The LuxMob Info Tags

The mental fog that had sheltered me emotionally during those first four months after my husband’s death is slowly, and painfully, beginning to clear. Coincidently, this occurs just as the world around me appears to need me to get out and on with my life. And so, I’m finding that this is an important time in my mourning because with my newfound awareness comes the need to take a stand, to “own” my grieving process. Sounds like I’m getting stronger? Yes, in some ways, but the reality is that sadness, crying and feeling lost are still very much a part of my day-to-day world.

Two weeks shy of the fifth-month anniversary of my husband’s death, I can say, without the slightest hesitation or hint of exaggeration that grieving sucks. Ugly word? Yes. Ugly feeling? Absolutely! Grieving is neither gentle nor quiet; it is bottomless loneliness, anger and depression, until finally, a year or two down the road, I will be at peace with my loss — or so the experts say.

But for now, there’s no way around my grief; I can’t hide from it (for long anyway) or run away from it — it follows me wherever I go, no matter how fast I’m travelin’. I’m reminded, painfully once again, that losing a spouse is different from any other loss.

When my husband died after a prolonged illness, I thought I was prepared for his death. And I was - intellectually. What I now know is that we can prepare our intellect, but when death happens, emotionally, it still feels as if you are slamming into a brick wall. The rhythms of life continue around me unaltered, but I feel as if the universe is out of kilter, even on my best days.

Feeling so raw, what did I do to try to take care of myself at a time when I felt incapable of dealing with anything? Thankfully support was available in a variety of forms. All it took was my willingness to take life baby step-by baby-step and work hard to keep an open heart and mind. The following steps I found to be helpful.

Bereavement Support Group
Profound grief was, for me, deeply isolating, because although family and friends wanted to help, it was impossible for them to relate to what I was going through. Instead, I joined a bereavement support group run by professional counselors, which made the experience more manageable. It gave the process structure and me a place where each week, no matter what else was going on in my life, my grieving was encouraged. I joined a support group — even though the thought of being with strangers was, at that time, the last thing I felt capable of doing. No matter what other challenges I was dealing with, this was a place for me to fully know my sorrow. By its very structure, a bereavement group offers a sort of marker, one that allows you to appreciate your own ups and downs, as well as your progress. Sure, you’ll cry in front of people you don’t know, but they’ll cry as well. And eventually, you’ll cry less and laugh more as you cherish the emotional safety this group provides. You’ll also feel good about helping other group members, which in turn helps you to begin to feel powerful and whole again.

You might feel afraid that it’s like going to therapy, something that might be especially scary when you’re so vulnerable. Be assured that while a licensed bereavement therapist moderates the group, this is a “support” process group that deals with the here and now, it is not a therapy group that delves into your childhood in order to resolve old issues.
At this point in my mourning, these have been my most important discoveries:

Honor YOURSELF
Recognize who among family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers are emotionally safe right now and base your expectations on that information. Trust your ability to sense with whom you can be vulnerable, and with whom you cannot. My saddest moments are when something wonderful happens and my husband isn’t there to celebrate or congratulate. By the same token, I’ve also lost the one person I could always go to when I needed a break from life’s everyday problems. He wasn’t there so much to fix things, but to provide a place to rest when I needed it. It’s not the same, or quite as good, but I turn to others for that, for now.

Honor yourself and your need to put yourself first … for now. This is hard if your spouse passed away from a prolonged illness and you were, as I was, his caregiver. I’m just beginning to realize how, over the challenging care-giving years, I’d lost the ability to be spontaneous—too many doctors, dialysis, pills, procedures to be aware of, not to mention my husband’s inability to be left alone for more than an hour at a time, and even then, I was never far. Doctor appointments, medical treatments, medications, the to-do’s were many, so much so that taking care of my own needs quickly fell to the bottom of the list. Our lives revolved around my husband’s illness. Now is your time to re-learn the art of spontaneity, to have adventures and fun.

Be open with your adult children about your grief and the process you’re going through. Just please remind them that it’s not their job to take care of your grief or to make your grief disappear. First of all, no one can make your grief disappear; it is a process you will work through. They can support your effort; they just can’t do it for you. By example, you will encourage them to process their own grief in an honest, open way, allowing all of you to remain emotionally open to each other.

Slow down. Meditate, nap, sit in the garden, smell the roses; the exact opposite of keeping yourself busy, busy, busy. Sure, busy might keep you from having time to think, but you also won’t heal.

