Singers - Promote Yourself

START SMALL
Many successful entertainers began their careers from small beginnings. There are many avenues open to you to help promote yourself in the entertainment industry.

You can produce your own posters and sell tickets to your very first concert, in your local area. It doesn’t cost much to hire your local school or community hall. You can invite your family and friends or even advertise your concert more widely. For a few dollars you can advertise in your local newspaper.

If you are even more adventurous, you could organize a tour to some nearby towns. Don’t forget that you can sell your CDs at your own concerts. Make contact with the local music shops who may agree to sell your product for you while you are in town.

THE WORLD IS YOUR OYSTER IF YOU USE THE INTERNET!

The internet has provided an excellent opportunity for independent artists to become more easily recognized, worldwide. You have a number of different options open to you and you may wish to choose one or more of these.

One idea is to design your own internet site. You can even include samples of your product in the form of mp3s. You can even sell your CDs on the net. If this seems too much of a burden to you, then you can employ the services of a reputable internet site to promote and sell your product.

David Willis - Australia’s Singing Teacher to the Stars!
David Willis has made quite an impact on Australian EDUCATION and the ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY. An accomplished pianist, singer and actor, David owns the Gold Coast branch of the Australian Talent School, teaching professionals and amateurs of all ages the art of Singing and Presentation, whilst nurturing their passion for Music and Performance.

As a specialist Singing, Speech & Presentation Teacher for over 20 years, David is proud of his SUCCESS STORIES including Radio Announcers, Sporting Celebrities (e.g. top Australian jockey, Simon Marshall), numerous “YOUNG TALENT TIME”
team members including Debbie Hancock, Joey Dee and Greg Poynton; plus stars from the Musicals,including Dale Burridge (”Phantom of the Opera”, “Les Miserables” and “The Rat Pack Is Back”). A lover of quality choral music, David was co-founder of the Australian Children’s Choir. He has produced more than 30 Australian Cd albums.

For more information or to get onto the CDOrders TALENT BOARD, log onto http://www.cdorders.com

Sales Process - How to Avoid Wasting Time on Prospects Who CAN’T or WON’T Buy

Do you have blind faith that, if you can somehow convince a prospect to engage in a sales cycle, you will eventually make a sale? If you do, watch out! This belief can waste your time, effort, and company resources.

Unfortunately, time and resource investments do not inevitably produce sales. How many of the opportunities in your pipeline have been stalled at the same step in the sales cycle for weeks…or months? In how many opportunities have you and your company invested enormous amounts of time, energy and resources (conducting product demonstrations, writing lengthy proposals, providing product evaluations, etc.), only to have the prospect decide they don’t WANT to buy, or prove INCAPABLE of funding the purchase? Even when you make sales, how many turn out to be “nightmare” customers who are always dissatisfied and consume huge amounts of post-sale resources?

All Prospects Are NOT Created Equal

You DO need to help your prospects explore whether their business problems are substantial enough to justify investing time in a sales cycle. However, you also need to figure out whether each prospect is WORTHY of your time and resource investments! If a prospect is not a good fit, gracefully exit from the opportunity. (Why not refer them to a competitor and let the competitor burn some cycles?)

How can you determine whether a prospect is worthy of your time and resource investments? Many sales skills training courses teach an acronym, M-A-N, that stands for Money, Authority, and Need. The basic idea is to determine whether:

1. The prospect is willing to commit enough budget dollars (Money) to pay for the product or service
2. The key decision makers and influencers (Authority) have been identified; and
3. The prospect’s pain (Need) is severe enough to justify investing in a solution

Unfortunately, even when you do a good job of M-A-N qualification, you can be “blindsided” by issues that delay sales cycles or destroy opportunities outright. For example:

• Some prospects prove incapable of securing financing. They may have a budget, but they are not “credit worthy”, so they can’t FUND the budget.
• Some decision makers need to have specific information provided in a specific format before they can authorize a buying decision.
• Sometimes you invest considerable time and effort in troubleshooting complex problems and designing solutions, only to be informed that the prospect must take the proposed solution OUT TO BID. This can lead to the opportunity being lost to a low bidder or the profitability of the opportunity being pummeled.

