November 17, 2007
Copyright 2006 Donna Gunter
Mastermind groups are nothing new. In fact, Napoleon Hill writes
about them in his classic, “Think and Grow Rich”, in which he
defines “Master Mind” as the “coordination of knowledge and
effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people for
the attainment of a definite purpose.” He further adds, “No two
minds ever come together without thereby creating a third,
invisible intangible force, which may be likened to a third
mind.” He believed that a group of like-minded,
achievement-oriented people could dramatically leverage each
other’s success.
I recently joined forces with a business colleague and we have
begun our own mastermind group for solo entrepreneurs who want
to build their businesses online. We’re a diverse group — we
have a business coach (me), a website designer, a college
entertainment provider (wax hands, 3-D photo collages,
build-a-bear, party inflatables), a wrought-iron fence
installer, and a voiceover/website narration specialist.
As we’re starting to determine who we are and what we do and how
we operate, here are the steps we’re using to figure out our
direction in the establishment of this group:
1. Ensure all participants have similar interests. In our case,
we’ve only invited others who are self-employed and either
currently have their business online or want to create a viable
online business. I like the diversity of industries in our
group, and think the fact that we don’t know a great deal about
each other’s industries will enable us to bring great new
perspectives to the table, as we’ll force each other to “think
outside the box”, since we won’t be constrained by preconceived
notions of what will or won’t work in each industry. You may
want to have all members from the same industry but who serve
different segments of the same industry, like insurance agents,
or bring people together who have some other common interests,
like a hobby.
2. Screen your applicants. My colleague and I simply
brainstormed about people that we knew who all happen to share
similar values: — the desire and passion to create
extraordinary businesses — love to help others create success
and are supportive — have integrity and are trustworthy –
respond well to feedback — seek win-win agreements and
solutions — commitment to attending the meetings — want to get
to know each other on a personal, as well as professional, level
If you open membership to the general public to increase your
numbers, you will want to determine some key core
characteristics that you’re seeking in new members and ask the
appropriate questions to ascertain if the applicants possess
these characteristics.
3. Limit your number of participants. I think the ideal group
size is 4-6. We currently have 5 members, and may decide to
include a sixth at some point. A smaller number of members will
ensure that all get to be heard in the group and that all get to
participate.
4. Establish guidelines for how the group operates. You’ll need
to determine the date, time, length, and location for the
meeting. You may have someone to volunteer to host the meeting
each month, rotate hosts, or meet in a restaurant or coffee
shop. Your group will also want to discuss some “rules of the
road”, like issues of confidentiality, respect, how or if you
share info about colleagues or other businesses, etc. Keep the
rules short, simple, and clear to maximize the effectiveness of
your group.
5. Set a general agenda for the group meetings. You may want to
pick a topic or focus for each meeting, from discussing tax
strategies to valuable resources you use to evaluating each
other’s marketing materials. We’re trying out two
things–sharing a recent success or breakthrough (either
business or personal) and sharing a resource that the others
might find valuable. I’m going to suggest adding a time where
each of us gets a limited amount of time to share a problem or
issue with which we need help. Our proposed meeting agenda is
noted below:
– Welcome — Share a recent success or breakthrough (personal
or professional) — What do you need help with? — Tonight’s
topic: — Share a resource — Next meeting topic — Adjourn
6. Establish group leadership guidelines. There should be some
consensus as to whether or not the group will have a facilitator
or leader, and what role that person will play. I think groups
have a better survival rate if there is a facilitator in charge
to move the meeting along. Your group needs to decide if that
role will be permanent for a defined length of time, or will
rotate among group members from meeting to meeting.
7. If at first it doesn’t work, try something different! Your
first stab at establishing how your group operates may not work.
If some aspect of the group isn’t working, be flexible enough to
try something different until you find the right combination of
factors that works well for your group.
I love the energy present at our mastermind group meetings, and
can’t wait to see the results at the end of the year from the
synergistic power of the group. If you feel like that you’re
isolated and that no one understands the problems of your
business, create your own mastermind group using the guidelines
above. It may be the best step you take for your business this
year!
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Ever wonder why you feel so satisfied with 8% or 10% annual returns if you have parked your money at a big investment firm? Ever wonder why you are very reluctant to question if 20% annual returns are possible without fear of enormous risk? The answer is simple. Most big investment firms, through squawk boxes on MSNBC, and through the reinforcement of their portfolio managers and financial consultants have conditioned you to believe that 20% stock returns are not possible without great risk. I’m here to bust that myth and to tell you what you need to know to start earning higher returns in your stock portfolio.
