The Refresh Orlando Heirs

Information Technology has improved the leasing process, parts at a time. Every company has evolved some manner of maintaining customer information. Accounting software has kept the back-end humming. The sales force has devised methods for maintaining customers and then bridging them with funding sources. The vendor is contacted when an order needs filling. Further down the chain, the collections process is managed independently. And, the savvy leasing business has found ways of retaining customers to keep the process alive.

Limitations of the traditional Lease Management Software

But the permeation of technology has been sporadic, at best. Thus far, the existent lease management software have spot lighted sections of the leasing process, affecting each uniquely, independently and in isolation from the whole lease operation. This has forced companies to tie together the disparate sections of the lease process manually, without using any lease management software. Inevitably, intervening to help one part of the business communicate with another without a technical platform such as lease management software to collaborate both parts creates inefficiencies. While financial data would help the sales-force negotiate with repeat customers, the sales-force may not be privy to the relevant information easily devoid of innovative leasing software. The lessee may be offered an online lease application, but a potential funding source is not intimated of the new request until much later. Unfortunately, the disjointed nature of traditional technology necessitates physical intervention almost every time one link of the lease chain needs to be connected with another.

Improving productivity through consolidated lease management

Here’s where concepts like Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Supply Chain Management, so successfully used in manufacturing and telecommunications, become relevant to lease management. Today, Internet-driven technology such as the lease management software can consolidate the entire leasing process, beyond simply improving its various sections in isolation. Productivity-wise, this consolidation will do to the leasing business what the assembly line did to automobile manufacturing. And, if implemented wisely, the cost of this technology is quickly covered many times over by the resulting synergy - and the quantifiable savings — that it brings to the leasing enterprise, regardless of its size.

Managing leasing relationships through the Lease Management software

Lessor <———> Lessee
The lessee-lessor relationship, for one, fits intuitively into the Internet model of the lease management software, given the high level of interaction it requires. After all, lessees have ongoing and insatiable needs, ranging from the most basic monthly invoice to the more complex asset-dependent property tax management specifics. Lessees with numerous assets under each of their leases, for instance, need a specialized flow of information to track their assets and stay abreast of their accounts by way of an effective lease management system. With a lease becoming a service rather than a mere financial product, lessors have to find ways of catering to the growing customer demand for information. One cannot help wondering why the systems they use for lease management, veritable storehouses of the needed information, don’t have CRM functionality. Indeed, CRM is as relevant at point-of-sale as it is during the lease process; it allows lessors to understand a lessee’s ongoing needs and even distinguish one customer from another. An online interface by means of lease management software can form the perfect channel of information exchange for the data-starved lessee.

Lessor <———> Funding Source
Driven by tight marketing conditions and innovative funding models, the unique investor-lessor relationship can also benefit greatly from the use of technology via lease management software. Typically, lessors sell receivables, in whole or in part, to various investors to fund their leases. In some cases, the residual value is even sold separately with the investor and lessor sharing the proceeds generated from off-lease remarketing, contingent on various realization thresholds. But, regardless of the level of complexity in their relationship, there is one undeniable truth: Information that is already present with the lessor has to somehow travel to the investor. Typically, this entails hours of error-prone report and document preparation, the need for pain-staking clarification and, possibly, re-reporting. Again, these inefficiencies beg a rather obvious question: Why not let the investor get the information it needs, in a controlled, secure and real-time environment, devoid of manual intervention? Shouldn’t it be possible, at least in theory, for the investor to view information that lives with the lessor without the latter’s direct involvement? With an Internet based lease management system, this becomes a very practical possibility. Once the lessor determines the type and extent of information access it wants to offer, a customizable Web interface can provide the forum that eliminates the traditional inefficiencies of the lessor-investor association.

The Solution - Internet based Lease Management Software

Indeed, owing to the ease of information flow that the Net inherently facilitates, Internet based leasing software technology can tie in the hitherto unconnected parts of the lease process. Through this technology, the lessor can provide its business partners with controlled gateways to information residing in the back-end. In light of optimizing these relationships, the technology used to forge this data exchange must be based on the same technology that is used to maintain the information. If, therefore, the back-end accounting software were Internet based, it would become a minor step to make the relevant information available to investors or lessees online.