To avoid these issues, add additional questions to the M-A-N qualification process. The acronym that I have assigned to this revised process is M-A-I-N BP, which stands for Money, Authority, Information, Need, and Buying Process. Here are sample M-A-I-N BP questions:

MONEY

• How will your prospect pay for the product or service?
• Has a budget been established?
• Are they credit worthy?

AUTHORITY

• Who (in the prospect’s organization) needs to approve an acquisition of this nature?

INFORMATION

• What information do the decision makers require before they can make a decision?
• What format does this information need to be in?

NEED

• What are the prospect’s business problems?
• How compelling are they? In other words, can you quantify (associate dollars, percentages, and time frames with) the pain the prospect is feeling?
• Are the quantified business impacts substantial enough to warrant investment by the prospect’s organization (and YOUR company) in identifying and fixing the problem(s)?

BUYING PROCESS

• What is the prospect’s buying (procurement) process?
• What impact might this process have on the profitability of the transaction?
• What competitive advantage will you receive if you invest your time and resources in designing a solution that goes out to bid?

If you decide to add M-A-I-N BP qualification to your sales opportunity qualification process, here are some final thoughts to keep in mind:

• If you don’t know the answers to ALL of the M-A-I-N BP questions, it is highly likely you are wasting your time and resources!
• Opportunity qualification is NOT A ONE-TIME EVENT. As an opportunity advances through the sales cycle, you should frequently ask whether any of the answers to the qualification questions have changed. If an answer changes, it could impact the length of the sales cycle and even destroy the viability of the opportunity. At minimum, an answer change will probably require a change in focus and/or a reprioritization of planned activities.
• Never feel bad about disqualifying an “opportunity”. The amount of opportunity in most sales territories is virtually unlimited. If you carefully qualify and re-qualify each opportunity, and only invest time and resources in qualified opportunities, you will maximize your return on time and resources invested.

Copyright 2005 — Alan Rigg

Sales performance expert Alan Rigg is the author of How to Beat the 80/20 Rule in Selling: Why Most Salespeople Don’t Perform and What to Do About It. His company, 80/20 Sales Performance, helps business owners, executives, and managers DOUBLE sales by implementing The Right Formula™ for building top-performing sales teams. For more information and more FREE sales and sales management tips, visit http://www.8020salesperformance.com

All Dogs Go To Heaven - And So Do The People That Love Them

“Sacrifice is a part of life. It is supposed to be. It’s not something to regret - it’s something to aspire to.”

This quote comes from a conversation between an old soldier and his former captain in Mitch Album’s book, The Five People You Meet in Heaven.

Now deceased, they meet in “heaven” which, strangely enough, looks identical to the foreign soil on which they fought together. As the two souls talk, the soldier, who died some 60 years after the war, learns that his captain sacrificed his own life to save those of his men during a battle. The former soldier learns from the captain, as well as the four other individuals he meets in heaven, just how much his existence affected those around him.

Very few of us will ever experience the ultimate sacrifice of giving our lives for another person. Yet, this part of the book stuck out so much due to some recent events.

We all make sacrifices every day. Some are big, some aren’t, but each decision means turning away from another possibility. Maybe it is something as small as giving up a fun activity with friends in order to fulfill an obligation to a job, or maybe its something much, much larger. Perhaps you or someone you know has given up a portion of their life to help care for an aged relative in the twilight of life. Privacy and freedom are moved to the back burner in order to assist a loved one nearing the end. The trade-off comes in the knowledge that someone is benefiting from that sacrifice.

From its inception, The Marcus Engel Newsletter has been a forum where each month I share a positive experience from which everyone can learn. If there’s a little humor thrown in or you have an “ah-ha!” moment, all the better! This month, for the first time, I’m not sure that’s going to happen.

If we’ve been acquainted for less than two years, you probably never had the pleasure of meeting my first Seeing Eye dog, Dasher, other than as a character in my autobiography.

I want to share a little history on the black lab that helped change my life…Dasher and I were paired together when I was 19, less than a year and a half after losing my sight. Still fumbling through darkness and insecurity, Dasher helped reclaim more of the life I had prior to blindness than any other single element of my recovery. Through our seven years together, Dasher was the introduction to nearly every friend I met and every social interaction I had. As I began speaking professionally, Dasher shared the platform and broke down the barriers between the audience and me - something that is easier for a dog than any human!

