Bad Credit Debt Consolidation - Single Loan to Erase Bad Credit

Debt consolidation is a must for every bad credit holder since it is debt which leads one to have bad credit records. The reason lies in the fact that people these days find themselves in overwhelming debt worries while they try to keep the pace with the concord development pace of the globe. The result of this speed occurs in our multiple credit card bills and multiple unpaid debts. But, as there are evils there are angels too. Debt consolidation loan is one such angel which saves us from having bad credit records. However, having bad credit today is a typical phenomenon and there is bad credit debt consolidation which offers solution of bad credit worries in a special way.

Before going deep into the nuances of bad credit debt consolidation solution let’s get an idea why people today tend to get bad credit. Bad credit, as said above has become typical of us because the human needs increased and that’s why people tend to have more numbers of credit cards and loans which at times become overwhelming and cause in bad credit records. The multiple rates of interests attached with multiple debts and credit cards become at times taxing for people for which debt consolidation is the ultimate and perhaps the best remedy. Debt consolidation means combining all your debts into a single loan amount and pay off all the earlier debts with this single loan which comes with affordable rates of interest.

Bad credit debt consolidation come both as secured debt consolidation options as well as unsecured bad credit solutions and the secured debt consolidation option is always better to have it with low rates of interest since collateral is to be attached with this. However, unsecured bad credit debt consolidation also comes with cheap rates for there is high competition among the lenders in the market. Moreover, the online option of bad credit debt consolidation solution has made this cheap enough as well as fast in service. Online, having debt consolidation solutions are matters of clicks only and there is hardly any leg work involved in the matter.

Loan borrowing is like once in a life time decision and much is at stake. It is indeed not a good thing that many people are misguided into taking loans that are not appropriate to their financial situation. This leads to many allied misgivings. As a financial consultant the only driving force of Ann Gibson is to provide proper knowledge. Because knowledge in respect to loan borrowing is power and exudes financial benefits. He works for UK debt consolidations. To find a bad credit debt consolidation loan, debt management, loans, unsecured debt consolidation loans, secured loans, debt consolidation loan that best suits your need please visit http://www.ukdebtconsolidations.co.uk

Cancer Prevention Diet - Cruciferous Vegetables

In this cancer prevention diet article about cruciferous vegetables, you will discover:

  • What are cruciferous vegetables?
  • Why are cruciferous vegetables a must in your cancer prevention diet?
  • How many cruciferous vegetables do you need to include in your cancer prevention diet?

What Are Cruciferous Vegetables?

Cruciferous vegetables are the edible vegetables within in the brassicaceae family of plants.

Cruciferous vegetables are packed full of beneficial health ingredients such as:

  • Antioxidants
  • Carotenoids
  • Chlorophyll
  • Fiber
  • Flavonoids
  • Folate
  • Glucosinolates
  • Indole-3-Carbinol
  • Isothiocyanates
  • Lingnans
  • Phytochemicals
  • Phytosterols
  • Potassium
  • Selenium
  • Sulforaphane
  • Vitamin C

The following are cruciferous vegetables:

  • Arugula
  • Bok Choy
  • Broccoli
  • Brussels Sprouts
  • Cabbage
  • Cauliflower
  • Collard Greens
  • Daikon
  • Horseradish
  • Kale
  • Kohlrabi
  • Mizuna
  • Mustard Greens
  • Napa (Chinese Cabbage)
  • Radishes
  • Rutabaga
  • Tatsoi
  • Turnip Greens
  • Turnips
  • Watercress

Why Are Cruciferous Vegetables A Must In Your Cancer Prevention Diet?

Cruciferous vegetables are a must in your cancer prevention diet because they contain the following powerful anti-cancer properties:

  • Isothiocyanates
  • Sulforaphane
  • Indole-3-Carbinol

Isothiocyanates aids the body in the breakdown of carcinogens, this can help to protect against tobacco related cancers such as lung cancer.

Both sulforaphane and indole-3-carbinol can delay the development, growth and size of tumours.

They are especially good at protecting against the following cancers:

  • Breast Cancer
  • Prostate Cancer
  • Colon Cancer
  • Cervical Cancer

Cruciferous vegetables are a good source of soluble and insoluble fibre.

