UND-Pilsa Blog

When I first started taking interest in cars I guess I was just a kid watching my Dad work on our old 1963 Chrysler New Yorker. I remember him doing his own home version of car customizing including changing out the factory steering wheel and changing the dash, something that really wasn’t regularly done at that time. We also worked on several rebuilds, literally starting with the old chassis and building collectors cars from the frame up. We both just did it for fun and I really never thought of it as anything but a way to spend my spare time.

When I got a bit older my friend wanted to add fog lights to his Chevy truck and was amazed when the dealership wanted a small fortune for this addition. I told him I would do it for about half the price, and before you know it I had guys from all over town calling up to have something added, subtracted or upgraded on their vehicle. It wasn’t long until I learned that my skills with automotive innovation and customization were in big demand. Before long I had my own shop and several mechanics, bodywork specialists and even my own custom paint shop. When I look back I just can’t believe this whole career started by just trying to help out a friend.

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Have you ever wondered how in the heck you’re going to do it? You are a lawyer who wants to make partner, an accountant, an engineer or other professional and part of your business plan is that you have to attract business customers? You’ve always detested selling, and you can’t see yourself doing it! As a matter of fact, sales people are a HUGE turn off to you!!!

Yet, you HAVE to bring in customers!!!

What ARE you going to do?

Many of my current or former clients fit the above description. Many of them finally contacted me, a coach, when they were in trouble because they had NO CLUE where to start. They decided that they did need help, and they realized that only a professional could rescue the mess that they’ve made.

And guess what? They survived! And not only did they survive, but they thrived! As soon as they realized that they didn’t need to change their personality, become a raving fan, or over the top, they relaxed and settled into learning what they had to do.

I’ll take you through a typical client and what they learn to do.

Kirk was a guy who found me in one of my Charisma classes! He was basically a smart fellow who was trying to make partner in his law firm. He had been told upon his hiring that he’d be responsible for attracting business to his company. He bluffed his way through the interview by mentioning how many people that he knew and how many big cases he had worked on successfully. He didn’t mention that the business wasn’t his, or that he was TERRIFIED of calling all of the people that he knew and asking for business!

When Kirk and I finally got together I asked him to start by naming all of his strengths. We went over all of the benefits that any of his clients or future clients would get by working with him. I had him post these in his office so he’d never doubt how talented he really is in work.

Next, we outlined what sorts of clients he should secure and then wrote a list of any current or former friends or colleagues that he knew. We developed an information sheet on each of them which would be later transferred to a contact management system such as ACT or Goldmine. On each of the sheets, Ralph had to go and write about the person. He wrote down anything he knew about them professionally or personally. These ranged from where they went to school to their spouses names, to their hobbies.

Next, we put them in order from A Accounts ( HUGE!!!) down to D accounts (Barely worth calling) and everyone in between. When all was said and done, Ralph had a list of about 25 people on the A list and those were the ones that we focused on.

Those names went into the computer. We then called and got all of their current information such as emails, secretaries names, firms, etc. We then wrote a letter that was sent to each of them announcing his new position and then said that Ralph would soon be giving a follow up call to say a quick hello. The letter was written in a casual manner, and not too formal. It definitely did NOT look like a form letter from a law firm!

Over time, Ralph redeveloped these people into friends. He did it by meeting them to play basketball, going to networking events with them, or inviting them to political speeches. He was able to get tickets for a few of them to different events and basically became a resource to the whole legal profession for most of them. Ralph became a FRIEND to these individuals, their firms and as a result, guess what happened?

Ralph started bringing in business of course! Not only that, but his bosses wanted to know what he was doing and how it all started. Needless to say, a few of his co workers were in the position to hire a coach and we duplicated Ralph’s experience.

Developing into a sales professional is a scary thought for someone who is afraid of sales. But turning into a resource for your friends and colleagues is not only fun, but a great way to learn and grow your business. And if you get stuck, call me! I’ll help you through!