In August of 2002 Dasher retired his leather harness and was lovingly adopted into “the good life” by my friends, Tempe and David. Knowing full well their new family member was in his golden years, Tempe and David still took on Dasher with all the enthusiasm and affection one would shower onto a new puppy. Handing over Dasher’s leash was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, but my heart and mind were put at ease with the knowledge that Dasher was going to a family he loved and who loved him.

Six weeks ago, Tempe and David lost a member of their family when Dasher breathed his last breath. Those of you who’ve experienced the death of a pet know how traumatic that loss can be. The inevitable passing of a pet is always unique and tragic in its own way.

Dasher’s adoptive family made a HUGE sacrifice when they welcomed him into their home. After all, how many people really want to take on an animal in its later years knowing their time with that pet is governed by the laws of life expectancy? Practically no one. This is why I am so humbled and grateful for the sacrifice made by Tempe and David. Friends, I cannot tell you how much it meant to me to have Dasher’s final years spent under loving care and watchful eyes. That, faithful reader, is one of the truest definitions of sacrifice.

As I read the story of the captain’s voluntary loss of life for his men, and especially the lessons he taught his former soldier, I couldn’t help but think of what my friends gave up by adopting an old dog, and what they lost when Dasher died. Yet, what the captain said next helped ease that pain:

“Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you’re not losing it, you’re just passing it on to someone else.”

I’m not sure truer words have ever been spoken.

If you are one of the thousands whose life was touched by Dasher, thank you. Your acceptance and love gave him one of the best lives a dog could ever ask for. I’m sorry if this newsletter is a bit of an emotional downer, but I wanted to acknowledge the sacrifices of Tempe and David. Plus, after giving the majority of his life to my needs, Dasher deserves a fitting epitaph. In my humble notions of heaven, all things are perfect and all things are possible - including the presence of animals. So, to Dasher… Thanks buddy, for seven great years. You helped me more than you’ll ever know.

The Natural ‘Cure’ for Diabetics That Work Wonders

A natural cure, sorry - therapy, for diabetics begins by totally eliminating sugar and refined carbohydrates - including honey, alcohol, mashed potatoes, cakes, biscuits and sweets.

The other ingredient is the addition of two special minerals to your diet is also a little known natural treatment for diabetics that your health practitioner probably forgot to tell you about.

Chromium and vanadium – these two minerals improve the action of insulin and in the case of vanadium, actually replace insulin for adult diabetes. The intake should be at around 25 mcg/day. Of course, as with any alternative therapy you should see your health care practitioner - referably one who has heard of these two minerals and is prepared to let you ‘try’.

Zinc, B Complex vitamins, copper and glutathione and a high intake of essential fatty acids are also part of a natural cure for diabetics. For your supplements find a high quality source you can trust.

As far as dietary nutrition is concerned, consume a high fiber diet consisting of plenty of complex carbohydrates (vegetables, beans, certain grains such as bran).

Also, an allergy test is very useful for a natural cure for diabetics – particularly for dairy, soy and wheat. If you test positive, take digestive enzymes before meals to help improve your nutrition and to clean up any intestinal damage that is likely to have been caused.

Be patient with this nutritional treatment and have your physician closely monitor your progress. Monitor your blood sugar regularly and you will notice results within several weeks.

Herbs may be used as part of a natural cure for diabetics and include licorice, yarrow, Canadian fleabane and Jerusalem artichoke.

Essential oils including coriander, cinnamon, fennel, dill, cypress, rosemary, pine and ylang-ylang can be helpful. These may be applied by inhaling or absorbed in a bath. If pregnant, consult with a physician before use.

Paul Newland is a health writer, sports training consultant and martial arts instructor and runs the Global-Longevity.com website.
He is the author of numerous health information books and guides, including the Wellness Report, The Ultimate Antioxidant Report, The Selenium Report, The Ultimate Nutrient Guide and The Ultimate Sports Nutrition Guide - available Free (for a limited time) through Global-Longevity.com.

