My Musings

Fear Of Public Speaking, the Best Way to Get Rid of It

Sunday, November 30th, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments

Do you have nightmares about public speaking? When you have to stand up in front of a group does your mouth go dry? Hands shake? Stomach turn flip-flops? Feel lightheaded? Think you may pass out?

Welcome to the club. If it’s any comfort, you are not alone!

According to a well-known survey, 65% of us would rather die than speak in public. Many have tried for years to overcome their fear and given it up as hopeless. But wait! There is hope.

We can now turn to one tested method to end the fear of public speaking that has been shown to yield amazing results. It is The Lefkoe Method (TLM).

Probably the least known, but possibly the fastest way of getting rid of the fear of speaking in public, is The Lefkoe Method (TLM). TLM is based on the knowledge that our behavior is governed by what we believe to be true. Therefore, it focuses on finding the 10 or so negative beliefs that make us fear public speaking. These can be such beliefs as, Mistakes and failure are bad; If I make a mistake, I’ll be rejected; or People aren’t interested in what I have to say; etc.

Perhaps the most interesting feature of this approach is how consistently it works. In a study published by the Journal of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, university researchers found that on a scale of 1-10, participants who used TLM lowered their fear of public speaking from an average of 7 down to 1.5 (1 was a lack of any fear at all). It took an average 3.5 hours for participants to reach this level. In follow-up six months later, the fear had not returned. Based on this evidence, the researchers concluded that, The Lefkoe Method is an effective, quick, and convenient procedure to eliminate the fear of speaking in public.

TLM was created over 20 years ago by Morty Lefkoe, founder of The Lefkoe Institute. He and several other certified facilitators have helped over 12,000 clients rid themselves of their fear of public speaking, along with many other emotional and behavioral problems. Their Speaking Without Fear Program is offered with a money-back guarantee: if your fear is not gone in four or less one-hour telephone sessions, you’ll get a full refund. For more information visit: Fear of Public Speaking.

The Lefkoe Institute (TLI) has a money back guarantee and a 97% success rate.

Keep in mind that most people who have benefited from TLM agree that the skill of the practitioner is of the utmost importance in determining the effectiveness of the program. If you really desire to overcome your fear of public speaking, be sure you are working with someone who is highly skilled, gives you confidence in his/her ability, and makes you want to succeed. And about that money-back guarantee? Couldn’t hurt.

North Dakota Physician Jobs FAQ

Sunday, November 30th, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments

Q: Should I hire a lawyer to review my physician employment contract?

A: In general, yes. We are not lawyers and do not give legal advice. We have reviewed many contracts and can provide you with feedback as to what we have seen as standard. The choice of a lawyer is critical. Find someone well versed in medical contract law, as well as the state’s laws in which you will practice. Try to find an attorney recommended by someone else. Also, make sure the attorney has enough time to review the contract in a timely manner. Negotiations could be hampered by a slowed response time.

Q: If I am a resident, when should I decide upon accepting a position?

A: As a general rule, the earlier the better. The more time you have to work on license applications, hospital privileges, finding a new home and moving arrangements, the less stress you’ll encounter. Many hospitals recruit for summer positions in the fall and early winter. Don’t think all of the “good” physician jobs are taken by the end of winter. We assist physicians throughout the year because contract expirations occur throughout the year. Don’t worry. Have confidence that the right position will be available. Call us, we are here to help!

Q: Who handles negotiations, me or my recruiter?

A: Whenever possible, your recruiter should handle negotiations for physician practice opportunities. Having a liaison reduces the potential for heated arguments between two parties. Keep in mind, professional recruiters regularly perform this task.

Invest in Your retirement Wisely

Sunday, November 30th, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments

Investing for your retirement is very crucial, and can help you to realize your dreams of relaxation and enjoyment in retirement.  Although it may seem difficult, saving for retirement is not really difficult.  Starting early, however, is incredibly important when assuring a comfortable retirement later on.  Saving for retirement requires some sacrifice, but you will enjoy the later years moreso if these sacrifices can be made earlier on.  There are several means of investment in saving for retirement. When retired, always maintain a constant adult education.

