The LuxMob Info Tags

While it seems that everyone and his dog (or cat) has a website, there a plenty of people out there that never got around to creating one, even though they could profit from it. Many people feel that they are not technically gifted enough, and that building a website would cost too much time or money.

The following, therefore, is not for the seasoned web designer, but for all those artists, crafters, freelancers and small business owners who want a website, but have all thoses excuses why they have not managed to get one yet.

What if you could set up your own website in one weekend, without having to engage in any HTML programming? Here is how:

1. Get a host. Your website has to be hosted somewhere. The options are free website communities (such as http://www.tripod.lycos.com/ or http://geocities.yahoo.com/), your own ISP (internet service provider), which might offer you a personal website, or a paid host (of which there many, you can find a list of popular hosts at http://www.websitehostdirectory.com/). I would stay away from the free offers, as these include ads and do not provide you with a professional image (though both Tripod and Geocities also offer paid ad-free options, sometimes with your own domain name) (1 hour)

2.Get a domain name. This is optional, but having a URL such as www.zebrabreeder.com (which was still available as I wrote this article:-) is more memorable than www.geocities.com/zebrabreeder. The other advantage is that you can take your domain name with you, if you ever switch ISPs. Just be warned that many of the “good” and obvious names have already been taken, so you have to show some creativity. You can find a list of domain name registrars at http://www.internic.net/alpha.html. The easiest way would be to buy your domain name and web hosting from the same company, and there are many sites that offer all these services, such as www.godaddy.com. (1 hour)

3.Decide on a layout. Once you registered a domain and obtained a host, it is time to think about the layout of your site. Get some pen and paper and started drawing. What do you want on your homepage (which should be named index.html)? How many sub-pages will there be (for example for various goods or services you offer)? What kind of visual theme do you want? What kind of graphics and pictures should you include? Make these decisions before actually designing your site. (3 hours)

4.Design your site. Many of the hosts mentioned in step 1 offer tools that let you choose pre-made designs and just fill in your own information. This makes it very easy, but may also restrict what you can do. Another way would be to use Netscape Composer, which is a free tool and part of Netscape 7.2 (you can download it at (http://browser.netscape.com/ns8/download/archive.jsp). Composer lets you use a word-processor like interface and contains a nifty “Publish” function to upload your pages. Of course you can also buy programs such as MS FrontPage. Your website will not win any design awards, but it will get your information out. (8 hours)

5.Check your site. Before uploading it, you should check spelling and grammar and see that every page has at least a link back to your homepage. (1 hour)

6.Upload your page. Now you actually have to get your content to the web. Your host will have information on how to do this. You basically need a destination, a username and a password to upload the files. (30 minutes)

7.Publicize your website. Do not expect people to rush to your website. How would they even know about it? There are many services that will submit your website to “hundreds” of directories for a fee, but you can submit it yourself (for free) to the ones that really matter:
http://www.google.com/addurl/?continue=/addurl
http://submit.search.yahoo.com/free/request
Add your URL to the signature line of your outgoing e-mails, put it on your business card and on all other business-related communications. (30 minutes)

8.Don’t let you site go stale. Remember that content is king. You can start your website in a short time, but you have to keep adding to it. Why not write an article in an area of your expertise? Use the expertise you have in your field to make your website unique. Remember, fresh content will help search engines find you and will induce visitors to come back to your site.

Pamela Bruce lives in Austin, TX. She is the owner of Love Beads Unlimited and sells the sterling silver and Swarovski crystal bead jewelry she designs and creates both in her Etsy shop (http://lovebeadsunlimited.etsy.com) and on her website (built with Netscape Composer) at http://www.lovebeadsunlimited.com, where you can also download the free e-book “A Consumer’s Guide to Buying Bead Jewelry Online”.

Most of us regard a sundial as an attractive ornament for a park
or garden. Their effectiveness as time keepers is highly variable

That’s unfortunate, because it is not at all difficult to ensure
that your garden sundial will be an accurate timepiece,
provided, of course that the sun is shining.

