I remember the time that I swore to myself that I'd never be caught off guard again. I was in my new job on Capital Hill and it was the first week on the job. My new mentor at the office was the daughter of the other US Senator from Nevada so she knew everyone who was anyone. I tagged along with her one day to a meeting and I found myself in a mess!She introduced me to the President of Zimbabwe! I shook his hand and all of a sudden about a thousand flashes went off! None of the photographers knew that I was just a newcomer on Capital Hill, but every single one got a picture of me ?. And I'm sure what turned out was the "deer in the headlights" look. I completely froze, and looked up completely shaken up. I had NO idea that the photographers were even THERE and then on top of that, why would they want a picture of me?I've since learned to take a great picture anywhere. You name it, the driver's license, Sam's Club to get a member card, at weddings or any function, I have trained myself that the second that I know a camera is around, I "eyeball the eye of the camera" and give my best smile; for as long as I need to!But how do we handle situations in which we get caught off guard? Like asking to speak on a moments notice? What if someone yells at you at work for something that happens? What if you are asked to deliver a toast at an event? Or how about being asked to deliver a message or read a poem at a class reunion? That happened to me at my last reunion, and I told them that as a professional speaker, I never go anywhere unprepared. Therefore, at the encouragement of my husband, I turned them down.But what if you can't turn them down? What if you HAVE to get up and give a speech? What if you are lambasted in front of people at your workplace and can barely come up for air before you are supposed to respond?I think that in any crisis situation, and these are DEFINITELY crisis situations, that it's best to always have a plan. Here is what I recommend that my clients do:1. Know that you are going to be caught off guard at some point.2. Make a plan and memorize the plan.3. When it happens, tell yourself to take several breaths and calm down.4. Next, identify WHAT it is that the person wants from you. Do they want and need a response right then? Can the response wait?5. If it can wait, then tell them thank you for expressing their views and that you'll get back to them as soon as you have had a bit to think about it. Then, go to your office or get somewhere quiet and process what you need to do and say. Call a friend or mentor that you trust to help guide you through it.6. If you have to address the situation right there, your plan is to come off as poised and confident as possible. Hold yourself together until you can respond without flying off the handle or saying anything stupid.7. Address the situation. Ask yourself: What is the bottom line? What do you need to do or to say to make the other person or people happy?8. Deliver your lines. Look the other person or people in their eyes as you deliver your lines. Do it with the most amount of sincerity as possible.9. Be available to discuss it afterwards. Remain calm. You can always freak out later.10. After the fact, reassess how you did. What would you have changed if you could go back? Store that in your memory bank and chalk one up to being ready!A great example of someone being ready when they were caught off guard was Mayor Rudy Gulianni of NYC after 9/11. He went on TV almost immediately after almost being suffocated by the towers. He remained calm and showed sympathy to others even as the news of his good friends' death was delivered to him.Mayor Gulianni had been prepared. He had been reading about leadership and Winston Churchill the night before the tragedy. He was able to recall the story of how Churchill led his people in desperate times, and Guliani was able to call to memory this story as he himself had to present himself as a strong leader.Being prepared takes time of course. But being prepared and ready for the unexpected can catapult you to the next level in your career. It can make people stand up and notice, and can teach you that anyone can survive and thrive, when they expect the unexpected!Mary Gardner , The Charisma Coach! is an Executive Communications Consultant and Trainer. She works with, coaches and trains individuals, sales teams, executives, and celebrities. She owned and operated one of the first coaching institutions on the east coast, CCI, in NYC, Philly and NJ. Mary has appeared on ABC's 20/20 and has self published a book on public speaking. Mary is married to Sway and is mommy to Jeremy 5, and lives in Orlando, FL.For more information contact: mary@marygardner.com or Web: www.marygardner.com

When you have selected the photos for your scrapbook, you'll need to decide how best to lay them out on the pages. Don't feel obliged to follow any principles that don't suit your own design. There are no specific rules stating that all photographs
or mementos must be placed in chronological order. It is completely up you to
decide in what order you wish to place your items and embellishments.Choosing Your LayoutYou can place your photos in a formal chronological order if you want. You can also
group them into formal or informal categories according to similar colors, events,
activities, individuals or families. Photographs can also be placed into random or
abstract arrangements, or collages.Each style has its own place in scrapbooking. For instance, a chronological order
might be useful for an anniversary scrapbook. Pictures and mementos of the
couple's years together could be placed from the first day they met through the
