Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Business System Top Pick

Are you ready to get started in your own business and not
quite sure how to select? As a former bank president and
financial strategist, I have analyzed various network
marketing systems for generating income. What I have found
in many cases is that with companies whose distribution
methods are multi-level marketing (MLM), the delivery of an
actual duplicatable system stops with the compensation plan.

The estimates now are that in North America 175,000 people
are entering network marketing every week. I imagine by
most counts this would be one of the fastest, if not THE
fastest growing business opportunity. There is definitely a
tipping point approaching in the network marketing
industry. There are hundreds of companies with multi level
structures. Paul Zane Pilzer, author of The Wellness
Revolution, and a world renowned economist, predicts the
health and wellness industry to be the next trillion dollar
industry, predicting that within ten years disease
prevention dollars spent will the amount spent on
treatment. Those who locate a solid company within health
and wellness have some advantage in the marketplace.

The challenge presented with those who are market searching
for opportunities that will produce for them is locating an
opportunity where there is seasoned leadership. The hype
within some websites is sometimes what draws prospective
business owners into a company. Hype or magic is not what
builds a sustainable business. I feel individuals would be
far better served to look for an intelligent application of
a marketable system. Leadership is key. People who have
enjoyed success have joined a line within an organization
that follows their basic sense of business practices.
While many websites look much the same there are some, when
you read on through them, give you a sense of credibility.
You can feel the authenticity in their presentation and the
integrity.

An important component in your selection process would be
to know how the organization delivers information about the
company and if the organization (not the company) has a
system that delivers success. What you want to look for
and have confidence in is that process. It would include a
finely honed lead generation system in place, a complete
training program for getting started, company product
information, recruiting program, personal development and a
team building commitment. Most importantly, all of it
packaged so that it is an easy system to duplicate.

Vision-based businesses also have a strong planning
component to the business. This does not need to be
intricate out of the shoot, however, you want to have the
confident guidance of a seasoned person teaching you how
vision out three years and then bench mark back years one
and two, ending with a 90 or 120 day plan to succinctly
guide you in your first few months of business. This is a
common path for growth in any business and network
marketing is not different in its need for direction
charting. You can also test for reality.

In closing, it is important to look for vision, business
practices that are a match ethically for you, and a
complete system. Join an organization that confidently
assures a well developed business planning component.

Special Note: Success will most likely be found with a
company that has hybrid system with the strong lead
generation component necessary to fuel the business
opportunity, and follows a success system.


----------------------------------------------------
Learn from a banker and financial strategist key components
in selecting leadership for success in your business
venture.

http://www.powerof12online.com

Has Your Team Lost It's Mind(fulness)?

I recently came back from my annual seven-day silent,
mindfulness retreat (I typically go on a mindfulness
retreat once a year, sometimes more). For those of you
know what this is, you're likely saying "ah, that sounds
really, really great - wish I were there right now"! For
those of you who might not know what a mindfulness retreat
is, you're likely saying "huh - a WHAT retreat?"

Allow me to elaborate a bit, and then we'll talk about
mindfulness for your team! A mindfulness retreat is
designed to help you slow down our usual fast daily pace to
a snail's pace...no phones, no e-mail, nothing to do but BE
PRESENT, in each moment. Oh yes, and did I also mention no
talking? So, here I was, at this beautiful retreat center,
in silence, doing only one thing at a time....for seven
glorious days! The benefit, in case you're still
wondering, is that when there is complete silence, you can
learn to train your mind to turn off the "chatter" and
eliminate (well, at least reduce!) daily distractions, so
that you can be present to what is happening right now -
fully present - to the one activity in which you are
engaged.

Now, you may be asking "so what's the benefit to reducing
the distractions"? The benefit is that you become much
more mindful, or aware of everything that you do. You get
to fully appreciate what you're doing because you are fully
present to the experience! You also see things for what
they really are - you see the truth about things - no
denial - without all of the illusions we typically create
in our lives. No assumptions, no distractions, no
illusions.....just the truth about our current experience,
feelings, thoughts, etc - right there in front of us.