But that will be covered in another article. For now, let’s see
what a sundial is, and what it is capable of.

Sundial History

We forget in this modern age that accurate, affordable watches
and clocks have been around for much less than 200 years.

Before then, sundials were one of the few ways to tell the time
with reasonable accuracy.

Shadow clocks dated at 1500BC are known from Egypt, but the
first dials appear to have been Babylonian. The Greeks adapted
the idea, the Romans developed it further, and by about 100BC
had perfected the horizontal sundial (and placed it in their
gardens).

Even in ancient days some people had schedules to keep, and both
agriculture and religion required knowledge of the seasons and
the movement of the sun to determine planting and the timing of
ceremonies.

The sundial was an important means of providing that
information, and considerable advances in mathematics, geometry
and astronomy were made while it was perfected. The knowledge
gained forms part of the foundations of modern science.

Types of Sundial

There are four reasonably common types of sundial.

They all have two things in common. Each consists of a raised
structure, called the gnomon (silent “g”) which casts a
shadow onto a plate called the dial. The dial is divided
into hourly or shorter time divisions and may also show other
information.The part of the gnomon whose shadow indicates the
time on the dial is called the style.

The most abundant form is the horizontal sundial, happily
sitting on its pedestal or column and adding beauty and interest
to the home garden.

Related is the equatorial sundial, with its dial oriented
at the same angle as the latitude. It works slightly
differently, and is easier to use when properly calibrated.

Thirdly, there is the vertical sundial, ideally located
on a wall facing due south in the northern hemisphere, and north
in the southern hemisphere. The principle is much the same, but
the sundial only occupies a semicircular area. Vertical sundials
displayed the time to the public, and were used to correct
unreliable public clocks.

And the most elegant of all, the portable sundial. George
Washington had one - at that time pocket watches were most
unreliable. Modern examples can be a work of art. They combine a
compass with an adjustable dial. The dial is tilted to
correspond to local latitude, and the compass defines north.
Pretty neat!

Sundial Accuracy

A properly designed and installed sundial can be a very accurate
means of telling the time, down to intervals of less than a
minute.

I won’t go into the mathematics, but on a sundial 16 inches
(40cm) in diameter, the shadow of the gnomon will move about
1/30th of an inch, or just under 1mm, in a minute. This may be
small, it’s enough for our eyes to see.

Two Major Problems

Apart from the frequent absence of sunlight (Problem 1), all
sundials show time by cakibrating outwards from the position of
the sun at noon, and if you live east or west of me, your noon
is different to mine.

Although the earth moves around the sun, we see it the other
way. The sun appears to move from east to west across the sky,
and local noon is when it’s vertically overhead. But if you live
100 miles west of me, my noon is still your late morning, and
your noon is my early afternoon. This would be inconvenient if
we used our sundials to arrange a lunch date, but a real problem
if I had a plane to catch in another city.

Solar Time and Official Time

People managed to live with this problem until communications
and transport became faster. Imagine calculating train
timetables when Boston, New York and Buffalo all worked on
different local times.

The answer was the development of local time zones. US
Railways did this in 1883, but in 1914 the world’s governments
agreed to divide the globe into 24 zones, each 15 degrees of
longitude in width, and each one hour different in time to its
neighbours. Boundaries were altered slightly to account for
state and national borders.

There are four time zones in the contiguous 48 states of the
USA: Eastern, centred on 75 degrees W longitude; Central, on 90
degrees; Mountain, on 105 degrees; and Pacific, on 120 degrees.
Noon was identified astronomically for each of these meridians
(now it’s done by atomic clocks), and accepted everywhere else
in the zone.

Noon on sundials in places very close to these longitudes will
correspond to official noon. For every degree east or west of
the central meridian, for 7.5 degrees either side, you will need
to add or subtract four minutes respectively to correct your
sundial.