wedding day to the present day with each time period on a different page.On the other hand, a scrapbook for a parent might just have a collage of photos
and drawings to create a sense of the character of their family and their lives
together.Getting Creative With Borders And FramesNext time you want to find materials to make scrapbook photo frames, have a look
in your sewing box or craft cupboard. You'll almost certainly find bits of ribbon, lace
or embroidery cotton that can be re-used to make fascinating and unusual borders
for pictures, photos, text or even entire pages.These items can be used in many different ways by the scrapbooker and help create
a sense of theme or mood, as well as contributing color and texture to your pages.Ribbons and LaceRibbon and lace are by far the most common and most beautiful border
embellishments. The flowing nature of both materials encourages a touch of
softness and elegance. Ribbon and lace are especially popular in gift and memory
scrapbooks. Ribbon is easy to glue and attach. Lace requires a bit more patience.For an interesting change from ribbon and lace, try using jute or raffia.Embroidery CottonEmbroidery cotton can be used in a number of interesting scrapbooking ways.
Individual fibers can be used to add a focus to special items or used to give
dimension to artwork or drawings.Embroidery fibers can also be twisted or braided for use in artwork or as imaginative
borders. Embroidery cotton can even be used to tie down other items in a beautiful
and creative way.HempHemp can be used for a number of purposes in scrapbooking. Single, twisted, or
braided fibers can be used to add focus as picture frames, or along the edges of the
scrapbook page as a border. Hemp looks especially good in scrapbooks with a
western theme. In general, hemp can also be used to make a scrapbook appear
more masculine.Hemp glues quite easily and hides glue messes well. To increase the likelihood that
a piece of hemp will stay in place while the glue is drying, place a piece of scotch
tape over the rope until the piece dries fully.Always trust your own instincts and have the confidence to organize and decorate
your scrapbook according to how you see the people and events it represents. That
way your work will form a unique record and have even greater personal value.Nigel Patterson is a writer on arts and crafts and the publisher of
Create Your Own
Scrapbooks.Visit his website for new and imaginative scrapbooking tips and ideas -- so you can
maintain your most treasured mementos and present them artistically for you, your
family and your friends to enjoy.

Airlines offer tickets at a fraction of the cost you buy tickets. These offers are given to wholesalers and agencies that bring good business to them. If you can trace out these wholesalers and agencies, you may get cheap airfares from them. These are seasonal and vary from time to time. You cannot expect the same price all the time. It could be cheaper or slightly higher than what you bought the previous time. Moreover, prices vary with the destination for which you are buying the tickets.Easy route to cheap airfaresMany websites offer cheap airfares for their members. You have to find these websites and become a member of these sites so that you can avail of the cheap airline tickets. Websites like http://www.affordabletravel.org frequently give cheap airline tickets to their members. It is said that you can even save more than 50% of the airfares on certain destinations. You have to periodically check the offers on these sites before you decide to book your tickets with the airlines. Apart from the memberships, they also offer companion memberships to the people who register on certain periods.Discount airfare for roundtripsSome of the airlines offer discount airfare for roundtrips that you take. Since you are traveling widely and on different routes, they could offer these discount rates to you. During roundtrips, you may choose a single airline if they provide the service through that route or you can take different airlines for different routes so that you arrive at cumulative cheap airfares.Finding the cheapest airfare between two destinationsYou may even wonder how to find out the cheapest airfares between any two destinations that you would like to travel. There are sites that provide you with the facilities to locate that. For example, a website http://www.lowestfare.com provides you with the search facility to find the lowest airfare between any two destinations. All you have to do is to key in the places from which you would like to travel and the destination to which you would like to travel. Data like the date of travel and date of return are also taken in to considerations. The web application in this site searches the database and provides you with the cheapest airfare and the airline, which provides that.Other services you get while you book air ticketsSome of the other services you get while booking your airline ticket is the option to reserve your hotel room, car, and cruise. Most of the websites provide you with these features also. The website www.cheaptickets.com can provide you with these features.For more information, visit these sites: http://www.CheapAirTicketsInfoCenter.com