The technological consolidation of the leasing process by way of a internet based lease management software begins, then, with the back end. Lease management software is the battering ram around which the rest of the leasing process is built. In fact, Supply chain management and CRM, as they pertain to leasing, are fueled primarily by the data-rich back end. After all, here’s where every detail about a lease, from inception through maturity, is maintained. Yet, despite the obvious opportunity to realize these efficiencies, the leasing industry has not recognized the benefits of online lease management software. Most software vendors still earn a living touting systems that are entrenched in the client/server model and that are seriously limited by their legacy origins. This scenario is changing, however, with companies like Odessa Technologies, Inc., based out of Philadelphia, that make Internet based lease management systems.

Through LeaseWave(Lease accounting and management software product), Odessa Technologies provides a cost-effective means to benefiting from the Internet. LeaseWave, at its nucleus, provides for complete asset management and lease accounting functionality, allowing the lessor to efficiently manage any number of lease portfolios. Beyond this core, LeaseWave provides a series of interactive web sites that connect the lessor with business partners including lessees, funding sources and vendors. This allows for the lessor to consolidate the leasing process, tying together business partners online, on a real-time basis. Through LeaseWave, the leasing supply chain meets CRM around a robust, Internet based lease management software.

Indeed, it was through supply chain management and CRM that Wal-Mart recently revolutionized the retail industry. IT investment “enabled the company to squeeze out every last inefficiency from [their] merchandising chain.” By connecting with their suppliers such as Procter & Gamble, Wal-Mart was able to reduce inventory, lower order-processing costs and thereby offer “low, everyday prices.” One better than Wal-Mart, Cisco, one of the largest Internet hardware suppliers now boasts a paper free supply chain. Cisco’s suppliers only begin assembling components after a customer places an order online, giving “just-in-time supply” a new standard. Why then can’t our retail shops (read lessors), their suppliers (read funding sources) and their customers (read lessees) be similarly connected? Don’t we also want low, every day prices?

Odessa Technologies, Inc. is the maker of LeaseWave(c), a completely Internet based Lease operations management system for the Lessor. LeaseWave technology, at its core, handles Lease Accounting and Asset Management. In addition, it provides a full eCommerce solution and interactive interfaces for Lessees, Funding Sources, Potential Customers, Vendors and other Third Parties. The technology aims to bring the entire leasing operation online, allowing lessors to conduct business in real time with their business partners. LeaseWave is marketed via an ASP (Application Service Provider) service through subscription or as a fully licensed system residing on the Lessor’s internal server. Visit Odessa Technologies online at www.odessatech.com or call 1-888-683-2484 for further information.

I wrote and article about two months ago on the popularity of Hot Wheels. I did it because I found some sites to feature on my hobbies page and I had not realized how popular the toys were to collect. Do not let the title of this article fool you, I am not modifying my previous article. Out of the approximately thirty articles I have written in the past months the article about Hot Wheels was my most popular. I decided to look more into this hobby.

Part of my research consisted of trying to contact some webmasters focusing on Hot Wheels. I spoke with the owner of www.z-mods.com. I tried to find out what it is about these toys that drew such a following. The owner’s name is Steve Zalimas. He has been playing with and collecting these cars since he was little. He does not recall what drew him to it. He did not even know other people collected them until the last ten years or so.

What Steve did share with me is the not only are the original Hot Wheels worth money but he makes most of his money off of his modified cars, hence the title of this article. Steve said he has been modifying these cars for a few years now. The modifications consist of things as simple as changing wheels to a more rare set of wheels, unique paint jobs, turning hard top cars into convertibles and more. No car he modifies is the same. He cannot remember all the different combinations he has done over the years but estimates they are in the dozens.