Sometimes, it's really painful to be with our thoughts,
feelings, etc., which is why many of us distract ourselves
with other things, so that we don't have to experience
those difficult feelings and thoughts. As we all know,
though, by denying that something exists doesn't mean that
it goes away - whether it's something in our work
situations or our personal lives. By having the courage to
fully experience all of our experiences, we can more fully
experience everything in life.

Ok, what does this have to do with your team? Teams are
impacted greatly by the level of mindfulness, or presence,
of its team members. Teams that are fully present with and
for each other are typically more successful.

Think about the team that you spend the most time with -
your work team, your volunteer team, a parent committee,
etc. Keep that team in mind as you ask these questions:

On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the most mindful), how
mindful is my team on any given day?

In what way(s) does my team act mindfully - i.e., in what
ways is my team present to each experience with each other?
This often happens when team members are fully present by
fully listening to each other when each person speaks, and
being open to hearing each person's opinion. Honoring and
appreciating diverse opinions on a team is a critical
success factor for a team, by the way!

In what way(s) does my team NOT act mindfully - i.e., in
what ways is my team NOT present to each experience and
each team member? A team is not acting mindfully if the
team members are talking over each other, arguing loudly,
etc. Or, when team members physically attend a meeting by
showing up, but allow themselves to be distracted by their
e-mails or answering cell phone calls while the meeting is
occurring. By definition, you can't be mindful and
multi-tasking at the same time!

What is one thing my team can do to become more mindful?
Help your team by asking them "how can we be more mindful
and present with each other?" By being more mindful, your
team members will respect each other more, which will
increase the trust and camaraderie on your team. For those
of you who have been through our team development
workshops, you know the three most critical factors
contributing to a team's success: trust, respect and
camaraderie.

As you can see, mindful teams are likely more productive
and sustainable for the long term. If your team is already
fairly mindful, congratulations - please celebrate that
with them! If your team has lost its mindfulness they can
get it back - you can help them get it back through
implementing some of the suggestions above.


----------------------------------------------------
Are you a business leader struggling to get the results you
need from your team? Despite the many challenges facing
organizations today, it IS possible to take your team to
the next level and get the results that you and your
organization desire! Want to learn how? Visit us:
http://www.goalsinsight.com

Can The Average Dad Make A Home Business Work With Success?

There are millions of people that are satisfied with their
jobs, but is satisfied good enough for you? If you are
looking for the perfect career that will supply you with
the income and still leave you with free time, taking on a
home business is the way to go. The only thing is that it
is much easier to say this than to actually accomplish this.

Time freedom is something that every person dreams of
growing up as an adult. From the second you become an
adult to the second you retire, you will find yourself in
constant work overload; unless of course you are one of the
few fortunate people capable of striking gold. But with
the internet continuously evolving and more and more
opportunities arising, it is becoming more of a reality to
strike gold.

With the internet presenting so many options and
opportunities, this is a good thing and a bad thing. The
problem with there being so many opportunities is that it
is difficult deciphering the true opportunities from the
scams. There are far too many scams on the internet simply
wasting your time.

What ends up happening is you join these scams for a month
or two and see absolutely no results. Sadly, you have put
in a lot of hard work and have nothing to show for it but a
waste of two months. So what do you do next? Move on to
the next opportunity that could make you rich. This
process may take a while if you are unfamiliar with the
internet and what programs are worth your time.

But to save you wasted time and energy, I will let you in
on a little secret. The Reverse Funnel System is a home
business program that is drastically changing the lives of
thousands of individuals for the better. This is one of
the rare programs that comes around every so often that has
an impact on everyone that comes through. Sure you have
probably heard this before, but there are far too many
positives to this program to let it pass by.

The ultimate goal is to give yourself time freedom. With
time freedom, you can actually feel the power of working
for yourself as oppose to most programs and systems on the
internet. You can arrange when you work, what kind of work
you get done, and what direction you want to take the
business.

