One of the best ways of promoting a new or even long standing company is with an in-house magazine. Boost staff morale, encourage teamwork and generally let everyone know what you are up to. Really there’s no excuses why you shouldn’t be producing a magazine, heres how you could get started…

Short of cash? Get some advertisers to pay for it!

Paying for a good quality designer to design and layout your in house magazine goes without saying and a print run on a couple of thousand magazines isn’t going to give you much change out of a couple of grand. Therefore make the magazine pay for itself by getting some advertisers on board. It would be worth offering some big name advertisers in your chosen field a highly reduced ad rate for the first issue and by the time issue 2 is ready to go, advertisers will be queuing up to get involved having seen who else is placing ads in your publication.

As endorsed by…

Everybody loves celebrities and if you can manage to get some sly celebrity patronage of your product or services then you’ve effectively got your magazine cover star - doing your selling for you. For instance, if the company you are involved in sell shoes, send out some samples to public relations companies handling the stars and ask for some kind of feedback from their clientelle. Even if it is met with a blanket silence you can always pull out the old ‘allegedely’ trump card and claim that Kylie Minogue was reported to be a fan and user of your product and hey presto buddy, you’ve got yourself a hot dang news story.

Circulation, circulation, circulation

Lets face it, printing a handful of A5 magazines on the office inkjet isn’t going to create a buzz among the cognoscenti. Realistically you need to be looking at 10’s of thousands quantity wise to get the return on investment for your time. Depending on your particular industry, mailing and marketing lists of suppliers and contacts within your target market are fairly cheap and easy to come by. Send out your industry bible and get people talking.

Generate a buzz

Magazines live or die by their reputations. What you should always be thinking about is your next promotional idea. Most retail magazines these days in the shops are plastered with promotional giveaways. Could you give away a cover mounted CD with your magazine for example? The design and style of the magazine is also intrinsic to its perceived value. If you don’t have in-house designers or writers capable of producing a quality publication then you need to find a good contract publishing company to take care of your magazine design, layout and sub-editing. This could then free you up to come up with some wacky promotional ideas such as getting Gordon from accounts to do a sponsored masturbate-a-thon in aid of endangered wild cod. You get the idea - make it controversial and see those circulation figures go through the roof.

OK thats given you enough incentive to go out and produce some wonderful magazines. Once the magazine settles in and becomes the industry standard, why not sponsor some kind of festival or event giving the magazine and possibly your products even more promotion. It’s far too easy isn’t it?

Lunatrix Magazine design expert advice on all forms of contract magazine design and creative magazine and booklet design

Two family members — my daughter and my father-in-law — died on the same weekend. My father-in-law was 98 1/2 years old and his death was expected. But my daughter’s untimely death at age 45 knocked me to my knees. Never in my life have I cried so hard and so long.

I know things will never be the same, yet I have to live my life. The question is, how do I go about it? Pesach Krauss and Morrie Goldfisher write about getting on with life in their book, “Why Me? Coping With Grief, Loss and change.” After the death of a loved one Krauss and Goldfisher think we need to shift our focus from a direct relationship with the deceased to identifying with his or her values.

“In that way, we free ourselves form the cold grip of the past to embrace warm and tender memories and action for the present,” they say.

I am blessed to have many warm and tender memories of my father-in-law and daughter. The family values of hard work, honesty, education, and giving have been passed from one generation to the next — another blessing. But I am so overwhelmed by grief I fear I will get stuck in the past. I did not want this to happen and started thinking about new goals.

Daniel Goleman, author of “Emotional Intelligence,” thinks people who pursue their goals have less anxiety and distress. Though the last few weeks have been filled with distress I thought I was capable of identifying new goals. One goal was already clear. The instant our daughter died my husband and I dedicated ourselves to protecting and caring for our twin grandchildren. “There must be other goals,” I said to myself.

And so, while I was making the bed, doing dishes, and folding laundry I let my mind wander. This went on for several weeks. Suddenly, the fog lifted from my mind and I saw my new goals clearly. I think they are good ones.

Goal 1: I will be a role model for my grandchildren.

Goal 2: I will tell them, in concise words, how I will help them.