A few other adjustments are necessary to compensate for
irregularities in the earth’s path around the sun - not too
difficult to make but the theory is beyond this article.

They add to the inconvenience, and that’s why sundials have been
superceded by more convenient and reliable forms of time
keeping. But problems with time zones and orbital paths can be
corrected, and there’s no reason why you can’t find the correct
time from your sundial.

No reason, that is, provided it has been properly installed in
your garden. And that’s the subject of another article.

Glyconutrients are part of the carbohydrate family. They are a collection of 8 saccharides. These are important factors in the body’s ability to fight infections and heal itself.

There are 8 necessary saccharides needed by our bodies

• Mannose
 • Glucose
 • Galactose
 • Xylose
 • Fucose (not fructose)
 • N-acetylglucosamine
 • N-acetylneuramic acid
 • N-acetylgalactosamine

These elements form the building blocks for glycoforms. Which serve as coverings for the body’s cells. Each has specific benefits for your health.

Mannose: is the main saccharide and the others are attached to it. Mannose plays a major role in building cells, and cell interaction. Other benefits include helping the body heal itself and improving the immune system. Mannose is a major factor in manufacturing cytokines. Cytokines are used by the body’s immune system to fight infections. The Mannose phytochemical can be found in the Aloe Vera plant’s inner leaf gel.

Glucose: is the most commonly known of the group. Table sugar is made up of this and other saccharides. Glucose is found in sugar products such as candy bars cake and ice cream. Elements are found in vegetables as well. Glucose can be absorbed directly into the blood stream and for this reason is widely used for a quick absorbing strong form of fast acting energy. Excessive amounts of glucose can lead to health problems such as obesity.

Galactose: Is usually found in combination with glucose in a saccharide known as lactose which is a disaccharide found in milk and other dairy products. It is also used in the body’s healing processes. It also decreases inflammation.

Xylose: is a carbohydrate with antibacterial and antifungal properties. Some manufacturers use it instead of sucrose and corn sweeteners in toothpaste and chewing gum because it does not harm your teeth.

Fucose: is found in human breast milk and some types of mushrooms. Research has shown fucose to be helpful in brain development and memory. It also helps the immune system

N-acetylglucosamine: also helps the immune system. It produces Glucosamine, used in cartilage. It helps to repair, and reduce inflammation in cartilage and also helps the digestive tract. This is also found in human breast milk.

N-acetylneuramic acid: is used in the learning process and brain development. It helps with many blood functions and improves the immune system. The levels of this saccharide decrease, as we get older. It is found in breast milk.

N-acetylgalactosamine: is another ingredient in breast milk. Research is still being done on this saccharide. It has been shown to help with cell interaction and communication

These Glyconutrients are found in some fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately due to soil depletions and processing of foods these vital nutrients (except glucose) are no longer prevalent in foods as they once were. This has resulted in shortage in the body of these saccharides and has led to the deterioration of our health. We must become aware of these vital elements and ensure that we are getting enough of them in our diets to ensure our good health.

Are you a skilled communicator? Well that’s a good thing if
you’re in the business of selling things to other people!

But are you absolutely sure that every word you say is received
by those you speak with, or write to, in the way you intend them
to be?

You might be surprised how your words are analyzed and
interpreted by your potential customers.

Here’s a few things to think about before you write your next
piece. Everything you’re about to read is based on a
“presupposition” of NLP, Neuro Linguistic Programming. NLP is a
relatively new process of self discovery and is used widely as a
serious training tool for business people of all fields.

The Meaning of a Communication is the Response You Get

But that’s not what I meant!!!

How many arguments have that little gem in them? I know that
I’ve often been heard saying that around the house.
Unfortunately for me, and the countless others who’ve uttered
those words, what you meant doesn’t matter if it isn’t
understood that way.

The next two presuppositions tie in very closely, so let’s look
at them and them summarize the three together . . .