Contact: Mary at mary@marygardner.com or web: www.marygardner.com

Mary Gardner can be reached at www.marygardner.com

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I first taught this technique in 1998. While there have been tons of improvements since then, today I still see copy on so many websites, sales letters or emails using a language that only the person who wrote them understands.

People still seem to ignore their readers.

Abraham Maslow once commented, “If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” Abraham Maslow may have been a psychologist, but he probably knew more about copywriting and particularly selling than what most people cared to admit.

Even now, most of the copy I critique disobey this important rule the most. Their sales message doesn’t communicate with their readers, particularly at THEIR level. Now, I’m not talking about a socioeconomic or educational level. I’m talking about the level at which they understand and, above all, make buying decisions.

They fail to use what I call “upwords.”

It’s an acronym that means…

“Universal Picture Words Or Relatable, Descriptive Sentences.”

Upwords are words that paint vivid pictures in the mind, or expressions that describe an idea to which the mind of your reader (or prospect) can relate to.

I once took a communications course in which I discovered an interesting example of the way the mind works. As part of a given lesson, a videotape was shown of a televised newscast during which a journalist was about to give a live report on a fire that was devastating a large forest.

The news anchor in the television newsroom said: “We now take you to Sally Smith, who’s in the station’s helicopter flying above the scene of the fire.” He then turned around to face the background screen, which showed a live bird’s-eye view of the raging fire.

He asked: “Tell us, Sally, how big is the fire?”

In a voice partially drowned by the whizzing sound of helicopter blades, Sally reports: “John, it’s so big, it’s covering well over 140 acres of land — now that’s about 200 football fields back-to-back for you and me.”

As you can see, people think in pictures, not in words and certainly not in numbers (unless it is told to do exactly that). The mind hates confusion. It will naturally translate words or phrases into a visual equivalent.

For instance, if I told you to think of a garbage can, you’re not going to think of the letters “G,” “A,” “R,” etc. Your mind will automatically visualize some sort of garbage can.

Microsoft and MacIntosh dominate the marketplace in operating systems because, rather than typing some elaborate command for your computer to execute, you can simply use your mouse, point to an icon that represents the command (or program) and click.

Icons represent commands, which are translated into programs (i.e., codes or languages) that the computer understands. In the same way, the mind works very much like a computer does.

People who know little about computers will likely have a difficult time understanding the various written commands, scripts and codes that the computer needs to process. But on the other hand, most of use can easily identify the icons that symbolize them.

Similarly, the brain instantly translates the information it receives into something it can easily understand and execute — something it already knows and can easily refer to. Albeit a quick one, there is always a translation process going on. And we must be aware of that.

The challenge facing marketers is certainly that of ensuring that their copy communicates effectively to its audience, especially when communicating the benefits of an offer is at the heart of making profitable sales. The “big test,” therefore, is to put ourselves in our reader’s shoes.

It is important to communicate using a language that people in your target market can easily understand and appreciate. It is Mark Twain who once said, “Numbers don’t stick in the mind; pictures do.” So, the more you use upwords in your copy, the more your reader will not only grasp what you’re trying to convey but also appreciate it at a more intimate level.

And THAT is the level I was referring to, earlier.

Upwords are words and phrases that help messages to be easily read, understood and interpreted by the majority of the people to whom the message is targeted, like with the use of mental imagery, examples, analogies, metaphors, picture words, etc.

For example, a challenge among cosmetic surgeons is the fact that people will call for a quote over the phone when a doctor needs to see the patient beforehand to make an assessment.

But obviously, cosmetic surgery is an uncommon process. People don’t understand why doctors can’t simply give out quotes over the phone.

So, I tell doctors to use a more common approach, such as cosmetic dentistry, for example, as an analogy. Why? Because unlike cosmetic surgery, most people have had their teeth done at some point. Their brains have something it can remember, picture and relate to.