Have you ever seen the trading floor in action on Wall Street? After the opening bell, things get chaotic. People who don't know what's going on might think of it as a riot situation.It is funny to think that the world economy is so tied to something so seemingly disorganized and inefficient. But it works, somehow, and there are winners and losers each day just like online business owners who "win" and "lose" targeted traffic.Picture a big group of guys all yelling and trying to get the attention of a couple people, who in turn, are trying to decipher what it is they are buying or selling. You cannot imagine that anyone has an edge over anyone else in this scenario.Now picture one of the traders being 3 feet taller than everyone else. This guy gets heard and seen above all the others and has better, faster results from his obvious edge over everyone else.Internet marketing is much like the Wall Street scenario. Everyone is yelling and screaming (with their links and ads) trying to get the attention of their market. It's chaotic yet it is organized in its own way.The ones to understand how to be the guy who is 3 feet taller than the rest of the crowd are the winners at the end of the day.
This might be from being number one in Yahoo for their keyword, or having a bigger list of subscribers than everyone else in their market niche.Having the tools to operate in the winner's circle online is like pulling up a chair on the trading floor to see and be seen by more of your market.In order to stand head and shoulders above the rest you must know your craft and be intimately tied to the changing currents in search engine marketing and other forms of online marketing.This is your chair that will enable you to out-perform your competition who are below you fighting for scraps, trying to be seen and be heard above the din.It is impossible these days to be a passive internet marketer. You cannot get the edge in online business without spending time on your craft and learning everyday how to get your site in front of your target market in new and innovative ways.This is why every successful website owner on the web invests time and energy in continuing education. Most also attend seminars and network with other marketers to keep in-the-know and keep that chair on which they are standing on all four legs.Getting to the top and staying there are two different things. Networking with other very smart, insightful trail blazers in your industry is how you stay on top.That's why record numbers of online business owners are flocking to internet marketing seminars. Each year the seminar circuit grows and each year the seminars sell out with eager attendees looking to get, and keep, their edge. Thousands of people are looking for the chair to stand on that gets them seen by their target market.Whether or not YOU think continuing education is important is irrelevant. You competition DOES and they are networking and learning specifically to blend your website into the crowd.If you are serious about success online, no matter what your definition of success is for your business, you at least need to be aware of exactly HOW your competition is beating you in all areas of your marketing campaign.Then you can take steps to get back in the game and compete on unequal footing with the masses who are all vying for the same attention from the same group of people in your target market.Learn. Study. Know your craft. Internet marketing is no longer a spectator sport!Copyright 2005 Jack HumphreyJack Humphrey is giving away "chairs" at the Internet Publishers Mardi Gras: Krewe of Profiteers seminar in New Orleans September 9th-11th, 2005. Come learn how to stand up and be seen on the web! http://contentdesk.com/mardigras/

This article addresses the 'how' and 'when' of getting involved with internet marketing.In this country we have been saturated with myths of instant wealth and fortunes made overnight.Everyone has heard stories of someone who has gone to Las Vegas and 'bet it all' and won. People are encouraged to act impulsively with their business investments on the chance that 'Lady Luck will smile on them.'I personally believe that most people who gamble impulsively with their money lose it.I believe the same thing is true of people who act impulsively when they get involved with internet marketing.When is the best time to get involved with internet marketing? When you are still employed and already have a steady income, not when you are out of work or up against the stops financially.I believe succeeding as an internet marketer takes time, persistence and investment. I believe there is a science to internet marketing and it involves a learning curve. When I started getting interested in internet marketing, I decided I would spend up to a year learning about it before I invested much money.I was glad I did this. I still made mistakes, you will always make mistakes, that is part of the learning curve, but I believe I avoided losing a lot of money by being well informed.How can you learn about internet marketing? Start surfing the surf exchanges a little.It's free, so all you might lose is a little time, but sign-up for some free e-courses.You'll see plenty of these! Realize that most of these e-books and courses have a commercial angle to them, so don't start signing-up for everything they are promoting right away, but read a lot of different ones.In getting involved with internet marketing one should, as I've said, already have an income. Crunch the numbers, and figure out how much extra income you can easily afford, after you pay all your bills, to invest in on-line marketing and then stick to that.One good guideline is that a newbie should not spend more than about a hundred dollars on advertising,and not more until you see some trackable results from the ad.I believe that, in general, millionaires are created in one of two ways; they either inherit the money or they carefully shepherd the income they have and leverage it into more.What I mean by leverage is that they cut back on expenses so they have a little extra to invest and then they do this wisely. They repeat this process over and over.Brian Beshore has been involved with Internet Marketing for several years. He publishes his own Home Business Guide.
