Find Mineral Nutrition Online
May 31, 2006
Mineral nutrition
Searching for mineral nutrition information is much easier today than ever before. I remember when we’d have to search manuals, books and do it at the library and also searching the encyclopedia. Thanks to Senate document 264 the truth finally comes out. Much buried of course as its information doesn’t support the bottom line of retailers. But, to find the truth sometimes takes digging and especially mineral nutrition.
We’ve come to discover that many serious health issues including life threatening can be at the source of lack of minerals in our diet. Most of us haven’t been taught that without these vital nutritional nutrients taking vitamins is useless. Since vitamins are such a large marketing item with plenty of resources we seldom read or see much about anything else.
It is critical to our health to understand that the depleted soils today do not yield its fruits and vegetables with the nutrients they once did years ago. Fast foods haven’t helped either, and now we even read of a national epidemic about overweight child. Our kids are starving from the lack of good nutrition and most of us aren’t doing anything about it.
Research online can be the resource of choice that let’s us do the research work rather easily. Armed with some good up to date education and information goes a long way towards correcting one’s path to optimum health. The responsibility falls on us for self preservation, not the doctors when it’s perhaps too late.
We may also need to adjust our thinking for days of old. Our parents who didn’t have the information available today taught us what they could, but may not in fact be the most effective approach today. When you gather your information you may very well be shocked, so stay open minded and be patient. Correcting the sorry state of affairs with good mineral nutrition isn’t difficult or over expensive.
The rest of the story at http://www.liquid-vitamins-4u.com
How to Clean Your Jewelry at Home or Work
May 31, 2006
It looks like a million dollars but after a couple of months it doesn’t have the same ‘Sparkle’ or look it once had (a bit like me really).
So what are we to do?
The first thing is to make sure it is SAFE to be cleaned!
Naturally, delicate items should be best left to a professional Jeweler to clean. BUT Opals, Pearls and Emeralds are very susceptible to damage in a Jewelers Ultrasonic cleaning tank, as it can loosen pearls from their mounts and breakdown Opal and Emerald quite easily.
SOLUTION: Clean them yourself! BUT VERY GENTLY.
Make up a solution of Washing up liquid (Clean of course, not after doing the Sunday dishes) and use an old Toothbrush and carefully clean around the mount, using the bristles of the brush to get into the setting and CLEAN BEHIND THE STONES.
But beware as too much pressure could ‘Pop’ the stone out of it’s setting, so if in doubt - take it out (of the bowl I mean).
Yet even this has a good point. If you lost it somewhere other than the washing process, not only would you probably never find it, you’d be very annoyed at me for suggesting such a thing in the first place.
However; if the stone came out in the wash, it would prove that the setting was so worn it would have come out sooner or later anyway, so better to ‘catch the falling star’ as it were, and get your local Jeweler to reset it safely back for you.
See, I just did you a favor… no need to thank me just yet.
Let’s continue….
Don’t have the water too hot and certainly don’t leave the items to soak all day. Pearls are generally only glued onto your Jewelry (rings, brooches etc) and if the item is a few years old (say over 20) then the glues used then were not as good as they are today. A couple of minutes should be enough.
Dry everything on a paper towel in a warm area (under a sun drenched window is perfect) and finally buff up with a soft cloth and check everything before you wear it again.
It should look good for another few months.
By the way: In General terms, the only difference in the cleaning fluid used by your Jeweler or purchased from a proprietary Brand would be Ammonia!
A small cap of Cloudy Ammonia bought from Coles or Woolies or your local Supermarket, mixed with washing up liquid is a terrific cleaner. It smells a little but the results are perfect!
DIRTY DIAMONDS?
Just to continue from the previous section:
Most of the white colorless gemstones used over the past hundred years or so as Diamond Imitations or Simulants, were either Paste (Fancy name for glass) Spinels or White Sapphire (corundum) and occasionally Zircon (Not to be confused with Cubic Zirconia CZ’s which is quite modern).
When you first purchased your beautiful ring it glistened like diamond, but slowly became duller and duller.
Ladies, you are to Blame!
Hand Cream is the biggest culprit of them all as it gets under the stone and dulls it.