Goal 3: I will keep my promises.

Goal 4: I will continue to write.

Goal 5: I will share my grief experiences.

Goal 6: I will learn and grow from grief.

Goal 7: I will laugh whenever I can.

Goal 8: I will care for myself so I can care for others.

Goal 9: I will cherish each day.

Goal 10. I will celebrate life with my husband and family.

Identifying new goals has given new meaning to my life. While I still have bouts of crying (sometimes in my sleep) I awaken with a sense of purpose. I have this day and will make the most of it.

Copyright 2007 by Harriet Hodgson

http://www.harriethodgson.com

Harriet Hodgson has been a freelance nonfiction writer for 28 years. She is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists and the Association for Death Education and Counseling. Her 24th book, “Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief,” written with Lois Krahn, MD, is available from http://www.amazon.com A five-star review of the book is posted on Amazon. Other reviews are posted on the American Hospice Foundation Web site (under the “School Corner” heading) and the Health Ministries Association Web site.

In this day and age its often the way that new companies looking to minimise business start up costs turn to the internet in order to advertise their business and products. All very well, but neglecting to promote your company with a traditional printed brochure as well could effectively kill your business before you’ve had a chance to get going.

Create a good feeling and see those smiles turn into hard cash

What we mean by ‘good feeling’ is something to feel in the hand and get excited by. By employing a good brochure designer and making the best use of creative brochure design, you are up to 10 times more likely to impress a prospective customer than by telephoning them cold or by sending them to a website. In much the same way as people prefer to read books and newspapers in a printed form rather than online, so the same is true with a nicely produced eye catching brochure design.

Choose the right brochure format for your customers

Very often a new business may have much to say but not necessarily the best idea about how to present themselves to best maximise sales. Remember a business brochure design does not have to cost the earth. If you can get your message across concisely and clearly without too much bother then a trifold brochure design may be the best form of promotion. It can fold up and fit inside a standard business envelope so can be mailed out cheaply as well. Alternatively if your company has regular promotions or targets different core markets, A cost effective print solution is to produce a generic folder design with a pocket in the inside back cover and have a designer design some leaflet templates that can be simply formatted and printed out in short runs as and when they are needed. Brochuretastic!

Ooh you little tease…

One of the best marketing ideas around is the teaser campaign. If you’ve gone to the trouble and expense of having a brochure designer work their magic on your company brochure and had a run of brochures printed, the next step is to let your customers see them. You could send out thousands through the post and hope for a good response but the reality is only 1-2% of sales are likely to be made from such untargeted means if you’re lucky. A cheaper and more viable idea is to run a large volume of postcard size flyers promoting your new business but tantalizingly leaving your prospective customers wanting to find out more. By allowing them to respond to the teaser you can then send out your more lavish brochure and should see a higher rate of return custom without the waste.

A picture paints a thousand words

Its very important to get the wording right on your brochure, and if you are having trouble then it may be worthwhile getting a marketing professional or copywriter in to help you out. Equally important are any visual triggers that are going to best sell your products and services. Simply pulling some product shots off of a competitors website or taking some pictures of your new products on your camera phone is going to make you look a shoddy mess and customers would quite rightly turn their noses up at your lousy stinking organisation. Far better would be to invest in some quality commissioned photography from a professional or if budgets are tight look online for some cheap royalty free images that could be used throughout the brochure design. Most serious designers will be able to assist in this matter so if in doubt call on the experts.

Setting up in business can be a stressful and expensive endeavor. Getting a good design and style for your company brochure from the offset could be the difference between making a mint or going belly up. It couldn’t be clearer, having a well designed company brochure is for winners.

Lunatrix Brochure design expert advice on all forms of company brochure design and creative brochure and catalogue design.

We have all heard that one a day keeps the doctor away, but what exactly are the health benefits of apples? Is it simply a matter of apple nutrition content? We understand about the vitamins and some of the value to human nutrition of an apple, but we are only beginning to learn about other compounds found in apples and other fruits and vegetables.

When scientists first became aware that there were components in foods that could be isolated and that these compounds existed in various food sources, the study of vitamins began. Now, although we know about the essential vitamins and minerals necessary for human health, we are still learning about individual compounds that different foods contain. Particularly, in the area of fruits and vegetables, there is still much to be learned.