Home Remedies For Baby Eczema

If your baby is suffering from eczema, you know how uncomfortable the itchy and dry skin can be, not to mention the sore spots. Since eczema usually goes hand in hand with sensitive skin, treating it can be a bit of a challenge. Thankfully there are quite a few home remedies for baby eczema you can try.

Moisturize

Keeping baby’s skin well moisturized should always be the first step in any eczema treatment. Use a natural aloe Vera lotion several times a day, especially after bathing baby. Reapply as often as need to keep baby’s skin from drying out. Avoid any harsh cleansers and make sure baby is getting plenty to drink to moisturize from the inside out as well. Incidentally breastfed babies experience fewer and milder episodes of eczema.

Oatmeal Bath

When baby’s skin gets very itchy, an oatmeal bath can be very soothing and help skin heal. Put two cups of oats in a food processor (or use a coffee grinder) and grind them into a powder. Add the oatmeal powder to a running bath of warm (not hot) water and stir well. Soak in the oatmeal bath for 15 minutes, rinse with clean water and dab the skin dry with a soft towel. When baby’s eczema breakouts are bad, it is safe to sooth them with an oatmeal bath twice daily.

Natural Skin Wash

As mentioned above, you want to avoid any harsh skin care for baby. The following natural skin wash is very gently and helps with the itch. Combine 1 tsp of comfrey root, 1 tsp of white oak bark, 1 tsp of slippery elm bark and two cups of water in a bowl. Mix well, and then pour it into a pot. Heat over medium heat until it comes to a boil, and then simmer for thirty minutes. Allow the mixture to cool, then strain out the solids and use the liquid like any face wash.

While this mixture may not completely clear up baby’s eczema, it is a natural, gentle and effective cleanser that will help reduce the itching and inflammation.

Healing Lotions

When eczema really flares up, you want to get baby’s skin healed back up as soon as possible. Healing lotions can help shorten the healing time and moisturize and protect your skin from future outbreaks at the same time.

Lotions to look for ate those made with blueberry leaves. Blueberry leaves are very good at relieving the inflammation of eczema and at improving the irritation that accompanies itching.

Zinc is another great ingredient. Apply zinc lotion directly on the affected area. Zinc can also be taken as a supplement in pills. Taking regularly, it can be an effective eczema treatment.

To help heal the skin, use a lotion containing vitamin E, or apply vitamin E oil directly on the affected area. It will quickly reduce itching and improve healing. Continue applying the vitamin E oil until the skin is healed.

Reduce Irritants

Some babies experience eczema because they are allergic to detergents, which are found in nearly all personal care, cleaning and laundry products. You may want to investigate using pure soap for all cleaning and laundry as well as bathing for some time to see if your baby’s eczema improves.

Eczema can also occur as a result of food allergies. If you have a family history of food or environmental allergy, your baby may also be experiencing sensitivities to something in his diet or environment. Check with your baby’s health care provider and consider an elimination diet or other measures to track down allergens.

Typically, babies outgrow eczema, or at the very least, it will improve as he gets older.

This article is provided for information purposes only. Please consult your baby’s health care provider before trying home remedies.

Visit http://www.NaturalBabyWorld.com for resources and helpful tips to assist you in raising your baby, naturally!

How to Motivate Yourself When You Lose Your Motivation

The ability to motivate yourself is very important. Let me say that again, your ability to motivate yourself is extremely important. There are days that I feel like I don’t want to get up from my bed and I am sure that you’ve been through the same experience. Today is going to be the best day in your life because today you will learn how to regain your motivation back and start living your life again!

How do you know if you lose your motivation? Well the first obvious sign is things that you used to get exited about are no longer exciting to you anymore. It can be a car, a relationship, a job, a pet or anything. You feel tired, fatigue and bored. You get irritated easily.

As we get older, our expectation changes! I used to think that a Chevy Camaro would be my dream car! In fact I bought one 2 years after I graduated from college, I was happy for about 6 months until I realized that the Camaro was not too great for my daily commute.

As you get older, your expectation changes. You may want hang around different kind of people or friends, date a person with different personality and moral values, you want a car with leather seat instead of cloth seat and so on.