The old mentality when saving for retirement has focused on conservative investing.  This “low risk, income only” model of retirement investing was followed largely throughout the 1950s, 60s, and 70s.  Recently, however, longer lifespans and inflation have made this older technique risky simply because it doesn’t take enough chances.  Investing in bonds and safe stock only tends to result in poor dividends that won’t be enough for a long and healthy retirement.

More modern retirement plans must take some risk in order to provide for the retirement that everyone wants.  Because of inflation, dividends that sufficed in years past are no longer good enough.  Riskier investments, often through a mutual fund, are needed in order to ensure the retirement that you have planned.  The true threat anymore these days is that a retiree will run out of money.  With a wider and risk taking portfolio, higher growth will allow a retiree to live in comfort.  If this approach is taken early on, the investor can ride out poor markets and still come out with a significant nest egg. There is always something to learn when related to adult education.

One of the best ways to figure out if your plan is working is to experiment with one of the many online retirement calculators seen on the internet.  Calculators such as CNNMoney.com or Bloomberg.com can really help to put your earnings in perspective.  Although these calculators are certainly not foolproof, they can give you a general idea of whether your investments are going to work in the long term.

Talking with a financial adviser can also aid in determining the viability of your saving strategy.  There are several critical questions to ask yourself, such as whether you plan on living through income solely, or if you will withdraw from your investment principal.  Budgeting for retirement is extremely important, and you must pace yourself financially in retirement.

When retired, consider to keep yourself in a constan learning environment. Follow these simple adult education tips.

I Really Like SBI! (Site Build It! from SiteSell)

Sunday, November 30th, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments

The Site Build It! program from SiteSell is the best website building program I’ve ever seen, without a doubt.

I own a Site Build It website and I think SBI is great. It’s great for beginners, and judging by reports, it is great for experienced webmasters as well.

SiteSell offers risk-free trials. If you like what you can do with it, the yearly fee is only $300, or about 82 cents a day. This is a genuine bargain when you fully realize how many integrated, powerful features are included in the package. Here are just a few of the things included in the program: your domain name registration, hosting fees, an excellent site builder, a mailout manager, an ezine program, various types of traffic tracking, a powerful, state-of-the-art keyword search tool, webFTP, RSS, a weblog for your site, a link exchange program, link tracking and dead link notification, etc.,etc. All of these things are very easy to set up and many of them are already hooked up, you just have to enter a bit of info to get them going.

The company - SiteSell - offers a lot of free materials and books for members on all kinds of topics related to website and web business building. There are also dozens (yes, dozens) of different forums to help you deal with just about any problem you might encounter, as well as very helpful customer service. The community of users is strong, positive, and supportive. They like to help each other out. It is no exaggeration to say that that are a very caring bunch of people. They operate on the principle of “pay it forward” - help and encourage others out as you yourself have been helped and encouraged. That is a very powerful and effective model for building an excellent online community, and at SiteSell, it really works.

The site building program itself is extremely thorough. They have an “Action Guide” on video and / or in print that will take you through every step of the process, carefully and thoroughly. It will guide you all the way through monetizing the site, building your business, and making it as profitable as possible. The company’s focus is on helping YOU actually build a SUCCESSFUL web business (or a popular, effective site that isn’t intended to be a business).

In addition, SiteSell has a staff of people who actually sort through all the newest and latest techniques, programs, and tricks they can find on the internet. Then they sort out the good stuff from the junk and report on those things to the members. Many such items they automatically incorporate into their programming.

This company has intentionally and carefully set out to be the most complete supplier in the build-it-yourself, website building business.They have succeeded very well at this goal. I looked at a whole bunch of different site-building and site hosting companies, and I’ve honestly seen nothing that even comes close to SiteSell.