Steve also indicated that he has built a nice list of repeat customers over the years as well. “This is not a high production business by any means. You are working with very small cars and some of the detail work involved to produce a high quality car is time consuming and requires a lot of patience.” This was a quote offered by Steve in one of our e-mails back and forth. He also told me that he will even do a car based on a customer’s specifications on a rare occasion. Steve spends most of his time on the collecting of the cars because the rare cars are just not plentiful enough to supply his modification side of things. He did ask me to pass along a message, which I will gladly do because he gave me the courtesy of helping me in researching this article, that if you do not see a car on his site for sale to contact him. They sell off faster than he can produce them so he may be working on the exact modification you are looking for.

Steve does this as a hobby and for relaxation mostly. He is not in it for the money so he couldn’t give me an estimate on how much he has made over the years with his modifications. He said he doesn’t always sell them for money either, sometimes he will trade a modified car for a car he has been needing for his personal collection. It is obvious that this hobby is hotter than I ever expected.

Scott Bianchi operates http://www.best-internet-bargains.com . He writes on a variety of topics. If you would like to be added to his distribution list for his new articles when they are published just send an email to articles@bestinternetbargains.com .

SAP Inc., a global leader in client/server enterprise application software that for years been the backbone to RFID application has seen a 1,000% spike year-over-year in customers, interested in RFID deployment. Acting as a link to RFID data and business applications SAP expects great things further and expedites toward new horizons.

RFID gives trade greater visibility into their supply chains and would stem inventory leakage. This in turn finds United States of America create more in-house and outsourcing jobs especially leading to manufacturing sector. Also “drives product excellence” by brining consumer goods companies closer to the buying action, says McDermott. With real-time understanding of customer’s buying pattern, manufacturing of newer product line proved to be successful and largely contributing to businesses.

“I think consumers would give up a little bit on the privacy side for speed and efficiency”, McDermott said while commenting on the Americans willingness to forgo a level of privacy in order to gain the benefits of RFID in coming years. He further says privacy, as a barrier to adoption, is “nothing more complex than just knowledge.”

On the whole, RFID around the world finds larger acceptance especially among the large corporatism and government agencies faces real challenge with consumer awareness. Further demand for unique standardization and harmonization is of the essence to counterfeit the niggling problematic aspects of RFID spectrums.

Rahul Ghosh, working as freelance industry analyst working is a regular contributor and has written many articles and commentaries on diversified industry sectors. For further discussion with the writer, email at rahulghosh@rediffmail.com

There are currently thousands of sites on the internet that can arrange for you to have some flowers delivered. It is a fast and convenient way for you to send flowers and you can even arrange for them to be sent the same day so that you will never miss that special occasion.

There are many skills in the art of flower arranging. First of all, a florist needs to pick the right flowers. This means meeting the customer’s requirements but also using seasonal flowers, which will not only look better but will also be cheaper. The combination of flowers will also need to look good together so the florist not only need a flair for design, but also a general instinct as to what will work. In European and American countries the emphasis is on large flower arrangements with lots of different kinds of flowers and colors. However, Ikebana is an Oriental style of flower arranging that concentrates on simple and pure lines and colors.

When you buy your arrangement of flowers you want them to last as long as possible. Therefore florists need to be able to cut flowers the right way and arrange them so that they stay fresh for as long as possible.

Florists also need to be able to understand what a customer wants since they may not always know exactly how they want their flower arrangement to look! Some customers also request special arrangements such as wreaths and florists need to be able to make these.

The skill of buying the right amount of flowers to replenish your stock is another important issue for florists and one that takes a while to get right so that you don’t lose your profit by having to chuck out flowers at the end of the day. These flowers are purchased from flower markets but like other markets, the stock depends on factors such as supply and demand, and fashion.

Although there are many advantages to using an online florist, there are also some issues that you should be made aware of. If you simply choose the first florist that you see on the internet, you may actually be in contact with a call center that then contacts a florist located near to where your flowers are to be delivered. This means that you can’t use the knowledge of florists, and they may well charge you a lot more than if you had gone straight to a florist. However, not all sites are like this and once you have found one that you are satisfied with, there is nothing to stop you ordering flowers for every occasion, since this is the easiest way to do it.

There are many occasions that you will want to buy flowers for someone. A lot of these are seasonal such as Mother’s Day, or Valentine’s Day. At these times of year florists get very busy so you might want to get in there early to ensure that you get exactly the arrangement you require.