You Cannot Fail to Communicate

Whatever you do or say is a form of communication. From verbal
expression to body language, everything conveys something about
what you’re thinking.

For example, you clicked your mouse and opened this article. By
doing so, you communicated to me that you’re seeking knowledge
that you might not yet possess. You’ve implied that you’re
willing to issue me a particle of trust that my efforts could
bring you that knowledge you seek. You’ve told me that you’re
interested in this subject matter. You’ve let me know that
you’re willing to take some reasonable risks, and so on and so
on.

Yes, communication can be anything from a mouse click, to a
facial expression, to cringing in your comfortable chair while
watching a scary movie on TV, to giving a full blown oration in
front of thousands of people.

It’s all about relaying inforamtion from you, to someone else,
or to the whole wide world! You can’t help it. In fact none of
us can because it’s a part of life and inbred in us as living
creatures!

If You Aren’t Getting the Response You Want, Do Something
Different

So far we’ve learned that communication is inevitable. As a
living, breathing creature, everything we do or say relates a
story about how we feel at any given moment. We’ve also seen
that the meaning of a communication, or its intent, means little
in comparison to reception and/or interpretation.

The obvious conclusion then, if it’s important to do so, is to
figure out how to communicate what you mean and have it received
in the way you intend it to be received. As the sub-heading
states, this might mean doing something different in order to
reach that goal.

Now if we were primatives, we might consider beating the other
person into understanding our drift, but we can’t think that way
anymore, right?

And the old standby doesn’t work either. I mean, no matter how
loud I yell at the other person, it doesn’t change how they hear
me. It just makes it easier for them to misunderstand because
they don’t have to listen all that hard. Besides, yelling only
proves you have the bigger mouth, not the more valid point!

So then here’s a visual for you . . .

Let’s say you create a dynomite web page, complete with
javascripting and flash animation and you are just sooo proud of
it. You publish it on your site, advertise it, and wait for all
the positive feedback you just know you’re going to get. But
something different happens. You begin getting emails from
people complaining that they can’t see all your bells and
whistles. So you do a little backtracking to make sure
everything is in place, and it is. You re-upload everything just
to be sure. You send out emails to those who’ve complained
asking them to visit your site again. But you still get the same
response.

Hmmmm!

After scratching your head in confusion for a while, you do a
little research on the web and discover that not all browsers
are equal.

Ah Ha!!

Some people can’t see your site the way you intended them to
because their browsers aren’t programmed for it! So you go
looking for another way.

Now you hate the idea of losing all the pizzazz of your web
page, but you do want people to see it right, so you find a
little program online that allows you to see your site in the
eyes of other browsers. You then decide to optimize your site in
such a way that it becomes user friendly for all viewers and
everyone is happy! You accept the idea of losing some of your
site’s glitz, because it’s the only way to get it across to
everyone you want to reach. A kind of a compromise of sorts for
the sake of getting your point across. You decide it’s a fair
trade off!

What just happened?

You created a scenario that allowed those who didn’t understand
you to see things more your way, didn’t you? You discovered that
obstacle in the others that hindered them from getting the gist
of your intentions, and by doing something a little different,
everything turned out just fine!

And the moral of the story is?

To have good communication skills, you most often times have to
see things the way the other person does in order to better
understand how to tell them what you want them to know.

Just like when you optimized your website to suit all browsers,
you can learn from the feedback of your visitors what you need
to do to improve your communications with them. It may mean
scaling down, or changing your language a little bit, but in the
end, you’ll achieve your desired results.

We all work hard for the stuff that we have such as cars, trucks and our home and office. The thing is that not only should be care about taking care of that property against dents and scratches and other things that are done by our fellow citizens but we need to be defensive against nature.

Lightning and fire cause an amazing amount of damage to vehicles and buildings yet very few of us actually think about how to prevent them from damaging our things or minimizing the damage if they do. We all work in a building that has fire extinguishers but how much do you really know about them? Do you know how to use one or what types there are and what to use each type on? We will cover these basics with you so that you can improve your chances of survival.