Increasing fibre within your diet can help to protect against cancer, especially colon cancer.

How Many Cruciferous Vegetables Do You Need To Include In Your Cancer Prevention Diet?

You will need to include at least three portions a week of cruciferous vegetables in your cancer prevention diet.

So, to sum up…

Cruciferous vegetables are a must in your cancer prevention diet.

They are packed full of cancer busting ingredients, which can help to protect you against all types of cancers.

By including three portions a week of cruciferous vegetables, you can help to reduce the risk of developing cancer in later life, dramatically.

Stewart Hare C.H.Ed Dip NutTh

Download ‘How To Protect Against Cancer Naturally’ Free
E-book

Website: NewBeingNutrition.com

Being Businesslike With Business Debt Collection

One of the big mistakes many businesses make when collecting business debts is not having a clear policy and timetable for dealing with debtors.

Too often a debt can sit on the company books for weeks , even months after it became due because of lack of diligence on the part of the business owner.

Large companies rarely suffer from this kind of mismanagement. If you have ever been on the receiving end of the large company process, you will know how the demands escalate to a serous level in a relatively short time.

Ok, your company may not be in the multi-million conglomerate bracket but relatively speaking bad debt is a big problem and can kill the best companies if it isn’t addressed in a timely manner.

Large companies have a set procedure which usually starts with a statement. You should do the same. Always send statements to your customers at the same time each month, usually around the beginning/end of the month.

If a bill is due within that time frame or overdue amounts appear on the statement, make a hand written comment on the statement. This lets your debtor know you are watching the account and are aware of the arrears.

One week later no more , no less, send a letter to the debtor, informing them their account is in arrears. The letter can be standard but try tp personlize it by using a time reference within the body of the letter. First time round this will usually get a satisfactory result, otherwise a second letter should follow. Now the thing to remember here is that if you have a debtor who is regularly late paying bills then they will know what to expect. In fact they will use your system to buy themselves more time to pay. It’s like they know you will send three warning letters before you actually phone them and then they know how much longer after that call they have before you call again.

These kind of debtors are playing you and using your system against you - time to mix things up.

If you have a bad payer - earmark them for random treatment.

Try calling them before the debt is due. Quite often a company or individual will say they didn’t receive the original invoice and will think they can buy extra time by assuming your payment terms begin on receipt of your invoice.

A quick call to confirm receipt or to confirm payment is scheduled within their system, will avoid that excuse.

Normally, you will have a series of letters which will successively increase in severity.

Try skipping letters 2 through to 4 and go straight to the telephone call. Then skip the second call and go to the debt collection letter. Incidentally this doesn’t have to be a real debt collection agency. Many companies use a fictitious debt collection service name which purposely doesn’t include a telephone number but instead might just have a mailbox address. This can have quite an effect on bad payers as they are sometimes stunned at the speed you seem to have escalated the demand. You may even get an indignant call from them asking you to explain why you are using such drastic measures.

If that happens - don’t apologise. Simply tell them you are being pressured. But, if they can pay within an acceptable time frame you can call off the debt collection services, for a short while at least.

You must also limit further damage by withdrawing future dealings until the debt is paid. You should inform the debtor in writing that you regretfully cannot provide services/goods while a debt remains unpaid.

Finally, once you have been received the funds. Consider very carefully before extending credit to the individual or company again. There are many old sayings warning of not making the same mistake twice and they will rarely apply more than when doing business with a bad payer.

Ray James is a business entrprenuer. He has written several articles on the subject of debt collection tips. He can be contacted at info@debt-collection-tips.com

Does Your Super Affiliate Marketing Success Depend On Day Job Killer?

The commendation that was created before the release of Day Job Killer was truly massive. In actual fact, Day Job Killer in twenty four hours sold more copies of the book compared to Chris’s previous hit, Affiliate Project X sold in a week. Well here is my most sincere review of Day Job Killer.