These occasions differ depending upon the culture. For example, in England, Poppies are used on Remembrance Sunday, and Red Roses are a symbol of Love. However, in other countries this may mean something completely different. An example of this difference concerns white flowers. In Europe and America white is a symbol of innocence and purity, whereas in many Asian countries, white is a sign of death.

Find more articles by Tina Banks on http://www.a1-flower-delivery.com

What organ gives you your most intense sexual pleasure? That’s right: your brain. Now you can learn to maximize your brain’s potential for pleasure…

Stress and anxiety can destroy a good time in bed. If your mind isn’t in the right place, it won’t matter how healthy you are or how expert your lovemaking. If your mind isn’t in the right place, then you won’t enjoy sex… and your partner probably won’t either.

For a male, the most powerful male sex organ is undoubtedly his brain. What are men most afraid of? Erectile dysfunction? Premature ejaculation? Ask any man who ever had a performance problem and he’ll tell you: his biggest worry is that it might happen again. Studies show that this anxiety alone is enough to cause it to happen again, or at least to take a lot of the pleasure out of something that is supposed to be the ultimate in pleasure.

Anxiety destroys libido in women just as it undermines performance in men. Ask any woman how her libido is doing when she’s stressed out by her job, her kids, or her relationship. The answer: Zip. Nada. In fact, the Journal of the American Medical Association states that 43% of women regularly experience sexual difficulties, mostly low libido, or poor arousal. This issue frequently leads to difficulty reaching orgasm, which in turn leads to frustration that further undermines arousal.

Like any other sex organ, your brain needs exercise to function at its best. Otherwise stress and anxiety will take their toll on your sex life. What needs exercise is not the brain functions that generate critical thinking, but rather the more emotional limbic centers.

The most powerful exercise for your mental sex organ is mental rehearsal. Mental rehearsal is the use of active imagination and memory to teach yourself to perform successfully, just as Olympic athletes do. For this approach to work, you need to be in the right frame of mind (positive, upbeat, and self-confident) as well as the right state of mind (an alpha to theta brain wave state).

The best way to practice mental rehearsal for maximum sexual performance and enjoyment is to use advanced hypnotic programs to take you to the optimal mental state. Hypnosis has the unique ability to bypass the executive centers of the brain (the frontal lobes) to directly communicate with the limbic brain. Hypnotherapy is particularly useful in reprogramming anxiety related symptoms by installing sophisticated instructions though the use of powerful imagery. High tech (PET) brain scans of hypnotized subjects have proven that hypnotism powerfully impacts the brain, giving control over pain responses and other basic bodily functions.
With hypnotism, you can uncover your true sexual potential- radiant sensuality and absolutely ecstatic orgasms.

Anxiety and related issues do not have to ruin what can be the greatest pleasure in life. Advanced hypnotherapy programs exist that can overcome problems with arousal and inability to achieve orgasm, as well common issues such as premature ejaculation and impotence. Hypnotherapy has a track record of success in this area, and these programs have been developed by an internationally renowned clinical hypnotherapist. They come with a full one year money back guarantee. Check out www.great-sex-through-hypnosis.com for details.

This article can be reproduced freely as long as you post a link back to www.great-sex-through-hypnosis.com.

About the Author

J.B. Blount is a health researcher and writer, and a principal contributor to www.great-sex-through-hypnosis.com.

A wide range of pattern styles is available. Styles with princess seams are
slenderizing. So are patterns with a center panel of a contrasting color; to
minimize hips, use a dark color for the side panels. High-cut leg openings on
swimsuits and leotards give the appearance of longer legs and a slimmer torso.
For a full-busted figure, choose a pattern with a bustline shaped by darts or
seams. To fill out a slender figure, use a pattern with shirring, draping, or
ruffles. Or choose a simple pattern style and a splashy printed fabric to
enhance a slender figure.

By sewing your own swimsuits and
leotards, you can make garments that meet your needs. Add a full-front
lining to a swimsuit, if desired; this is especially important for light-colored
and lightweight fabrics. Or you may line just the crotch area or add a bandeau
lining in the bust area. Purchased bra cups may be sewn into the bandeau if
firmer support is desired.