So when asked for a quote over the phone, doctors will say: “Just like a dentist, I can’t give an estimate over the phone without any X-rays of your teeth” or “without the knowledge of how many cavities you really have.”

Marketers are certainly in a similar position. Many tend to communicate in a language that only a few understand. If you’re a programmer selling your services to business owners, and your copy is laced with technical jargon that only geeks will understand, you will obviously do very poorly.

You must therefore mold your message in a way that it can be easily understood by your target market. Speak their language!

If your market consists of artists, use art examples. If your market consists of managers, use business analogies. For example, you sell customer service consulting to florists.

You can say: “Clients are like fresh-cut roses; they need to be handled efficiently. But if handled improperly, they can prick your business or simply wilt away.”

Here’s a recent example.

One website I recently critiqued sold “microdermabrasion” skincare lotion. It’s a facial scrub that smoothes away wrinkles. But the problem is the fact that she only used the term “microdermabrasion.” However, nobody understood that. The only benefit mentioned was “skin regeneration.”

So I realized that her lotion offers three main benefits.

It reduces the appearance of wrinkles,
It comes in a easy-to-use homecare kit,
And it’s gentle on skin, or “pH balanced.”
But these are NOT benefits let alone ideas her target market can easily appreciate. Granted, they may understand what these are, and they likely understand what “microdermabrasion” is. But they don’t understand what those benefits are at an intimate level. So, I told her to change it to:

“Reverse the aging process and give your skin a youthful radiance with our non-acidic, non-greasy facelift in a jar! Imagine, no inconvenient clinics. No risks associated with harsh chemicals peels or injections. No costly doctors or surgeries. Get beautiful skin in hours in the comfort of your own home! It’s like the power of a sandblaster applied with the gentleness of velvet glove!”

Of course, there are many more ways of applying upwords to your sales copy. Here are some brief examples of how to mold your message in order to communicate more effectively …

1) Repetitious Words

As the adage goes, “Repetition is the parent of learning.” Repetition aids comprehension and increases retention, especially of complex or critical ideas. But the objective is not to repeat the same words over and over. It’s to use different examples to illustrate your point and drive the idea home.

To that end, substitute certain words with synonyms and add new pieces of information each time the idea is repeated. Here’s an example to show you. In order to drive the idea that privacy policies on a website help to increase sales, it can be repeated with:

“Privacy policies promote purchases,”
“Privacy statements increase sales,”
“Confidentiality is a key to online success,”
“Posting a privacy policy is profitable,” etc.
2) Emotional Words

Again, words are not messages in themselves. They are symbols. Different words mean different things to different people. As such, they can be interpreted differently. While several words can be used to communicate a single message, your choice of words is the most important decision you will ever make. Words can actually alter the impact of your message. For example:

Instead of “cost,” say “investment,”
Instead of beautiful “teeth,” say beautiful “smiles,”
Instead of “skinny,” say “slim” or “slender,”
Instead of “products” or “services,” say “solutions,”
Instead of “cost-effective,” say “return on investment,”
And instead of “house,” say “home.”
3) Positive Words

As my friend and copywriter, Rachel McAlpine, often says, “Avoid using negative words — say what it is, not what it isn’t.” I agree. Rachel is absolutely right on the money.

Maxwell Maltz, who wrote the bestseller “Psycho-Cybernetics,” states that the brain is a goal-seeking organ. It needs a goal in order to function. For example, if I told you to NOT think of a white carnation, you will have hard time since your brain needs a goal. It will naturally picture what it is supposed to avoid. The mind needs a reference point. A visual equivalent.

On the other hand, if I asked you to think of a pink carnation instead of a white one, you will think of a pink carnation. (And you won’t think of a white one!) I gave your mind a goal rather than taking one away from it.

By stating what something isn’t can be counterproductive since it is still directing the mind, albeit in the opposite way. If I told you that dental work is painless for example, you’ll still focus on the word “pain” in “painless.”