Exercise. God/Mother Nature/The Universe blessed us with endorphins. Our body’s own feel-good high; it’s natural and it’s free. Allow this brain chemical to neutralize stress hormones to help you feel better. All your endorphins need is a little stimulation (experience tells me that it takes only a half hour of brisk walking to kick into gear.) Exercise need not be brutal, just regular.

Timetables. Honor your own timetable for sorting out your spouse’s personal things, for changing the message on the answering machine, and taking care of the other pending tasks. The added tragedy of loss is that many of us are also left to cope with the mechanics of a business and must contend with all of this at a time when we feel unable to cope with anything. Look to family, professionals, and trusted friends — don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Live in the moment, for that’s all we have any control over. The past is gone and the future holds no guarantees. Moment-to-moment, celebrate life, or rage at the forces, but stay present. For me, taking care of “the now” included honoring those close friends of my husband’s who were also struggling with this loss. I wrapped personal objects of my husband’s, a treasured fountain pen, a tie, little objects from his desk at the office and sent them with a note letting each person know how special their friendship had been to my husband. It gave me a way to gracefully put closure to relationships that I knew would not survive his death because they had been his. I was uncomfortable allowing these special people to just drift without closure.

Five months in, that’s all I know for now — but I’ll keep learning, making mistakes, growing stronger, feeling sad when I least expect it, and living. Oh, and yes, reminding myself to breathe now and then as I begin to feel strong enough to once again reach for my joy.

Marilyn Stolzman, Ph.D., L.M.F.T. and Gloria Lintermans are the co-authors of THE HEALING POWER OF GRIEF: The Journey Through Loss to Life and Laughter, http://www.championpress.com Excerpted from THE HEALING POWER OF GRIEF: The Journey Through Loss to Life and Laughter by Gloria Lintermans & Marilyn Stolzman, Ph.D., L.M.F.T.
Published by Champion Press, Ltd.Los Angeles-based Gloria Lintermans is a former internationally syndicated columnist. Her column appeared in English and Spanish language newspapers across the U.S. from Hawaii to New York, and worldwide from Saudi Arabia to South America.

Lintermans is the author of the enormously successful CHEAP CHIC: A Guide to LA’s Resale Boutiques (1990), the “ultimate guide to recycled fashion,” and forerunner of RETRO CHIC: A Guide to Fabulous Vintage and Designer Resale Shopping in North America & Online (Really Great Books, Los Angeles, 2002) and The Newly Divorced Book of Protocol (Barricade Books, New York, 1995). A freelance writer, she has also written for national and local magazines.

Do you have a goal for the future that you would love to achieve but just can’t work out how? Well, you can succeed. Believe and it will happen!
How? Well read on and see. Have you heard the expression ‘ MIND OVER MATTER ’? Do you really understand what that means? Well quite simply, your mind has two areas: the subconscious and the conscious, it is the subconscious to which the expression relates. The subconscious mind is 88% of the volume and is your ‘automatic pilot’, keeping the heart beating, lungs breathing and millions of other things that ensure that we survive. The subconscious has other powerful functions. If you allow it, it will protect you and provide solutions to problems, if the right questions are asked.

So how does it work? Very simply - the subconscious mind stores ‘things’ gathered from our senses, our experiences, our genes, and everything that we come in contact with and see. The stored ‘things’ are harmless, but useful, unless subjected to bad programming - a bit like a computer, the data will sit in the memory banks until accessed. If accessed and manipulated incorrectly then the wrong information will be displayed. Programming the mind is a learning process of clear and precise repetition. The combination of the stored things and the programming, influence our belief systems. This impacts on our confidence, or lack of, our opinions, our mannerisms, etc.

Confidence comes from: learning, practicing and belief. For example: when you first get into a car could you believe that one day you would do all the consecutive actions that you need to do to drive that car? I know I didn’t but now I don’t consciously think about driving a car - I just do it. During our lives we are subjected to many opinions and comments that repeated often enough become ‘true’. Unfortunately, it is human nature to believe the negative comments, especially about ourselves, rather than the positive ones.
Let me try and explain: during my paid employment I met constantly with bosses telling me that I didn’t have the ability or the education to get the promotion I was looking for. Consequently, I had a many jobs. I developed a sense of frustration, culminating in the belief that they were right and I was wrong. However, I knew there was more to me. With my family’s support I went to university, as a mature age student. I obtained an undergraduate degree and later a post-graduate degree.