Two-way stretch fabric stretches to fit the contours of many different figure
types. Select the pattern according to the bust measurement to avoid extensive
fitting adjustments at the bustline. If you require different pattern sizes for
the hips and the bust, choose a multisize pattern, following the cutting lines
for the appropriate sizes and blending the lines in the waistline area.

Sewing Swimsuits & Leotards

Before laying out a swimsuit or
leotard pattern,
determine which direction of the fabric has the greater amount of stretch.
Nylon/spandex knits usually stretch more in the lengthwise direction;
cotton/spandex, in the crosswise. For a comfortable fit, lay out the pattern on
the fabric so the greater amount of stretch will encircle the body.

Swimsuits and leotards are fast and easy to sew. Most styles have only a few
seams and edge finishes. Stitch the side seams and crotch seam first; then try
on the garment and adjust the fit as needed.

If a one-piece swimsuit or leotard is too long in the torso, shorten it at
the shoulder seams; if this raises the neckline, the neck opening can be trimmed
as necessary. If the armholes are too small, causing the garment to bind under
the arms, enlarge them by trimming the openings. Leg openings should fit
smoothly; if they are too large, take in the side seams at the lower edge,
tapering the seams gradually. Stitch the shoulder seams after the fitting, and
apply the elastic.

Elasticized Edges

To stabilize edges and to ensure a snug fit on swimsuits and leotards, use
elastic at necklines, armholes, waistlines, and leg openings. Elasticized edges
also allow you to slip the garment on and off easily. Although elasticized edges
do self-adjust to your figure, do not depend on them to solve fitting problems.

If you have not adjusted the neckline, armhole, or leg openings, cut the
elastic to the lengths specified by the pattern. Most patterns print the cutting
information for the elastic on the guide sheet or provide a cutting guide on the
pattern tissue. If using a pattern with several views, be sure to cut the
elastic for the style you have chosen; for example, a high-cut leg opening
requires longer elastic than a standard leg opening.

Cotton braided swimwear elastic or transparent elastic may be used. Both
types of elastic, with excellent stretch and recovery, are chlorine-resistant
and salt-resistant. Most patterns call for 3/8″ (1 cm) elastic for adults’
swimwear and 1/4″ (6 mm) elastic for children’s.

Bizhen Lu is a professional sewer. Her website is Free Sewing Tips

You’ve been asked to give an important presentation. A lot is riding on how well you can deliver. The problem is, you’re not sure where to begin. The last class you took on presentation skills told you to tie your hands behind your back and blend in with everyone else. Is that really a good approach?

The answer is a LOUD and RESONATING NO WAY.

If you want to WOW your audience, you have to STAND UP and STAND OUT!

Here are 5 Presentation Secrets designed to help you see an immediate and dramatic improvement in your presentation performance.

Secret #1 - Manage Your Anxiety So That It Doesn’t Manage YOU!
Most of the nervous symptoms you experience before a presentation are exactly the same as those you feel when excited. To the body adrenaline is very simply-ENERGY. If we call it energy or excitement it is good, if we call it anxiety, it is bad. The first step toward successfully managing your anxiety is to remove the negative label and rename that feeling you have right before you step up to the podium, EXCITEMENT. Tell yourself that you are excited about the opportunity to speak in front of this group. “Excitement” is a much more manageable and positive emotion than “anxiety.” Then use your excitement to energize you and help you communicate your enthusiasm to your audience.

Secret #2 - When It Comes To Your Delivery Style, Be More Of Who You Really Are!
Everyone has their own innate “style” of presenting. Your style is made up of many different aspects of your delivery, including your body, voice, face, the way you use language, level of formality, etc. The trick, within your style, is to be more of who you really are, which means knowing and then capitalizing on your greatest delivery strengths.

Many presenters focus too much attention on their words. With words only accounting for 7% of your power as a presenter, spending too much energy on the words alone is a big mistake. Your nonverbal delivery style-also called your presentation personality–accounts for 97% of your power as a presenter. To improve your chances for success, focus on the real source of your power-your nonverbal communication such as eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, posture, movement, proximity, clothing, vocal
variety, rate, loudness, and silent pauses.

