In-Tune News You’ll Want To Use

Successful Realtors know the importance of branding their
identities into the consciousness of the communities in
which they live, like the big boys; Pepsi, McDonald’s,
Burger King, and other companies we know and have come to
trust.

Why is branding important? Think about it! When you want a
soda do you buy an unknown off-brand just because it’s
cheap?

Or, do you reach for a Coke? I’m a Pepsi guy myself, but you
get my drift!

And why do you do that? Because there’s comfort in
familiarity and you know what you’re getting when you buy
it.

We spend mega bucks on name brand products just because
we’ve been inundated with their marketing campaign messages.

Don’t believe me? Try this! Quick, who said “Have It Your
Way”; “Soup and Sandwich, Soup and Sandwich”; “Oh, I wish I
was an ____ ____ ____, that is what I truly want to Be…”.
Point made!

People support businesses and products that they are
comfortably familiar with, even when the familiarity is
solely based on marketing campaigns, while avoiding the
unknowns.

The same is true for homeowners wanting to list properties
for sale with real estate agents. Unless there’s a
compelling reason to do so they’re not going to list their
property with a rookie agent, or worst yet somebody who’s
been in the business for years, but who hasn’t really been
in the business. Know what I mean?

Now, we may not like it but we do understand it. Still, it’s
difficult for newly licensed and even some veteran real
estate agents to make a living selling real estate because
of it.

So how does this impact you? It doesn’t if you have
thousands of dollars and can afford a couple of years to get
beyond it.

But if you’re relatively new to the profession and have
limited resources you just might have a problem.

Established agents have already put in time and money
cultivating their images, and when people in their
respective communities want to buy or sell real estate they
think of them - not you.

So, what can you do about it? Lots actually, but for now
I’ll focus on one thing; farming prospects.

Why? Because when done right you can easily put hundreds of
business cards, letters and other marketing materials in the
hands of known sellers and potential buyers every month.

Simply stated, the more people you contact the sooner you
brand yourself as an agent worthy of consideration. Anything
short of this is whistling in the wind.

Take a moment and honestly assess your situation. How many
contacts are you presently averaging - daily, weekly,
monthly?

Are they random contacts (shotgun approach) of people who
might be interested in your services, or with real prospects
known to need services right now (laser beam approach)?

A good real estate listing system can help put you on a fast
track to gaining name recognition within your community in
months, instead of years. And it won’t cost you thousands of
dollars to implement.

Let me suggest, though, that you avoid systems that appear
complicated, or that are hundreds of pages long. If it takes
days to read and weeks to comprehend whose really going to
read it and follow through to boring completion, anyway? Not
me!

Also, consider the following before committing to a
particular listing system.

1. Does it come with a satisfaction money back guarantee?

2. If you’re buying on line is a contact name and phone
number readily available on the website?

3. Can you reach anybody or get a response to a message when
you call before buying?

If the answers to any of the above are a resounding “no”
then I suggest that you put your credit card back in your
pocket and continue looking.

Proceed with caution, but do proceed, as you need a system
that’ll give you a competitive advantage.

Summarily, a good real estate listing system can help you
brand yourself relatively quickly. So, get one as soon as
you can and start claiming your share of the market!

Lanard Perry is the author of “Farming Expired Listings”, a
real estate listing system that shows Realtors how to secure
1-2 real estate listings a week. Get a FREE Sample Chapter at
http://www.farmingexpiredlistings.com

Discovering and owning a powerful word that reflects you and your business is the true key of successful branding.

Some organisations invest fortunes in this endeavour but there’s nothing stopping any of us from doing the same at a fraction of the cost.

Today I’ll introduce you to a simple, low-cost, branding process that will magnetise your business without breaking the bank.

Our discovery begins by answering three simple questions:

* What Are You Like?

* What Do You Do?

* How Do You Do The Things You Do?

So let’s begin…

STEP #1 - What Are You Like?