Now I have my own business as a wellness, nutrition and body shaping coach and distributor of the finest high quality nutritional and skin care products. For this change to occur I had to change my negative self-talk and beliefs about myself. The same is true for you. The negative beliefs about yourself not being able to achieve those dreams can be broken with support and guidance and with actions carried out by yourself.

It is very simple to make a decision that you want to achieve , allow yourself to believe you can do it and guess what you will do it. Just changing a few things that you do regularly will get you that goal you are aiming for:

1 How many times do you say “I Can’t!”?
Well, stop yourself every time, take a deep breath, smile and say: “ I CAN! ”

2 How many times do you look at yourself in the mirror and don’t like what you see?

Well next time (and every time) smile and say:

“ I LOOK GOOD AND I AM GOING TO LOOK BETTER!”

“EVERY DAY IN EVERY WAY I AM GETTING BETTER AND BETTER”!

Your brain is a muscle too, it needs powerful nutrition - so feed it, help develop your self-belief system and cope with the coming festive season:

“You are your own scriptwriter and the play is never finished, no matter
what your age or position in life” Denis Waitley

Cheryl Haining is a skin care, body shape and nutrition coach. She has her own successful business. Her mission statement is to ensure everyone reaches his or her optimum body shape, size and condition. Contact Cheryl at http://www.uloseweight.net or email her at cherhaining@yahoo.com.au
To learn how to create your own income stream from home visit
http://www.keybusinesstips.info

We are aware of the fact that it is easy to get into debts, but on the contrary overcoming it is very complicated. Now give an end to your fear of lenders as more and more companies in the UK are offering solutions to tackle debts of individuals- both home owners and tenants. The buzzword these days for purging debts is debt consolidation. Debt consolidation pertains to clubbing of many outgoing payments to the lenders. It gives a greater ease to customers to wipe out debts in a smart way.

With the rise of incomes and subsequently enhancement of spending by the middle class; the money market is booming. The whole spectrum of financial industry is augmenting its benefits by increasing its commercial activity. More and more UK residents are acquiring credit cards and converting to compulsive shoppers. Every where there is hue and cry: more production and more consumption and generating profits by sales volumes. Along with rising incomes there is proportional rise in debts also. More and more UK residents are falling into the debt wad due to the mismanagement of finances: or you can say due to the disparity between income and expenditures.

With paradigm shifts in the financial services sectors and gradual transition from the sellers market to the buyers market, more and more financial firms in the United Kingdom are offering solutions to manage debts. All companies assert that they are the best in the industry and claim to offer tailor made solutions to fit in the profile of diversified customers.

Credit cards have eased the way we shop around and spend money. But its convenience tempts many to buy any xyz thing they feel the need of. When they realise that they have spent beyond their ability, it is too late. Even other unexpected and emergency expenses can disrupt your budget figures. It can be- medical bills, store bills, utility bills, credit cards, loan payments. Somehow the individual has to seek the assistance and counsel of financial experts in working out ways to resolve it. The final choice is theirs but there are myriad ways to solve this. UK residents seek assistance of those finance firms which guide them throughout the loan process and provide them with information which is unbiased and help them in understanding relevant debt consolidation financial products for their situations.

When it comes to looking around for debt consolidation loan and mortgage quotes, it is prudent to search for firms which can give competitive quotes from a wide range of leading UK companies. A wide range of financial tools are available as a route to get rid of debts. It’s a buyer market now and you could avail the best deal for yourself.

There has been regular market research on the financial markets and implementation of the outcome of the researches. It has been found that a significant number of UK residents are not aware of the benefits of the debt consolidation options and are suspicious about how it works. There is a need to increase the awareness of the debt consolidation solutions and evolve new varieties and features for debt consolidation solutions. There is a great potential to increase the benefits of the debt consolidation solutions.

Richard Thomas financial expert at chanceforloans says: “Bankruptcy is a stage which should be strictly avoided because it affects the credit ranking on the individual for a decade and one is totally cut off from access to any type of loans. No financial institution is likely to trust him. It also shows its adverse impact on regular conduct of business.” Growing finance firms have redrawn their path ahead by expanding their activities all around the United Kingdom and offering excellent customer oriented services. Some independent finance firms have even drawn a new track ahead of other finance provider by bestowing equal opportunity to the customers with poor credit or no credit. All borrowers are suggested to properly analyse their case before fixing decision on any debt consolidation alternatives.