A lot of affiliate marketers advanced and beginners are out to buy Day Job Killer with money gleaming in their eyes. The promises of marketers easily making hundreds or even thousands of dollars overnight are reflected all over the sales letter and are truly influential. While that may be true, it is not as easy as it sounds. For most people, the biggest problem they have to overcome is funding the advertising required to generate the sales. Not only will you have to pay for advertising, but you must pay for it thirty to sixty days in advance of being paid for the sales you generate. The costs incured for all these, pile up real fast and will demoralize many marketers from being successful with the internet marketing secrets revealed in Day Job Killer.

In general, people are always on the constant lookout for methods to make easy money online and this will be the major factor for their downfall with Day Job Killer. Even though the marketing strategies revealed by Chris is pretty straightforward, concise and simple, it takes a whole lot of effort and research to put it to work. The majority of people expect profits to come rolling in straight away into their pockets after they read books like Day Job Killer. But basically that is really the wrong mentality to have. They still have to put in their time, sheer effort and most probably the investment of more money ( normally more than the price of the book ).

Let us just proceed to the introduction of Day Job Killer. The author of the book, Chris McNeeney, has produced another thrilling guide to add to his arsenal. He has revealed all strategies inside it in a very clear, foolproof and precise manner. But people as I mentioned earlier who buy the guide will have to sacrifice a figurable investment of their time, effort and money in order to profit from the secrets revealed by Chris.

Anyway, enough talking about me. I would really be willing to share with you one of the techniques in Day Job Killer with you to show the quality you can be expect from the book. Without much hesitation, here is campaign nuking.

This is by far the most whacked out, messed up, downright nasty tactic I have ever seen in my life. And I absolutely like it. Using this method alone, you can easily find profitable targetted keywords you know is generating profits for their vendor or affiliates. You can actually do this by monitoring all the ads that are available and then spying on them to see which advertisement is still staying after a few days.

Then all you have to do is copy their advertisement and outbid them. Sounds ridiculously easy, right? In actual fact, this may not be as easy as you may think. The proper process to succeed with this strategy consists of five steps. Thankfully, Day Job Killer reveals these steps thoroughly and guides you through in order to make this technique a success for you.

But trust me when I say this, there are going to be quite a handful of affiliates, vendors and Gurus who will be very angry when this technique is in use by many people. I suggest you get in on it first before this trick becomes the next big thing.

Finally, I have told you about as much as I legally could without getting myself into trouble with the authorities. Day Job Killer is by far the most undervalued course I have seen sold in a long while.

Oh not to mention, my official recommendation is 4.5 stars. It would be a five but these strategies are so downright dirty, so there is no way I can give it a 5.

For more information to get 6 Free Chapters to Day Job Killer, please visit

Day Job Killer,

Day Job Killer Scam or

Day Job Killer Review

Is Day Job Killer Related To Affiliate Marketing In The Internet Marketing World?

Affiliate marketing has been around in the current internet marketing world known as the day job killer.

For your information, affiliate marketing has always been the top rated choice to easily build your own online business with. Reason for this popular choice is due to the fact that you do not have to deal with the hassle of creating your own products, monitoring your inventory, or even customer service setups. So what is the thing that you have to do then? Well simply you just need to market someone else’s product. Period.

Do you actually know that there are a lot of marketing programs which are out there to scam people if you are not really cautious?

What I have done for you here is to actually classify these devious programs into three different groups. And the three infamous catogories are the cheapskate, poor marketer and the commision thief programs.

Let us kick off with the cheapskate programs first and foremost, shall we? These are the kind of programs which will pay you very little commisions for your efforts. For example, what do you think of a program that will pay you 5 percent in commisions for a 100 dollar sale you personally closed? Wow, shouldnt everyone be taking advantage of this opportunity to earn that extra five bucks? Well, I do not think so. In fact, the word pathetic is an understatement for this. My best advice for you is to keep your day job at this point.

Then, what about the poor marketer, you ask? Forgive me, but I do not mean poor in the financial judgement (although more than likely, their pockets are not deep enough). What I truly meant was someone who cannot even serve food to a hungry crowd. There is no way that these people are able to present their products well enough. If this happens, I can confidently say that you also will not have any success promoting their products.

