If you’re anything like me, summer is the time for nice loose clothing when it comes to picking the right outfit to wear from your closet. Loose clothing breaths, and whether you live in high humidity areas of the country or the desert (Las Vegas for me), then staying cool is a top priority!
I’ll be honest, if I had it my way I’d run around all day in the lightest “night gown” I own. However, since that can make for embarrassing moments answering the door, scrubs are a good alternative!
Cheap scrubs, and by “cheap” I only mean per cost per item – the quality is quite excellent – are an incredibly simple solution to lounge wear that is acceptable for your day to day activities.
Whether you’re in the medical profession or not, the choice to choose to wear loose fitting clothing can make the difference between having a comfortable day or one filled with misery. Keeping the body cool helps your mind stay more focused, clearer. You’ll find when you’re not stressing over what you’ve chosen to wear today that it gives you and your life a boost.
Summer or Winter Wear Scrubs
For the folks reading “down under” and winter coming upon them, scrubs also work. And having a wide selection of pants, tops, and even uniforms at the ready gets you up and going quickly. When choosing what to wear, go for comfort and see what a difference it makes to your day!
Today I received this from a good friend (via email), and I just couldn’t help but think that while it circulates into inboxes, posting it might be a good idea, too. Sure makes a person stop and think (or it would if politicians thought that far ahead). No matter if you are religious or not, your actions do speak louder than words:
While walking down the street one day, a US senator is tragically hit by a truck and dies. His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.
‘Welcome to heaven,’ says St. Peter. ‘Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we’re not sure what to do with you.’
‘No problem, just let me in,’ says the senator.
‘Well, I’d like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we’ll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity.’
‘Really, I’ve made up my mind. I want to be in heaven,’ says the senator.
‘I’m sorry, but we have our rules.’
And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.
Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people. They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and champagne. Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go. Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises.
The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him. ‘Now it’s time to visit heaven.’
So, 24 hours pass with the senator joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.
‘Well, then, you’ve spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity.’
The senator reflects for a minute, then answers: ‘Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell.’
So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell.
Now the doors of the elevator open and he’s in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage.
He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above. The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder. ‘I don’t understand,’ stammers the senator. ‘Yesterday I was here, and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there’s just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?’
The devil looks at him, smiles and says…….
‘Yesterday we were campaigning….Today you voted.’
Now it’s your turn! Please leave your comment! I’d love to know what you’re thinking and what’s your strategy for living?
I am very happy that our son is pursuing his education, but recently one assignment had me stumped – the need to check one’s credit score.
Why This Particular Assignment?
It’s not that it’s a bad thing for a college course to teach its students the value of knowing where one stands in the financial world. The odd thing was he had already been asked to do this same task in a prior semesters’ class (which had much more to do with credit scores and real-life scenarios then the current one). That particular course was a broad-based class to “prepare the student for the real world.”
But, the current course was either web design or something to do with Linux systems. My brain had a hard time wrapping around the need for a teacher in either of those classes to expound upon the value of investigating his credit score. Maybe there was an ulterior motive, or maybe my son just didn’t fill me in on the details? But it’s days, nay weeks later, and I still cannot comprehend that particular need to check his credit score for that particular class – does it make sense to you?
On the Plus Side of Credit Score Checking
Luckily though, getting your own free credit score is very easy online. In fact, use either link in this post, and you’re more than halfway there already
Having already done the assignment once, of course it was simple for him to accomplish the second time around. Actually it was highly beneficial. The first time a teacher asked, he didn’t have any credit; however, semesters later and sure enough, he’s “in the system.”
Of course he was thrilled to find out there were no problems. In fact, he’s quite proud of his credit score and, with luck, he’ll keep it that way for years to come!
Off and on I like to tune into HGTV’s Property Virgins where surprisingly, they often feature home buyers in the Austin, Texas area. What makes this particularly odd to me are two things:
1. The real estate agent on the show is from Canada (so she has to have a dual real estate license for both Canada and the United States, right?), and
2. I find myself thinking, “Isn’t Austin hit by hurricanes pretty often?”
Now I could be completely wrong about my second thought, but somehow I think not. Which always leads me to the thought of potential damages and the inevitable need for discount carpet cleaning services should you live in Austin, Texas.