Wearing your Jewelry while Gardening doesn’t help much either and you certainly shouldn’t wear your rings while doing the washing up (all that grease sticks to the stone).
This is one of the major ‘Properties’ of a Diamond.
Just clean it in the same solution as we suggested above and brush it with an old toothbrush. It will return to sparkling quality in no time.
Once every few months is perfect, so don’t over do it.
There are several other SPECIAL REPORTS available through our eMail-on-Demand subscription box at the website, so please take some time to visit.
There is a timely warning on Security issues. It’s good advice, plus there is some great tips on Investing in Jewelry, Insurance guidelines and other notes on selling, Hallmarking tips etc, and they are being added to all the time.
And the best bit is they are FREE….
Thank you for taking the time to read this special report. If you thought it interesting, useful or found it helped you in any way I would appreciate your comments via email at the address shown below.
This is my personal email address and I read every comment - good or bad.
Alternatively: why not pass it on to a friend. I’m sure you can think of someone who might benefit from this useful information. Treat it as doing me a big favor. I will certainly appreciate it.
Thank you. As usual….
Take care and watch the road.
Kind regards. David Foard F.G.A.A.
Resident gemologist/valuer at the Online Jewelry Appraisal Center.
P.S. There are many other complimentary Reports available to you at our website, or if you haven’t yet done so, you may like to subscribe to our email-on-demand Newsletters - the Antique Jewelry Guide - full of Hints - Tips - Secrets and Articles in every issue.
About The Author
David Foard is retired (”Ha…” he laughs). He is working harder now than at any time in his life, especially over the 30 years he spent in the Antique Jewelry Trade as a qualified gemologist and member of the Valuers Council. Now he concentrates on the three ‘R’s of ‘Reading’ Ritin’ and re-ritin articles, courses and producing free reports and information at his website.
Get all the info now by going to http://www.online-jewelry-appraisals.com and follow the links at the Online Jewelry Appraisal Center.
You Goofed? Hip, Hip, Hooray!
May 31, 2006
Certainly we all want our children to excel. But it takes most kids years to find their strengths; if they don’t try everything that comes their way –from kickball to spelling bees– how will they discover their passions?
One thing that parents can model is to value ‘effort’ and ‘risk’. Kids whose parents praise things like ‘trying,’ ‘giving their best effort’ and ‘finishing what they’ve started’ seem to have kids who try, give their best effort and finish things! While competition is a great teacher, there are also times that it is as important to reward participation as achievement.
Rewarding the courage to compete builds confidence and helps to combat the stigma attached to losing. People often forget that losing is nature’s best teacher. High achieving adults we’ve interviewed confirmed that adversity and struggle (e.g. ‘losing’) taught them what they needed to do to win the next time!
Kids shouldn’t be afraid of losing. Hug and praise them no matter how well or poorly they do. Go easy on the sympathy if they lose. Soft-pedal the congratulations if they win. In either case, ask them what they learned or what they’ll try next time.
Remember, your offsprings’ ‘won/loss’ record is not a reflection of your parenting skill? but their attitudes, values and ethics are. Whether they win or lose you can teach them to show the same respect for everyone who competes, to push themselves toward improvement and give to their best.
As with so many aspects of being a parent, it’s all in how you approach it.
Andrea Patten is the co-author of What Kids Need to Succeed: Four Foundations of Adult Achievement which is now available on Amazon.com
For more information about ‘The Four Foundations’ please visit http://www.whatkidsneedtosucceed.com
“…because you’re not raising a child - you’re raising a future adult”
Valentines Day Rapport
May 31, 2006
How to develop and heighten rapport on Valentines Day beyond your wildest dreams!
With Valentines day on the doorstep for another year here is way of enhancing those romantic occasions. In thinking about something pertinent to Valentines, I thought I would write about a topic that fascinates me; developing rapport.
Fundamental techniques in NLP show people how to do physical things like match and mirror body language, which I think is fairly well documented these days. I had a local newspaper advertising salesman come along to my centre recently to talk about advertising and I was amazed at how blatantly and obviously he mirrored every movement I made. It verged on being uncomfortable! If you are going to match and mirror, you can match body language with more subtlety.