If you look at the apple nutrition content, you will see that one medium sized apple contains the vitamins B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6, B9 (folate) and C, as well as the minerals calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium. Most daily multi-vitamins contain adequate amounts of these vitamins and minerals, so why is it necessary to actually eat an apple?

It appears that the combination of vitamins, minerals and other plant components act together, providing more benefits than the individual components alone. In other words, the total value to human nutrition of an apple is probably greater than the value of the individual vitamins and minerals it contains.

Today, when scientists evaluate plant foods, they talk about phytochemicals or phytonutrients. These are compounds found in plants that are beneficial to human health. The health benefits of apples may be related to the phytonutrients named quercetin, epicatechin and procyanidin, as well as the vitamins and minerals listed in the standard apple nutrition content. Most daily multi-vitamins do not provide these phytonutrients.

Studies have shown that phytonutrients found in apples may protect the brain from diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Quercetin is a natural anti-inflammatory, an anti-allergen and has been used to treat skin and prostrate cancers. Epicatechin and other catechins have been shown to reduce plaque build-up in the arteries of animals and to reduce the cancer causing affects of carcinogens in test tubes. Procyanidin or proanthocyanidin is believed to be beneficial in the prevention of heart disease and diabetes. The list of the health benefits of apples keeps growing.

Then there is fiber. Although not normally listed in the apple nutrition content, the value of fiber to the human diet is great. It relates not only to digestive regularity or relief of constipation, but also to the prevention of life-threatening diseases, such as colon and rectal cancer. It is now known that regular intake of fiber found in fruits, such as the apple, reduce the risk of obesity, diabetes, unhealthy cholesterol levels, heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, hemorrhoids, Crohn’s disease, diverticulitis and many other disorders that involve the intestinal tract. All of this makes for a very long list of the possible health benefits of apples.

The overall nutrition of an apple may be lowered by peeling or processing into sauces, jellies and other food products. Most of the fiber and many of the phytonutrients are found in the peel of the apple. Quercetin, for example, belongs to a group of phytonutrients called flavonoids. Flavonoids give fruits and vegetables their unique colors. Some dietary supplements contain the isolated forms of quercetin and other phytonutrients, as well as the vitamins and minerals described in the apple nutrition content, but it is likely that all of the health benefits of apples can only be obtained from the whole fruit.

The value to human nutrition of an apple, a pear, a peach, a plum, a mango or any other fruit is only complete when a person eats the fruit or takes a whole food supplement. Whole food supplements are created by dehydrating and concentrating a variety of fruits, vegetables and whole grains and then encapsulating them. They may be an option for people who would like to take advantage of the health benefits of apples, but who do not always get their one a day. Different fruits, vegetables and whole grains provide different health benefits and it is not always possible to include each one in the daily diet. Whole food supplements could fill in the gaps.

Russell Cantwell is editor of http://www.whole-food-supplements-guide.com

Visit us now to learn more about the health benefits of apples and to discover whole food supplements that contain apples.

My son and I have worked on projects together through the years and frequently bounce ideas off each other. As a professional speaker and writer, I can offer him a rather unique and experienced perspective of things. As President/CEO of ClaimCare, Inc., Carl II helps keep me up to date on the health care and medical billing industry, as well as trends and issues in running privately or publicly held companies. We often share quotes and stories.

A quote he recently e-mailed to me is attributed to twentieth century economist John Maynard Keynes: “The real difficulty in changing the course of any enterprise lies not in developing new ideas but in escaping from the old ones.” Great quote. Everyone faces challenges and problems, and everyone has the tendency to become shackled by old ways of thinking about things, making it difficult to develop new ideas about ourselves, our companies, and the people with whom we work and live. That’s when it might be a good time to ask the question, “What if?”

If you’ve heard my “A Strategy For Winning” presentation or have read the book, then you may be familiar with the account of H.C. Booth, who in 1901 was sitting in a rocking chair on his porch observing the setting sun and the dust blowing across the prairie. As he relaxed and rocked, he asked himself, “What if we could reverse that wind and pull the dust rather than blow it?” H.C. Booth invented the vacuum cleaner.