That’s one of the reasons why people keep coming and going in your life. People change! We change!

So losing your motivation is a part of life. What’s not normal is, when someone stays unmotivated too long and he/she is unable to stand up too long.

I happen to like to watch a boxing match. A boxer who is not able to get back up and fight again will lose the boxing match. If you go scuba diving, sooner or later you must get out of the water once your oxygen runs out, or you’ll drown.

So many people died with unfulfilled dreams and goals, because they were unable to motivate themselves. Their dreams and goals are now buried with them in their grave.

Don’t let that happen to you. You’re a special person with a unique talent and gift; don’t let hopelessness and depressions get you down.

I was reading the book of Genesis chapter 1:27 “So God created man in his own image…” You and I were created in God’s own image! So you are a unique and special person in God’s likeness that is blessed with a special gift, talents and skills!

When you feel like you lose your motivation, always speak with words of faith that are positive, encouraging and full of hope, because your words are power!

The book of Proverb chapter 18 says that “The tongue has the power of life and death…” What comes out of your mouth can either become a blessing or a curse; your words can bring peace or war.

When people get hurt by unkind words, the wounds stay longer. What’s coming out of our mouth can either give you hope and encouragement or hurt you.

When you feel bored you can try to find a new thing that will excite you, like new hobbies, new like of work, and maybe a new business venture.
The faster you regain your motivation back is the better. Don’t just sit and wait for a miracle to come, you must search and find it. When you’re hungry, you go to the kitchen and find something to eat! When you’re thirsty, you will try to drink a glass of water or find something to drink.

If someone is hungry and thirsty and he/she is not unwilling to walk to the kitchen to get food and to get some water to drink, sooner or later, he/she will die of starvation.

So again, it is very important for us to be able to regain our motivation back. Go on a vacation, do something fun, buy your favorite CDs/DVDs, do something good for other people, travel outside the country, buy your favorite clothing, eat ice cream and there are thousand different ways to motivate yourself. Make sure that you don’t overspend your money.

Change the color of your room, decorate your office or cubicle, try to do new things that you’ve never done before and like I said, there are thousand of ways to do it.

Use good perfume/cologne, believe me, you will feel a lot better when you smell good, that’s why they make aroma therapy stuff. Have you dated someone who never takes a shower? It’s really hard to motivate ourselves to kiss or do anything else with that person. Dress up and try to look good, when you look good, you feel good. Read inspirational books and listen to inspirational tapes/CDs.

When your job is not exciting anymore, well maybe it is time to move to a different one. If your business is not as exciting as before, you may want to think about building a different business. Think of it as a new challenge, new challenges that make life fun and exciting.

“What ever you are willing to walk away from, it will make a difference in your life.” So, hang in there, be strong and be a good courage!

I want to end this article by sharing this Bible verse with you, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)

© Copyright 2006 http://www.Pebden.com, Author: Entjik Jeffrie, CEO of Pebden.com, All Rights Reserved.

How Copywriting Freelancers Can Protect Themselves From Being Cheated Without Contracts Or Lawyers

If you are a copywriter and want to make sure you never get cheated or screwed over in any way when doing your deals, then this article will show you how.

Listen: I’m very familiar with people trying to screw me over in business. Reason why is because I’m a copywriter who does deals on pure commission. In other words, I take no up- front fees and, instead, get paid a very large commission on the gross sales. This means a lot more money for me if I win…and nothing if I lose.

It also means I’m especially at risk for being taken advantage of or outright cheated. The following is what I do to protect myself, and you can easily do the same thing — no matter what you sell or who you deal with.

Check this out: In my experience, the whole key to protecting yourself has nothing to do with air-tight agreements or shark-like lawyers.

Reason why is because of simple mathematics. Unless there’s a LOT of money at stake, it’ll almost always cost you money to go after someone in court, even if you recover your money. Something most con artists and cheats are fully aware of when they sign your 28-pound, “iron-clad” contract.

Thankfully, there is one thing God gave you — and every other human being on the planet — that’s free to use and, if used properly, is a thousand times more reliable than any lawyer or contract anyway.

And that is, quite simply, your nervous system — or “gut feeling.”