The all-encompassing package that SBI offers is really unbeatable. Then add in all the business guidance they offer for free (if you want it), and their program is absolutely beyond compare. You also have the benefit of all the great support and friendship of fellow Site Build It users, too. That didn’t initially seem important to me in the beginning, but I’ve really come to value it a lot since then.

If you want to build a successful web business, or just a website on a topic you really like, SiteSell’s Site Build It is an excellent choice. Get into it and you’ll be glad you did.

Medical Conditions Treated With Corrective Eye Surgery

Saturday, November 29th, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments

There are many cosmetic options for corrective eye surgery, but there are also some eye problems that can be treated and even cured with the appropriate procedure. Let’s have a look at some of the most common eye problems that can be treated in the operating theatre with laser eye surgery and other procedures.

Cataracts - cataracts appear as a clouding of the lens and affects vision as a person ages. Cataract eye surgery is performed to give the ageing patient improved vision.

Roving Eye - roving eye describes a condition where an individual may have an eye that doesn’t follow the other eye. Consequently vision is out of alignment and corrections need to be made to the extra-ocular muscles. These muscles are what move the eyeball in all directions. Eye muscle surgery is performed to strengthen, weaken, or reposition those tiny muscles to allow the eyeball to move with the other one.

Glaucoma – glaucoma is an eye condition where increasing pressure in the eye can lead to damage to the optic nerve and eventually blindness if it is not treated. A drain to relieve the eye pressure can be implanted. The condition can happen at any age.

Duane Syndrome - Duane syndrome is another disorder that can be helped by eye surgery. This condition is when there is little horizontal eye movement. Normally, muscles will be weakened to relieve the symptoms and allow more movement horizontally.

Nystagmus - nystagmusis is a condition when one or both eyes move rapidly or oscillate. A similar operation to the one correcting roving eye can be carried out to correct this problem.

Vitreo-retinal Surgery

Vitreo-retinal surgery includes many different procedures to correct eye problems. Of the many procedures associated with vitreo-retinal surgery is the repair of a retinal detachment. Retinal detachment can be caused by several incidents but one of the most common reasons for this condition is a blow to the eye. A tear to the retina can be repaired with a laser photocoagulation. Other procedures include ignipuncture, which is no longer widely used, pneumatic retinopexy, macular hole repair and vitrectomy eye surgery.

There are new discoveries happening in the corrective eye surgery scene every year and if there is no treatment for your condition at the moment then it is very likely that there will be one developed in the not to distant future.

Note: The information contained in this post is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice nor is it intended to be for medical diagnosis or treatment. Always consult your doctor or health care specialist before taking any medical advice or if you are in any way concerned about your physical wellbeing.

About World Aids Orphans Day

Saturday, November 29th, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments

World Orphan day is celebrated on the 7th of May every year. The day was inaugurated in New Yolk city in 2002 and is now celebrated internationally. It is a grassroots campaign that calls on donor countries to commit at least 10 percent of their AIDS funding to the needs of orphans and vulnerable children (WorldAIDSorphans.com).

It is estimated that there are at least 15 million children worldwide who have lost one or both parents to AIDS. But there are many other vulnerable children, who are orphaned or homeless as a result of such things as other diseases, poverty, war or natural disasters.

It used to be that if a child lost just one parent, a father for example, he/ she was not considered an orphan. However, in some cases the remaining parent is bedridden so the child has almost the same situation as an orphan and he or she is vulnerable.

The orphan problem is not unique to one country but most countries are now witness to the great numbers of orphans and vulnerable children among their population.

The numbers of orphans are projected to increase as AIDS continues to claim more adult lives, and it is estimated that the number of AIDS orphans in Swaziland will increase by at least half of it is today; from 69 000 to 120 000 by 2010.

The issue of orphans is one that needs addressing both today in future, if projections are anything to go by. Many of these children live as nomads; in pipes and other places many of us would not choose to live in. AIDS orphans and vulnerable children often don’t have families to raise them, they don’t have access to quality education or health care either.