There are a number of types of fires and the fire extinguishers are labeled for what types of fires they put out. Make sure you identify the types of fires that may occur in a particular area and buy a fire extinguisher that fits that type of fire. Class a fires are normal combustibles like wood, paper, cloth, and plastics. Class b fires are flammable liquids and gasses such as gasoline, oil, paint, propane and butane. Class c fires are electrical firs like electrical equipment, motors, appliances and other electrically energized fires. Class d fires are combustible metals like aluminum, sodium and potassium. Class k fires are fires in oils and fats like cooking oils.

The more you know about fire and lightning the better you will be able to arm yourself against them. Fire extinguishers are very inexpensive and easy to use so go ahead and learn all you can. Free information is available from the local fire department and on the internet so take advantage of it and be safe.

Are you ready to create one of the best home based businesses? What products or services could you sell on the internet to make a successful living while working at home?

This article is number four in a four-part series that is designed to assist you in creating your ideal internet home based business. To view Parts 1, 2, and 3 please do an Author search on Ezine Articles for Chrystal Chantel.

In the previous articles I asked to you to discover what you love to do, and identify the problems that people who also enjoy your activities experience. Then I asked you to brainstorm potential solutions to those problems, and assess your ideas: think of how you could turn your solutions into an information product or service that you could sell on the internet.

So let’s explore the final phase in this process: Research Your Business Ideas. In this phase you will research the feasibility of successfully selling your product or service over the internet. You will need to look at the following points:

• How much demand is there for your product or service?
• Are similar products already available on the internet?
• If yes, how much competition is there?
• What are their strengths and weaknesses of your competition?
• Could you sell your product at a competitive price and still make money?
• What will it cost you to turn your idea into reality?
• How long will it take you to develop your product or service?

Extensive research at this step is critical to the success of your business. Owners of the best home based businesses have thoroughly researched their idea before they launched their business. The more thorough research you do now, the more likely you will be successful when you actually start selling your product online.

Here are some useful internet tools I recommend that can assist you in this research. Keep in mind that when people search for information on the internet they usually type keywords or keyword phrases into search engines. For example, they may search for “Hawaii vacation package” or “model cars”. Start thinking of the keywords potential buyers may use to find your product. Research the demand and competition for your potential internet home based business idea by using tools such as the following:

• Wordtracker Free Trial http://www.wordtracker.com/
• Overture: http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/rc/srch/ Click on Visit the Resource Center, then click on Keyword Selector Tool.

These tools are great resources for discovering which search terms people are using and how much competition is already established on the internet. You will likely find people are searching with keywords that you had not yet thought of.

Wordtracker is a particularly valuable tool. In fact, I’d say it’s a goldmine. Check it out and you’ll see what I mean. Use the free trial to identify the keywords you are interested in. Then you may wish to purchase the service for a day or a week in order to do detailed research. This research will help you to come up with a long list of the very best keywords for your business idea.

Do your research thoroughly. Then begin to write a plan of how you could turn your ideas into your own unique internet products. I invite you to find out more on how to be successful with your online business by visiting Build Your Dream Business. I would love to help you turn your passions into one of the best home based businesses. Good luck!

© Copyright Chrystal Chantel, All Rights Reserved.
Build Your Dream Business
http://www.build-your-dream-business.net/

I grant permission to publish this article, electronically or in print, as long as All the bylines are included, with Live Links, and the article is not changed in any way.

Discover more tips on developing the Best Home Based Businesses. Learn more about developing a Home Based Business Opportunity. Chrystal Chantel is the owner of Build Your Dream Business. Her focus is on helping people to turn their passions and hobbies into successful home based businesses.

Fitness, Stretching & Exercise Selection For Women By Phil
Beckett Copyright © Physique Concepts Inc.