Here are some examples of using positive words:

Instead of saying “inexpensive,” say “economical,”
Instead of saying “this procedure is painless,” say “there’s little discomfort” or “it’s relatively comfortable,”
And instead of saying “this software is error-free” or “foolproof,” say “this software is consistent” or “stable.”
One of the most negative words we use is the word “but.” “Buts” can turn any message, which in essence may be positive, into a negative. Plus, a statement followed by the word “but” subtly communicates to others that what was said up to that point was a lie and what follows is the truth.

Do you remember when a former girlfriend or boyfriend dumped you? They probably said: “You’re a really nice guy and I really like going out with you, but…” (I’m sure you know the rest.) Consequently, leave the “but” out. Rather, use “and” and then focus on the positive.

For example, you’re a website designer. Instead of saying to your client, “It’s a great website but expensive,” say “it’s a great website AND worth every cent.” Instead of, “it’s a great website but it’s going to take at least a month to create it,” say “it’s a great website AND it will only take thirty days to get it up and running.” Can you see the difference?

We all come from different backgrounds. Each individual has a unique education, experience and environment. They all condition our thinking. So use analogies, metaphors and imagery in your copy that will make your message easier to grasp by that person’s set of circumstances.

As Jack Trout once said…

“A word is worth a thousand pictures.”

Written by: Music Video Codes

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The holidays can be hectic and stressful. But honestly, they don’t have to be. If you put an organized plan in place to help you get through the holidays you will find that you are less stressed out than you ever imagined.

For children the holidays seem to take forever to arrive. The time between Thanksgiving and all the holidays in December goes by at a snails pace. But as the parents, the adults, we know full well that the time between Thanksgiving and the December holidays flies by at the speed of sound.

Only yesterday my kids and husband informed me that this is their last week of school and work before all of them have 2 weeks off for the holiday. That means that Christmas is less than two weeks away. Unbelievable.

So, with the holidays beating down on our doors how are we to get through the entire season calmly and with a holiday spring in our step? The answer is organization.

If you haven’t already sat down right after Thanksgiving to make up your plan of attack for the holiday season then you need to do so now. It’s not too late.

What you need to do is write down all the things that still need to be done. List all the presents that still need to be bought, and put a date next to each one for when you need to buy them and wrap them by. Some gifts will be given ON the exact holiday, some will need to be given out before, or even after the holiday itself.

After you’ve listed all the gifts that still need to be bought, and the time they need to be bought by, be sure to put down the store you need to go to as well.

Next list all the activities that still need to be attended to this holiday season. All the cards that still need to be sent out. All the parties that still need to be enjoyed.

After you have your entire holiday list written out sit down with a calendar…your planner, your wall calendar, even the month of December that you print out on your computer will work for this.

Start filling up the calendar with all the things from your list. Group activities together based on free time and location. If you still need to do gift shopping group all the stores together that are near one another and tackle them together.

Perhaps if you still have holiday cards to get out you can schedule an evening after dinner for the entire family to sit down and work on them together. This will help the cards get done so much faster, and actually will mean a lot to the people who open the card to find the cute chicken scratch of your 4 year old in it.

Be sure to schedule any food shopping you may have for the holidays as well, and schedule it early enough to be sure that you can get all of the needed items for your dishes, in case you have to go to a few different stores. A lot of stores will run out of certain key holiday ingredients this time of year, forcing you to visit another store or two in search of them. So schedule your food shopping early enough.

Another activity you can schedule out is some of the food preparation itself. Can anything you plan on making be made ahead and stored or put in the freezer? When you have little pockets of time in your schedule work on these items.

By having your holiday activities, chores and items all scheduled out down to the minute detail you will be assured that not only will your holiday season run smoothly, not only will you NOT forget to do something this year, but you will also find that you sail through the holiday season without all the usual stress and headache. You will have a better holiday attitude in general.