Understanding your names (or nouns) can really help to trigger your imagination. If I were to ask what you’d be if you were an animal, you’d feel a certain affinity with a particular animal and quickly be able to answer… Monkey, Cat, Tiger, Lion, Bird, Fish, Dolphin etc.

If asked for your profession you’d say one or more of the following… Coach, Therapist, Consultant, Teacher, Chef, Speaker, Author, Trainer etc.

If I asked you what you’d be if you were a car you might think… Ferrari, Rover, Mini, Porsche, Maserati, Lexus, Rolls-Royce, BMW etc.

If I asked for your role you might say things like… Man, Woman, Leader, Supporter, Parent, Carer, Entrepreneur, Explorer, Protector, Guardian, Helper etc.

If I asked what thing you sold you might say… Comfort, Books, Time, Inspiration, Words, Tools, Skills etc.

Brainstorm as many of these nouns as you can - it’s good to have more than one for each category. This process will trigger all sorts of other ideas to help you to realise your unique coaching name.

Time To Write…

Read the following statements and come up with as many answers as you can for each one:

* If I were an animal I’d be…

* If I were a car I’d be…

* If I were a colour I’d be…

* If I were to announce my occupation I could say…

* If I were to announce what I had to offer I’d say…

* If I were a famous figure from history I’d be…

STEP #2 - What Do You Do?

Once you’ve got a good list of names you can start asking what you actually do. Spend a good time on this. It may seem a challenge at first to think entirely in terms of what you do so use your lists of people, animals and things for inspiration. What do they do? Here’s some ideas…

* Coaches… encourage, listen, support, reflect

* Trainers… share, instil, empower, guide, teach

* Tigers… leap, hunt, run, survive, inspire, stalk

* Birds… fly, soar, see, dive, migrate

* Leaders… lead, inspire, persuade, encourage

* Chefs… cook, create, nourish, feed etc

You’ll notice a pattern here, you’ll have created a big list of doing words (or verbs).

Time To Write…

Go through your lists and play word association by answering the question… “What does an XYZ do?” for each one.

STEP #3 - How Do You Do The Things You Do?

Once you’ve got a good list of names and doing words it’s time to add spice to the mix…

As the song goes, “T’Ain’t What You Do It’s The Way That Cha Do It”

Discovering how you do something will give your brand a lot more clout than just knowing what you are and what you do.

We use adjectives to describe how we do something, how we compare to others, what makes us unique or what makes us easy to identify. For example…

A Tiger is… big, bold, fast, fearsome, stealthy

This is good, but it’s not all, you can go further by adding adverbs if you’re struggling by linking a noun with it’s verb to see what happens. Here’s another example…

A Tiger Leaps… stealthily, quickly, decisively, smoothly

You can take the “ly” ending off most words to create more appropriate adjectives for your brand. So in this case you’d have a list of words as follows: stealthy, quick, decisive and smooth.

Time To Write…

How do people describe you and what you do?

How would you like people to describe you?

What sets you apart as different? (think about your appearance, voice, manner, style etc)

How do you do what you do? (are you slow and methodical? fast-paced and energetic?)

Now, do the same for your list of animals, cars, roles, famous figures etc until you have a really big and full list of words.

Summary

You’ve now collected all the information you need to discover your unique business identity. You may already be getting a feel for how this process can give you a lot more ways to view and describe yourself but this is just the first step…

There are two more steps covered in this F’REE eBook, which you can download immediately, entitled Find Your Power Word….

Enjoy the book and thanks for staying tuned!

‘Dangerous’ Debbie Jenkins

‘Dangerous’ Debbie Jenkins
debs@debbiejenkins.com

(c) Copyright 2005 www.BookShaker.com

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When the time comes and you have decided to own a home, you will be faced with many things to think about.

Your future depends on the type of decisions you make as a first time buyer of a home.

The first thing you need to do is get a checklist and list everything that you think may be remotely involved in owning a new home.