Big investment firms don’t want you to ask too many questions to their financial consultants so they train all of their financial consultants to teach you investment myths that discourage you from asking hard-hitting questions. And if this method of prevention doesn’t work, most financial consultants are trained by their big firms to be virtual public relations experts in the technique known as block and bridge. Just listen to any political press conference and you will see this technique employed dozens of times within half an hour. Well trained journalists will hone in on this technique immediately and find ways around it but the average person investing with a big investment firm may have much more difficulty with this technique. In fact, I would argue that fear and confusion are among the top commodities that financial consultants of large investment institutions sell.
Financial consultants make you fear being out of the stock market at the wrong time by telling you that if you missed the best 90 days in the stock market from 1963 to 1993 versus being fully invested, that your average annual return over that 30 year period would drop dramatically from 11.83% to 3.28% (Source: University of Michigan). They utilize this fear to sell you on the concept of Modern Portfolio Theory and diversification. Why?
Because the outdated concepts of Modern Portfolio Theory and diversification allow firms to undercut your expectations of performance from your stock portfolio. Modern portfolio theory and diversification are also known as the lowest common denominator theory. They are the easiest concepts to teach thousands of financial consultants, and the concepts maximize the revenue of big investment houses. What the concepts don’t do is maximize the potential returns in your stock portfolio. But isn’t it in the best interest of big investment firms to maximize their client’s stock returns, you may ask?
Absolutely not. Teaching thousands of financial consultants more productive strategies of investing takes more time, and more time spent by financial consultants trying to maximize clients’ returns will ultimately decrease the firm’s bottom line. Furthermore, only a very small percent of the financial consultants they hire would be capable of grasping the concepts of more creative strategies, thus creating high percentages of failures. Consequently, it is a much safer business decision for these firms to stick with lowest common denominator strategies that will maximize the firm’s revenues and profits.
Realize that financial consultants are also trained “block and bridge” experts. What’s this? Blocking is the technique of acknowledging a tough question, while bridging is a technique used to avoid a tough question to make an irrelevant point. For example, if you asked your financial consultant, “I’ve heard that many people earned 20% in their portfolio this year, but I only earned 5%. Why is that?” When a financial consultant uses the block technique, he or she would answer “I acknowledge the fact that you may be concerned about only earning 5% this year when other people earned 20%.” Then using the bridge technique, he or she then would say, “But the issue here is risk. When we met, you told me that your objectives were growth over a ten year horizon and you told me that you had an average risk tolerance. My strategy is the best and safest for you given those parameters.”
Notice that the question of why people earned 20% was absolutely avoided, and in such a manner that you probably didn’t even realize it. If block and bridge was used to answer such a question, chances are you would move forward in your discussion without even realizing that it is possible to gain 20% in your portfolio without changing your risk parameters or your time horizon.
To summarize, if you understand that most investment mantras you hear from financial consultants are merely marketing myths designed to close the deal, you can learn to ask hard-hitting questions that will improve the performance of your stock portfolio.
© 2006 Global Market Opportunities
About the author:
This article may be freely reprinted on another website as long as it is not modified, changed, or altered and as long as the below author byline is included along with the active hyperlink exactly as is.
J. Shin Kim is the founder of Global Market Opportunities. If you’re tired of measly 6%, 7%, and 10% returns from your stock portfolio, learn more about investment myths and how to consistently and significantly beat the market indices by clicking the following link, Learn to Invest Money and Achieve Financial Freedom. Also subscribe to our free investment advice newsletter by visiting this link.
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Article Title:
If You Think Mold and Mildew Hibernate During The Winter, Think
Again!
Article URL: www.instagoneproducts.com Author Name: Peter
Chicarielli Author E-Mail: intagone@optonline.com Word Count: 548
Article Description:
If you associate mold and mildew stains with the summer months,
you’d be correct. The hot and humid weather provides a perfect
environment for rapid mold and mildew growth. The winter
however, despite cold temperatures in much of the country is not
a mold and mildew-free season by any means. The president of
InstaGone Consumer Products, Peter Chicarielli explains how to
remove winter mold and mildew stains.
****************************ARTICLE*****
If You Think Mold and Mildew Hibernate During The Winter, Think
Again!
If you associate mold and mildew stains with the summer months,
you’d be correct. The hot and humid weather provides a perfect
environment for rapid mold and mildew growth. The winter
however, despite cold temperatures in much of the country is not
a mold and mildew-free season by any means.