Every year the requests for debt consolidation are increasing in UK and amounting to worth hundred thousands of pounds. Emerging finance companies cater to the requirements of all by searching the consolidation deals which best matches their profile. We expect customers to stay informed about the various options available in the market and himself choose the one after analysing their case.

Debt consolidation carries many benefits for the borrowers-

• Single payment against multiple payments

• Sliding interest rates

• Overall lower payments due to reduced interest rates

• Deal with single dealer instead of many

• Elimination of credit card and other utility bills

• End to harassing calls of lenders

• Save money and be affordable to buy what you wanted

There are several companies in the market which claim to furnish quick approval of the loan request; but few stand by their promises. You have to decide yourself where to go and set your deal.

To sum up, debt is a burden which if left unresolved will entangle more and more in it. Before fixing your decision on any option by a particular company review the benefits against the cost. Also see the mistakes you made earlier pertaining to your mismanagement of income and expenditures and seek lessons from it. To avoid any further dilemma you have to ensure that you make repayments on time.

Remember that definitely there are several finance companies to support debtors by making their lives better and pleasant and to help them reach towards better financial well being, but that is at a cost. And you have to analyse upto what extent you are prepared to bear it. There are several solutions for debtors for debt consolidation but you have to turn your attention towards your income and the extent you are ready to pay as the cost of consolidation. We expect that in the clear light of day you will apply wisdom and seek the perfect route to the way of better financial well being and happiness.

James Taylor holds a Master’s degree in Commerce from JNU he is working as financial consultant for http://www.chanceforloans.co.uk. To find a Debt Consolidation loan that best suits your needs visit his website.

Wholesale eBay products are what differentiate successful eBay sellers from part time eBay dabblers.

An eBay dabbler, or inexperienced seller, is not aware of the wholesale eBay products on the market, so his sales are severely limited.

These eBay sellers will have to limit their selling to items they have at home, find at a garage, or buy at a thrift shop. While selling items found this way is an easy way to start an eBay business, how far can it go?

Experienced eBay sellers who know where to find wholesale eBay products are in an entirely different situation.

By buying wholesale eBay products they will have fresh, brand new merchandise, at a fraction of the retail price.

They can then build their eBay sales by offering their wholesale eBay products at a decent markup.

Do you know what the part about buying wholesale eBay products is?

As soon as the eBay sellers need more merchandise they can simply pick up the phone or send a quick email and have their wholesale eBay products delivered to them.

Think also of the variety of products that are available from wholesale eBay product sources?

You can find electronics, clothing, collectibles, computers, and thousands of other items as wholesale eBay products.

As their eBay business grows, they can start putting up other wholesale eBay products for auction.

How do you find great wholesale eBay products?

One easy method is to search online for wholesale eBay products. You will then have a list of sites that deal with wholesale eBay products.

Check out each site and see which items would fit the best with your eBay business.

You can also find wholesale eBay products by going to clearance sales at large department stores.

Often you will see brand name merchandise being discounted for up to 90% off retail.

If you put up that merchandise on eBay at 80% off retail, you will still be working on a 100% profit margin.

There also opportunities to buy wholesale eBay products by going to donation centers and making offers for a large quantity of goods.

You will have more merchandise this way than if you shopped for items in the store section of a thrift shop.

At the end of the day, my experience shows that the easiest and fastest way to find wholesale eBay products is by simply getting in touch with wholesalers that specialize in eBay wholesale products.

They can give you the best selling wholesale eBay products as soon as you need them. Which saves you the time of having to find wholesale eBay products on your own.

Donny Lowy is the CEO of http://www.closeoutexplosion.com, an online wholesale and closeout business, and http://www.wholesalecloseoutforum.com, an educational site for the wholesale and closeout business.

Voom was thought to be the company that would be able to compete with DirecTV and Echostar in satellite service. However, after a $650 million loss it became clear that the company needed more than technology. By looking inside the Voom Company, you can learn from their business mistakes to avoid the same problems in your own business.

You Need More Than a Good Product

The Voom channels definitely had something to offer to their customers. Never before was such a wide selection of HD channels available for television viewers. However, it takes more than just a good product to make a profit. Market research needs to be done to see if anyone will buy the product. The money you put into research will definitely pay off to find out whether or not you can sell your product or not. You need to find out if you can make a valuable return on your investment or not. In the Voom case, their investment obviously did not provide the company with a profit.