All of this can be awarded by getting involved with Reverse
Funnel System. It is a system that can make virtually
anyone rich regardless of your education or knowledge of
the internet. It certainly will speed up the process if
you are familiar with the internet and internet marketing.
But this is an opportunity that will teach you along the
way, thus eliminating the need for any background education.

One of the most difficult facets of starting a home
business is doing so with all of the free time in the
world. Without another job, it can be difficult to get a
business up and running and still support your family. You
will not become rich over night. But the Reverse Funnel
System will certainly speed up the process. But this
system gives you the ability to stay with your current
full-time job to bring in income until you are making a
sufficient amount with your home business. The way it does
this is by the way the system is run. You do not have to
sell, cold call, invite friends, and definitely do not have
to bring family and friends to meetings. All that is
required of you is to generate traffic to your site. While
this can be a difficult and time consuming process, this is
the lone step that you must take care of.

You will be put with a talented group of marketers that are
quite familiar with direct sales. This can cut down a lot
of your advertising efforts and allow you to reel in as
much traffic as possible as quickly as possible.

As you can see, it is still going to be a process and will
take time. But the Reverse Funnel System gives you the
time freedom that is not there with any other kinds of
programs or systems. And because of this, you can maintain
your day job until your home business is built up
sufficiently enough. What you will find in result of this
is that the system truly does work; it is the people that
fail.


----------------------------------------------------
Mark Molina is a husband and father of two who never gave
up on his dream to find the perfect home based business of
Time Freedom. To see the business that Mark found after
three years of research, go to
http://www.thousanddollarprofits.com/22980

Is Your Team Hiding Behind Masks?

Halloween is a time when many adults (oh yes, and kids!)
dress up in costumes and masks to disguise their identity
on October 31 in celebration of this holiday. But, donning
masks is not just limited to Halloween.

TEAM MASKS

When I first begin work with a team, I often find that many
team members don "masks" that they hide behind in their
communications and interactions with their team members.
In other words, they are often afraid to be "real" with
their colleagues - they are afraid to speak their true
thoughts/feelings because it might create conflict, or
because their organizational culture supports "sugar
coating the truth" instead. Or, sometimes team members
don't feel that they can safely speak these truths for
other reasons, so they hide behind a mask of not speaking
up at all, which seems less risky to them. I typically
find that this hiding comes from teams who do not currently
have any written team agreements about how they will
communicate and interact with each other, and sometimes I
also work with teams who have "unwritten agreements" where
they have never talked about it but have basically agreed
to never speak about issues that could cause conflict.

REAL/ROBUST TEAM DIALOGUE: SEE BEHIND THE MASKS

By comparison, when I work with teams who have created
explicit agreements with each other regarding how their
team will interact and communicate with each other, those
team members are much more likely to be REAL with their
colleagues - they speak their true thoughts and feelings,
and know that their voices will be heard, because the team
has created agreements that support a "safe space" for
those diverse opinions and thoughts to be
discussed/explored. Whether you refer to these types of
communications as "robust dialogue," "speaking about the
elephants in the room" or something else, we're talking
about the same thing -- speaking up about issues or
concerns that are impacting the team.

MOST SUSTAINABLE AND HIGH-PERFORMING TEAMS

From a team dynamics perspective, this place of being
"real" and proactively encouraging discussions regarding
issues may be perceived as conflict - but is actually the
healthiest place for a team. Why? Because a team that has
enough trust, respect, camaraderie and the ability to
navigate conflict is a team that will get results and will
also be sustainable, because they have a solid foundation
to do so. By contrast, teams who are not able to have
these types of discussions often are not sustainable. They
are simply not able to rise to that "higher level" to yield
the results that they could, because their performance is
hindered by the limited dynamics they have become mired in;
thus, they are not performing at their optimal level.

Think about your personal life. Are the more meaningful
and effective relationships that you have the ones where
you keep the discussion at a high level and don't talk
about things that are truly important to you? Or, are the
more meaningful relationships that you have the ones where
you talk about very important aspects of your life
(including your deepest feelings) and really challenge each
other to be better people? In my life, I appreciate and
encourage people to challenge me so that I can learn more
about myself and continue growing to be the best person I
can be in this lifetime.