In fact, the development of mold and mildew stains can actually
be intensified during the winter. That’s because people tend to
lock-down their houses to prevent cold air from coming in and
heat from escaping. The reduced circulation of fresh air results
in a higher concentration of airborne spores which in turn, can
increase the likelihood of mold and mildew stains on ceilings,
walls or other surfaces.
In a warm house, mold and mildew will continue to grow in areas
such as basements, attics and crawl spaces. Once the Christmas
decorations are put away, emerging mold and mildew growth has a
free, undisturbed ride until Memorial Day when the summer gear
gets pulled out.
The worst-case scenario is mold that silently grows behind a
wall, under flooring or above acoustical ceiling tiles. This
type of mold growth is usually caused by a leak that wasn’t
repaired properly, or if it was repaired, the surrounding area
wasn’t sufficiently dried or treated before covering it with new
drywall, tile, etc. If any part of your house has water damage
history, it should be inspected carefully.
There have been many newspaper articles and news reports about
families being forced to move from their homes and school
closings due to toxic mold. But despite the media hype, most of
the mold people encounter is usually the harmless, gross-looking
variety.
The jury may be out on what the health effects of certain types
of mold are, but the fact is that there is usually a point of
origin and mold growth is a fairly slow process. For those
concerned about mold and mildew stains, here’s a simple,
four-step plan that should be followed all year long:
1) Inspect - Look for early signs of mold and mildew in places
such as basements, shower areas, walls that house water pipes,
ceilings, etc.
2) Repair - Fix plumbing leaks, drain clogs, roof leaks or poor
bathroom ventilation that can encourage mold growth.
3) Remove - Treat emerging mold and mildew thoroughly with a
powerful cleaning product such as InstaGone Multi-Purpose Stain
Remover.
4) Restore - Once mold and mildew stains have been treated with
an effective cleaning solutions such as InstaGone, let the area
dry thoroughly, apply a mold resistant primer and repaint the
area.
The use of long rubber gloves, non-vented goggles and a chemical
respirator to limit your exposure to mold are recommended. If
you have an area of mold larger than 3 feet by 3 feet, have
severe allergies or have been experiencing symptoms such as
headaches and difficulty breathing, it’s best to avoid the
health risk, and call a certified mold remediation specialist
immediately.
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One thing that many people do, who find themselves swimming in a pool of nothing but horrible debt, is obtain a debt consolidation loan. A debt consolidation loan, is a type of loan specifically designed of anyone that has driven themselves into a debt that is well beyond their personal means. This type of loan will enable you to pay off all of your debt with one payment each month, than by having to make several monthly payments. The reason this works is because for the most part, these monthly payments will be lower than all of your monthly payments combined. Therefore, by having one payment each month, there is a higher likelihood of you being able to afford it.
These loans are typically one of two amounts, the entire amount of the debt owed or a large portion thereof. By obtaining a debt consolidation loan, you will enable yourself to pay off all the debt you have incurred and only have one left over, which will be the loan.
Typically those who apply for these types of loans do not have the greatest credit as a result of these debts, therefore the lending agent may require you to have any type of valuable property as collateral, typically a home or vehicle. When you go to apply or consider applying for a loan for debt consolidation, you will need to determine the amount of money you should borrow, this will typically be the entire amount of your debt or the amount of the largest debt that you currently owe.
By determining this amount, you will be able to better understand what type of collateral you will need to obtain the loan, and will play a large role in the determination of the amount of the monthly payment you will be required to pay and the amount of the interest rate upon the loan.
There are a variety of terms and conditions that could go along with debt consolidation loans, this is all dependant on the particular lender. Lenders will typically have an amount that is the maximum you are allowed to borrow, this will also be a determination made depending on the value of the collateral you present. Additionally, these types of loans will have a higher rate of interest than a regular loan. However, that higher interest rate could save you lots of money in the long run, because the debt consolidation loan will allow you to better control you debt, make only one payment each month, and could be the decisive factor in rather or not you need to file bankruptcy.
Tim Renolds is a contributing author at our website where You can get a free Homeowner Loan Quote right now. Take a moment and see for yourself.
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Looking for a way to increase traffic to your web site? More traffic to you web site can increase sales and advertising revenue. Once your web site is completed, the actual costs of running the web site are very minimal.
The challenge now is to get more visitors to your web site. You can purchase PPC (Pay per Click) but that can add up very quickly. If you are paying 10 cents a click, and you get 100 people clicking per day, your costs just went up $10. Now multiply that by 30 days and you are spending at least $300 just for clicks. Out of all those people clicking, very few will purchase anything and your advertising dollars are not working very well.
However, there are some options that will not cost anything but will require some work.