In addition to stretching the muscles involved in cardiovascular
exercise, you need to stretch each specific muscle you train in
a fitness program.

When you stretch your muscles it helps to provide better
physical performance, prevents injuries, and can help to improve
your posture.

When muscles are stretched, the elasticity in them improves
which will help to increase your range of motion and improve the
quality of your movements.

Never stretch a cold muscle; meaning you should always make sure
your muscles are warm before stretching. It’s usually better to
do a more extensive stretch at the very end of your fitness
program, but light stretching between exercises is fine.

Stretching doesn’t take a long time, and it shouldn’t, but you
do benefit tremendously from it.

Stretch only after the muscle has been properly warmed-up.
Again, the best time for a complete stretch is when your
exercise session has been completed.

By the time you have finished your specific weight lifting
program, which will be about 35 - 45 minutes in length, your
muscles will have warmed up as much as they can possibly get.

Remember any womens fitness program must always include a
warm-up and proper stretching for maximum effectiveness and to
prevent injury.

When you do this you will indeed experience the terrific
benefits a good weight training program will give you.

Exercise Selection:

For you to succeed in your over-all womens fitness plan you need
to select at least one exercise for each major muscle group in
your body. This will help to promote well-balanced muscle
development.

Another important part of your over-all fitness plan is the
order your exercises are performed. When doing a range of
weightlifting exercises, it’s better to start with the larger
muscle groups then perform exercises for the smaller muscle
groups.

Performing your fitness program in this manner will allow you to
be exercising at your best during the most demanding exercises
when fatigue levels are the lowest and you feel fresh.

Another important area of exercise selection is the total number
of sets per exercise and total number of sets per exercise
session.

A “set” as it relates to womens fitness is the number of
successive repetitions of a single exercise performed in
succession without stopping.

Now the number of sets per exercise and per exercise session is
really going to depend on exactly what your goals are.

Always treat your very first set for each muscle group as a
warm-up, as was discussed in the warm-up section above.

Then the rest of your sets will be determined by whether or not
you are using a beginner, intermediate, or advanced level womens
fitness program and what your particular goals are.

To find out more about how to determine sets, exercises, etc.
you can visit:

http://www.womens-health-fitness.com/womens-fitness.html

Regardless of the number of sets performed, all sets and
repetitions have to be done with proper exercise form and under
complete control.

Exercise Form Or Technique:

One thing that always seems to be missing in most womens fitness
programs, and the most common and critical training mistake is
exercise form or “technique.”

Too much weight usually results in poor form, which decreases
your ability to get results and also increases the risk of
injury.

Examples of poor form or technique include, but aren’t limited
too…

- Bouncing the bar off your chest when performing a chest press;

- Using your hips for momentum and over extending your back to
initiate the bicep curls;

- Arching your back or bending backwards when performing a
shoulder press during the resistance portion of your fitness
session;

- Using momentum in any exercise;

- And training at a fast tempo.

Be aware of these types of mistakes and remove them.

What exactly is dysfunction? It is a word society,
although probably overused, labels most anything
and everything. However, its true attribute can be
characterized as a negative that is mostly hurtful and
counterproductive.

A parent who consistently talks down to their children
in the attempts of suppressing their self esteem
would be a perfect citing of dysfunction.

It is quite obvious that none of us can escape
dysfunction. Television and media cater to an
extremely dysfunctional character trait that I believe
is learned, not necessarily inherited. The you angle
is portrayed as subtle, but quite effective.

When the media designs a mass advertising
campaign, they brainstorm the best way to approach
any perspective consumer in a targeted
demographic. The you angle feeds a person’s sense
of “what’s in it for me and how can I benefit”? This
mindset, I feel, carries over into all phases of one’s
life creating an environment of constantly coveting
self fulfillment.

So with this said, how does one break this powerful
mold the media injects daily onto you?