Also, if you are just getting around to making this list now, with less than 2 weeks until Christmas, be sure to promise yourself to make this list right after Thanksgiving next year. You will be even happier and less stressed out next year if you do so.

One last tip…you can still shop online for your holiday gift giving. Many places will not only ship the items directly to your recipient, but many will also wrap the present and include a card with whatever you want to have printed in it. I do a lot of my shopping online, it is a wonderful time saver, and I have never had even one problem with gift giving this way.

Happy Holidays to everyone…and may you have a healthy and organized New Year.

Kerry Flinders
Organizing Queen!

Copyright 2005 Kerry Flinders

The author Kerry Flinders is the owner of Personal Organizing Solutions located in Southern California. Kerry and her company are dedicated to helping others organize their clutter and their lives, eliminating unnecessary stress and helping the client to find more time in their day for the things they love. Kerry is the author of the book “Organizing With NO Budget”. You can sign up for Kerry’s F~REE Organizing Newsletter, or request her F~REE Organizing Tip-Pak by visiting their website at http://www.personalorganizingsolutions.com.

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I have spoken about various games we play in relationships. The games that are mostly negative drain the relationship of its charm and effectively kill all the love and care that partners can have for each other. Here is one more such game that is played in relationships. It is called - please I am not at fault. Don’t blame me. Or tell me what I shall do, and I will do that. Unsaid part- you know very well that I will never do what you advise, but blame you after everything fails.

Partners who have been lucky to get a partner who tolerates a lot generally play this game. In this relationship The game playing partner knows that all will be tolerated and the poor partner will try his/her best to set things right. Why should I bother at all? These are lazy partners. These are dishonest partners. These are destructive partners. They can extract life away from a charming individual and make him/her feel guilty and helpless for no fault. They destroy the relationship.

In such a relationship what is the remedy for such situations? First the victim has to understand the game that is being played. After that the victim should get away from taking any part in the game. Once the victim refuses to get persecuted, the abuser will have trouble playing the game. Either they will have to mend their ways or the relationship will break down.

The author C.D.Mohatta writes articles, advice and ideas at http://www.yourromanceguide.com/ on topics like love, dating, marriage, relationships, break-ups, etc. He also writes for screen-savers and desktop wallpapers at http://www.screene.com/ on topics like nature, spirituality, motivation, love-romance, holidays, animals, etc. The third site associated with the author is http://www.yourfungames.com/ - it has free flash games which one can play online.

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Autoresponder is not the name of some cool dude or a new automatic device that can actually understand a woman correctly all the time. There might however be some faint similarities between women and autoresponders but this is not my place to say, neither would I ever dare. But what do women and autoresponders have to do with each other? Well read on and find out.

We all receive them daily, those pesky messages in our inbox. Most generated by an autoresponder. But still there are some that we open and read.

Now why do you think that is?

Let’s turn back the clock and have a look at how exactly we got to this point.

Since the advent of the internet using it for sales and marketing has become more and more lucrative. It has now become highly evolved and competitive that everyone is looking for new and better ways to market.

There have been all sorts of different tried and tested methods but the one that has stood the test of time is email marketing. Based on this it is pure common sense that a list of email addresses and names are extremely profitable.

At first you had to send each mail yourself, and so it went on until the advent of the autoresponder.

It would be similar to the discovery of fire many years ago. Suddenly we had cooked food so we invented pots and pans, found India and wonderful spices, discovered coffee, which I think is the most important of all, steam driven power, electricity and so on. Subsequently all of these have been improved over time to make our lives easier.

So has the autoresponder.

We fill in a form on a page or popup and instantly we receive a nice message with our name neatly in the title and we feel honored. But that only lasts until we know about autoresponders of course.

The autoresponder is a fantastic tool and it allows you to get on with other work. It is the use of the autoresponder to build relationships with your clients that has lost its touch, and consequently for many marketers it effectiveness as a sales tool.

