher profits and greater peace of mind.

· Control your spending. Write down in advance what you will need for your business in the coming month. First, focus on business essentials such as catalogs and show supplies. Then be conservative for additional expenditures like buying equipment for your office or supplies for organizing.

· Be creative. Necessity is the mother of invention. Find ways to reduce unnecessary expenses by thinking creatively. Invite a prospect to your home for dessert and coffee rather than taking her to lunch at a restaurant. Make long distance calls to customers and hostesses on your cell phone if your plan includes free long distance minutes. Find new ways to save!

· Get Organized. Disorganization not only costs you time; it costs you money as well! Avoid wasting money on too many copies or duplicating forms by organizing your files. In addition, have a place in your wallet and a file in your desk where you place receipts for business expenses. Imagine the thousands of dollars in tax-deductions you may have missed simply because you did not keep a receipt.

· Track every business expense for the month. At the end of each month, total what you have spent on your business. Consultants who are maximizing tax benefits keep two totals: “Essential Expenses” and “Maximized Write-Offs” so they can see the additional benefits they are enjoying from their legitimate home-based business expenses. Write the highest total on the outside of a 9X12 envelope for each month.

· Track your income. List all your income for the month on the outside of the envelope as well. These will include Retained Profits (the 30-36% you keep from each show), Overrides (the amount earned on your team’s sales volume), and Bonuses (kit and volume bonuses).

· Compare income to expenses. Subtract your expenses from your income and evaluate the results. Keep in mind that if you are maximizing your tax benefits by writing off every legitimate expenses you would incur whether you had a business or not, you may show a loss that does not truly reflect the profitability of your business. This saves you tax dollars!

· Make necessary adjustments. How can you reduce expenses next month? Are there expenses, such as mileage that you are not taking advantage of? How can you increase your income next month? These questions will help you get greater control of your business finances and give you a feeling of confidence and success!

Jane Deuber is a Co-Founder of http://www.DSWA.org (the only association dedicated to the needs of the independent party plan and network marketing professionals). Discover what makes the DSWA so unique. Listen to three motivating and informative free teleseminars by visiting http://www.mydswa.org/tele_class.asp

In the surname stakes, we can almost forget gender, knowledge or experience. The alphabet will sort us out with callous efficiency into categories marked: Essentials (A-G); Desirables (H-M); Barely Advantageous (N-S); Don’t Bother (T-Z). This mental sorting is not confined to groups or organisations. Every individual is brainwashed into doing it. So when we want a particular product, we rush to the phone book and expediency dictates that we head straight to the Acmes and Aardvarks of the business world - while Tempo and Zenith hardly get a look-in.

The indirect result of this concentration on the first letters of our alphabet is that the companies in this little favoured band have rich pickings while the rest have to make do with the leftover crumbs. That explains why 27% of the FTSE 100 companies in the UK have names which stop at the letter C. Logically, each of the remaining letters can hope for a mere 3.2% as their share, on average.

Looking around us we can also see that:

70% of US presidents have surnames beginning A-M (48% A-H)

64% of UK Prime Ministers have surnames beginning A-M (56% A-H)

74% of Harold Wilson’s cabinet in 1964 had surnames beginning A-M (62% A-H)

70% of the UK Times Rich List (2005) have surnames beginning A-M (48% A-H)

78% of UK proprietors and directors in publishing have surnames beginning A-M (64% A-H)

72% of Popes have surnames beginning A-M (60% A-H)

72% of UK national newspaper editors have surnames beginning A-M (58% A-H)

62% of Fortune’s list of 50 most admired companies have names beginning A-M (48% A-H)

64% of Fortune’s list of 100 companies have names beginning with letters A-M (54% A-H)

(In fact, 17(85%) of the TOP 20 companies on Fortune’s 2006 list have names beginning with letters A-M (65% A-H))

The list is positively endless of you care to check whatever field or country you’re in which sorts and categorises by the alphabet. The evidence is everywhere.

So what is the answer to this dilemma?

Possible Solutions

There is obviously no foolproof system of sorting or classification which will ensure equity. But what has been causing the problem is the obsession with one type of selection which is clearly detrimental to the majority of people it affects. It leaves little room for error and has assumed such omnipotent qualities, it is often the ultimate arbiter where it matters most. When it comes to the important occasions which have long term effects on our lives, various systems of personnel sorting should be used - whether it is picking the names from a hat, personal choices, starting in reverse alphabetical order, the first person to arrive, or even using the alphabet! It does not really matter so long as the selection process is diverse, culturally fair and reviewed frequently.

Still not convinced of the need to change? Then look around your department at work and start counting names. Have a look at all the senior personnel and note their surnames. The majority will start with A-J. You will not only be surprised but you will also appreciate why 62% of the latest Forbes Top 100 billionaires have surnames which are in the top half of the alphabet, the number being too significant for mere coincidence.

Remember, the next time you do not make the grade where you have been sorted alphabetically, it could have little to do with your gender, personality, race or your particular skills, but much more to do with whether your name fits; whether you are part of the burgeoning alphabet elite.

Forget the wrong side of the tracks. The key question seems to be: Are you from the right side of the alphabet? That’s what really matters!

ELAINE SIHERA (Ms Cyprah - http://www.myspace.com/elaineone and http://www.elainesihera.co.uk) is an expert author, public speaker, media contributor and columnist. The first Black graduate of the OU and a post-graduate of Cambridge University. Elaine is a CONFIDENCE guru and a consultant for Diversity Management, Personal Empowerment and Relationships. Author of: 10 Easy Steps to Growing Older Disgracefully; 10 Easy Steps to Finding Your Ideal Soulmate!; Money, Sex & Compromise and Managing the Diversity Maze, among others (available on http://www.amazon.co.uk as well as her personal website). Also the founder of the British Diversity Awards and the Windrush Men and Women of the Year Achievement Awards. She describes herself as, “Fit, Fabulous, Over-fifty and Ready to Fly!”