Do Not do Business with Your Family

The Voom battle became a family feud. Charles Dolan, founder of Cablevision, felt that Voom was worth saving while his son the CEO, Jimmy Dolan, wanted to pull the plug. Eventually, Charles Dolan tried to buy Voom with the help of his other son. This caused major conflicts within the Dolan Family. You should avoid mixing family and business. This may seem like a harsh rule but it is something that can save a lot of heartache in the long run.

Know Your Competitors and Your Industry

One of the problems with Voom is that they did not expect the technological advances that their competitors had after they launched Voom. Know your competitors and know what type of industry you are in. Be aware of the outside forces that can affect your business. Is your industry known to change rapidly? Voom did not take into account what their competitors had up their sleeve and this became very detrimental to the business.

The Pain of Sunk Costs

It is hard to walk away from a large investment that does not give any returns. One must remember that a sunk cost is exactly what it sounds like; it is sunk, gone, vanished, kiss it goodbye. So many times businesses fall into the mistake of trying to save fallen projects because they have already put so much time and money into it. This was definitely the case with Voom. With the lost of $650 million Charles Dolan was bound to want to save part of the investment. This is an important lesson to learn in business. You must say goodbye to sunk costs.

Listen!

Charles Dolan dreamed about creating a satellite company that could compete with DirecTV and Dish Network. However, almost no one was supporting to Charles Dolan in his cause at the end seeing that Voom was bound to fail. However, Charles Dolan would not listen to the other board of directors and continued in his efforts to save the dying business. It is important to sometimes swallow your pride and listen to the arguments of those around you to see if they possibly have some validity. Be open to what others are saying because they just might be right.

While it seemed that Voom had the capabilities to change the way viewers watch TV and to be very profitable, instead it failed shortly after its creation. This is because of a few business principles that were neglected. When working with your own new business, make sure that your business plan makes sense and that you pay particular attention to your team, the external factors that could affect your business, and know how to walk away when your great idea turns out to be a flop. If you are willing to do these things, you will avoid running into the same problems that Voom did.

Kaitlin Carruth is a client account specialist with 10x Marketing- More Visitors. More Buyers. More Revenue. To learn more about Voom, please visit I-Satellite.

If you are ready to get out there on the big ocean, you may not know just how you can go about booking your cruise vacation.

Many individuals find that the cruise is an ideal place to sit and mingle and to enjoy all that life has to offer. But, not everyone’s options are what will fit your needs. You may not want to go rock climbing, but you would like the opportunity to see some hump back whales.

The first thing to do is to do some research. You really need to know what is out there and what interests you. You should consider these things.

• Where the cruise will leave from as well as where it is traveling to. Remember, you will need to get to the port in order to get onto the ship which means an additional cost of flying to the port or driving there. For small transfer fees, most cruise lines will pick you up at the airport and bring you to the port.

• What is there to do on the cruise? Each of the ships that do cruises will likely offer you a wide range of choice. But, some will have more of a variety than others will. You should insure that you know what the cruise is offering. This is easy to find out just from looking at your options. Watch a movie, play games in the casino, mingle with the singles, dance, catch a big magic show, participate in an art auction.

• Who will be on the cruise with you? Some cruises are designed with special themes while others are not. A cruise that is designed for children may not be the one you want to take if you do not have children. Or, if you are single looking to find your soul mate, consider a singles cruise.

• Where will the cruise stop on the way? Many cruises will allow you to stop and enjoy the attractions of several ports. Perhaps you would like to do some sight seeing? Or, maybe you would like to find just the right location to do some whale watching. There are many options including things like water skiing, rock climbing and beautiful scenery.

Once you find the right cruise for you, you can usually book them right on the web. You should note that there are plenty of options out there but many of the best cruises fill up long before they are to set sail. Look for ones that offer the things that you want but don’t waste too much time.

Discount travel clubs can also save some couple up to 75% off on wholesale cruises or even allow familiarization trips on major cruise lines where you could pay $299 for a 7 day cruise.

Once you find the perfect cruise, to that magic location, book it immediately and guarantee your spot. Enjoy the journey.