Check things off as you complete them and keep track of everything so you won’t loose sight of what you are doing or what your next step will be.

Make sure you understand every aspect of owning a home and know what type of agreements you will end up signing.

The issues of credit that are constantly talked about in the media is greatly affecting the first time buyer in many ways.

First of all lenders are becoming cautious of who they lend to. High risk products are being pulled out of the equation.

The 100% mortgage is one of these high risks product. This type of mortgage is basically meant for the first time buyers.

Typically, the loan will allow first time buyers enough money for the deposit on their property and extra money for home improvements.

Basically, all cost involved in buying a new home are covered. Buyers must be aware that they can really get in over their head because the lenders allow an additional unsecured loan in addition to the mortgage.

A corporate logo design should be highly instrumental in building your corporate identity and should successfully exude the company’s attitude. The viewers must have some idea about the disposition, character, or fundamental values of your company through your logo.

Following certain basic principles can ensure that your corporate logo design is professional easy to remember and creates a great impact on its viewers while successfully expressing the nature of your business.

Go for Professional Logo Designers
You might save a few dollars doing your own logo or getting it done from the next door boy who knows the basics of designing but if you are serious about your business you should always go for a professional logo design firm. Your corporate logo is your identity, your customers recognize you by your logo, so the more professional and sophisticated your logo is the better will be your customer’s impression about your company.

Though most of the logo design companies charge exorbitant rates to create a corporate logo design but the industry is changing. These days there are companies that offer excellent professional logos for nominal charges (e.g., http://www.mycorporatelogo.com)

Simplicity - Keep it Simple

An ideal corporate logo design should be simple and memorable. Corporate houses spend thousands of dollars to ensure that customers remember them at all point of time and a simple logo is the key to that. Think about the Nike logo, it’s simple and memorableonce you see the Swoosh, do you ever need to think twice about the company name?

Colors

Colors you use for your corporate logo are a very important factor in your brand establishment. If you already have your corporate colors ask your logo designer to use those colors for the logo. If you don’t, suggest the colors that you think might give your prospective clients some idea about the type of business you do. For example, a company working in the fields of forest conservation might like their logo to be in green. At the same time, you also need to consider which colors will go well with your corporate stationeries as well.

Black and White version

While emphasizing the colors we must also remember that it is important for a corporate logo to come out well in black and white. A corporate logo design is used in all corporate communications including fax and photocopied document where they will be in black and white and the logo design must be such that it holds the same impact even in black and white.

Minimize Colors

This is more important from an economic and usability point of view. Corporate logos are often required to be printed for stationary and corporate literature. Using a one or two spot color logo can save a lot of cost compared to printing a full color logo.

Logo Format

It is advisable to always use a vector format for your corporate logo design. A corporate logo may be required to be reproduced at any size for different purposes in the future. A logo design done in vector format can be expanded to any size without any loss of image quality, where as a corporate logo in raster format will loose image quality, if scaled up. Also it is easier to convert a vector logo design to bitmap than vice versa.

If you get a professional logo design firm to do your corporate logo and brief them about this basic tips (most of the knowledgeable firms are well aware of these principles) you are sure to get a satisfactory corporate logo design that would go a long way in helping you establishing your brand.

Use your Logo:

Once you are ready with your corporate logo start giving it maximum exposure possible. Not only on your business cards and letterheads but also on your packaging, uniforms, pens and all possible goods should contain your logo. This gives wider exposure to your logo and people gets familiar with the corporate logo much faster. With all these you are on your way to establish your brand.

Ray Smith is a marketing Expert with years of experience in different industries and specialized knowledge on branding and internet marketing.
Corporate Logo Design.

A lot of martial arts people don’t like to hear this but, the real difference between those who win street fights and those who lose street fights…has less to do with knowing every self defense skill, technique and “style” in the world…and more to do with having a simple “game plan” in place before the fight even begins.