We can invent new ways and new things in our lives - we can escape old ideas - by looking at these old ideas with a fresh pair of eyes. This is especially helpful if you feel stagnant or burned out in any area of your life; if you feel you are taking a step forward and then a step backward; if you feel you are achieving less than you should; if you feel drained of physical or emotional energy; if you are prone to negative thinking; if you are easily irritated by small problems or by people at work or home; if you are harder on people and less empathetic than you should be; if you feel misunderstood or unappreciated…

If you are experiencing any of the above feelings, the first thing needed is to admit it to yourself. Then it is important to determine what you are doing - or not doing - that contributes to this situation? The next step is to gather resources. You are not the first person to experience this problem. How have others dealt with and overcome it? When these steps have been taken, consider various possibilities. Maybe you can do “A” or “M”. Maybe you can combine “X” with “C”. Let your imagination run wild and enjoy yourself as you ask, “What if?”

Mull over the possibilities. For over three years, two associates and I have been working on a Web site for students based on “A Strategy For Winning.” Papa Diaw, originally from West Africa and a resident of America via France, is responsible for the PHP, a server-side HTML embedded scripting language about which I know absolutely nothing. When I asked Papa what in “A Strategy For Winning” caught his attention the most, he responded, “The section on mulling things over.” Mulling involves thinking about old things in a new way. It involves using experiences, the subconscious mind, and making new combinations.

After you have mulled, then choose what you consider to be the best solution and try it out. What if it doesn’t work? Well, as I am accustomed to saying, “Big fat hairy deal!” Look at some of the other possibilities, which may lead to even more possibilities. Remember, there is a big difference between temporary failure and total defeat - and many of our successes are built on what we learn from our failures.

_____________________________________

© Carl Mays, author and speaker at over 3,000 events, may be contacted at carlmays@carlmays.com. His books, including A Strategy For Winning, Winning Thoughts, Anatomy Of A Leader, People of Passion, and Are We Communicating Yet?, are available in stores, on http://www.carlmays.com and other Internet locations.

Carl’s clients include corporations, associations, government entities, schools, and universities. With an undergraduate degree in communications and a graduate degree in education/psychology, Carl focuses on leadership, teamwork and performance improvement. Among his honors are the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Murray State University and the Faith & Freedom Award (presented by Success magazine founder W. Clement Stone) given to communicators who contribute to the ideals and values on which America was founded. He received the Council of Peers Award for Excellence and the Certified Speaking Professional designations from the National Speakers Association, and is a member of the NSA Speaker Hall of Fame.

As a legal need, the submission of an annual report to shareholders, investors and trustees is something that can re-inforce the organisations core branding and values. A poorly designed document is going to reflect badly on the organisation and in some cases may mean investor withdrawal if they are particularly upset. So here then are the right ways to go about things.

Choosing the right annual report designers

Many charities and some corporate firms are tied to strictly budgeted guidelines and often use amateur designers or recommended friends to produce these complex reports. Would you let a helpful friend come in and have a go at cutting your hair off without any credentials to back up their skills? Of course not, unless you were really tight. It obviously makes sense then to choose an annual report design company that have a proven track history in this field and can show off some impressive design portfolio of past annual reports they have designed to back up their quality.

Don’t make a mess of the figures

More often than not an annual report graphic designer will be handed over a bunch of excel documents including balance sheet reports and financial statement reports and be expected to turn a page of numbers into something approaching creative design. You could just flow in the columns and leave it at that but far more worthwhile a design idea would be to introduce some visual elements such as 3D pie charts or columns to illustrate the figures and annual financial statements.

Make full use of white space - the designers default trick

White space, to fill or not to fill that is the question. On balance and especially if you are able to maintain a straight face while convincing a head of accounting that leaving the page design as a minimal exercise in preserving a blank canvas is the way to best portray annual report designs, you should always try to move in the white space design direction. Another good design trick to use on annual financial statements is to have a photoshoot and have the normally camera shy accounting division staged to look like they mean business. Perhaps have Norman the financial director waving his arms about in a faux businessy way. It will provide an amusing counter balance to the dry waffle contained in the report wording.