As a result, for many of them, their brains won’t develop as they should in normal childhood, which means the future looks bleak as bleak as these children’s lives. They cannot be the future when they suffer from stress, malnutrition, maltreatment and other requirements necessary for a child to grow up healthily. Their situation should be a concern for everyone. Children are the future and there is no future without them.

This means a huge percentage of the next generation of adults will have to survive by all the things, all the means that sensitizing or raising awareness about the challenges they are faced with may offer.

World Orphan Day is not just a day to celebrate AIDS orphans in African and others across the world, but it is about bringing to the open the challenges faced by orphaned and vulnerable children because of circumstances beyond their control.

It is a day to use to get people pledging to help and those who may not be aware of the plight of these children, to become aware. This is a day to show how orphans are treated and the challenges they are faced with. Worldwide they are given names which at times stigmatise them and make them feel like outcasts. These are words like streetkids.

There are many awful problems in this world today, but our first task is to raise the next generation in a way that they can become productive citizens and not become child soldiers or terrorists or drug dealers or prostitutes.

What Sets Some Patios A Class Apart From Others

Friday, November 28th, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments

There are patios and then there are patios. You see, not all patios are made equal, just like anything else in life …

Patios that really stand apart were designed to be so. It mostly isn’t just by chance that one is far, far better than others …

But before we start getting into how to make yours head and shoulders better than the rest, we might need to answer …

Just Why Have a Drop Dead Gorgeous Patio Anyway ?

One of the chief purposes of a Patio is to serve as a warm, cozy place where you can entertain your guests. And if you have the best patio in town, who wouldn’t want to be on your list of guests ?

So with that safely put aside, let us see …

How To Design Heart-Breakingly Beautiful Patios

Here’s one brilliant idea that could stand you in good stead if you want to design patios that are a sight to behold …

Before you design your own patio, see lots and lots of photos of other very well designed patios. Patios that have a reputation for being a fine blend of beauty, style and functionality.

Just that - studying photos of hundreds of other patios - will enhance your own creativity and in time you will be able to visualize gorgeous designs yourself.

And just where do you get to see all those photos of patios ? Well, take a loot at all the patio design books on Amazon. Go to your local library and see what they have. Get yourself a few of those books that have beautiful photos printed on glossy paper. And in a while, your head will be overflowing with ideas that you never thought you could come up with. Patio pergola plans that you would have paid a consultant hundreds or even thousands to come up with can now become second nature to you.

With just a bit of intelligent effort, you can make yourself an expert in all aspects of patio design. You will know the best patio roof designs, just how to install a patio roof and more.

You would also want to build a network of other professionals. And interact with people experienced in actually building patios. These people know how to go from plans on paper to real world brick and mortar patios. So there’s usually a thing or two that you can learn from them.

And maybe if you see that you really like this kind of work, you could even become a consultant and capitalize on your new found love for patio designs

The wrong autoresponder email marketing can collapse your business

Friday, November 28th, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments

The wrong autoresponder email marketing can collapse your business, not build it.

A lot has been said about email marketing as an excellent tool for web marketing but few have been said about its pitfalls. If you plan to use auto responders as a booster for your online sales effort, you should pay particular attention to how your information is delivered to the readers. Basically, you should be concerned about the format in which the information is carried over.

In this article, we try to look at some of the much overlooked points that are a recipe for an email marketing campaign disaster.

Text format

When it comes to text on the internet, there are principally two main types that you can use in your email auto responders as part of your email marketing plain text like the one we see in notepad and html, the commonly used format on the web. Plain text normally contains no formatting but html text has formatting, variable background and can contain graphics.

Now let’s look at the reasons behind your choosing one or the other.

If you are reaching a simple readership without the need for extensive formatting and illustrations in your materials, then the best way to go is plain text for your email marketing. This style of text is easy to read ( as it has a white background) and loads easily because there are no graphics.

However, if you need to put links in your email marketing auto responders that readers will click on, then a problem emerges. People usually associate long links with affiliates. Even if you own the product being offered for sale, many people will shrug at the idea of clicking on a link because they know you are trying to hide behind an ezine or article to sell them a product.