In fact, I know people who only do “hand shake” deals (no contracts) — even with millions of dollars on the table — and swear by their gut feeling. If something — anything — feels “wrong” they don’t do the deal. If everything feels “right”, then they do.

No lawyers, contracts or courts necessary.

I know that sounds almost radical, but think about this: Your five senses are constantly relaying information to your subconscious mind — which is constantly sifting and sorting all this information for you “behind the scenes.” Your senses are also picking up invisible signals, feelings and “vibes” from people you deal with (without you even realizing it), and recording them to your subconscious as well.

And so, whenever you are about to do a deal or trust someone, it “cross references” all the information you have on the deal — and all the output and information it has on the person you are dealing with — with all the experiences and knowledge you’ve gained throughout your entire life.

If something is “off” — even if you can’t consciously figure out what it is — your nervous system is instantly activated and you get that “feeling” in your gut that warns you something isn’t right. To ignore this, even with overwhelming “proof” that everything is okay, can be a big mistake.

I used to think this was all a bunch of mumbo jumbo. But it’s not. In my own life, I have been screwed over twice in business and, when I looked back, I saw that both times were when I didn’t trust my gut feeling.

And you want to know something?

If I had my choice of listening to my gut or relying on a 28-pound contract…I’d trust my gut every time.

Ben Settle is an expert copywriter and direct marketer. If you liked this article then check out Ben’s website at http://bensettle.com — and get your hands on over 500 pages of advertising ideas, strategies and tactics just like this one — as well as rare swipe file ads and hot marketing information not easily found anywhere else.

7 Different Ways to Use RSS For Maximum Profits

RSS has been widely used for delivering news headlines by
websites like BBC and CNN. There has been a boom in the blogging world, thanks to RSS. However, this new way of syndicating content is not just limited to blogs and news websites. In the past few months we have seen a lot of companies are using RSS in many different ways. In this article, we see how and in what ways RSS can be used to derive convincing results..

1) Updates and Company News: Now companies no longer have to wait to provide new updates to their customers. Using RSS, they can instantly notify their customers who are subscribed to their feed. This saves a lot of valuable time as well as keeps the updates fresh.

2) Important Announcements: Announcing a new product or a new service, whatever it is, RSS can be aptly used to make announcements on the appropriate time. And since time is a crucial element when announcing a new product, RSS fills in the gap to make sure it turns out to be successful.

3) Affiliate Updates: If you have a successful product, I’m sure you also have an affiliate or a reseller program. And communicating with your affiliates forms a big part of successful affiliate advertising. RSS provides the right platform to send messages to your affiliates, whether it’s about motivating them or letting them know about higher
payments. Affiliates simply wont ignore your messages if they receive them when they really need your advice.

4) Software Downloads: Software vendors can provide their users with latest software updates and relevant downloads. Since new versions of software come out every other day, RSS makes it much easier to let the users know about new upgrades, just as they become available.

5) Audio Content: Podcasting feeds, which allow companies to make their audio available through iPods and other software, can be used to deliver audio content.This can be anything from
interviews to short recorded seminars. Even hosting your own
radio show is possible, as RSS gives direct access to your listeners.

6) Newsletter Publishing: Newsletters have been on the internet for a long time and have mostly been made available via email. But now you have more than one option to send out your
publication. RSS is gaining popularity in the Internet marketing
world, as publishers are using both email and RSS to deliver their ezine. Publishers can actually cross promote their newsletter in the RSS feed and vice versa. This allows them to not only reach their current subscribers in a new way but also helps them gain new subscribers.

7) RSS Autoresponders: Autoresponders have always been used by marketers to build a long term relationship with their subscribers. An autoresponder tends to put your marketing on auto pilot and also helps you get that most wanted sale. Now you can go ahead and schedule messages in your RSS feeds for a future date, so that your marketing takes care of itself. This can work wonders if you are selling a product, as it usually takes atleast 7 exposures before your prospect buys from you.

The above ideas are just a few of what you can actually do with
RSS. You are just limited by your imagination. So start experimenting with RSS feeds and see how you can tailor this technology according to your own needs.