You do not have to copy every crossing of the arms with a crossing of the arms yourself. You can intimate a crossing movement with your fingers much more gently. You can also then look at matching the speed and rhythm of speech, match the rate of breathing and general tempo of that person.
You can then progress onto to doing things to do with matching the form of their representational systems within their language? “What?” I hear many of you ask. Well, that is something you can ask me about separately. This article is about something else.
What is more interesting for valentines is a deeper connection in the person you are with.
The idea that you can create the kind of ‘instant connection’ that leads to deeper intimacy with another person fascinated me, and that sense of fascination is still with me. While many of the ‘techniques’ for building rapport (matching, mirroring, sensory words etc) have been well-documented, it occurred to me that, when that sort of ‘instant connection’ happens spontaneously, often its in the absence of any techniques whatsoever.
My partner, Sara, and I recently discussed that lots of people often comment on how comfortable they feel when they are with me! What many people are astonished with is the degree of rapport I can and do often get with other people. I very often do not do anything in the way of matching body language, sensory words or breathing rate when I am out of the therapeutic environment, yet I do get into extremely deep rapport with the people I come into contact with, leading to comments like "You know me better than my best friend" or "I feel like I’ve known you all my life". Hmmmmm….. I thought…….
How do you do that?
Well, whenever I see someone doing something really cool, the NLP question that I ask is "How do you do that?" One of the presuppositions of NLP is that if one person can do something, then we can learn how to do it and teach it to other people. We all have human neurology, and the amazing skills that individuals demonstrate are based in their neurology, so anything one person can do can be done by anyone else with human neurology. (As an aside, I was once at a Richard Bandler training where he said "Anything is possible". Someone challenged his assertion, and he replied "Look, if something’s impossible, you’re going to find out soon enough anyway, so you may as well assume its possible until proven otherwise" which I thought was just the coolest answer.)
The kind of thing I examined about myself was that whenever I meet someone, I accept them exactly as they are, with all their foibles, peculiarities and peccadilloes. Of course, in order to accept them as they are, I need to accept myself as I am. That is the reason my website and day to day manner is sometimes brutally honest, verging on arrogant, laced with my own brand of humour; because that is who and how I am and I accept that. It seems as though the other person somehow senses this acceptance, and deep rapport develops instantly.
Here are some ideas to tinker around with;
1) Sit for a few moments, and experiment with accepting yourself exactly as you are. Say to yourself "I accept myself exactly as I am".
If you are experienced in meditation or self-hypnosis, this may be very easy, right from the outset. If you are less experienced, it may be a bit trickier at first, until you realise that, whatever your internal response to the statement is, you can just accept that.
Example:
Me 1) I accept myself exactly as I am
Me 2) Oh, what about that tension in my shoulder, I don’t like that.
Me 1) I accept that tension in my shoulder.
Me 2) But I don’t like it.
Me 1) I accept the sense of not liking it.
Me 2) That’s not fair!
Me 1) I accept that sense of ‘not-fairness’
etc.
I use the abbreviation of ‘Me 1′ and ‘Me 2′ because human consciousness is self-reflexive, and it seems that, no matter how many ‘me’s I identify, there’s always at least one more ‘me’ observing the other ‘me’s. Go figure!
If you have never done this exercise before, you may find it to be an extraordinary experience. Whether you do or whether you don’t, just accept yourself as having the right experience for you.
2) In a low-risk situation with another person, decide to experiment with accepting them exactly as they are. Say to yourself "I accept this person exactly as they are". Notice how quickly deep rapport develops.
When I first started showing others to do this, all kinds of objections would kick off within people. They would notice things they didn’t like, or want to offer them advice, or react to what they were saying. Whenever you notice these responses in yourself, just do exercise 1, and accept yourself exactly as you are. This makes it 10 times easier to accept them exactly as they are.
Using this approach, I have managed to get a very deep level of rapport, and to be influential in situations where you’d never imagine being able to. Believe me!
How does this work?