http://www.surfinsafari.net

Jewelry can be the perfect gift for mom on Mother's Day, but there are pitfalls, especially if you rush at the last minute. Procrastination and a lack of knowledge can be rewarded with overpaying for a piece of jewelry or even worse, being ripped-off.A gift of jewelry can be expensive. Asking friends, family and co-workers if they can recommend a website, brick and mortar store or local crafts person can help. Checking with the better business bureau is also a commendable approach.When you are shopping, ask the salesperson to write down any information you might rely on to make your purchase and before you buy, ask for the store's refund and return policy. When ordering online, keep printouts of the web pages with details about the transaction, including refund and return policies if you're not satisfied.Six Smart Shopping Tips for Mother's Day and Beyond1. There's a big difference between 14 karat gold and gold-plated jewelry. Fourteen karat (14K) jewelry contains 14 parts of gold, mixed in throughout with 10 parts of base metal. Gold-plated describes jewelry with a layer of at least 10K gold bonded to a base metal. Gold plating eventually wears away, depending on how often the item is worn and how thick the plating is.2. If you're buying a watch, determine whether you want one that runs on a battery or one that must be wound daily. Ask if a warranty or guarantee is included, how long it lasts, and what parts and repair problems it covers. Also ask how and where you can get the watch serviced and repaired.3. Know the difference between laboratory-created gemstones and naturally mined stones. Stones created in the lab are visually identical to stones mined from the earth. The big difference is in the cost: laboratory-created stones are less expensive then naturally mined stones. But because they look must like stones mined from the earth, they must be identified as lab-created. If you want a naturally mined stone, ask if it has been treated. Gemstone treatments? such as heating, dyeing or bleaching? can improve a stone's appearance or durability. Some treatments are permanent; some may create special care requirements. Treatments also may affect the stone's value.4. Ask whether pearls are imitation or real. Real pearls are made by oysters or other mollusks; imitation pearls are man-made. Cultured pearls are made by mollusks with human intervention; and irritant introduced into their shells causes a pearl to grow. Real pearls that are not cultured are fairly rare and expensive. The cost depends on the size, usually stated in millimeters, and the coating or "nacre" on a real pearl, which gives it its iridescence.5. When you're buying a diamond, consider four criteria: cut, color, clarity and weight, usually stated as carats. Each factor affects the price. Color is sometimes "graded" on a scale. However, scales are not uniform: a "D" may be the best color for one scale, but not for another. Make sure you know how a particular scale and grade represent the color of the diamond you're considering. A diamond can be described as "flawless" only if it has no visible surface cracks or other imperfections when viewed under 10-power magnification by a skilled diamond grader.6. One final tip, Mom's love longer (i.e. 24") gold or sterling chains with gemstone pendants. And you can almost never go wrong with the very popular omega-style chains in various widths in sterling silver or gold.For more information on jewelry and gemstones, we cordially invite you to visit http://www.morninglightjewelry.com to pick up your FREE copy of "How To Buy Jewelry And Gemstones Without Being Ripped Off." This concise, informative special report reveals almost everything you ever wanted to know about jewelry and gemstones, but were afraid to ask. Get your FREE report at http://www.morninglightjewelry.com

Take note that you need to decide whether you want a radio control nitro or gas car or perhaps one that has an electric engine. You could purchase either one which is ready to run (rtr) or a kit. Now, knowing how much you would want to spend start going shopping for a vehicle that fits your specifications. Like me passion is what drew me to this exciting hobby and there's a lot you are going to learn before you can "get behind the wheel".It is always good start at a nearby hobby store - look for one that specializes in radio control vehicles. Speak to people you'll find working in the store and chances are that these people are true blue rc hobbyists as well. There is much you can learn from, so pick their brains well. You'll find these machines