The same is true with teams. The more your team challenges
each other to learn and grow and bring up whatever is on
their mind, the more successful they will be and the longer
they will be able to maintain success.

Here are some questions and tips for you/ your team to
explore:

1. What does your team typically experience in the
categories above - "Masks" or "Real/Robust Dialogue"?
Think back to your three most recent team meetings. Were
team members holding back, or "sugar coating" their words?
Or, were they speaking about what was really on their
minds? And, if team members were speaking their minds, how
was the rest of the team responding - were team members
encouraging more dialogue and trying to get a better
understanding of the diverse opinions, or were they trying
to shut down the discussion?

2. If your team typically lives in the "Masks" world, what
do they need to be able to move into "Real/Robust Dialogue"
more often? If your team does not already have team
agreements for their interactions and how they will handle
conflict, this is the place to start. Creating team
agreements should be a carefully facilitated discussion
that includes all of the aspects above plus much more, so
that the team creates as much openness among team members
as possible and has clear parameters for moving forward
(including accountability to their agreements).

If your team already has team agreements and is still
living in "Masks," then your team's agreements need to be
updated to specifically incorporate how they will handle
issues of potential conflict. Your team may also need some
help with conflict resolution skill building and practice,
so be sure to look at:

- Do they know HOW to work through conflicts and are just
not doing it? OR

- Do they need to learn the skills to work through
conflict? (honestly, this is what I see more often than
not, which is why we often teach teams how to work through
issues)

3. How is your team using its agreements? Once your team
creates its agreements, there are many ways to integrate
this into daily work life. For example, I am working with
a team in Rancho Cordova, CA who printed out a poster size
version of their team agreements and each team member
signed the agreements as their commitment, and then the
entire poster was framed and mounted in their workspace as
a reminder of their commitments to each other! Another
team I am working with in Burlingame, CA reads their team
agreements prior to every meeting, and when a team member
breaks an agreement, pays a monetary fine. There are many
more examples of how different teams work with their
agreements, but the important thing is that the agreements
are

(a) Created and "owned" by the team, and

(b) Reviewed regularly, and

(c) Monitored/supported by team members who speak up when
they see an agreement being broken.

4. What obstacles are preventing your team from
implementing these tips above? It is important to have
candid conversations with your team about the specific
things that are getting in the way of your team being more
effective in their communications and interactions. By
taking the time to explore these ideas with your team NOW,
your team is much more likely to be more effective now and
in the future!


----------------------------------------------------
Are you a business leader struggling to get the results you
need from your team? Despite the many challenges facing
organizations today, it IS possible to take your team to
the next level and get the results that you and your
organization desire! Want to learn how? Visit us:
http://www.goalsinsight.com

A Leadership Tool To Encourage Thinking Outside The Box

Thinking outside the box is a critical PersonalSkill - one
that will make the difference between success or failure.
The real critical leadership skill is accessing the
thinking of others to help see what possibilities lie
outside the box – outside the individual world of
thoughts and beliefs and biases.

Try this tool to get the "out of box" thinking flowing with
your “universe” of people.

Draw a square 1 foot by 1 foot. Divide all four sides into
3 inch increments. Connect the markings horizontally and
vertically. You now have a large square with 16 little
squares inside it - a grid pattern.

Ask your people how many different squares can be seen in
the grid. The first answer is usually 16. With some
encouragement someone will say 17 - then eighteen - then
19 or 20. That will only happen if you, as leader of this
exercise, show an expectation for a larger number than the
first answer - which is usually given quickly and with
conviction. Stay at it - keep asking how many squares
others see. Engage everyone in the answer. The number of
squares will continue to increase. With a lot of
encouragement your group may get to 24 to 26. Not bad - but
there are 30 squares of various sizes that can be
identified in the grid.

See how many people try to work alone. See how many include
others in their discussion. When the group has just about
exhausted the possibilities, tell them the answer. If
someone gets the answer, ask them to describe the squares -
so that others can gain knowledge.