High production printing if in budget is the cherry on the cake

Although for many smaller charitable organisations, spending a sizeable chunk of their funding on something that could have been printed out on their office inkjet and stapled in the corner, on a gatefold die cut, spot varnished annual report may seem frivolous and down right irresponsible. However for those corporate clients that are looking for that competitive edge over their rivals, the one upmanship that a ridiculously expensive annual report is going to afford them is worth its wait in gold. Lets not forget that the annual report is a signifier of how well the organisation has been doing over the last financial year and to not revel in a ludicrously wasteful way is missing a trick.

Hopefully these pointers should offer a good argument for employing the best annual report graphic design strategies the client can afford. A financial report design should make you want to rub the page with glee not send you to the land of nod.

Lunatrix annual report design expert advice on all forms of corporate report design and creative annual report design

Real estate may be all about location, location, location, but real estate investment is also about timing, timing, timing. Like the stock market, when you make your investment is just as important as the investment you choose. And, when it comes to real estate, a pre-construction investment can maximize your return.

The primary pre-construction investment advantage is that you can generally purchase a property at a lower price than if you were to wait until after the project breaks ground. Once construction is underway, popular locations and properties can trigger an influx of new investors who drive prices up. A pre-construction investment also allows you to choose among premium properties, whereas later investors can choose only from among the less desirable properties.

What to Buy in Today’s Climate

While the asking prices of single family dwellings are trending downward, there is still enough uncertainty in the market to cause concern. Lately, the attention of investors has turned to what are called condo hotels. These properties generally have both condominiums and luxury suites, and the communities typically have a number of attractive features, such as retail space, restaurants, and pools. Often, investors will buy a condo hotel unit and use it part of the year as a luxury vacation accommodation, while renting the property out for the rest of the year. The best condo hotels take care of the rental management and maintenance, leaving the investor to enjoy his or her property while reaping the financial rewards.

Where to Buy

Real estate is all about location, so when considering a pre-construction investment, it’s important to find a place where there is high demand for short-term housing. In the United States, Orlando, Florida, is one of the best places to invest. Analysts estimate that the real estate market in Orlando is undervalued by as much as 30 percent. And, with the tens of millions of tourists the area draws each year, thanks to Disney World, Sea World, and Universal Studios, the hotel occupancy rate hovers at around 80 percent.

With these kinds of numbers, Orlando is the perfect place for a pre-construction investment. As an example of what’s available, the Blue Rose is a condo hotel scheduled to break ground in late 2007 and scheduled for completion in 2009. The Blue Rose Resort is planning to offer over 250 condominiums along with over 1,200 condo hotel suites of up to 3,000 square feet. To complement the accommodations, the Blue Rose is planning to build the Swan Lake Promenade, which will house five themed restaurants, European cafes, private pool cabanas, and a Broadway-style theater that seats 1,000.

Pre-construction investments in top-rated short-term rental markets have a great potential return on investment. Plus, due to the desirable destination, savvy investors will be able to enjoy both appreciation of property values and great vacation accommodations.

Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web.
Learn more about Pre-Construction Investment or Majon’s Real Estate directory.

The first thing you need to do is carefully choose the niche that you are going to target in your quest to make easy money online.This can be anything you like but it helps if the niche is something that you are really interested in,something that you are very knowledgable about.This will be an advantage later, when you are writing articles about your niche.

Next,you need to select the keywords that you will be using for the blog that you are going to create and for the articles that you are going to write.I use the free keyword suggestion tool at www.digitalpoint.com.The tool is free to use but to keep it free you are asked to make a donation to help with the upkeep of the site, this is optional.Type your kewords into the search box and the results shown are for daily searches on the Yahoo search engine for the keywords that you have typed in.You will also get results for variations of your keywords.

As a rule of thumb,multiplying the result of your keyword search by eight gives you the Google search engine result for your keywords .I generally use keywords for my niche that have been searched for at between 800 to 1600 times per day.This is because when the selected keywords are used there wont be a lot of competition and I can be confident that I will end up on the first page of the Google search engine results for my selected keywords.