So even if i do encounter a poor marketer offering me upwards of 75 percent in commissions, I will rather step back unless they will actually allow me to assist them with their poor sales presentation right from the start.

Final scenario is the commission thief. My sincere advice is, just do not deal with them. So how do you actually identify this commision thieves? The beginning step is, to suspect anyone coupled with their own private affiliate program (example not Clickbank, Commission Junction, Linkshare, etc.) a potential affiliate thief. If you have to sign up through a private program where the company is going to write you the check personally (or send you the paypal commission), then there is a cause to worry.

Well I have had my share of pretty bad experiences.

Do not get me wrong though. You can still sign up with other people’s private affiliate programs. The most crucial thing is to make sure that they have a good reputation amongst their affiliates.

One good way to tell if the program is really trustworthy is to actually find out how long they have been established. Do they have any outstanding references? By nature, any good company will not mind us checking with a top affiliate and see if they wouldn’t mind being a reference. Hey, you have every right to make sure you are going to get paid.

So remember, if you are searching for a Day Job Killer, affiliate marketing has an endless potential. Expressly make sure to follow these tips and keep away from nasty programs to promote including the cheapskate programs, the poor marketer, and the commission thief as mentioned earlier.

For more information to get 6 Free Chapters to Day Job Killer, please visit either

Day Job Killer - Affiliate Marketing,

Day Job Killer Scam or

Day Job Killer Review

10 Tips For Handling Sales Objections

Objections from customers can be difficult to overcome, but with the right training objections become part of the normal sales conversation. You must be able to handle multiple types of objections, but you will find that you also have many different ways to handle them. You may want to start by learning a few techniques and then start adding more as you master these methods.

1. Boomerang
Bounce back to them the objection. Take what they say and use it to get them closer to the objective. By using what they say, you are saying that they are right. And when you attach what you want to what they say, then by association, what you want is right.

2. Objection chunking
You take a wider or narrower view than their objection. This helps the customer see the situation from a different perspective. Taking a different perspective has a dual effect, first of re framing to create a different attention and a new understanding, and secondly of distracting from what might be a difficult issue to resolve.

3. Conditional Close
Here you are accepting the objection and getting them to agree to purchase the item if you can resolve the objection. If they say they want a red one, you say if I can get you a red one will you purchase it today.

4. Curiosity
Don’t ask ‘why’, but act curious as to why the objection exists so they have an opportunity to explain the issue. This gives you the information you need to resolve the objection and make the sale. You are no longer threatening because you are only curious and exploring why and not being the hard closer.

5. Deflection
Avoid responding to the objection by letting it pass without comment. By accepting their objection you are accepting them as a person, and the additional harmony and rapport created may be enough to overcome the objection.

6. Feel, felt, found
Talk about how they feel and then mention how others have felt. This method identifies the feelings of the customer and then attaches those same feelings to others so they are part of the group. Then you show how others changed their mind and this allows them to change their mind too.

7. Humor
Respond with humor instead of frustration. This takes the pressure off of the moment and allows them to relax so you can continue the conversation. This also allows you to relax because objections can get frustrating at times.

8. Justification
Confirm their objection by saying how reasonable the objection is. Then you can follow-up by saying it may appear that way or it seems that way and then show them the value of the product or service you are selling. You have now justified their concern and then showed why it really shouldn’t be a concern.

9. Objection writing
As they put their objections out, write them down. Now as you handle each objection cross them off. This shows the customer that you are listening and you want to cover all of their concerns. You can then show them that all of their concerns aren’t really concerns and they have no reason to not purchase today.

10. Pre-empting
You can handle the objections before they come up. If you find that many people have the same objection, you can bring it up first and then brush it away. The objection is then already handled so the person has to come up with something else. Be careful with this one because you may find that you bring up objections that the person had not considered.

In summary, you have ten great ideas to get you started on handling objections. You will find as you use them that they can be used together also. You will want to practice them and have them ready to go at a moments notice.

Gavin Ingham is a leading sales trainer in the UK and Europe. Gavin gets to the root causes of sales procrastination, fear, lack of confidence and self-belief and shows your people how to battle these enemies within and win! Visit Gavin Ingham Ltd. for sales training products or call 0845 838 5958 for more information on how Gavin can get your salespeople to take action!