The point? The group was probably willing to accept the 16
or 17 or even 20 squares that were stated quickly and with
conviction. Had they done that, they would have left 10 or
so squares unidentified. Can your business afford that kind
of superficial observation and conclusion ? Does that kind
of dynamic happen often? Make those points as a means of
pointing out how very important it is to challenge quick
answers - how very important it is to share thoughts - how
very important it is to encourage - or demand - that people
expand their perceptions and look at things through the
eyes of others.

There's balance required in this process. Winston Churchill
once said "It's important to have an open mind, but not so
open that our brains fall out." The same is true when it
comes to thinking outside our own boxes. But in at least
95% of the cases where groups attempt to reach for the best
answers, many of the members simply don't share or
contribute their inputs. The last thing you have to be
concerned with is any brains falling out of open minds
– the real concern is getting all the brains
contributing.

I suggest to you that the critical Personal Skill leaders
bring to thinking outside the box is the skill to draw out
and value those hard - to - get - at inputs from others.
They're the difference between seeing 20 boxes or 30 boxes.
Which is better for your organization?

Try this tool with your group – use it to help define
what you mean by “thinking outside the box.” Do
it today.


----------------------------------------------------
Andy Cox helps clients align their resources and design and
implement change through the application of goals focused
on the important few elements that have maximum impact in
achieving success - as defined by the client. He can be
reached at http://www.coxconsultgroup.com or at
acox@coxconsultgroup.com

Creating a Culture of Truly Effective Leadership

The most successful companies are changing their culture to
promote truly effective leadership.

By organizational culture, we mean all the attitudes,
beliefs, values and behaviors, both conscious and
unconscious, that define "how things are done around here."
Top management are the models for their organization's
culture. They set the standards for the integrity, values,
priorities and goals. Management sets the tone. For
instance; if they expect their people to be friendly and
warm to customers, they had better be friendly and warm to
subordinates.

Truly effective leaders:
1) Communicate clearly their vision, goals, strategies and
priorities
2) Get buy-in from their people at all levels to pursue
these objectives

One of the most effective approaches to achieve
enthusiastic cooperation within an organization is the
coaching model. With its emphasis on working
collaboratively, focusing on results, just in time
learning, and growing and stretching workers; coaching
skills contribute to truly effective leadership. Creating a
coaching culture where executives and managers becomes
skilled coaches and learn a new collaborative way of
working will turn a company into a high-performance
organization. Such an organization reaps the following
benefits:
1) Leaders become truly effective
2) Conflict is more easily resolved
3) Organizational change is more easily implemented
4) People become engaged in their work and have more fun
5) Retention rates go up
6) Real collaborative teamwork occurs
7) People receive the kind of attention that enables them
to grow
8) More energy is available to solve customer needs
9) Just-in-time learning reduces errors and cycle time

Turning Registered Nurses Into Happy Managers
St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto was having the typical
problem with its registered nurses. The nurses loved to
nurse but hated managing staff. St. Michael's came up with
a solution.

St. Michael's nurses were dedicated to helping patients and
looked upon their managing duties as a distraction from
this goal. They wanted to change bandages, ease the
patients' suffering; not instruct less trained nurses in
patient care and monitor their performance.

The hospital CEO and his executive team decided to have a
Coaching Clinic for their registered nurses. They taught
them a method of management that supported their value of
help to others. Rather than a "Tell them what to do, and
then make sure that they do it" method, the coach method
stresses a collaborative, helping approach to managing.

The supervisee is invited to share her ideas on how to
achieve her duties. Then both supervisor and supervisee
agree upon a method, plan of action and method of
accountability. Creative thinking and growth is encouraged.
The supervising nurse sees herself not as a task mistress,
but as an enabler that helps her people grow. This supports
her values of helping people. Specifically, the nurses were
taught:
1) how to empower their people
2) hot to use the power of asking questions
3) how to establish the focus
4) discover possibilities
5) plan the action
6) remove barriers

As a result the nurses were referred to as "great bosses."
Resistance to performing managerial duties melted away,
morale improved and retention improved dramatically.