Secret #3 - Give the Audience All the Enthusiasm You Want Back!
You can’t expect an audience to be enthusiastic about a product or program you aren’t excited about. Presentation author Doug Staneart concluded, “Your audience will have just about as much excitement about your presentation as you do, and no more.” Enthusiasm is very catchy. Most audiences will match your level of enthusiasm pound for pound.

According to the Lamalle Report on Top Executives of the 1990s, one of the most important factors in determining financial success by those earning over $250,000 is being enthusiastic and having a positive attitude (46%). Apparently, along with being incredibly enthusiastic, successful people never underestimate the power of positive thinking.

Why does having a positive attitude matter so much? Research solidly indicates that expectations influence behavior meaning if you expect to succeed, it is likely that you will and if you expect to fail, you are more
likely to be unsuccessful. Expectations create outcomes because we work toward the outcome we expect, even if it is failure. Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t–you are right.”

Enthusiasm has amazing ransformational powers. As you release your energy using positive nonverbal behaviors (gestures, movement, loud voice, etc.), you will begin to relax. And, your audience will quickly become excited. It works like magic! Watch how easily you can transfer your enthusiasm to your audience.

Secret #4 - NEVER Apologize, Confess, Or Make Excuses!
Presenters say the darndest things…”I’m sorry but I have a cold today so my voice may sound a little funny” (apology)OR “I just found out about this presentation yesterday, so I didn’t have as much time to prepare as I would have liked” (excuse) OR EVEN “I’m so nervous…” (confession). It is always surprising how often and how easily presenters use these NEGATIVE phrases.

Up until now, that is.

If you want to WOW your audience, you have to adopt and live by the motto: NO APOLOGIES, NO EXCUSES, NO CONFESSIONS.

When you APOLOGIZE, MAKE AN EXCUSE, or CONFESS at any time during your presentation, you are in essence saying to the audience, “Don’t expect a lot from me today because I’ll disappoint you.” Instead of APOLOGIZING–”I’m sorry I didn’t bring in a sample, but I couldn’t arrange it on such short notice,” try framing it in the positive, “I am working on getting you a sample and I can deliver it next week.” Instead of making EXCUSES, put your energy into delivering the best possible presentation and then stand
behind your performance–”I did the best job I could given the circumstances.” And limit your CONFESSIONS–especially those the audience has no business knowing such as “I’m so nervous”–to church!

Secret #5 - Get Your Audience Involved In Your Presentation!
People are notoriously BAD listeners. In fact, the attention span of the average American is just nine seconds. That means every nine seconds each member of your audience takes a little mental vacation from the taxing work of listening to your presentation.

With so much fading in and out, it makes sense that the audience remembers only about 20% of what they hear. Stated conversely, the audience will FORGET nearly everything you say (80% of it anyway). Retention improves when you add a visual element to your presentation, but it still is rather dismal at 50% (don’t celebrate yet, they are still forgetting half of your presentation!). And that’s just immediate recall. I’m sorry to say that it gets worse as time elapses.

So how do you get the audience to remember MORE of your presentation for longer periods of time? To raise your audience’s remembering quotient, you have to engage them in your presentation, getting them to actively participate in it. Your goal is to transform the audience from passive listeners to active participants.

The six best ways I’ve found to engage the audience in your presentation is to:
1. Ask the audience a question
2. Take a poll
3. Involve the audience in a demonstration
4. Give the audience a test
5. Give the audience a listening assignment
6. Employ a gimmick

When an audience participates in a presentation, they are fully engaged in the presentation. This means that every part of them is involved in the presentation-their hearts, minds, and bodies. The voice inside their head that thinks of all kinds of extraneous, random thoughts, is for once, silent while they focus solely on your presentation. This concentrated focus enables them to remember so much more!

For much more about these and other Presentation Secrets, check out the book “15 Presentation Secrets: How to WOW Even the Toughest Audience,” by Debbie Bailey available at trainer2go.com/ebooks.html.

About the Author

Debbie Bailey is author of the book “15 Presentation Secrets - How to WOW Even the Toughest Audience.” She is well known for her presentation skills classes.