The Steam Team to Austin’s Rescue!
Well continuing along the lines of my thoughts about heavy storms and/or hurricanes, it would only stand to reason that, potentially, at some point residents of Austin might have need of a “service to the rescue” team. This brings to mind a person’s choice to check into the helpful team at The Steam Team.
Happily, The Steam Team doesn’t just handle heavy invasions of water (which if you live in Austin, I hope never happens to you). They also provide do it yourself carpet cleaner, should you be the ambitious type, commercial upholstery cleaning, air duct cleaning, pet odor elimination, dryer vent cleaning, and the list goes on!
If you ever find yourself in the position of needing everything from the everyday to emergency clean up, and you live in Austin, Texas, The Steam Team is ready and waiting to give you more than a helping hand.
(Side Note Added April 28th – Watched Property Virgins again last night and sure enough they were house hunting in Austin, Texas!)
Starting a blog is fairly easy; starting a blog the right way is not a walk in the park. I recently came across yet another spin off of the “put your blog inside my master blog and let me charge you money to build links for my domain” type of service. Wrong! Anyone starting a blog has to think about their needs and themselves FIRST and ALWAYS!
Reinforcement – Starting a Blog Is YOUR Business Strategy
I think the reason so many fall for the idea that starting a blog as a subdomain under a “master domain” is “easy” is because they don’t dig deep enough to understand the full ramifications of this decision:
1. It’s NOT your domain – you’re going to slave away building links for the other guy who just has to sit back and let you do the work to grow his/her business.
2. It’s much better to build your own spot on the internet for so many reasons!
A Few Reasons Why Starting A Blog of Your Own Is Best
As every marketer knows (including my case in point above) starting a blog with its wonderful link building is a must strategy to be attractive in terms of SEO and other people finding you. Eventually, you’re going to have to bite the bullet. You need to decide to stay on the edges or jump in and swim with the big and small fishes. I can tell you that having your own spot to advertise and market is easier on your wallet. In addition, you’re spending your money on yourself.
My case example (for starting a blog to his advantage) charges over $60/month. Hmmm… it reminds me of a time (long ago) where my business partner (at that time) and I spent $97 a month doing the same thing. It didn’t take us long to realize, “Wait a minute! We’re starting a blog, but this guy now has over 600,000 back links in the search engines!” Of course, we canceled that membership!
Free blogs and their pitfalls have been discussed before on this blog, so there isn’t a need to reiterate why going free isn’t always a smart move. Suffice to say, you want to put your best foot forward and let the world know you are an independent operator with the ability to afford (at a minimum) hosting of your own.
Consider the advantages of blogging with a pre-established network when starting a blog or a website online.
Today’s internet marketer has so many mixed media marketing choices to make it’s often hard to select the best direction to pursue. However one Advertising Agency that mixes the old with the new is worth investigating.
What Is Mixed Media Advertising?
Mixed media marketing is a 21st century term with a comprehensive definition. Covering well trodden paths like search engine optimization (seo), radio and TV broadcasting (commercials), advertisements in print, PPC advertising are standard and time-proven strategies for marketers of all levels.
However, the “new age” brings with it one’s ability to also incorporate:
o Mobile advertising
o Web video broadcasting
o Social media and participation in social communities
o Podcasting (hosting your own online “radio” broadcast)
o Enhanced graphic designs, and
o More impressive “creative writing” campaigns.
Mixed Media Marketing – Noun or Adjective?
Strangely enough, most of us think of any form of advertising as a noun, but mixed media marketing also can be considered an adjective.
Why? For the sole reason that it is an “innovative, creative new media” strategy. Synonyms that can be used to describe the mixed media marketing form of advertising include:
o Innovative marketing and advertising
o Multi-channel marketing
o “Assorted communications advertising,” and
o M3 – just to shorten the term up a bit (plus you’ll sound knowledgeable).