Jeff Mills is a former Youth Pastor of 9 years, who is now a full time internet information entrepreneur, book author, speaker, sales coach, and also an avid traveler. Jeff has passionately pursued seeking the best discount travel clubs and has discovered Coastal Vacations Travel Club to be the top of the heap, saving members up to 75% off their trips for life. Discover how you can travel and earn $1000 or more in commissions immediately at http://www.coastal-vacation-club.com for a fantastic work from home career or a great travel club bargain, and there is no selling! We close your sales.

Making your sales and marketing letter easy to read and attractive is crucial to getting your prospect to read it.

And busy people often ’scan’ through a letter that has attracted their attention – just to gather the essence of the content and offer so they can make an instant decision…

“Is it interesting enough to read through or shall I just dump it?”

In this second part of the series, follow these design secrets as you craft your winning sales letter (8 of 16)…

1) Make your letter easy to read and as attractive as possible. Use serif fonts for the main body text of your letter.

What is a serif font?

There are serif fonts and sans serif fonts. Serif fonts are those with a slight tail at the bottom of each letter. The ‘tail’ draws the eye to the next letter or word and creates a flow so there is less strain on the eye. It makes reading much easier.

Example serif fonts are:

* Times New Roman
* Century Schoolbook
* Courier (Old typewriter style)
* Georgia

What is a sans serif font?

Sans serif fonts do not have the little tail. They are a harsher font and can, almost, stop the reader in his tracks. They are sometimes used in headlines or sub-headlines when you want to catch the reader’s eye. They can be used to pull the reader into the letter when they are glancing through the pages.

Be careful though, you could have the opposite effect if your prospect is already reading through your entire letter.

Example san serif fonts are:

* Arial
* Goudita Sans SF
* Impact
* MS Sans Serif

Link Your Paragraphs to Create a ‘Flow’

2) Link your paragraphs so your letter ‘flows’. These links are known as transitional phrases. They help the reader to make the ‘transition from paragraph to paragraph’.

Use links such as these 12 phrases:

‘The thing is…’
‘But that’s not all…’
‘Now - here is the most important part’
‘And in addition…’
‘Better yet…’
‘Take advantage of this opportunity to…’
‘Now - for a limited time only -’
‘Here’s your chance to….’
‘Interestingly enough…’
‘So - let me ask you…’
‘Of course…’
‘The Result?’

3) Use sub-headings to draw the ’skimmer’ in. Like your main headline these should be benefit focused and be designed to highlight something attractive to the reader. Their purpose is to stop your reader glancing and discarding your letter… it should pull them in so they take the time to ‘check this point out’.

Keep It Personal…

4) Write your letter to a specific person. Have a picture in your mind of your ideal prospect or reader as you develop your letter.

5) Start your letter with the person’s name; “Dear John” or “Dear Mrs Allen”.
When you’ve finished your letter, go through and replace the name of the person you’ve written to with someone else’s. Does the letter still work? If not, scratch it and start again.

6) Next, go through your letter and replace your company name, product or service with your competitors. Is the letter describing your competition perfectly? If so – you haven’t got a good winning sales letter.

Your letter must have something unique or different; otherwise your prospect has no reason to buy from you rather than your competitor.

7) How does your letter read? In ‘The Greatest Direct Mail Sales Letters of All Time’, Richard S Hudgson suggests the ‘hat test’:

“Put on your hat and go out of your office and find someone who doesn’t know your product or service. Ask her to read your letter aloud. Listen to the way she reads it and any questions she asks. You’ll soon discover if you’ve got it right. If she does ask questions - you need to add more information!”

Sign Your Letter Personally. Always, always, always sign your letter with a hand-written reflex-blue signature. Never use a computer generated ‘handwriting’ font and don not get someone to p.p. your letters.

Both of these give the recipient the impression he/she is not important enough for you to take the trouble.

Why reflex-blue? Reflex blue is the closest printed blue to the Royal Blue ink used in fountain pens. Tests have proved a blue signature does raise the response quite dramatically.

Obviously, signing the letters individually in blue ink is ideal. But if you are sending out large numbers, it’s not very practical. You get writer’s cramp and it takes you a very long time.