to be sleek and powerful, tearing up the terrain in a jiffy and it's certainly a lot of fun watching them go.The types of radio control vehicles that you need to get aquainted with are nitro and electric cars, monster trucks, stadium trucks, minis and micros. If you want to get your feet wet and don't wish to spend a whole lot of money, go and get a used vehicle - this is the cheapest way of building your skills. To find used radio control vehicles for sale, ask your friends, check the local newspapers, read RC magazines or browse through listings at auction sites like eBay.If you decide that you want a new vehicle, you can choose a kit, an ARR ("almost ready to run") model, or an RTR ("ready to run") model. What's the difference? A kit will take you time and a certain amount of expertise to assemble. The advantage of a kit, of course is that once you're finished, you'll know exactly how
your vehicle is built and therefore how to repair any damage.ARR and RTR models come already assembled. The difference is usually that the ARR model doesn't have a radio system installed, while an RTR model does. So don't be fooled by the difference in price. When you buy an ARR car, you're going to have to add the cost of the radio system to your final cost.The expense of operating your radio control car can be as little as an occasional replacement battery pack. But as with any hobby, the more you play the more you pay. If you become a dedicated radio control vehicle fan, be prepared for repairs, upgrades, special tools, magazine subscriptions, books, racing entry fees,
association dues, travel expenses to the big meets and races - the list can be endless. The best advice is to start small, and let your radio control hobby grow little by little to whatever level you find most satisfying.So all in all, what's the best advice for getting started in radio control? Start small, get to know experienced radio control drivers, and learn as you go. Make a list before you buy anything, and make sure have all the accessories and parts you're
going to need to use your vehicle. Most of all, have fun - RC is a wonderful way to meet people, to challenge yourself, and to fulfill your driving fantasies.Philip Lim is an avid lover of radio control vehicles who cannot resist but share his passion by writing content providing tips, reviews and product releases and more when you sign up for his newsletter at http://www.eHobbyCentral.com

9/10 times your web site visitors won't stay for more than 15 seconds. This is how you get them to stay, or should I say, get them to come back!For most of you, your web site is a great brochure. It probably outlines your services very well. There's nothing wrong with that what-so-ever!but...There are creative marketing strategies that you can implement so that you don't entirely loose your clients, you just need to keep them in the loop for when the time comes for them to buy."Marketing Online - Is about creative patience"Being creative with your web marketing ventures is crucial but it doesn't necessarily react like print magazine ads or like newspaper press releases. No, it takes time for something to kick into full force.This is why you should always keep on top of creating something new because, just like regular marketing, if you don't have another campaign ready to go when your done this one, you'll start to loose prospects on the way and create a slow period for your business.You want your world online to consistently grow. Don't grow too quickly, just grow and keep growing with all your marketing efforts.Here are some of the marketing strategies you can implement:Create an online newslettersGive something away for freeCreate online questionairesEngage yourself into discussion groupsWrite helpful tipsCreate local resources for othersHave a section of tips from others in your fieldCreate a forum on your siteAs you can see, these are all marketing strategies that ingage people in some way. The key is to create emotion through your visitors. Once you've engaged someone from your site, your site will be imprinted on their mind. It may take them a year to buy something from you but once in a while, maybe even weekly, they will keep coming back to your site.The important thing to remember is that, eventually, we loose all of our visitors, even more important is to find marketing ventures that keep them coming back from time to time.Just because someone saw your service today, doesn't mean that he/she is ready to buy what you are ofering. Many people "Shop For Tomorrow". They like to browse around, see the options out there before they dig into their wallet.I hope this article will spawn off some ideas for you!About The AuthorMartin Lemieux
Smartads - President
Affordable Web Design & Web Site Marketing