You opted in, so they are allowed to send you a message. The only problem is nine out of ten of these messages are trying to sell something. Now don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with using opt in email to sell products, what is a problem is that every message from the same sender is a sales message.

I must be honest, if I subscribe to a newsletter or other form of opt in and the first three messages I receive from them are sales letters disguised as newsletters they all get added to the junk folder or I unsubscribe.

Good information and building a relationship with your subscribers is not selling to them with every email.

All over the internet software called autoresponders are bombarding their unsuspecting subscribers with sales letters. You get them too, and think for yourself, how much have you purchased from any of those letters?

It is true and proven that most customers will buy after about seven attempts, and this is also where the most sales will take place.

But will he buy if he has no relationship with you?
You did promise him something of value when they subscribed didn’t you?
So what have you given in order to receive?

Many list owners do not want to make the effort to really build a relationship with their subscribers. They will all tell you that they do, but in reality it is actually really hard work. It is much easier writing seven or so emails based on a sales letter disguised as useful information than it is to write something of real value to your subscriber.

Let’s turn back the clock a few thousand years. If you were a male you would have to go out and hunt, if you think writing is hard work, grab a bow and arrow and slog behind some animals for a few days and see which one you prefer.

If you were a woman you had to attend to the fields, kids, fetch water, cook food and so the list goes on. Except for fetching water from the river and tending to the fields I think women still do most of these chores. So on second thought you do have an excuse.

In view of the last statement, ladies you are excused, this is only applicable to lazy males. If you have a little time on your hands though, you should definitely give it a go.

Your autoresponder can considerably increase your sales and it should not seem that all of your emails are coming from some pre-programmed software. Just putting a name in the headline does not personalize the email you have to talk to your subscriber.

Make each email contain valuable information to what the subscriber opted in for in the first place. Each piece of information should be complete, meaning that he will be able to use it without having to buy a product or subscribing to a site. Add your personal touch to the mails and actually write them yourself, don’t just copy and paste.

Make your headline interesting not the same old same old as you see on every second email. Once you give useful information that can actually be implemented you will find that your open rate for your emails will increase and subscribers will actually read your emails, whether they come from the autoresponder or not.

In this way you will build credibility and a rapport with your subscribers so when you do offer them a product or service they will be eager to buy from you.

The bottom line is that is you want to receive you will have to give. Women know how to do this men have to learn, sorry guys!

Find out step by step how to construct and implement your series of autoresponder messages. http://www.yourenterprize.com/articles/automatic-responder.htm Karl Stadler is an author and internet marketer.

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In spite of the fact that the scientific knowledge about acne and its causes has progressed in the last few years, there are still many myths that continue to be held as truth.

The following are five of the most common myths about acne:

1. Acne is caused by poor hygiene

Skin infections are associated with acne, and this may be what has led to this myth. The combination of sebum and dead skin cells that lead to acne actually occurs beneath the skin’s surface, where is can’t be washed away.

2. Acne is caused by certain foods

It has long been thought that chocolate and greasy foods cause pimples. There is no evidence to prove that this is true. These foods are not very healthy so eating to much of them can cause other health problems, which can aggravate problems with acne.

Some of the foods that do seem to aggravate acne when it is already present include milk and foods with high levels of iodine. Iodine is commonly found in seafood, so it’s a good idea to limit your milk and seafood intake if you’re suffering from acne.

3. Acne has to run its course

It’s commonly thought that the only way to deal with acne is to let it run its course. This is no longer the case - there are many treatments available to deal with acne. If you’re suffering with it, talk to a dermatologist to see if any treatments are available that could help.

4. Acne is a teenage condition

While most teenagers deal with acne to some degree, it is by no means limited to them. Most people’s acne clears up by the time they reach their 20’s, but there are others who continue to have problems in adulthood. Some people even experience it for the first time in their 30’s and 40’s.