Check out the other 8 design secrets in Outline of a Winning Sales Letter – 16 Design Secrets – Part 1

©2005 Original Work by Carol Bentley

Learn more about Persuading People to Buy… Subscribe to your free reports, with no obligation, at http://www.CarolBentley.com

Carol is the author of ‘I Want to Buy Your Product… Have You Sent Me a Letter Yet? (How to create powerful sales letters, advertisements, flyers, brochures, web pages and newsletters that persuade hundreds, or even thousands, of additional customers and clients to buy from you!) by Carol A E Bentley (Rated 5-star on Amazon.co.uk) This book is available at a special offer at http://www.CarolBentley.com/offer

Carol is one of the highest paid direct response copywriters available. If you would like to talk to Carol’s office about having her work on your current or next sales project you can use the contact form on her website http://www.CarolBentley.com/contact.asp

“My mom told me she has a living will. That way she’s going
to avoid probate”

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this when a new
person finds out I was a living trust lawyer.

They go on to say, “She got one of those forms at the seniors’
center. You know, the one she can fill out herself. They even
witnessed it for her.”

I hate it when this comes up, because I have to set the record
straight, I have to let the person know that a “living will”
and a “living trust” are two different instruments that serve
two different purposes.

One, the “living will,” is your statement that “If I am
terminally ill or mortally injured (I’m using simple language
here to get the point across), then don’t hook me up to life
support that will never return me to life.” It’s the issue
that’s currently being fought in Florida, with Governor Bush
signing a law to keep a woman alive over her family’s wishes
and a court ruling.

Her “living will” has nothing to do with avoiding probate. It
is a health care document. Really it should be called a “death
desire,” but our society can’t handle that bluntness.

A “living trust,” on the other hand, IS a probate avoiding
document.

Basically, probate is used to transfer property you own when you die. If you have a will, your executor uses the probate court to carry out the terms of your will. If you die without a will, the laws of your state has statutes that describe where your property goes and who is in charge of getting it there.

So, if you don’t own any property when you die, then (generally…there are always exceptions) there is no need for probate.

This is where the living trust steps in. It called a “living” trust because it is created while you are living.

When you create a trust, you transfer title to your property to the trustee of the trust. You, as an individual, no longer own the property.

So, if you die, no probate is needed (remember, there are always exceptions), since YOU don’t own the property. The property is owned
by the trustee of the trust. The trust instrument instructs him/her on what to do with the property upon your death.

A “living trust” is a LOT more complicated to set up and maintain than a “living will.” They accomplish different tasks.

So, when you hear that a loved one has a “living will to avoid probate,” it might be smart to ask a few questions.

Good luck and until next time,

Phil Craig

P.S. Feel free to forward this on to any friends.

© Phil Craig, All Rights Reserved

Phil Craig is a licensed attorney and entreprenuer.
He started practicing law at age 25 in 1979.
He does not take on any more clients, but is
advisor to some of the biggest names in the internet
world. He shares his knowledge gained over the
last 25 years at his Living Trust Secrets newsletter site:
click here=========>http://www.LivingTrustSecrets.com

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Are you tired of the high fees you pay your telephone company?
VoIP, or Voice Over Internet Protocol, offers an inexpensive
alternative to traditional telephones. By using your broad band
internet connection, VoIP helps you save money, especially for
long distance calls.

As VoIP gets more popular, more companies are beginning to offer
this service to its customers. Some think that VoIP will replace
the traditional telephone system. To help you make the switch,
here is a list of VoIP service providers and some general
information about what they have to offer.

Verizon
VoiceWing - Their plans start at $19.95 a month for 500
calling minutes to the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada.
If you already have Verizon DSL, they offer a discount on their
unlimited plan ($29.95 instead of $34.95).
(https://www22.verizon.com/ForYourhome/voip/voiphome.aspx)

Comcast Di gital Voice - They have both national
and international calling options. If you use Comcast for any
other services, you are eligible for their discounted rates. If
you have Comcast Cable and High Speed Internet, Digital Voice is
an extra $39.95.
(http://www.comcast.com/Benefits/VoiceBenefits.ashx)

Lingo - This seems to be one of the best services. They
offer your first month for free. Plans start at $19.95 for both
national and international calling. Their basic service starts
at $7.95 a month. (http://www.lingo.com) Vonage - Prices
start at $14.99 for their basic service and $24.99 for their
unlimited service. Long distance calling rates are listed on
their site, as they change depending on the country.
(http://www.vonage.com)

Earthlink - Even
Earthlink has begun offering VoIP service. TrueVoice offers home
internet phone for rates starting at $14.95 a month. If you also
use Earthlink for your DSL connection, yo u are eligible for
their package deal. Also check out Vling- a free software
download called Vling which allows you to talk with other Vling
users for free. (http://www.earthlink.net/voice/dslhomephone/)

“The Apostle of Freedom”, and also adjudged “the greatest
Bulgarian who ever lived”, are titles which take some living up
to - but rest assured, the reputation of Vassil Ivanov Kunchev
Levsky is secure for all time. Universally revered in his
homeland as the founder of the Bulgarian nation, this handsome
young patriot gave his life for his people - and in so doing
established himself as the archetypal romantic hero.