First, recognition of what is right and wrong is a good
place to start because the all-encompassing media
does not care about the average person, they simply
care about selling products, magazines, newspapers,
and the like. This is much like recognizing your
opponent’s weaknesses by studying them before you
engage them in whatever competition; a person must
understand this insurgent aspect of the media.

The media is just one example of dysfunction, but
there are literally hundreds of examples one could
conjure up, and it would take an entire book to list
and explain each one of them.

Initially, if a person has the ability to recognize or
detect dysfunction, then it would be logical that this
person has the capability to halt its progression into
their lives. However, if a person is so accustomed to
this way of life, it is seemingly second nature.

In this instance, logical thinking must be implemented
in order to understand that aspects of dysfunction are
infiltrating now, and have in the past. Well, you
might think one person’s trash could be considered
another’s treasure, so how would a certain aspect of
one’s life be blanketed as dysfunctional?

Logic!

If a person enables dysfunctional behavior, then the
people they enable will eventually catch on to this
and know that you will always permit it, so the cycle
continues.

Using your God-given logic will always assist you in
diagnosing a scenario that is littered with
dysfunction, or one that has the potential to bring it
into your life.

If you are a person who thinks more with their heart
than their head, this needs to change immediately!
Many of the times we are hurt by thinking with our
heart, and in turn the consequences can be quite
costly.

Taking control of how much negative comes into your
life is the basis for this article. I want the reader to
understand that they do have power to not only make
changes, however painful they might be, but dam up
the flow that a river of illogic and dysfunction causes.

By recognizing dysfunction, you limit its growth at its
root and logically understand its negative
characteristics. This gives you more than enough
ammunition to stave off its constant barrage. So start
to control the damage dysfunction brings today rather
than settling for a more inferior quality of life.

–by Brian Maloney-ValuePrep.com
Want to improve your personal values?
Get high-quality-relationship advice for
guys and gals from a ‘Logical’ standpoint.
Visit ValuePrep.com - Relationship Advice for Guys and Women

*Attn Ezine editors / Site Owners**
Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your
ezine or on your website as long as you leave all
links in place, do not modify the content and
include our resource box as listed above.

When you invest your time in being a mentee you will be rewarded with accelerated learning and experiences from your mentor. You will learn from and avoid the mistakes that they may have made, learn about your industry, meet great people, form valuable relationships and be able to mentor someone in your future. If your organisation offers a mentoring program, sign up and get involved. If there isn’t a formal mentoring program, suggest one or identify people you would like to learn from and approach them about mentoring you. If you are going to approach someone about being your mentor make sure you present yourself professionally and show your prospective mentor that you are serious and committed by having a mentoring plan in place.

When I chose to become a professional speaker I sought out the most talented Australian speaker I could find. He was accomplished, fantastic presenter, had won many client and industry awards and ran a profitable speaking business. I asked him to mentor me and for 12 months I followed him everywhere. I went to client meetings, sold books for him at the back of the room when he presented, helped him on projects, worked in his office, paid for interstate flights to get uninterrupted discussions during travel time. Spending 12 months with him accelerated my speaking career in an astronomical way, helped me form valuable relationships and also lead to my next exciting career move. I was a dedicated mentee and would do anything to serve and learn.

Have a written agreed guideline. Make an agreement between both parties of the responsibilities and commitments of both parties.

Schedule for 6 months only. This gives you both an agreed timeframe to achieve effective communication and sharing of experience.

Meet monthly. Make a regular time each month for one hour to meet. As the mentee you must fit in with the mentor’s schedule.

Set an agenda. Advise your mentor what you would like to discuss, what challenges you have been facing and any questions you may have. To assist you develop this agenda you may like to keep the list on going through the month so you are very prepared for your meeting.

If can’t meet in person, book a teleconference. You don’t need to meet face to face (especially if your mentor is busy). You should still have an agenda and clear outcomes of what you want from the meeting.

Meet in a location that suits the mentor. Find locations they enjoy being in i.e. the favourite coffee shop, airport lounges or the beach. Make an effort to drive or commute to the location that fits in with their schedule.