And Don’t Forget Branding
When investigating your options for mixed media advertising services designed to help you promote, don’t forget how important branding really is for yourself, your program, product or service. Look for reputable firms or agencies that understand the complete process.
No matter whether you are new or not to internet marketing, adding these new age technologies, or mixed media marketing strategies, into your promotions is a strategy few marketers should ignore.
After this past holiday weekend (for many), I thought I’d like to add a bit of peace and serenity with this gorgeous springtime music video, just to help you unwind:
The fellow that performs the above piece is Roy Todd. He also has more videos, similar to this one, posted on YouTube.
Nowadays it’s getting a bit easier for some marketers to start thinking of ways that go beyond traditionally taught strategies and entertain the idea of participating at trade shows and using pop up displays.
What Are Pop Up Displays?
In an earlier post written in December 2010, I covered the idea of the professional look and feel of pop up displays. Today I’d like to take a different approach, just to get you thinking outside the box.
Have you ever considered the fact that what you have chosen to promote also could be marketed, physically, in a one-on-one trade show? And, if you’ve attended trade shows, you cannot miss the numerous use of the trade show pop up. Available in a variety of shapes and sizes, they are the wow factor that draws those crowds to specific booths, right?
So Why Would You Participate in Trade Shows and Use Pop Up Displays?
Think about it. Online marketing is an excellent, quick and fairly painless process. However, overall, online or offline, it’s work don’t kid yourself.
The challenge is to come up with new ideas. Perhaps you’ve never considered that many online programs also make excellent offline promotions. Yes, you may have to step outside your comfort zone, but the persistent marketer is always willing to challenge him or herself. “Going public” is a definite plus and being seen, shaking hands, meeting people, and making contacts – in person – can move mountains.
So imagine yourself at a live event, at your table, with others around you making more efficient and effective impressions by using pop up booths. You’d be kicking yourself, right? Especially if you knew how very easy pop up trade show displays are to transport, set up, and take down.
Choosing the Right Type of Pop Up Displays Made Easy
Available in table top versions, canopies and accordions (to name but a few), pop up displays are readily available for you to use. The question is… will you start thinking outside the box? Will you dare to add to your repertoire and try something different? The world awaits. You just have to make an appearance (with careful planning of course).
Online and offline marketing make the perfect combination no matter what program you choose. The only thing that holds you back from making use of offline promotion, and the impressive pop up displays, may be YOU.
Well thankfully tax time has come and gone and while the damages were minimal, it became apparent yesterday that thinking outside the box and developing some new entrepreneur ideas are definitely necessary. After a very successful long weekend with lots of family visiting us (for the first time), news on the work front on Monday wasn’t so great.
Why Having Backup Entrepreneur Plans Is Worthwhile
Being my own boss – entrepreneur if you like – is something I have had the pleasure of enjoying for a few decades now. To this day, being accountable to only oneself is richly satisfying in so many ways. Sure it’s a tad scary knowing you have no safety net (other than skillful savings and/or investments) to rely on, but it also keeps you on your toes. To be an entrepreneur takes a particular vision and the ability to turn vision into reality.
So Monday found us once again with one less individual contributing to the whole financially. Yep, a family member laid off and in Nevada of all places. Things here are up and down anyway, so it’s almost (but not quite) easier when it happens not just the first time, but the second and/or third. That’s when having an entrepreneur idea up your sleeve comes in very handy.
Brainstorm Backup Entrepreneur Ideas Now – Plan For What Could or Might Happen Before It Does
Having multiple strategies in mind should it hit the fan is always a smart idea. So even though yesterday’s news came as a surprise, by late afternoon our family was busy laying the groundwork for several different avenues. This time around, we are looking at yet another family member entering the joys of being an entrepreneur. Note: It’s amazing how ideas really flow when you acknowledge reality, and keep moving forward despite current circumstances.
I won’t get into all the strategic planning involved, but I would like to encourage you to investigate the entrepreneur within – it could very well be your lifeline in the near future.
Nowadays it’s getting a bit easier for some marketers to start thinking of ways that go beyond traditionally taught strategies and entertain the idea of participating at trade shows and using pop up displays.