The idea of rapport is that you meet someone at their map of the world. Matching & mirroring do this at the level of behaviour, but acceptance of the other person seems to match them at the level of identity. Many people get told from an early age that it’s not OK to be them. Often, the behaviours they develop to deal with this not-OK-ness get them stacks more messages that they’re not OK. This approach of total acceptance seems to send them a number of messages along the lines of "I accept you as you are", "You are OK", "You are a valuable human being", "You are worth listening to" etc. For many people, this is the first time they’ve received those messages, and it is powerful indeed.
So, as you gaze, all soppy-eyed over the candle-lit dinner table this Valentines day, you can heighten your sense of connection with that person by just accepting. See how your romance blooms and rapport develops beyond your wildest dreams.
Have fun!
Copyright Adam Eason 2005. All rights reserved.
Adam Eason is an author, Trainer, Consultant in the fields of Personal Development, Human Potential, NLP & Hypnosis. He trains globally and his products sell all across the world. He can be found at http://www.adam-eason.com.
How to Find a Gym and Start Exercising
May 31, 2006
There is hardly a week that passes without an article or study touting the benefits of exercise. Exercise to cure cancer, exercise to lose weight, feel better, livelonger, and stop dementia, the list appears endless. The benefits of exercise sound fantastic but there is just one problem. You have to exercise to gain the benefits! For many, this is a big problem.
So, what can you do to get yourself motivated to join the wonderful world of exercising? A great solution is to join a gym where you are in the company of like-minded people. Joining a gym for the first time or after a period of inactivity can be a little scary. I hope this article will make your fitness journey a little easier.
Aren’t all gyms pretty much the same?
The short answer would be. ??. NO. Every gym has it’s own personality both in the equipment and the type of people it attracts. Some gyms cater to weight lifters with lots of free weights and little else, while other facilities might cater to working women and offer activities such as yoga, spinning or aerobics. There are locally owned gyms and nationwide chains. Small gyms as well as mega fitness centers. There is a gym for everybody but it will take a little footwork to find your perfect fit.
What’s the most important feature when looking for a gym?
In my opinion, location must be considered before anything else. Absence will not make the heart grow fonder. A gym more than 10 minutes from your home or office will end up not getting used. If you like to work out in the morning you might want to stick with gyms close to home. If you’re a lunchtime sweat maven then a gym near work could be a better option. Some of the larger chains may have facilities by both work and home. In addition, if you travel, gyms with multiple locations may let you work out for FREE, or at a discount, if they have a facility at your travel destination.
Other Features to Consider
Membership Clientele ? Check out the other patrons in the gym you are considering. Each gym has it’s own personality. Is it mostly women or men? Is everybody wearing fashionable workout gear or is it a shorts and t-shirt crowd? Does it cater to families or is it an adult’s only gym?
Equipment - The quality and variety of equipment is very important if you plan on starting a comprehensive fitness program. Is the equipment well maintained? Check to see how many machines are "out of order". Check to see if free weights are offered as well as machines. Is there an adequate cardio section with plenty of bikes, climbers and treadmills? These tend to be high use pieces of equipment so it is important that the facility have several.
Hours - Everybody has different times for his or her workouts. Make sure the gym you choose will accommodate your schedule. If you are an early bird and your gym opens at 10:00 a.m. then you are probably going to end up not using it despite the other features you find appealing.
Price - Don’t get fooled by a low-ball price. Make sure the membership includes the use of everything of interest to you. Some gyms have a low membership fee and then charge extra for using the tennis courts, pool, classes etc. Read the fine print. Also, there are all-inclusive low priced gyms that are in the business of selling memberships and don’t really care what happens after you sign up. You may find that half your town has a membership and you have to wait in line to use the equipment.
Management - Is there an active owner or manager on the premises? What is there policy regarding restacking your weights and the playing of loud music? In some gyms, anything goes and you may hear 3 or 4 different stereos playing at the same time, weights are thrown around and you can never find the equipment you would like to use. This is a sign of poor and inattentive management and should probably be removed from consideration.
Everybody is different and there is not a single solution for picking the ideal gym. The key is to find a place that you feel comfortable and that you will use on a regular basis. Working out is a habit that takes time to form. Don’t make an impulsive decision that will cause you to lose your desire to get in shape.
Before making a commitment, visit and workout at a few gyms that you are considering. Most facilities will let you try them out for a few days. Make sure you go at the times you would if you were to join. This will give you a feel for how crowded the equipment is at that time. Now, the only thing left to do is just go out and GET STARTED!!