The Coaching Clinic is not limited to nurses. The Harvard
Business Review stated "The goal of good management: to
make the most of an organization's valuable resources." The
Coaching Clinic has been used and acclaimed by many Fortune
500 companies.


----------------------------------------------------
Stan Mann, C.P.C. supports business owners, top executives
and commission salespeople to substantially grow their
business and have a balanced life. He is a Certified
Professional Coach. For additional articles and resources
please visit http://www.stanmann.com

How To Determine The Right Homebased Business Opportunities For You

Determining the right or the "best" home based business can
be a bit challenging. After all, there are so many
different companies to choose from and a broad range of
categories as well.

A great number of individuals are looking to make a fast
buck. This is not being limited to just representatives
but extends all the way to the company owners themselves!
Many companies rarely survive "start up" and never seem to
get "it" out of the trailer park!! We've all heard or read
the statistics that 90% of network marketing companies
and/or homebased business opportunities don't make it past
their first year.

Knowing that many companies don't survive, below are some
suggestions that may help you to determine the right
homebased business opportunities for you. Keep in mind you
may find it best to focus on one specific type of business
opportunity and not split your efforts between two or more.
Some individuals are able to excel in multiple lines or
companies, while most do best to get one going and keep it
moving forward.

1 – Look at the leadership. This would include but not
limited to owner(s), members of staff and other "key"
individuals brought on board to help grow the company. The
saying made famous by John Maxwell states "Leadership is
everything and everything rises and falls on leadership"
definitely applies. Many times you will see some of the
same people who "ran" the last company are now creating
another one. Usually due to company failure or a split in
leadership.

2 – Is there a market for the product or service being
marketed? Certain products or services may have a short
life span or be limited to a specific market place. You
would be wise to stay away from a "me too" type company,
product or service. Unless you find something for certain
that separates homebased business opportunities from
others, you're much better off securing a position with a
"one of a kind" venture.

3 – Is it your passion? Most people get involved
representing homebased business opportunities as a second
income or a way to earn extra money. You will find some
who have made it their career and do quite well for
themselves, while others seem to always struggle with their
homebased business opportunities. The difference may be a
simple as "passion". Is it something you really like? Is
it something you truly believe in? Do you see yourself
doing it five or even ten years from now? Getting involved
with a company's product or service for the money (pay
plan) is one thing but loving or enjoying what you do, is
entirely different.

It's best if you can find a match for all your needs and/or
desires. This will aid in keeping you focused should you
find matters challenging as you grow your homebased
business opportunities.

A key factor for determining the right homebased business
opportunities would simply be; is anyone else having
success with it or already had success doing it? You may
or may not want to find yourself being one of the
"pioneers" for your venture. Most beginning homebased
business opportunities are far better to join once they've
proven themselves to be a viable business. Although, a
"ground floor" opportunity has its benefits should the
leaders make it out of the "trailer park!"


----------------------------------------------------
Aubrey Richardson creator of http://www.logofax.com Clip
Art and Logos also founder of
http://www.internet-based-business-opportunity.com that
teaches others how to create a successful online venture.
If you want to learn how to profit online with his free
popular ecourse, check it out here =>
http://www.aubreyrichardson.com

Top 5 Coolest Uses for your Bluetooth Cell Phone

Did you know that the Bluetooth feature that came with your
new cell phone has a lot more uses than just hooking up to
a wireless headset? With a Bluetooth enabled cell phone,
you can access the internet with a secure connection on
your laptop - wherever you get a cell signal, use your
phone as a digital camera, mp3 player, or just share your
favorite files with friends and family. Now, it’s
true that you can do these things before, but Bluetooth
allows you to do it all wirelessly – without the need
for messy cables and connectors.