When you have your keywords it is time to create your make easy money online blog. I use Blogger.com for my blogs purely because it costs nothing.The blogs are very simple to set up,there aren’t any hosting costs and there aren’t any domain name costs.

Make sure you use your keywords in the title of your blog and also try to use them in the introduction to your blog,this helps the search engines to find your blog.Write a post about your niche for your blog and when you are happy with the layout etc. publish the blog.

Now you need to go to Clickbank.com and sign up for their program if you are not already a member,this is free.Search the Clickbank Marketplace for products related to your niche.Select two or three products to promote on your blog.You can select products with up to 75% commission,this what you will receive if someone buys the product through the link that you receive from Clickbank.You will receive a seperate link for each selected product to put on your blog,this is called an affiliate link.The affiliate link can be put anywhere on the blog for example, in your review ,at the bottom of your reveiw or in its own box at either side of the blog.I find that it helps to purchase the products that I am promoting then I can write an honest review about them.This is not compulsory but I like to do it that way.

When you are happy with the layout of the blog and the reviews that you have produced for each product, you now have to promote it and start to make easy money online.

There are quite a few ways to do this,most of them cost money.I do not use the methods that cost money because I think the best method and the one that I have had the most success with, is article writing.

You have to write, write, write and write again to drive traffic to your blog!This is why it is best to choose a niche that you are interested in and knowledgable about.You need to write articles about your niche,submitting your articles to article directories putting a link to your blog in the resource box.The article directory that I have had most success withis EzineArticles.com but there are hundreds to choose from.These articles,after a few days, will show up on the first page of the Google search engine results for your keywords along with the link to your blog.People interested in your niche will click on the link,find the reviews about the affiliate products,click on the links,purchase the product,giving you a commission!
That is how to make easy money online!

For more information on this method and to see the method in action visit
http://www.makefasteasymoneyonline.blogspot.com

Colin Southgate is an eBay Ebook Seller who sells ebooks and software at http://stores.ebay.co.uk/jonniesidea.. To receive free tips from Colin regarding selling ebooks on eBay and a free collection of ebooks sign up for The JonniesIdea Newsletter by Clicking here.

“We are always just moments away from transformation.
It follows realization, which stimulates creativity.”
“How To Take No For An Answer And Still Succeed.”

You’ve no doubt heard about the DVD and number one best selling book, “The Secret,” right? Oprah has had two shows on it, Larry King has now done three shows around it and the Internet and media have exploded with “The Secret.”

At least two churches in Las Vegas are running ads promoting that their message is in alignment with “The Secret.”

I wrote a review on it.

I think they should title the sequel, “It’s Not A Secret Any More!”

Now, of course, the critics are emerging. In no way am I about to diminish what’s in that program and book. In fact some of the participants are good friends, some of the others are acquaintances. I respect them all.

“The Secret” is all about power. The challenge is the clarity of how to use this power safely and effectively.

That transformer just down the street from your house is delivering life enhancing energy to your home. However, if you touch it in the wrong place it will kill you.

Many years ago, the father of positive thinking, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale said that some of his philosophy was misunderstood. The missing component for some, he said, was taking action.

Here’s the power; thinking is a prelude to either action or apathy. Negative thinking can shut you down. Positive thinking creates energy. The mind kicks in, plans emerge, action is created.

What about those who take action and it doesn’t work? “Well! that’s about enough of that!” They think. Now, in their minds, none of it works and they become closed minded skeptics. That’s touching the transformer in the wrong place.

“The Secret” misses a mark by not explaining this more clearly and more often. It is the need for positive interned action, even if the action doesn’t work. At least it’s a result, which may lead to what will work!

As one Eastern mystic said, in his high pitched, Indian sing-song voice, “Patience is not a virtue, it is a necessity.”

Negative action shows up right away. Merge into a busy freeway without looking and see what happens. Touch a hot stove. Instant results.

Negative thoughts effect our physical and mental state. Excluding clinical depression, those who find themselves dwelling on the downside of life are focusing on that thus creating continued direction.

The same is true for a positive focus. There are immediate results, it’s simply that we can’t always see them readily. If we tune in though, we can feel them.