Debbie possesses a Masters Degree in Professional Communications and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech Communication.

This morning while having my morning coffee and watching FOX
News, I saw a segment about comparison-shopping. The segment was
talking about how this was the ‘latest craze’ on the internet.
Where have they been?

One of the really neat things about the internet is that more
and more business partnerships and affiliations are popping up
all over the place. Although this is old news to veteran
internet surfers, this is finally making its way into the
mainstream news! Finally, sites like ours and many, many others
get the recognition they deserve.

Through partnerships and affiliations many businesses are made
possible today. With the downsizing of corporate America many
more people are starting their own business. The ability to
offer comparison-shopping on our web site is a huge benefit to
me, a business owner, as well as to you the customer. Business
as well as residential consumers all benefit. Generally
speaking, when you come across a site that offers
comparison-shopping you get a price as good as or better than if
you went right to the vendors themselves. In addition, at least
on our site, there are additional perks by purchasing your items
through a comparison-shopping site. Unbiased product or service
information, cash rebates, free shipping, another level of
product support, etc.

If you were looking for a television, stereo, DVD, CD, etc.
would you shop around? What about big-ticket items like home
appliances, cars and even houses? Sure you would. You’d want the
best price, quality and service you could find. You’re a smart
shopper.

Comparison-shopping has been going on ever since commerce began!
Just because there’s now an E (for electronic) placed before the
commerce (e-commerce) shouldn’t make any difference at all. Ok,
there is a one BIG difference. You can comparison shop from the
comfort of your own home. No longer is it necessary to drive
around to all the different stores, remember or write down the
price, perks, warranty information and on and on for each
product or service you’re looking for.

Ok, so you’ve found a site and are considering a purchase. The
little voice inside warns you about going through with it. You
don’t know this company. What happens if this internet site your
considering goes away or goes out of business?

There are many large retail stores that sell the products and
services from multiple vendors’ right? Those vendors honor the
service and warranty. Those vendors support the product. The
large retail store has made arrangements with those vendors to
offer the product or services to you the consumer. It’s the same
thing with comparison-shopping online stores or even brokered
services such as ours.

An electronic storefront or office is really the same thing as
its brick and mortar counterpart.

I’m glad to see that the television news finally understands
what we’ve known for a long time. Comparison-shopping for
products and services is smart. Whether you do it by driving
around to each different store, or surf different web sites, it
just makes sense.

The best prepaid cell phone is the one that will satisfy you in the end. I was spoiled while I
lived in Italy for a few years where there is no such thing as a cell phone contract.
Everything was pay as you go. So it really was just a matter of finding the best-
prepaid cell phone company. The great thing about Italy and the rest of Europe
though was the fact that it didn’t matter which company or which model phone you
used. All phones worked with any prepaid cell phone card.

Imagine my shock when I moved back to the U.S. in 2001 and began looking for the
best-prepaid cell phone deal only to find that I was forced to get a cell phone
contract. Well I ended up with Sprint and then T-Mobile before enough pay as you
go plans became available. Of course the best plans ( in my opinion ) were not with
any of the known cellular companies.

I now have what I think is the best prepaid cell phone plan on the market. I will only
compare with one other company to show you why, though the deals are getting
better. I have Net 10. Net 10 is a part of TracFone. They feature phones made by
Motorola and Nokia. It is .10 per minute no matter what. So, for $30 I get 300
minutes. With that I also get 60 days of service. That is very simple and easy to deal
with.

Compared to Cingular, one of the most popular companies offering prepaid cell
phones I have a very sweet deal. Cingular has two plans; Best Value and Simple plan.

Best Value:

• Unlimited mobile to mobile

• .10 per minute

• A charge of $1 every day you decide to use your phone (no matter who or where
you call).

Simple Plan:

• .25 per minute for all calls ( no dollar on the days you call).

With Cingular’s best value prepaid cell phone plan you get charged a dollar every
day you use your phone and it is automatically charged on you credit card or debit
account. What if you use the phone for just one call a day? You can easily rack up
another $30 in addition to the cost you’ve already paid for your prepaid airtime. The
Simple plan just puts the squeeze on you for the cost of the minutes.