What’s All This $7 Ebook Stuff About?

Over the last couple of weeks, my email inbox has been blasted with offers of $7 ebooks. At first, I thought that since most of the quality ebooks I’ve bought cost about a hundred dollars, a $7 ebook couldn’t be even worth reading. The onslaught of offers kept coming and to be honest, some of them did appear tempting. But my skeptical side would always intervene - “If it only costs $7, it can’t be any good.”

Well, curiosity eventually got the best of me. I threw caution to the wind and decided to risk a whole $7. Worst case, I’d blow $7 and conclude that my original thoughts about poor quality were right. Boy, did I get a surprise. The $7 ebook that I bought was actually better than many other ebooks I’ve bought costing ten times as much.

Here’s what I’ve discovered - The expensive $97 ebooks usually have a couple hundred pages. They’re so filled with fluff, that if you condensed the ebook down to just the important stuff, the size would shrink to about 10 pages or so. Now, the ebook authors might find it somewhat difficult to justify their $97 price tag for an ebook that’s only 10 pages, so they add the fluff and filler to increase the page count so buyers feel like they’re getting their money’s worth.

But think about this - Do you really want to waste your time reading 200 pages, when you can find the info you’re looking for in an ebook that’s one tenth that size? An think about the difference in price - $97 versus $7.

I really believe that the $7 ebook concept is here to stay. Why would anyone want to waste time and money with fluffed up, over priced ebooks when they can get what they need faster and cheaper with the $7 ebooks?

I’m so thrilled with the value presented by the $7 ebooks that I’ve put together a new website, featuring one of the biggest and best collections of $7 ebooks you’re likely to find. These $7 ebooks are written by authors from all walks of life and cover a wide range of subjects, so there’s bound to be something of interest to everyone.

When you have a minute to spare, you’ll want to take a look for yourself. Just head on over to SevenDollarSolution.com and browse thru the Biggest and Best Selection of $7 Downloads. Who knows - You may decide to never again waste your hard-earned money on those $97 ebooks!

Author:
Carson Danfield’s
Biggest & Best Selection of $7 Ebooks & Software

Birds Eye View of Mortgage Process in US

The mortgage process in U.S normally comprises of six basic steps and in general takes from 4-6 weeks, and includes 6 major milestones. If you want to taste sweet successful mortgage process in U.S then make sure to understand below mentioned steps:

Apply For Your Loan

Process starts by application for mortgage loan as per needs to potential lender. Explore this part of mortgage process well as future of the whole process depends on this step only.

Submit the Application for Review

A Loan Consultant of lender will review your application and request a credit report for all applicants and submit your information to underwriting department for an initial lending decision.

Receive the Welcome Package

Once you are approved and registered, your title report, appraisal, and flood certification will be ordered and you will receive a welcome information package introducing you to your loan counselor, who will be your guide through remainder of the loan process. You will also receive other important documents to review.

Reports are Review Phase

Your Loan Processor will review the title report, appraisal, and flood certification and verify that all conditions of the initial lending decision have been met prior to obtaining the final lending decision.

After the Final Lending Decision

Your Loan Processor will notify you of the final lending decision and will schedule a date and time for your loan closing.

The Loan is Closed and Funded

Attend the loan closing where you will review and sign the loan documents.

Types of Mortgage Loans Available in U.S

Mortgage loan market in U.S throws lots of option to the potential customers as per the demands. Finding the one that’s right for you, is where we can help.

FHA Loans

FHA loans are insured by the Federal Housing Administration and are often referred to as a government mortgage. These loans require lower down payments and accept higher debt ratios than a conventional mortgage so they’re good for some buyers who might not otherwise qualify.

While they require lower down payments, they do require a minimum cash investment of 3% of the sales price. If the down payment is less, the balance goes toward closing costs.
An upfront “mortgage insurance premium” (MIP) is required (on a 30-year loan, the MIP equals 1.50% of the loan amount - 2% for a 15-year loan), plus an annual .5% renewal premium for the life of the loan.