Here’s what I mean by that:

In sports — especially professional sports — games do not get won by “chance.” A point scored, a goal made, distance taken, or a finish line crossed, happens by means of a game plan by either a player or team.

And it’s no different when you’re out on the street fighting for your life.

Fact is, inexperienced fighters will “just fight” and throw caution to the wind…while experienced fighters — even if they haven’t learned a lot of specific self defense “skills” — will have a game plan mapped out before the fight starts.

A game plan to win in the quickest, most effective way possible. Every move and reaction has a specific purpose and nothing is left to chance.

And, thus, they will almost always win fights. Even against people with more martial arts skills, talent and ability.

So let me ask you, what’s your game plan if you get attacked?

Do you know what you’d do if you were jumped on the street tomorrow?

What if someone pulls a knife on you? What if some doped-up lunatic tries to grab your wife or girlfriend? What if an entire pack of gang-bangers, full of hate and rage, corners you in an ally?

These thing happen all the time to people all over the world.

But when you have a game plan for the most common scenarios (like the ones above) your chances of getting away in one piece go up dramatically.

On the other hand, if you don’t have a game plan in place then, no matter how “tough” you are, skilled you are or fast you are…you’re going to be in some serious trouble.

A new report by the Kaiser Family Foundation refers to the current younger generation as Generation M, which stands for media. They have found that the youth of today are spending increased time with new media such as the Internet, and video games.

The report also shows that Gen M also consumes multiple media simultaneously. The below 18 year olds may watch TV, read email, and chat simultaneously. The drawback to this multitasking may be a decrease in already shrinking attention spans. Kids may have a more difficult time focusing on tasks which require significant depth.

The benefits of martial arts training for children are numerous. Many psycho-social studies have shown martial arts training for kids may: lead to lower incidences of violence, create happier more easygoing demeanor, lessen anger and mood disturbances, increase self confidence. Studies also show that children who participate in martial arts have better behavior and higher test scores in school.

The martial arts offer children an opportunity to intensely focus on a single skill at a time. With instruction by a teacher who acts as a good role-model, students begin to emulate courteous, respectful, and mindful behavior.

Jujutsu is the ancient martial art of the samurai warriors of Japan. In antiquity it was only studied by the elite, educated members of Japanese society. Its study is therefore more intellectually intense, and involves less brute-force than many other martial arts. Jujutsu relies on principles of physics such as inertia, leverage, and momentum which present challenges that foster mental growth.

Students of jujutsu also develop a greater kinesthetic sense. The physical benefits of practice include those of regular exercise plus increased balance, reduced stress, and greater self-awareness.

Jujutsu, like other arts, always begins and ends with courtesy. Students exhibit proper etiquette at al times and respect that the techniques they are practicing can cause injury to others. For many students, the practice helps develop a sense of responsibility.

In stark contrast to the fast passed media-rich life of today’s 8-18 year-olds, jujutsu offers children an opportunity to spend time simply yet intensely focused. The benefits of practice are many, and it just may be a prescription for the technologically short attention spans.

Copyright 2006 Marketing Comet

John Moore is a 3rd degree blackbelt in Jujutu.
http://www.nesacademy.com/sports/ma_jujitsu.asp

“Fronting”: The dodge to get in close to you. The frontal assault, as opposed to the ambush.

Fronting can be either a direct confrontation (intimidation) or it can make use of “artifice”, i.e. “got a light?”, “got the time?”, “how do I get to such and such?” Anything “innocent” to throw you off your guard and allow the assailant to “get into your safety zone”. That is the area where action is ALWAYS faster than re-action.

The key here is NEVER TRUST anyone’s “intention”, NEVER!

Maintaining the “reactionary gap” is the single most important “thing” in this situation. In order for ANY attack to be optimally effective three things must “work” in the attackers favor: Time - Distance - Opportunity.

NEVER “allow” anyone within arms distance. If they are close enough to simply reach out and touch you, you have a BIG PROBLEM.

