Making Sense of It All
Through the moments of confusion, I dash, wondering why…

They stare back at me, releasing barrels of laughter, angering my soul.

I tread in thick water, my legs tiring as I stroke,

Screaming out with fervor at the ones around,

Ah, now it makes sense…

I wasn\’t supposed to be here in the first place,

Yet I came, in spite of the surroundings,

Dreaming of days to come,

Stuck in the density around.

When ripping through the outer layers,

The thick air that surrounds me,

I wait,

And find that if I don\’t fight against it,

It gives me space,

And that I can breathe -

The charges that I have claimed against my atmosphere are without ground

They stand

And do what they are charged to do.

When I submit to the comings of the tide,

I wash ashore on glorious sand, and fall to my knees in thanks.

Laughing For Life

Laughing out loud.
That is the best thing

To restore

Your peace of mind.

When you look at the things

That are out there in life

That make you upset,

Throw back your head In hearty jest,

And let anxiety leave your shoulders.

The weight bearing down on you

Will leave your presence,

And you will feel lighter.

It doesn\’t take much

For the humor to return to your face.

In fact,

Whenever you live outside of your problems,

Joy will return to your heart,

And you will see the sun rise.

More of my poems and children\’s books are available for free downloading at www.MartyReep.com

Enjoy.

Marty Reep is a poet and author in California, USA.
He tried to run away from the words that have pursued him, since he was a kid, but realized they weren\’t leaving. His four books are a result of that.

When you and your brothers and sisters grew up and moved out of the house, it was natural that you would become absorbed in your new lives of raising families of your own and getting your careers established. You may know that there is coming a time when you will take on the responsibility to help your parents make that transition to retirement.

Sadly, as much as you would suspect that they did prepare for retirement, you should not take that for granted. The trials of raising a family with all the financial demands can take its toll on any budget. So it\’s appropriate to ask the question, can your parent retire? And if there is any doubt, you should begin looking into how you as their children can help them.

This is a natural first step toward you and your siblings being more involved in mom and dad\’s life as they age. Many times the toll that aging takes makes older people less able to plan and perform financial maneuvers with the same skill they had when they were raising you. Be sensitive when you are around them to find out if they can speak intelligently about their retirement and the next step along the way of living a full and rich retirement lifestyle.

One service you can offer to your parents that may be more welcome than you could imagine is for you to start helping them plan their finances and organize their money. It might be true that in many ways, your parent has already started that path into retirement. If dad has stopped working or Social Security is starting to be collected, they may be in that category. But they need some help to lay down the worries of adult life and make the transition to a lifestyle where life\’s worries are not such a burden and they can relax and enjoy their golden years.

You might take advantage of the sibling with the strongest financial skills and start to move the handling of your parent\’s accounts to a child so they can let that area of worry go. This is where you would work with your parent to get that child the Power of Attorney so they can sign on their account, pay bills and do business on behalf of their parents. And once that is all in place, an organized evaluation of your parent\’s retirement preparations can be most revealing.

By helping your parents simply organize the assets they may already have, they may be able to step into a much more worry free life and really start enjoying the fun and relaxed lifestyle that retirement can really mean for them. Along with organizing their finances, there is a lot the kids can do to help mom and dad get ready to become retired people not just in a financial sense but in terms of lifestyle. The biggest transition they will go through and the one they will be the most resistant about will be giving up the house and moving into an assisted living center or retirement community. But as your parents continue to age, having them somewhere that they can get care if it is needed will give everyone more peace of mind about their future.

The best approach to helping mom and dad transition to this move is to put it in the most positive of light. If they are experiencing some physical decline, they may already aware of the danger living alone in that old house might pose. You can use that to get their interest in living in a place where there is always someone to come running in the event they fall or have a medical problem.

But also emphasize the social side of living with other seniors and enjoying their company. By helping them see that retiring in every respect possible is the best thing for them, they will eventually embrace the change. And when they are happily “retired” and enjoying that life, you will know that you kids did the right thing taking good care of your parents the way they took good care of you.

Wayne Miller has written two e-books and has traded serious money inside different stock and commodity markets. One is called The US Financial Crisis of 2007-2008 and the other e-book is called Opportunity of a Lifetime. Top Ten Books and
Money Secrets.

I am a retired expert financial advisor who for several years put out a private high end newsletter that did sell for $6k per subscriber. It was that good of information. In addition has been a trader of the markets for more than 20 years. These financial e-books are for both everyday people and both novice and experienced traders alike who desire to learn how I can predict the future inside these markets. You can you know if you know how within the stock and commodity markets worldwide and by doing so, you can learn how to obtain serious wealth and make your own retirement dreams come true.