Mustafa Khundmiri is the co-founder of http://www.rapidfeeds.com - A Free online service which helps anyone create, edit, publish and track RSS feeds and podcasts. Sign Up for your FREE account on http://www.rapidfeeds.com and also get a free subscription to “RSS Chronicle” - A Newsletter exclusively based on RSS and syndication.

A Primer On Finding & Selecting Medical Insurance

At one time, only a few such as the self employed really had
to know much about selecting medical insurance because for
many years, the majority of the working population was
working in “employee” status and Medical Insurance was a
company benefit, and one that had very few choices involved.

Today that benefit is either disappearing or being offered
with choices ranging from family plan to PPO to HMO to no
participation; choices also include the amount of payroll
deduction based on plan choice, and it’s a complex situation
to decide.. does one opt for the plan with a $500
person/$1000 max deductible which has virtually no payroll
deduction, or the plan with the $250/500 but with a $25 per
month deduction. Of course those figures are arbitrary for
the purpose of the article and cited only as examples.

But there are choices that can and need to be made.. in
fact, some times those choices now come down to “where can I
get my own insurance… period?” as so many companies have
either layed people off or cut the Medical Benefit entirely.

Let’s say you are one of those people.. hopefully not, but
we need to cut to the chase.

The first thing to see is if a spouse is working, is
insurance offered from their employer? Possibly they were
not on a family plan, but this is now required.

Usually even with an employer requiring a contribution, a
employer provided plan is less costly than going out 100%
percent on your own. This should really be checked out.
Employer group rates are generally less than an individual
getting their own insurance.

But let’s say this does not apply. But the principle of bulk
or group purchasing does. Your next step is to see if there
is a group that you can join that offers group rates. If
you are self employed or have your own business, chances are
that your business or profession may have a professional or
trade organization that offers Medical Insurance through the
group.

The writer of this article resides in Pittsburgh, Pa where
he has been involved quite indirectly in the construction
industry. When we say “quite indirectly” we are talking
about being in sales and having a sales business which
provides pumps and equipment to contractors. Because of
that association, the writer qualified for membership in the
local Builder’s Association which had pooled its many
members to obtain group rates. This is cited in this article
because you as a reader may not have an apparent direct
connection to a group, but you might qualify through an
association as the writer has done. If you need to provide
your own medical insurance, by all means check this out.

Are, or were you involved in federal or military service?
You may find a group association here.. try your VFW, your
TROA, your American Legion. One company that advertises for
the self employed is NASE. I’ve never checked them out, but
I do hear advertising.

So let’s assume you have found a supplier, regardless of
your status. Most suppliers offer a choice of programs
ranging from HMO to PPO. What may seem to be the best deal
may not be so at all because of length of time to coverage.

BE ABSOLUTELY CLEAR ON THE PRE-EXISTING CLAUSES. Even if you
consider yourself healthy and not under treatment, if you
had a past work related physical or other physical and a
condition was noted as detected.. but you felt it was not
worth pursuing treatment for, and in fact, you are not
having a treatment or medication… if it’s on the record
SOMEwhere and you subsequently have a claim… if it’s
related to the diagnosis, not only could that claim be
denied, but your entire policy voided under the provisions
of fraudulent application if you did NOT state a pre-
existing condition.

Yes, insurance companies want your money and to have you as
a client, but they are there as profit makers first, and if
they can find a way to NOT pay you that they are legally
entitled to… you won’t get a claim paid. You MUST have
everything in writing including any exceptions to a
precondition. Better to be turned down up front than
canceled when you need them.

Lastly, if you can not get or pay for insurance, but have a
family with minor children: Many states have programs that
will insure your minor children at no or nominal fees. These
state programs will not necessarily seek you out and sign
you up.. you need to do your research. Do not hesitate to
call your county health association or your state insurance
commissioner. Someone will know.

We hope that this article, and the fact you probably found
it on the Internet will help. Be sure and use Internet tools
and search engines and you’ll probably find more resources
than you ever thought existed. Search terms such as
“discounted medical insurance” or disease/condition specific
insurance will yield results. don’t spend another day
unprotected.

The Cool Down - Recover Faster & Avoid Injury!