Here is a list of several gyms with nationwide locations. These will offer a good starting point on your quest for the perfect gym. Check for locations in your area.
http://www.powerhousegym.com/
http://www.goldsgym.com/
http://www.worldgym.com/
http://www.ballyfitness.com/
http://www.24hourfitness.com/
Mike Brooks is a life long follower and proponent of the fitness lifestyle. Mr. Brooks believes that being healthy is a choice and includes not only a proper diet but total fitness of the mind, body and soul. His column appears weekly at http://www.ultimatehealthreport.com
Setting Your Goals In Sales Training
May 31, 2006
Setting Your Goals In Sales Training
by: Patrick Porter
It doesn’t matter if you are in an auto sales training, TV and radio sales, estate sales or time share sales in my conversations with sales management over the years, I’ve found that top producers all have one thing in common: they’ve taken the time to sit down and create goals for themselves and committed to sales training.
Even if during the sales seminar they were skeptical when they started the process of goal setting and planning, every one of them has become a true believer.
What Is A True Believer?
A “True Believer” isn’t someone who just works sales leads. They are someone who has been amazed by the incredible power of goal setting and the power of their own mind to be sold on the sales job. Every one of them has accomplished far more than they ever believed possible even if they are in mobile home sales or business sales they are the ones that move up to the top.
It didn’t stop with sales goals or material successes. This belief runs deep in all areas of their life. They’re convinced of the power of the mind and want share that with the world. They just seem to live in a world that favors them. There life has become an extension of their sales attitude.
Are You Happy With Your Current Training?
I defined happiness in training as, The progressive assimilation of worth while skills that will help me to reach my professional goals. As a sales trainer, I have been working progressively, step-by-step toward making permanent lasting impact on every sales professionals life.
This purpose alone can generate a continuous feeling of success and achievement within me, but if it doesn’t translate in your personal sales training it is all for not. The sales game has always been the more people you sell, the more successful you will be. As a sales professional, you have more control of this than almost every other profession. Geoff Thomas a sales associate is found of telling his sales staff, “Your raise is effective just as soon as you are.”
I know you can create an environment of happiness for your customer through fabricated rapport skills but a genuine joy for sales will close more deals than you can imagine. Without your skills of salesmanship, there would be nothing for company to do. When you walk out of the office in the evening, it is natural for you to feel like a winner. This goal is well entrenched in the sales experts I know. It also gives you the psychological momentum to overcome obstacles and plough through adversity as you reach your sales goals and assist others.
Sales training more than anything else should have you recharged as you go back out into the world. If the sales seminar doesn’t motivate you to work every sales lead more efficiently than why bother.
Does Your Training Connect With Your Values?
Every great trainer has a personal strategic planning process. It usually begins when you determine what you believe in and what you stand for - your values. If your values and the trainers match this is the glue that holds the core concepts of the sales training in place. These values shape our personality and our character as a sales professional.
Your virtues and qualities are the sum total of all your thoughts, actions and beliefs since the moment you were born. Your values, virtues and inner beliefs are the axle around which the wheel of your life turns. All sales improvement begin when you clarify your true values and commit yourself to live consistently with them. It’s been said, “You must stand for something, or you will fall for anything!” Great sales trainers know the value of the sales process and believe every prospect they meet can find value in their product or services.
When Attending A Training How Specific Should Your Goals Be?
To achieve success in training you will find trainees are successful because they’re very clear and committed to their values and specific outcomes from the training. Unsuccessful trainees are fuzzy or unsure they perhaps were forced to the training without a buy in from the sales manager.
When a training is a complete failure, you’ll find that the trainer didn’t clearly outline the real values of the training at all. These trainers stand for nothing and hope their audiences fall for everything.
While training the sales staff at Positive Changes, our sales staff had access to a wealth of resources designed to help them succeed in their goals. For instance, use the Sales Mastery series to stimulate your other-than-conscious and keep you on track with specific, clear and organized sales goals. They trained each franchise location to set goals for the day, week and the month. Using these mind trips within themselves helped them to enroll others into its use.
patrick.porter@cox.net