5. Sun is good for acne

Sun exposure is not a good way to deal with acne. It can help to dry out excess oils from the skin so it does have a short-term benefit but the skin gets used to the change quickly and the benefit is lost. Plus, sun can seriously damage the skin and lead to skin cancer, so the risk is greater than the benefit.

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Throughout the year we have many gift-giving opportunities to show love to those around us. From Christmas to Birthdays, Valentines Day and more, our thoughts turn to finding the perfect gift. Before you shop and wrap remember that our loved ones need more of our presence than our presents! This type of gift giving uses more creativity, less of our money and more of our heart. Need some ideas on how you can give of your presence and not just store bought presents?

DINNER FOR 2

Instead of purchasing restaurant gift certificates for someone, invite them to dinner with you! Make sure they understand that you are picking up the tab as your gift to them, but the real gift will be the time you get to spend together.

SHOPPING SPREE GIFTS

My mother simply hates shopping for me. She also hates shopping with me. Ok, she hates shopping period. But she knows how much I love it! That’s why it is such a wonderful gift to me when she takes me on a shopping spree for my birthday every year. If you had planned to buy a loved one something at the store, you can still give of your presence too. Invite your special someone to come pick it out with you. I still remember when I was younger, and a boyfriend took me shopping. He had me model the knit sweater for him before he bought it for me. The sweater is long gone and moth eaten but the memory is still knit tightly in my mind.

COUPONS

Clipping coupons is an excellent way to save money when shopping but they are also a great way to save money when gift giving. The home computer has made coupon books easy and professional looking. Trying to think creatively about what your loved one needs is the hardest part of making meaningful coupons. Would your husband love his own indoor tailgate party with a coupon for a night of uninterrupted football coverage complete with his favorite snacks and drinks? Or maybe your young teenage daughter needs a coupon book offering taxi rides anywhere her and her friends want to be chauffeured for the night? You get the idea. Be creative.

INCENTIVES & BRIBES

Whatever politically correct word you use, incentives for children to get good grades or allowance given to complete weekly chores or reach behavioral goals are generally money or present oriented. I would like to suggest that you substitute presence for presents in this situation too once in a while. My parents used to take me to a good movie when I got good grades at the end of each quarter, even if I would have preferred the cash like my friends got, it strengthened our relationship more than the money ever would have.

When I was potty training my oldest daughter, instead of giving her candy to reinforce her efforts, I would let her draw an activity from a jar. She knew that I would drop everything and give her my undivided attention and presence to read her a story, color with her, eat a Popsicle with her, etc. Now that this same daughter is 8 and she would much rather have me cater and entertain at her sleep over party, than to be given an allowance as appreciation for doing her chores!

If you truly believe that Time = Money, than give a gift worth it’s wealth in gold.

About The Author

Author Rachel Webb has been married 9 years and enjoys 4 children. She designs 100% Magnetic Fridge Calendars in order to Schedule Family First. 5 affordable designs made entirely out of heavy duty magnet http://www.Note-Ables.com or Rachel@Note-Ables.com and mention this publication for a $2 off Coupon!

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Hair sugaring is a process that can be used quite beneficially for hair removal. If you are someone that has used waxing in the past, consider sugaring. In the process, the wax is replaced with a sugar and honey mixture. It is sticky and works very much like that of waxing. And, it can produce the same results. But, it is organic in nature and it has the ability to give you an easier clean up too. Sugaring is a process of extracting hair from the follicle.

Although hair sugaring is a messy process the results of doing it can last upwards of two to six weeks. You can use it throughout the body since it is a natural product and see results. Many individuals find it most beneficial to the bikini line as well as to the upper lip. When the hair is removed, it will grow back. But, many people have found that it will grow back at a much lighter and finer way and it is like that it will not be nearly as thick either.