Ottoman Oppression

When Vassil Levsky was born in the prosperous manufacturing town
of Karlovo in the year 1837, Bulgaria was a subject province of
the Turkish Ottoman Empire, and had been so for half a
millennium. Indeed, the whole of the Balkans was a region in
thrall to the harsh Ottomans. Turkey-in-Europe, as the area was
then known, bitterly resented being dominated by the
non-European. Muslim Turks, but felt powerless to throw off the
Ottoman tyranny.

As Vassil grew up, he formed strong views about freedom and
Bulgaria’s right to be a nation. He took one of the very few
courses open to a Bulgarian patriot of the time - he took holy
orders in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. In 1862, at the age of
25, he heard of a “Bulgarian Legion”, a military unit of
volunteers which was conducting a guerilla war against the Turks
in nearby Serbia. And so the young priest ran away to enlist in
the Legion.

Warrior-Patriot

Throughout the 1860’s, Levsky fought in campaign after campaign
on Serbian soil, striving to cast off Turkish oppression. Brave
military action by a small band of dedicated patriots was
admirable, but Vassil could see that it was never, on its own,
going to achieve his cherished goal of driving the Turks back
across the Bosphorus and out of Europe.

A new approach was needed. But what? Pondering hard, Vassil came
to the conclusion that only a mass rising of the whole Bulgarian
people would bring freedom. Somehow, he would have to educate
and radicalise an entire society, instilling in the people a
clear idea of their national identity, and convincing them that
independence was an achievable aspiration. Vassil had proved
himself a Bulgarian hero on the battlefield, and his personal
standing was high - but how to galvanise the peasants and
town-dwellers? How should he set about the seemingly insuperable
task of building a popular revolution from scratch?

Visionary

The form of nation which Levsky envisaged for his people, after
throwing out the Ottomans, was an enlightened democracy,
embodying the principles of the French Revolution. There would
be a Charter guaranteeing the citizens’ rights. Freedom of
expression and association were, for him, principles which went
hand in hand with the idea of the new Bulgaria.

We must remember that he was building this political creed at
precisely the moment in history when Italy and Germany were
forging their own nationhood, and Karl Marx was sitting in the
British Museum, writing “Das Kapital”. There can be no doubt
that Levsky was at the cutting edge of European political
thought. His method of spreading the new creed was simple. He
toured his homeland, visiting each and every town and village.
He preached the message of pride in the nation, and the dream of
independence - the right of the Bulgarian people to forge their
own destiny. All he asked of the local community was that the
people form a revolutionary committee, and make contact with
other local villages.

Between 1869 and 1872 he crossed and re-crossed Bulgaria,
building this network of revolutionary nerve centres. He then
set up a secret “Bulgarian Government” in the town of Lovech, in
order to co-ordinate the burgeoning nationalist movement, a
popular phenomenon which he had created single-handedly.

A Glorious Death

Vassil Levsky was 36 years old in February 1873, the month he
went to the gallows. It came about, ironically, because he was
trying to delay the revolution, that very eventuality to which
he had dedicated his life’s work. One of the Bulgarian “action
groups” (today we would term them terrorist cells) bungled a
raid on a Turkish post office. A military strike which had been
intended as a money-raiser for the Bulgarian cause had the
effect of provoking a security clampdown by the Turkish
authorities.

Levsky’s companions all wanted to launch the revolution
immediately, to take advantage of the crisis, but Levsky knew
that the Bulgarian people were not quite ready for wholesale
armed struggle: to challenge the Ottomans openly, now, would
bring down on Bulgaria a pointless bloodbath. He did everything
in his considerable power to forestall the rising. Taking
possession of the secret papers of the “Bulgarian Government”,
lest they fall into the hands of the Turks, Vassil had the
misfortune to be stopped and searched by a contingent of Ottoman
police. There could be only one outcome. He would be executed.
And so the Apostle of Freedom gave his life for the cause.

The revolution for which he strove so hard, and liberation from
the Turks, came a mere five years after his death.