Our outlook and attitude has an effect on everything inside of us and around us. But when things are tough, it’s hard to switch to the positive some times. Especially when we are ignorant of a mechanism to do that.

“The Secret” shows this clearly and is encouraging a practice of consciously taking control by shifting our thoughts and actions. This has to be a learned conscious activity, which can be difficult sometimes because it’s so easy to run through life unconsciously.

“The Secret” is having a high resonance for another big reason. We know intuitively that it’s right. We know that what is being shown to us has real power.

You may find this helpful. For years I’ve been using the concept of Intention/Attachment in my seminars. It is the device that keeps things together for me. It’s the mental mechanical function of personal creation.

An intention is your goal or desire. The attachment is to the end result of your actions to achieve that. The higher your intention, the greater your energy (action) to achieve it.

The reason for this is simplicity itself. We have no control over anything, except our thoughts and our actions. Our actions may lead to results, but the actual result is really out of our control.

You intend to back out of the garage and get to your meeting. You’ll be on time if you leave now. Then you run over your son’s bicycle, which flattens your tire, delaying you.

Your stress will be in direct proportion to your attachment of being on time, not on your intention.

The higher your attachment to the result, the less effective you will be. If you have “How To Take No For An Answer and Still Succeed” you can read more of this in Chapter 2, “How To Take Total and Complete Control Of Your Life.”

As the critics of “The Secret” emerge, and more will, we’ll have a choice of how to discern their intentions and their attachments.

As my friend, Warren Whitlock said when discussing “The Secret,” “Why try to debunk something that I could be using?”

Tom Justin

For Tom’s free report, “How To Use The Power Of No,” visit http://tomjustin.com You can also find out more about his course, “Your Intuitive Click” at http://www.yourintuitiveclick.com

Powerlifting is a strength sport, consisting of three events:

The squat,

The bench press,

and The deadlift.

Powerlifting is a sort of cult sport in that it does not receive much attention in your local media or the world wide stage. This is most likely due to the fact that there isnt really a unified, sanctioned body that oversees all events, records results, promotes the sport, or generally handles media representation.

As previously stated the best attempts from all three lifts are totaled to determine your perforomance in a meet. Powerlifting meets have different age and weight classes to keep the field of competition pretty level and fair. Meets generally take place on the weekends, saturdays usually, unless it is a world championship of course, then it may be spread out over a weekend.

On meet day, there is a weigh in to determine what class you will compete in. Very soon after that the lifting starts. Generally, the group of lifters are broken up into what is known as “flights”. These flights are usually comprised of 6-10 lifters and go in the order of lightest to heaviest attempts. The first lift performed is the Squat. At weigh in time, you will notify the meet directors of your opening attempt. Your opening attempt is your first attempt you plan to try, generally speaking this is a weight you should be able to lift easily for 2-3 reps in the gym. If you miss your first attempt you have a couple of choices. Either keep the same weight and try it again, or go up to a higher weight. After your attempt you will notify the judges table of your decision.

You have 3 attempts to complete a lift, if you are unable to complete a lift in 3 attempts you are disqualified from the competition. This is referred to as “bombing”. You dont want to be in this boat as you are unable to compete in the remaining lifts, and thus become nothing more than a spectator. After the squat, the bench press is next. This done in the same fashion as the squat. The lightest attempt in the flight of lifters goes first, and the rest follow suit with their chosen attempts.

Following the bench press is the deadlift, after the last lifter in the deadlift goes, the lifters best lift from the squat, bench press, and deadlift are added up to give a “Total”. The highest total in each weight class is considered the victor. Generally at the local level there are no cash prizes or lavish gifts for performing. The prize for winning is usually a trophy of some sort, but the real prize is inside knowing that you had the will, drive, and courage to put yourself on the line and compete.

Powerlifing may not pay well, but money pales in comparison to the life lessons you can learn getting under a loaded bar and seeing what your mind and body are capable of doing. Many times in my life I have drawn on lessons learned in the gym and applied them to real life issues. When it is you and the bar, there are no excuses, either you are strong enough to lift it, or you just didnt prepare properly. Which one are you?

Christopher H Smith