Interested in Making Money On The Internet? Don’t Make These 7 Website Mistakes

Friday, November 28th, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments

The website boom of the early 21st century shows us that many people are tuned in to making money on the Internet. Even the business world is chomping at the bit to enter into the fast-paced world of the Internet. Even though times have changed, many website have not changed with the times. Here are some common mistakes that website owners make in the Internet culture of today:

1. Infrequent updates - If you want your website to attract the most business, you are going to have to frequently update your website. If your clients feel that you do not do your best to update and maintain your website, they will probably leave and find a similar business that does a better job.

2. JavaScript pop-ups - You may remember in times past that a notification window opened when you visited a website states that there is an “OK” button at the end. This is known as a JavaScript pop-up. During the website boom, this was very popular but it has since become a no-no due to its overuse. These pop-ups did not contain any valuable information and what’s more in the newer computers there is usually a noise associated with the pop-ups. This became very annoying to most people. If you must use a JavaScript pop-up, do not overuse it.

3. Heavy graphics - Keep in mind that there will always be a percentage of visitors who will have a dial-up connection. This means that is your website contains a lot of graphics they will have trouble downloading your site. Unless your website is in flash, you should try not to use animated graphics due to their very large file size.

4. Using heavy, high-contrasting colors - Another thing that became very popular during the Internet boom was the use of heavy high-contrasting colors. This also was overused. People were probably so interested in making money on the Internet that they wanted to grab their visitors’ attention by using high-contrasting colors. This is true up to a point, but it also has the negative effect of hurting the visitors’ eyes. This will definitely make your visitors find another website.

5. Clutter up pages - If you have a lot of clutter on the pages of your website, your visitors will be less likely to view them and go in search of another site. This will happen if they have to weed through a lot of useless information to find the real meat of what you are trying to say. You do want to have too much information on each page, and stick to only a single topic on each page. You will need a good navigation system in order to eliminate likely problems.

6. Lack of a navigation system - This is a very integral part of a website. During the Internet boom, once a visitor clicked on a page, they were taken to a new page and had no way of returning to the previous page or accessing additional pages. A good navigation system ensures that your clients will be able to view your entire website. A website navigation system should also have links to such things as website policies and terms and conditions.

7. Overuse of advertising - This problem is fairly new with websites particularly since Google began their Adsense program. Many websites today have more ads on them than information. A visitor does not want to sift through ads to find the real content of the website. This is the irony of the situation: If they do not feel as though they are being bombarded by ads, a visitor is more likely to click on one of these links. This is truly a situation where you have heard of the saying “less is more”.

There are many ways of making money on the Internet, and it seems that having a clear and concise website and a valuable product or service to promote is a way that is here to stay.

You can still find wii fit for sale online

Thursday, November 27th, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments

Wii fit is the hot new, must-have toy for all ages. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to find right now.

Nintendo recently announced that it would be increasing the supply of wii systems and wii fit games, but right now you can hardly find wii fit for sale anywhere, either in brick or mortar stores or on online discount stores. Luckily there are some places that still have wii fit in stock.

Why is wii fit one of the top 100 products of the year according to a well respected magazine? It takes the fun of a video game and combines it with the health benefits of an exercise program. Wii fit has yoga, strength training, and aerobics as well as fun balancing games like slolom skiing, hula hooping and soccer ball head butting. It also introduces a really great new type of video game controller, the balance board. This balance board is highly sensitive to weight shifts of the player standing atop of it. Wii already has other fun games you can use it with like wii ski.

You can also buy accessories for wii fit, such as a board cover to keep it clean or a yoga mat. There are many new games coming out that will make good use of the wii fit wobble board, so buying one now and getting used to it will give you an advantage as a gamer for any up coming game using this unique wobble board controller.

Be the envy of your hard core gamer or casual gamer friends: have fun with your whole family and get a wii fit today.