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Breaking with tradition, today’s article comes from the 9-23-04 edition of Sojomail. Sojomail is produced by Sojourners; an evangelical journal, and calls itself a ‘weekly email-zine of spirituality, politics and culture.’ I personally object to their use of the term spirituality, because they are decidedly Christian oriented. For them to replace the word ’spirituality’ with the word ‘Christianity’ would be a lot more accurate. I do feel that the good people at Sojourners do have very wonderful intentions. I just wish they didn’t feel the need to route all their efforts through Christianity, to the exclusion of billions of the earth’s inhabitants.

I’m also uncomfortable with the four core beliefs of evangelicals. Here they are; 1) The Bible is without error (that alone is enough to stop me), 2) Salvation comes through faith in Jesus and not good deeds (so cancel all those good deeds you had in mind), 3) Individuals must accept Jesus as adults (is there a cut-off age for that, is it 18 or 21 or what…?) and 4) All Christians must evangelize. To evangelize means to 1) Preach the gospel and 2) Convert to Christianity.

Christianity says that you HAVE to claim Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior in order to get in to heaven. Where does that leave all the Buddhists and Muslims and all the other non-Christians of the world? Spirituality says that EVERYone goes to heaven. Spirituality says that God loves unconditionally. That means that God loves everybody; not just Christians! Spirituality is all-inclusive, whereas Christianity, and most other major religions are exclusive. Either you belong to our club, or you’re out. No heaven for you!

Anyway, the article in Sojomail is entitled; “Jimmy Swaggart tells congregation he’d kill gays.” Isn’t that nice!? Here we have a self proclaimed Christian ‘man of God’ telling a global audience that “If one ever looks at me like that I’m going to kill him and tell God he died.” To which he receives laughter and applause from his audience. This is not a movie, this really happened, on Sunday; 9-19-04! I honestly can’t believe this! How could a man who claims to be a ‘man of God’ preach something so un-Godly!? Mr. Swaggart quotes the biblical passage where God says that homosexuality is an ‘abomination.’ There’s just one, of the MANY proofs that the Bible is WITH error! Any passage in the Bible that contradicts the truth that God is unconditionally loving, is false. Those ideas came from some man or men with the agenda to control us through fear.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again; there are a lot of ‘homo-phobes’ out there. Many people see gay peoples’ differences as justification for hating them. This hatred is based in fear; “I don’t understand them, therefore I don’t like them, and I’m gonna kill them.” A more Godly response would be; “I see their differences, and I may not understand them, but I will embrace them anyway, as they are also God’s beloved creatures, as am I.”

We’ve got two role models to choose from today, folks; God & Jimmy Swaggart. Take your pick…

PEACE!

John Ford - Life Coach

(512) 657-1584

http://www.HappinessForSale.net

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About The Author

John Ford

I live in Austin, Texas; where I have lived over half of my life. I am a graduate of Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in Accounting & Marketing.

I have always been interested in personal development, and have studied many books and tape programs over the years. I have read over 50 books on the subject in the last 3 years alone. I also have the CDs to many of the books I’ve studied, which I am constantly rotating through the CD player of my vehicle whenever I am driving. I have applied many of the concepts I’ve learned, to my own life and business, and have developed a “real world” knowledge of what works and what doesn’t.

I began the rewarding and fulfilling career of being a full time Life Coach after 20 years of being a certified public accountant for a wide variety of numerous businesses. I knew in my gut the first time I heard about the coaching profession, that I had always been a coach in my heart and that this was my new career. I enrolled in coach training programs and learned what I needed to know to get started, but my education continues constantly. Self development is an ongoing, life-long process.

I am PASSIONATE about Life Coaching because it enables me to serve mankind in the most useful way that I can spend the days of my life. Not only do I greatly enrich the lives of my clients, but I get to benefit as well. As I coach my clients to greater happiness in every area of their lives, I also get to receive the gift of having provided that service! Nothing else in my life has ever given me greater fulfillment and satisfaction, than helping others dramatically improve their lives.

John@HappinessForSale.net