Many people dismiss the cool down as a waste of time, or simply
unimportant. In reality the cool down is just as important as
the warm up, and if you want to stay injury free, it’s vital.

Although the warm up and cool down are just as important as each
other, they are important for different reasons. While the main
purpose of warming up is to prepare the body and mind for
strenuous activity, cooling down plays a different role.

Why Cool Down?

The main aim of the cool down is to promote recovery and return
the body to a pre exercise, or pre-workout level. During a
strenuous workout your body goes through a number of stressful
processes, muscle fibers, tendons and ligaments get damaged, and
waste products build up within your body. The cool down,
performed properly, will assist your body in its repair process.

One area the cool down will help with is “post exercise muscle
soreness.” This is the soreness that is usually experienced the
day after a tough workout. Most people experience this after
having a lay-off from exercise, or at the beginning of their
sports season. I remember running a half marathon with limited
preparation, and finding it difficult to walk down steps the
next day because my quadriceps were so sore.

Post exercise muscle soreness is caused by a number of things.
Firstly, during exercise, tiny tears called micro tears develop
within the muscle fibers. These micro tears cause swelling of
the muscle tissues which in turn puts pressure on the nerve
endings and results in pain.

Secondly, when exercising, your heart is pumping large amount of
blood to the working muscles. This blood is carrying both oxygen
and nutrients that the working muscles need. When the blood
reaches the muscles the oxygen and nutrients are used up. Then
the force of the contracting (exercising) muscles pushes the
blood back to the heart where it is re-oxygenated.

However, when the exercise stops, so does the force that pushes
the blood back to the heart. This blood, as well as waste
products like lactic acid, stays in the muscles, which in turn
causes swelling and pain. This process is often referred to as
“blood pooling.”

So, the cool down helps all this by keeping the blood
circulating, which in turn helps to prevent blood pooling and
also removes waste products from the muscles. This circulating
blood also brings with it the oxygen and nutrients needed by the
muscles, tendons and ligaments for repair.

The Key Parts of an Effective Cool Down

Now that we know what the cool down does and why it is so
important, let’s have a look at the structure of an effective
cool down. There are three key elements, or parts, which should
be included to ensure an effective and complete cool down. They
are;

1.Gentle exercise;

2.Stretching; and

3.Re-fuel.

All three parts are equally important and any one part should
not be neglected or thought of as not necessary. All three
elements work together to repair and replenish the body after
exercise.

To follow are two examples of effective cool downs. The first is
an example of a cool down used by a professional athlete. The
second is typical of someone who simply exercises for general
health, fitness and fun.

Example Cool Down Routines

Example 1: - For the Professional •10 to 15 minutes of
easy exercise. Be sure that the easy exercise resembles the type
of exercise that was done during your workout. For example, if
your workout involved a lot of running, cool down with easy
jogging or walking. •Include some deep breathing as part of your
easy exercise to help oxygenate your system. •Follow with about
20 to 30 minutes of stretching. Static stretching and PNF
stretching is best at this time. •Re-fuel. Both fluid and food
are important. Drink plenty of water, plus a good quality sports
drink. The best type of food to eat straight after a workout is
that which is easily digestible. Fruit is a good example.

Example 2: - For the Amateur •3 to 5 minutes of easy
exercise. Be sure that the easy exercise resembles the type of
exercise that was done during your workout. For example, if your
workout involved a lot of running, cool down with easy jogging
or walking. •Include some deep breathing as part of your easy
exercise to help oxygenate your system. •Follow with about 5 to
10 minutes of stretching. Static stretching and PNF stretching
is best at this time. •Re-fuel. Both fluid and food are
important. Drink plenty of water, plus a good quality sports
drink. The best type of food to eat straight after a workout is
that which is easily digestible. Fruit is a good example.

Getting serious about your cool down and following the above
examples will make sure you recover quicker from your workouts
and stay injury free.

***********************

If you enjoyed this article, please feel free to forward it to
others, make it available from your site or post it on forums
for others to read. Just make sure that this paragraph and URL
are included. For more information and articles on stretching,
flexibility and sports injury, visit The Stretching & Sports
Injury Newsletter at; 101 Stretching
Exercises