Inside “The Financial Crisis of 2007-2008″ e-book I do reveal certain secrets on how I was able to spot major trend reversals (before these events happen).

DRTV or direct response television advertising is a rough and tumble business. Few products have enough mass appeal to work. Conservative estimates reveal that only one in 20 products tested actually turns a profit. And those that are successful have their market share eroded almost immediately by knockoff artists.

It\’s enough to turn your hair gray and make your teeth chatter. But even though no one has a sure-fire formula for success, there are tactics that insiders use to improve their odds for success. Here are a few of them:

• Offer a unique product. Retail is still king because it\’s faster, easier, and cheaper for most people to buy at a local store. So if you want people to buy from you on TV, you must offer them something special. The Hairagami lets women fold their own hair into complex styles. The TapLight lets you instantly add a little light fixture anywhere. Louie The Loud Mouth Bass looks like a plaque but starts moving and singing when it senses you\’re near. The more unique your product, the better. Just remember you need at least a four-to-one markup (preferably six-to-one) to make money because of the high cost of media.
• Make a direct pitch. Ron Popeil got his start selling food choppers, shoeshine spray, and plastic plant kits on the street, in stores, and on the fair circuit. He was a pitchman. And DRTV grew out of this direct selling approach. If there\’s any real secret to success, this is it.
• Solve a problem. This is the classic DRTV formula. Can\’t reach that bolt? The Squeeze Wrench promises to work in tight places where pliers, ratchets, and wrenches won\’t fit. Not all TV products solve a problem per se but offer something unique for a better price, such as a USA Quarters Map for only five dollars as opposed to twenty dollars or more for others.
• Push your USP. Your unique selling proposition positions your product and sets it apart from all others. The IGIA Laser White is the “world\’s first and only laser toothbrush.” Always show how your product is the best, the easiest, the most, the first, or the only.
• Dramatize benefits and results. The infomercial for the Ronco Showtime Rotisserie spends little time on the product itself, demonstrating instead all the mouth-watering food you can make. George Foreman doesn\’t just tell you that his grill drains off fat; he cooks up some burgers and shows you the fat dripping into a dish. People believe what they see. So show what your product can do for them.
• Make a powerful promise. This should be your primary benefit or claim stated clearly and directly. The Steam Bullet promises to “clean and disinfect your entire home with just the power of steam.” Mega Lip promises to boost your own natural collagens and plump up your lips “within 29 days.” Just be careful about over promising. You don\’t want to disappoint customers or invite complaints and lawsuits.
• Establish high perceived value. Your price should already be attractive. But you can make it even more so with a technique called “perceptual contrast.” A commercial for the Euro Sealer points out first that “an electric sealer costs over $200.” Then it offers you the Euro Sealer for just $19.95. Contrasting the higher price with the lower price makes the lower price seem more attractive.
• Add value with extras. The Popeil Pasta and Sausage Maker seems like a good deal at $99.95. But when you see that it comes with a recipe and instruction booklet, instructional video kit, 12 pasta shaping dies, pasta measuring cup, automatic pasta cutter, Italian sausage horn, 12 feet of Italian size casings, and Italian spice seasoning, the deal seems irresistible.
• Use real testimonials. You\’ll be tempted to script them or hire actors. But you should resist this temptation. Real words from real people always look and sound more believable.
• Make a strong guarantee. A 30-day money back guarantee is standard, but don\’t be afraid to strengthen it. One simple way to do this is to incorporate your promise. The Ab-Doer guarantees “you\’ll lose at least two inches from your waist in just the first ten days or your money back.”
• Be realistic. Most DRTV programs have a life span of about eight months, so you have to plan for obsolescence. And don\’t ignore retail, upsells, offer inserts, and back-end list exploitation. Money is green no matter what marketing channel you use.

About the author:

Dean Rieck is a direct mail copywriter, designer, and consultant who has helped over 200 leading direct marketing companies increase sales, generate leads, and raise funds with winning direct mail, ads, e-mail, sales letters, brochures, postcards, radio spots, and more. Learn more about Dean\’s direct mail copywriting and design services and sign up for his free monthly newsletter at www.directcreative.com.

Copyright © Dean Rieck. You may reprint this article online provided that you keep the links live and keep all the content “as is,” including title, author byline, article text, and “about the author” information.