Do your homework. Your mentor might give you activities to try or challenges for the next month. Always complete these tasks and report back to your mentor on your success. Don’t waste your mentor’s time or advice.

Promote your mentor to others. If you know of businesses or opportunities for your mentor, always let others know about their skills, achievements and success.

Thank your mentor with the gift of service. You could assist them with a project, help in their business unit, driving them to an event, and take them to the airport. Being a good mentee is all about serving your mentor to create opportunities to draw from their experience.

Do your homework on your mentor. Find out what they like to listen to, what books they like to read, movies they enjoy, family details. This helps you respond to them and also thank them in ways that are important to them.

Maintain confidentiality. Keep all relevant discussions between you and your mentor private. Never disclose to others your discussions.

Make time. Find opportunities to support your mentor and also debrief conversations. If they are driving for long periods of time, keep them company (either face to face or on the phone), if they are flying interstate for the day, go with them and use the uninterrupted time on the plane to gain wisdom and assistance.

Avoid contacting your mentor outside of agreed times. If you both agree you will meet once a month, save all of your discussions for this monthly meeting. If you need to contact them try SMS messaging or email so you don’t interrupt their daily activities.

Try to outdo your mentor. Learn from their experiences, view their templates but always try and develop your own work even better than theirs. If you are successful, you could share your new templates or ideas with them so you can add value to their business by improving on their ideas or systems.

Never ask your mentor “What can I do for you?” Always be creative and find ways to assist them without being asked. Offer to do some data entry in their office, offer to pick them up from the airport instead of them taking a cab, and offer to help recruit staff for their business - find ways to help them without expecting anything in return.

Neen is a Global Productivity Expert: by looking at how they spend their time and energy - and where they focus their attention - Neen helps people to rocket-charge their productivity and performance. A dynamic speaker, author and corporate trainer, Neen demonstrates how boosting your productivity can help you achieve amazing things. With her unique voice, sense of fun and uncommon common-sense, Neen delivers a powerful lesson in productivity. Find out more at http://neenjames.com/

Is your new site sitting in the infamous Google “sandbox”? There is a way to get it out fast, as well as getting all of your other pages indexed!

How?

Write an article on your site topic and upload it to your website. You can either put it on your index page, or place a snippet of the content with a link to your new article on your index page. Then - submit your article to all the free article directories you can find. It doesn’t even have to be a long article - just as long as it offers value to the reader.

Submitting your article to the free article directories also means that you get instant valuable back links to your site which is vital if you want to rank well in Google.

How do I know whether my site is in the Sandbox?

If your site is in the sandbox, if you do a search for http://www.yoursite.com in Google, you will probably just see this kind of information displayed on the results page:

http://www.yoursite.com

If your site is indexed in Google, the results page will look like this:

http://www.yoursite.com
Your site description and what your site is about will appear here.

Google can show you the following information for this URL:

Find web pages that are similar to www.youresite.com

Find web pages that link to www.youresite.com

Find web pages from the site www.youresite.com

Find web pages that contain the term www.youresite.com

You can also do a check at http://www.uptimebot.com to see how many of your pages are indexed by the search engines.

Proof that this method works?

I recently registered two new websites and linked to them from one of my sites that have PR. Doing a search for them showed that both of them just showed up as http://www.mysites.com which means that they were not indexed yet. Checking on Uptimebot it showed that Google had one link for each of them, but no additional pages.

After writing an article related to the one site, I uploaded it to my site and submitted it to the various article directories. The next day’s search showed that my site was in the Google Index because it was showing the additional information about my site, and a check on Uptimebot revealed that I now had all of my pages (20) indexed in Google.

Now that I know this method works, I will be doing it for my other sites as well. Don’t you think you too should get writing?

Joan Masterson is the owner of Make money from home and Work from home - sites that offer information on making money from home.