However, not all Bluetooth phones are created equal. In
order to do any of the cool stuff mentioned here,
you’re mobile phone has to support OBEX, which stands
for Object Exchange. You see, the Bluetooth specifications
allow for many different functions, such as connecting to
headsets, sharing data, etc. One function – the one
we’re discussing here, is OBEX, which allows your
phone to exchange data wirelessly with other devices. Now,
a certain cellular carrier (whom we will simply refer to as
V), along with a few other manufacturers, have chosen to
cripple the functionality of their phones by deliberately
disabling OBEX. They do this for a number of reasons, but
the end result is, if your phone doesn’t support
OBEX, you can’t do any of these cool things. So, the
next time you shop for a new cell phone, you may want to
first check to make sure your Bluetooth is not crippled in
any way before making a purchase. (By the way, even if the
manufacturer has disabled OBEX, it may still be possible
for users to enable it – try Googling to see if you
can find a patch for your phone. Of course, be aware that
you may void your warranty if you screw up, so be careful!)

The top 5 coolest things you didn't know you could do with
your Bluetooth cell phone.

1) Use your phone as a wireless modem for your laptop -
surf the internet by connecting wirelessly through your
cell phone. This is my top pick. Why pay for a separate
account and a cellular modem to stay connected when you
could use your existing cell phone as a wireless modem?
Most carriers offer an unlimited use data plan - for around
20 bucks extra a month, you can get unlimited data access.
So, by installing the right scripts in your laptop, you can
configure it to connect to your cell phone with Bluetooth
for instant, wireless internet access. The real beauty of
this setup is that, since most people already carry their
cell phones with them, they can get a secure internet
connection wherever they get a signal, and not worry about
carrying adapters or having a special modem card. Also, I
feel much safer using my own connection anyway, rather than
rely on open public hotspots  especially when I want to
access my bank accounts or other private sites. Every cell
phone is different, so if you want to find out how to
connect with yours, just google it. Try using the terms
"how to use my (phone model) as a Bluetooth modem".

2) Take pictures on your camera phone and download it to
your computer - without having to search for a cable or
adapter. With today's camera phones packing as much as 3 or
more megapixels, you may find it to be a very credible
alternative to a standalone digital camera. So, the next
time you're on vacation, or out with friends, and you just
happened to forget to pack your camera, chances are you
probably have your cell phone. Just snap away, and when
you're done, use Bluetooth to download those pictures onto
your laptop wirelessly.

3) Synchronize your contacts list with your computer -
tired of manually entering all your names and numbers into
your new cell phone? Type them into your Outlook or address
back, then use Bluetooth to automatically synchronize your
phone with your computer. No more having to use your
phone's keypad to enter all that tedious information.
What's more, your phone probably comes with software to
automatically keep your contacts list up to date whenever
phone is placed near your computer

4) Use your phone to play music, with stereo Bluetooth
headphones - don't have, or don't want an IPod? Why bother
carrying yet another piece of electronics with you just to
listen to music, when you can use your phone? The latest
models have removable memory cards and built in mp3
playback capability. Just pop a 4 or 6 GB memory card into
your phone, and start downloading all those mp3s stored in
your computer wirelessly, right to your phone. And, some of
the newest phones also support stereo Bluetooth playback,
allowing you to listen to your tunes with wireless stereo
headphones.

5) Share your favorite pictures, songs, games, and
ringtones stored in your phone with your friends by sending
them wirelessly to their phone. Have a great ringtone, or
some pictures you just took on your cameraphone that you
want to share with a friend? Send it to them via Bluetooth,
and never have to think about having the right cables to
connect. Just make sure your friend's Bluetooth is turned
On and Discoverable, and start sending.

So, there you have it. Some of the most useful and fun
things you can do with your Bluetooth cell phone. And
remember - you can't do any of these things unless your
cell phone supports the Bluetooth OBEX, or file transfer,
protocol. So, if you're in the market for a new phone, make
sure you check first before making your purchase. It's time
for savvy users to demand that manufacturers stop crippling
their Bluetooth phones so we can get the most from our
purchase. Have fun!


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branded multimedia content to the Bluetooth enabled cell
phones of customers in your proximity. Please visit:
http://www.ZipZoneMedia.com for more information.