http://www.smartads.info & http://www.smartads.caFor more of Martin's articles, please go here: http://www.smartads.info/top-10For Daily Web Marketing Tips: http://web-marketing.smartads.info

(1) Create a Direct Response Website, with the
minimum number of pages possible (e.g. an Index Page,
a Contact Page, and an Order Page).(2) Make sure your sales copy is positive and
inspiring - people buy things because they want to
improve their lives.(3) Identify a problem and show people how and why
your product or service solves the problem.(4) Keep your paragraphs short - no more than 2
sentences per paragraph.(5) Use bold headings to break up your sales copy
into short chunks of text.(6) Use a bulleted list to itemize the benefits of
your product or service. Start each benefit with an
action word: "turn", "make", "triple", "grab",
"create", "build", "convert", "start", "change",
"drive", "organize", "promote", "develop", "learn",
"compel", "fill", "attract", "get", "earn", "take",
"discover", "produce", "find", "generate", "acquire".
"inspire", "send", "blast".(7) Give your visitors at least 3 order links (e.g.
1/3rd of the way down your page, 2/3rds the way down,
and at the bottom). But don't stop there - turn some
of your key phrases into hyperlinks that go to your
order page. Here are some examples of phrases that you
could link to your order page: "increase your sales",
"take advantage of this offer", "try it risk-free for
30 days", "get the following 5 bonuses", "the
competitive edge you need", "this risk-free offer".(8) Use purple (#990099, R=153 G=0 B=153) text - the
color purple (used sparingly) has been shown to
increase sales.(9) Give a time limit - most people are
procrastinators.(10) At the end of your sales copy make a call to
action: "Act now - don't let this opportunity pass by"------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Southon has been writing for the Internet for over 3
years. He has shown hundreds of webmasters how to use this
simple technique to build a successful online business. Click
here to find out more: http://ezine-writer.com/
------------------------------------------------------------

This article addresses the 'how' and 'when' of getting involved with internet marketing.In this country we have been saturated with myths of instant wealth and fortunes made overnight.Everyone has heard stories of someone who has gone to Las Vegas and 'bet it all' and won. People are encouraged to act impulsively with their business investments on the chance that 'Lady Luck will smile on them.'I personally believe that most people who gamble impulsively with their money lose it.I believe the same thing is true of people who act impulsively when they get involved with internet marketing.When is the best time to get involved with internet marketing? When you are still employed and already have a steady income, not when you are out of work or up against the stops financially.I believe succeeding as an internet marketer takes time, persistence and investment. I believe there is a science to internet marketing and it involves a learning curve. When I started getting interested in internet marketing, I decided I would spend up to a year learning about it before I invested much money.I was glad I did this. I still made mistakes, you will always make mistakes, that is part of the learning curve, but I believe I avoided losing a lot of money by being well informed.How can you learn about internet marketing? Start surfing the surf exchanges a little.It's free, so all you might lose is a little time, but sign-up for some free e-courses.You'll see plenty of these! Realize that most of these e-books and courses have a commercial angle to them, so don't start signing-up for everything they are promoting right away, but read a lot of different ones.In getting involved with internet marketing one should, as I've said, already have an income. Crunch the numbers, and figure out how much extra income you can easily afford, after you pay all your bills, to invest in on-line marketing and then stick to that.One good guideline is that a newbie should not spend more than about a hundred dollars on advertising,and not more until you see some trackable results from the ad.I believe that, in general, millionaires are created in one of two ways; they either inherit the money or they carefully shepherd the income they have and leverage it into more.What I mean by leverage is that they cut back on expenses so they have a little extra to invest and then they do this wisely. They repeat this process over and over.Brian Beshore has been involved with Internet Marketing for several years. He publishes his own Home Business Guide.
http://www.surfinsafari.net