VA Loans

VA loans are available to veterans and service personnel who have met the required service time in the military. They’re guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs and, in most cases, require no down payment. Loan maximum may be up to 100% of the VA-established reasonable value of the property. A 2% VA loan funding fee is required although a down payment will lower this fee - the fee is 2.75% for eligible Reserve/National Guard personnel. No monthly mortgage insurance is required.

Rural Housing Loans

These low-interest-rate home loans are offered through the Rural Housing Service, a branch of the US Department of Agriculture. They are specifically tailored to low and moderate income persons who live in rural areas or small towns and require no down payment.

Information compiled in above lines in relation to Mortgage process in U.S will definitely simplify the process for individuals looking for quick mortgage approval.

Home Equity Loans, Debt Consolidation, Mortgage Process in U.S

The Secret to Writing Your Nursing Cover Letters In Just 5 Minutes

Whether you are straight out of college and applying for your first position as a nurse or you are looking for a change in your employment venue, writing your nursing cover letter can seem daunting. Your goal when writing the letter should be to entice the reader to view your resume and invite you for an interview.

Many people fall into the trap of trying to put too much information in their cover letter, almost having it take the place of their resume. This is not correct professional practice, and there are some simple and basic steps you can follow to ensure your cover letter is right on the mark. It is important to bear in mind the fact that employers and recruiting officers often have thousands of applications to review, so short and sweet is the best format.

Your cover letter can make or break your job application, and nursing cover letters in particular are held in high expectation since those applying have completed the appropriate college degree and therefore should have a certain level of literary skills: Spelling, grammar and style must be flawless if you want your cover letter to be taken seriously and not tossed in the trash. A professional letter can mean, even if the current position isn’t suitable, your resume will be filed for when an employment opportunity becomes available that is.

By following some basic steps to ensure you don’t overlook any details the recruiters could be looking for, you will be guaranteed to make an excellent first impression. Here are ten tips to ensuring your resume is read and you are asked to attend an interview:

  1. Always attempt to address your letter to the person who will be reading it. If you are unsure who that is, a simple phone call to the premises can mean your letter will stand out. When reviewing a hundred resumes a day addressed “To Whom it May Concern” or “To Human Resources” a hiring executive is bound to remember one sent directly to him or her, and it shows extra initiative.
  2. Personalize your letter for each specific job application. If you have a standard cover letter you print off without any editing, you could risk appearing lazy if they are ever compared. Adding a personal touch for each company you apply for will prevent your letter from sounding generic as well as show the prospective employer that you are serious about that particular position and are not just after any job you can find.
  3. Be direct and don’t fill it with fluff! This means no extra words to try and impress the reader with your vocabulary and remember time is of the essence for recruiters, so make your point in as few words as possible.
  4. Make your letter easy to read: Be sure your font is at least twelve points in size and use a professional font like Times New Roman or Arial. Double spacing will also make it easier on the eyes and never use colored paper or any decorations.
  5. Boldface your contact details so it stands out for when they want to call you. Usually, HR departments will review resumes in bulk and sort them into yes, no and maybe piles. They will then go through the yeses to call for interviews and if your name stands out in the pile, it will be more likely to be remembered.
  6. Never be afraid to market your talents and skills, referring to your resume as offering further information.
  7. Make sure your resume and cover letter are freshly printed, and never just grab one out of the draw that is anything but impeccable in appearance.
  8. Remember to sign the cover letter by hand.
  9. Always have someone proofread your resume and letter for you and having him or her read it out loud is also a great idea. You never know when someone in the company will be reading your information to another employee, so you must be certain it sounds good too.
  10. Always follow up with a phone call to confirm it has been received and request an interview. This can sometimes make a busy recruiter’s life much easier when he or she has so many applicants to call.

If you cover all your bases and follow the above guidelines you will be guaranteed to find a suitable position in no time.

If you are still unsure how to begin, there are sample nursing cover letters on the internet.

Alternatively, you could ask some of your peers or co-workers if you could see their cover letters or if they have any advice. The most important thing is not to be intimidated by the whole process and don’t be afraid to seek the opinions of others in your field of expertise because they could have some great suggestions about how to sell yourself better.