First thing is to list your website at a free web directory, such as http://www-wide-world-directory.com (wide-world-directory) and then seek out other directories that will list you web site for free. This starts producing backlinks (links from other web sites to your web site).
The more links, the higher your web site will rank when someone is searching on of the search engines like Google. When creating links, you do not want the text in the link to say your website. You want the text to be keywords about your web site.
Another option is to use a blog and write articles that are related to your web site. Put a link on the side of the blog. If you provide good content, the search engines will spider your site and again, the link will help with popularity.
James Hendrix has been putting people in business on the Internet since 1996. He has experience with web hosting, development, marketing and search engine optimization.
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Christmas is busy, fun, exciting, and sentimental. We love it all — all but the part when we have to clean up and put everything away.
While it may be tempting to just throw everything into boxes and worry about sorting it out next year, you’ll be sorry when a precious Christmas decoration or ornament gets lost or broken.
Following these 10 tips will help you…
A. Save time by getting all your Christmas decorations organized so it’s quick and easy to find them next year.
B. Save space by using the right kind of boxes that can be easily stacked and organized.
C. Save money by storing your Christmas lights and decorations in a manner that preserves their quality and extends their life span.
10 Quick Tips
1. Use Clear Plastic Storage Containers - These are great because you can see the contents without having to spend time labeling each box. Plus the plastic helps protect from moisture better than cardboard. When stacking, be sure to place the largest and heaviest boxes on the bottom and smaller boxes on the top.
2. Box the Beads - Pack the beads in small boxes such as plastic shoeboxes. If you use many strands of beads, larger boxes could become too heavy. To keep the beads from becoming tangled, place individual strands in baggies. If you prefer, you can wrap each strand around empty paper towel rolls and tape the ends.
3. Don’t Dog Pile the Christmas Lights - Don’t stack too many lights in the same box. The box will become too heavy and the lights on the bottom could be damaged. Lights can easily become tangled so individual strands of lights should be bagged separately or wrapped around paper towel rolls or something similar and placed in plastic grocery bags or large freezer bags.
4. Save Space with Re-Shapeable Decorations - Bows made of wired ribbon can be flattened and reshaped next year. Wired ribbon garlands and streamers can be tightly rolled. They don’t need to be flattened unless you need to conserve space.
5. Don’t Crush Your Wreaths - Wreaths can be stacked in larger boxes but each wreath should be wrapped with bubble wrap. If they aren’t wrapped then they shouldn’t be stacked. Bubble wrap can be purchased where office supplies are sold. Wreath boxes can also be purchased and are readily available on the Internet and in stores.
6. Wrap Christmas Ornaments Properly - Ornaments should be individually wrapped in white tissue paper or where greater protection is needed, wrap in bubble wrap. Since most ornaments are lightweight they can be stored in large boxes. If you still have the original boxes the ornaments came in, then store them in these and then place them in the storage container.
7. Protect Christmas Decorations from Moisture - If you live in a humid climate using plastic containers may not be enough to protect from moisture. Place packets of silica gel in each container to avoid damage from humidity. Silica gel can be purchased at arts and craft stores. If you cannot find individual packets, you can make your own by wrapping several tablespoons of silica gel in white tissue paper and securing with tape. Several packets should be placed throughout the box.
8. Guard Against Temperature Extremes - Delicate decorations such as ornaments made with photos or wax can be temperature sensitive. Store them in a climate-controlled area or they could deteriorate, melt or stick together.
9. Avoid Box Identity Loss - Attach a red ribbon or tag to each Christmas storage box. This will make them easy to identify next Christmas if they have been stored with other boxes unrelated to Christmas decorations.
10. Toss the Trash - Some people have a tendency to just “hang onto stuff” in hopes that they’ll find a use for it later. Don’t waste space by holding onto old ornaments you know you’ll never use again (unless of course it has some sentimental significance). Just toss out the trash.
A final note: You may also want to consider Christmas ornament boxes and wreath boxes for especially fine ornaments and wreaths instead of clear storage containers. They are available in stores and on the Internet. They are very convenient and some are even acid free for even greater protection for your fine collectables. They are more expensive, but for high quality, valuable ornaments this may be a worthwhile investment.
A little organization today will make you feel like a Christmas decorating pro next year. Happy un-decorating!
Judy Hardaway is the writer for Amazing-Christmas-Ideas.com - an online Christmas gifts and decorating ideas resource site. For more decorating ideas as well as gift ideas such as unique Christmas gifts for men, visit www.Amazing-Christmas-Ideas.com today.
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