What To Use

You can actually use a homemade solution of hair sugaring and get great results. Here’s what you should use:

- One Cup Sugar

- Juice from half of a lemon

- One fourth cup of honey

Mix these well and then microwave on high for about two to three minutes. You are looking for a smooth consistency. Leave the bowl standing for several minutes to cool to a safe temperature.

Now, you will need to get some white cotton cloth in strips (or use store bought waxing papers) as well as wooden tongue depressors to apply the mixture. Here’s what to do:

- Clean skin and make sure that it is completely dry. No soap or body lotions should be used in the area.

- Apply cornstarch to the area. This will draw out the oils that are within your skin making the procedure work even better.

- Use the tongue depressor to apply a thin layer of the mixture over the area that you will want the hair removed from.

- Cover the area with a cloth strip. Rub the strip so that it is firmly in place. Do this with moderate pressure and in the opposite direction of the hairs growth.

- Grab the end of the strip and pull it back quickly in the opposite direction of the hair’s growth.

- Wash the area with water to remove the sugary mixture.

Like waxing, the area may be sensitive and red for a few minutes but this is a temporary situation. You will find it to be one that you can deal with if you want great looking hair removal at a very low cost. Hair sugaring is a procedure that can be done within a few minutes and can be repeated as necessary.

As a beauty consultant Nicola is always evaluating new products. Visit her site at www.epilator.info for resources, views and information about hair removal using epilators.

Copyright Epilator.info. All rights reserved. This article may be reprinted in full so long as the resource box and the live links are included intact.

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Ever get the feeling that things may be slipping through the cracks right behind your back? That the future somehow continues sidling into place all around us with increasingly surreptitious speed?

Nevermind. There’s too much to do. Gotta visit the bank machine before going shopping and using the new self check-out tellers at Wal-Mart. Then it’s off to the computer video-kiosk downtown to order your movies for next week. Don’t forget to text message Bob on your way to remind him to email Joey before Sunday. Good thing you got the kids the newest PlayStation - they’ll be glued to that for the next two weeks, leaving you free to catch all of your shows without interruption.

How did all of this start? Besides the T.V, where was all of this technology ten years ago?

In the field of computer technology, there is a little thing called Moore’s Law that states, in layman’s terms, that the processing capabilities of the basic computer chip have been increasing exponentially every eighteen months since their inception. This will, by around the year 2017, result in hyper-intelligent machines that are atoms thick.

On average, most humans in the ‘modern’ world now spend much more of their time relating to machines than other human beings, even if they may be using those machines as a medium to reach others. We are becoming increasingly dependent on them without even pausing to realize it. Remember Y2K? Yeah, people were scared. In every aspect of our lives now, we need the machines to function, and it only continues to snowball.

Nanotechnology is merely years away. The human genome has now been completely - if roughy - mapped, providing us with the very blueprints to human evolution. Synthetic Biology has just recently emerged, handing scientists the one trump card nature still held: the power to create life from scratch. And for those in the field of Artifical Intelligence, they are now locked in a desperate race against Moore’s Law, to create a ‘friendly A.I’ before time runs out. They’ve only got one chance.

Everything is going to change, very soon. It already is. In the last decade we’ve seen the beginnings of a massive paradigm shift in - in the words of Raymond Kurzweil, futurist, inventor and author - “the nature of work, human learning, government, warfare, the arts, and our concepts of ourselves.”

Immortality is becoming a reality - quantum physics has shown us this. It will simply, eventually be up to those who choose to go one way or the other - if we make it that far. There are numerous possible pitfalls along the way, of cataclysmic proportions. It is, in my mind, the most important issue facing us as a species to date, and barely anyone seems to be aware of it.

There is so much involved with all of this - so many different angles to be considered, arguments to be counted, that it’s nearly impossible to know where to stand. But it’s real, and it’s happenning. We, every one of us, need to take a look at the bigger picture and decide how we feel about it, and where we fit in.

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