Luca Robi is the owner and co-editor of NursingReplies.com where you can great information about a Nursing Cover Letters and other related information.

Drains and Radiators - a Vital Influence on Your Time, Energy and Success

Drains and Radiators - Productivity, Energy, Self-belief - they’re all Affected by the balance of Drains and Radiators in Your Life

Here’s some common and sound advice you may already have heard: there are two kinds of people - drains and radiators. Get rid of the drains in your life and find more radiators.

But how do you recognise the drains - and what do you do if they are a part of your life? And - (horror!) what if there are times when you act as a drain yourself?

Radiators

Radiators first. Radiators are the people who put the life into the saying ’smile and the world smiles with you.’ Radiators are infectious. They naturally make people feel good about themselves. They radiate their energy and enthusiasm like rays from the sun. They are inquisitive and playful but focused too. They have a cup half full mentality.

Drains

The Drains are those people in your life who one way or another leave you feeling diminished after you’ve been with them. You know the feeling - you started off a conversation bright and positive and you came out of it dull, negative and frustrated, or maybe unexplainably cranky and irritable.

If you want to achieve below your potential, think badly of yourself and everyone else, and look for the cloud in every silver lining, the answer is easy, just surround yourself with Drains.

The sad things about Drains are that; a) they don’t realise they’re a Drain; b) they don’t actually gain the energy that gets drained away from their victims; and c) they drain their own energy too.

Here are a few of the more common draining strategies:

  • They put you on the defensive - for instance, right at the start of your meeting they’ll criticise something you’ve either done or haven’t done. This is a tactic that’s frequently employed by the ones you love most. And you will often feel a sense of dread and guilt just from thinking about talking with these people.

  • They include you as one of their failure group - this is the kind of inclusion we can all do with out.

  • They point out the pitfalls and dangers of following your dreams and aspirations. It’s a great way of killing your enthusiasm stone dead. Although this kind of ‘advice’ always seems to be given with the best of intentions, I’d argue that your success would be a real threat to the Drain’s comfortable acceptance of their own victim status.

  • They demand one-way attention - and then drone on about topics that are of little interest to anyone but the Drain.

  • They top your problems with worse ones (usually their own) - and top your achievements with better ones (usually someone else’s). When all you needed was to be heard and acknowledged, did you really think you’d get it from a Drain? No chance.

The chances are that you do have Drains in your life. Your first lines of defence are definitely recognition and awareness. If the drain is someone with whom you can easily minimise contact then recognition is probably all you need.

If you monitor your energy levels, your self-esteem and your negative emotions you’ll soon figure out who the drains are. If you want more data, then monitor how you feel when you are planning to see them. Once you begin to look it becomes very obvious - so obvious you’ll wonder how you never spotted it before.

Awareness is useful when you have to be, or want to be in contact with the Drain, for instance, someone you love deeply like a parent or sibling. Spotting their favoured strategies is vital. Once you understand them, you may wish to try some of the following approaches. You’ll need to be patient and careful but over time you can make a real difference:

  • Give yourself some armour against their weapons. How? By first understanding their effect and then steeling yourself against them. Attitude is everything here: you can simply refuse to be drained.

  • Turn your encounters into a humorous game. Again attitude is important. Wait for the attempts at drainage to begin, and be amused by the process.

  • Refuse to play their game or accept their terms of engagement. This one can take some perseverance and tact, especially if the Drain is a loved one. But by consciously changing your typical response - or by pre-empting their usual strategies, it’s possible to reshape the relationship into a more positive one.

Finally, remember that you also have a responsibility not to drain others. Don’t drain or be drained.

Do fill your life with all the positive thoughts and energy that come from being among the radiators. It’s actually a very simple strategy for life - but an extremely powerful one indeed.

Andrew Leigh helps people achieve fulfilling life direction and wellbeing, personal effectiveness and creative output.

You can find a free self-coaching download, coaching tools and articles at his website http://www.pathwayscoaching.co.uk - or check out the fantastic one-to-one client results on his testimonial page http://www.pathwayscoaching.co.uk/testimonials