How did you get there?

I wish I had a dime for every self-defense “expert” that starts with this line - OK, the bad guy throws a punch……………

WHAT? Did he just appear in a cloud of smoke? Simply materialize from nowhere? What preceded this “punch”?

How did he approach you and manage to get into your safety zone? Is it an “ambush”? How did you wind up dealing with the attack?
The equation for dealing with this is NOT the “defense”, it’s understanding our “triad”, TIME - DISTANCE - OPPORTUNITY.

Increase the TIME necessary for the assailant to be effective.

Decrease the TIME necessary for YOUR attack to be effective.

Increase the DISTANCE necessary for the assailant to be effective.

Decrease the DISTANCE necessary for YOUR attack to be effective.

Remove or minimize the OPPORTUNITY necessary for the assailant to be effective.

MAXIMIZE your OPPORTUNITY to make YOUR attack effective.

The assailant has to TARGET YOU, COVER THE DISTANCE TO GET TO YOU, and then have THE OPPORTUNITY to implement his assault, in other words you have to be there when he gets there.

Now! Time - Distance - Opportunity = SPEED - POWER - ACCURACY.

That’s the full “combat” equation. It works for the assailant AND it works for you.

So, I’m more concerned with “how” we disrupt the equation for the attacker and use it to our advantage, than I am about “defending against the punch”.

Here are two good ones:

“A miss is as good as a mile”
“Almost only works for horseshoes and hand-grenades”

That’s also what I mean when I say look at the “big picture”.

Combat shooting:

Speed and “man-killing” accuracy: “nail driving” accuracy is great as long as it doesn’t affect your SPEED!

Distance: measure off the longest “area” in your home. Hallway, bedroom, kitchen, or all the places that an attack may occur. What’s the distance? Don’t waste time at firing ranges over that!

I know people that have weapons strategically placed around their living environment. Never know where you’ll be when you need what you don’t have, right?

How about the one place where you really are naked as a jay-bird? How about the shower? Drawstring or a plastic bag (waterproof) with you, in the shower, containing 230 grains of “soap”. No, I’m NOT kidding. Better to have “it” and NOT ever need it, than to need “it” and NOT have it. ALWAYS, ALWAYS…..remember Uncle Murphy! The SOB will always show up when least expected, ALWAYS!

Copyright 2003 www.thetruthaboutselfdefense.com ©

Carl Cestari began his study of the martial arts with judo at the age of 7 under the direction of Yoshisada Yonezuka. During the past forty plus years Carl has dedicated his life to studying the martial arts, hand to hand combat systems, history and religion. What makes Carl unique is his combination of martial arts, law enforcement, military and real world experience. Carl has been exposed to a multitude of people with a wide variety experience. The following is a list of some of Carl’s ranks and honors.

Shinan (Founder) Tekkenryu jujutsu
Ryokudan (6th degree) Koshinkai Karate under John Burrelle
Godan (5th degree) Jujutsu under Clarke of the World Jujutsu Fedaration (now defunct)
Sandan (3rd degree) Nippon Kempo under Narabu Sada
Nidan (2nd degree) Judo under Masafumi Suzuki
Shodan (1st degree) Judo under Yoshisada Yonezuka
Shodan (1st degree) Shukokai Karate under Kimura, Kadachi and Yonezuka
Shodan (1st degree) Daitoryu Aikijujutsu
Instructors Certificate- Charles Nelson System of Self Defense under Charlie Nelson

http://www.thetruthaboutselfdefense.com

8 hours ago also a Belgium online company has started with a fun website and is also legally indifferently. Entering online sweepstakes by mail is declining in online popularity at this moment. Promotions advertised as online contests, so far, can call for an entry fee or manifest of purchase. Really everybody can win realy terrific prizes now every 10 days even if you live in Oak Lawn Illinois or in Montgomery Alabama, isn’t that marvelous. That’s why there are super plasmas to win at online game contest and easy sweepstakes this quarter. Sweepstakes are also legally differently from the funny online contests in Garden Grove California. Internet sweepstakes and online promotions are banned from demanding a buy to enter.

Translated in Dutch it means: Woont u in Vlissingen of Waddinxveen en wilt u een prijs winnen’ Winnen met Win de Prijsvraag is nergens zo eenvoudig. Geweldige prijzen winnen met de formule van windeprijsvraag.nl‘ Minstens 170 prijzen per week. Van Noordwijk tot Beemster, met Windeprijsvraag winnen is hier geen enkel probleem. Een meneer van 72 heeft een week geleden nog een prijs weten te winnen.

Online game contests are treated much more different than the people who win who are not chosen by risk but by an fine element of easy skill. Cyber sweepstakes are broadly speaking much softer and much more quicker to enter than fun websites. It should be terrific to win BMWs worth 4648 euro and that simple. Lots of more contest websites are choosing to enter online internet sweepstakes.

The standard pattern for loss of hair in guys is the receding hair line on the forehead that makes an m shape. The top of your head might often also start to thin and become finer. Loss of hair in patches doesn?t tend to happen in guys. Explore the latest hair loss techniques from Advanced Hair Studio, home to hair restoration.

Guys hair grows usually in most men at 1.5 inch every 8 weeks, each and every hair strand will last around two to 6 years and then drops out. Once your hair falls out a regenerated hair strand takes its place on your scalp. With genetic baldness once the hair falls out the hair does not come back.

Each strand of hair sits in a follicle in your scalp, over the course of time the follicle in men may reduce and result in thinner hair on your head or no hair. The reason for this is still not proven and might be related to hormones or DNA. Although your follicle could shrink they are still alive.

Loss of hair might cause stress in lads and fortunately there are awesome baldness treatments available that will probably help slow down loss of hair and develop marvellous hair growth. These baldness treatments include minoxidil which is a wonderful lotion treatment applied directly on your scalp, this is shown to stop hair loss and even produce new hair, now that is wonderful. Once you stop this baldness treatment the hair loss will then restart.

If you appreciate a strong, healthy self confidence that carries you through overwhelming times and drives you to achieving your most far reaching goals, martial arts is for you.

A person’s self-confidence is like a muscle, it needs to be exercised in order to grow and develop. In the 20 plus years that I’ve been teaching Martial Arts in our community we have developed a 5 step approach to building self-confidence. These 5 steps can be learned by anyone - with the right guidance:

1. Correct Body Posture. The importance of the correct body posture is paramount. We all send hidden, sub-conscious messages with our body language and the way we carry ourselves. Carry yourself with pride, confidence and security. Carry yourself like a successful person and your confidence will show.

2. Proper Eye Contact. Making proper eye contact when speaking to others has a huge effect on the conversation. Have you ever been talking to somebody and instantly felt connected? Like you’ve known this person forever? Chances are, they understand the importance of body language, and proper eye-contact.

3. Goal Setting. Goal setting is talked about by everybody, and most people understand the importance of this process. Then why do most people miss their mark? Because they don’t have the discipline and confidence to see the goal through. Our process teaches you the right way to set goals and actually achieve them!

4. Communication. Inspiring those around you is critical to getting what you want. Whether they are your children, co-workers, employees or boss, good leaders are inspirational. We teach this inspirational formula.

5. Mentors. All of the skills above, a healthy body and mind combined with a good mentor or two will make all the difference in the world for your happiness and success.

Mr. Robert Jones runs three successful martial arts schools located in Bellevue, Lynnwood, and Kent Washington. He has been helping families make positive changes in their lives through martial arts for over 20 years. He has also written two guides on how to pick a martial arts school. One for adults and one for parents wanting to pick the right school for their children. He can be reached at martialadvice@hotmail.com or at the Academy of Kempo Martial Arts. 800-508-6141.