Is it okay not to give all your profit back to your clients?

Is it okay not to give all your profit back to your clients?
You finally made the leap and are getting paid a price that
feels good. Except that it's itching the back of your neck,
the back of your heart. You're uncomfortable.

Next thing you know, you're working twice as hard, putting
in extra hours, doing all kinds of little extras for your
clients. You're exhausted. You're depleted. And you only
raised your prices 20%-- why is it that you feel like
you're working -harder- than you were before you raised
your prices?

The question in the back of your heart: "Is it really okay
to profit from your clients?"

The healthy unbalance that profit brings. Profit,
technically, is 'extra.' After you've given everything you
have to give, and taking care of everything your business
needs, anything 'left over' is the profit.

But, that seems unnatural, doesn't it? If you give 100% of
your love, caring, and effort to your client, shouldn't
your client be giving only 100%, not 120%? How can you
justify having extra?

Well, balance isn't always healthy. Sometimes imbalance is
better.

Over-giving begets over-giving. In nature, very little
stays in stillness. Things are constantly in motion. In
fact, stillness, if held for too long, is stagnation...
which then starts to decompose, moving out of stillness.

Bert Hellinger, the noted German psychologist who brought
systemic constellation work to light, says some very
consistent patterns about giving. The observation is that
when you give, it creates an imbalance. The person given to
naturally wants to give back.

This is true whether you give beneficially, or harmfully.
If you give beneficially, the person given to wants to give
back, plus just a little bit extra. And if you give
harmfully, the person given to wants to hurt you back, plus
just a little bit extra.

When you are willing to receive profit, you contribute to
an ever-expanding cycle of either generosity or harm.
Clearly, one is preferred over the other.

Staying in generosity and avoiding harm. The key, as you
might have guessed, is in your heart. Ever notice that when
you work too hard trying to do too much for your client,
they don't appreciate it? They get crabbier, more
demanding, more upset?

From the circumstances, it seems like they are being
ungrateful. But at heart, what's really going on is they
are responding unconsciously to a harmful action. The
so-called "giving back" is subtly a rejection of their
generosity. The resulting overwork can be an attempt to
actually erase and wipe-out that generosity, which is a
harmful action.

Here's the question: When you receive that profit, are you
truly receiving it, in a spirit of authentic appreciation?
That appreciation engenders a feeling of fullness and
nourishment in your heart and being. Then that fullness
naturally cascades over and you can give from a place of
true love back to your client.

An Example Gone Wrong. A client of ours was just taking on
some new clients, at a higher rate than she had charged
previously. She was nervous about it, and a little
off-center.

Unconsciously, she sprang into doing mode. She went not
just the extra mile, but the extra ten miles, spending
literally hours of extra time picking up pieces and doing
work for clients, that her clients should've been doing for
themselves.

The result? Her clients weren't grateful at all. They were
annoyed, upset, demanding, and crabby. Significantly, the
main complaint that surfaced was along the theme of "I'm
not making the progress I wanted to."

The truth was, she hadn't truly received their generosity.
By doing extra she was saving the client from the struggle
that begets growth.

A 30 second exercise. Take a moment now, and think of a
client who paid you recently, especially if it was a higher
payment than you're normally used to receiving. Take a
moment in appreciation to really let that in. Let go of
your attempts to push it away, or to "earn it" by working
harder.

Just receive.

Much better, eh? But, I'm guessing you do have a feeling of
generosity, a desire to give back. How do you make sure
that you are being truly generous, and not harmfully wiping
out their generosity?

Let's take a look.

Keys to Expanding the Generosity Cycle. • When you receive
payment, stop for a moment.

When someone pays you, stop to be grateful for it. Instead
of worrying whether they paid too much, or whether you can
actually perform, or all the other worries that will tend
to crop up - just stop. Breathe.

And then open your heart to feel the truth that your client
wanted to give that money to you, and they did. They chose,
of their own free will, to pay you. Open your heart to that
truth, and let it in.

• Before you go the extra mile, check with your heart.

Are you thinking of doing something 'extra' for your
client? Take a moment to check-in with your heart. If the
action feels like it's coming from generosity, and there's
no 'should' or 'trying to earn' that's attached, then
you're fine.

However, if you do feel a heaviness, stickiness, or any
kind of vague pressure or anxiety associated with it, then
don't do it. Instead of trying to get rid of that vague
discomfort through overgiving to your client, instead make
more space in your heart for receiving, and breathing.

• Invest your profit in three different ways. The extra
that comes in? You receive it gratefully, by investing it
in three different ways:

1) Invest in your business, so that it can continue to
develop and grow. Learning, classes, hiring help, buying
equipment. Things that help the infrastructure and health
of your business are great investments.

2) Invest in the world. Tithing a percentage of your profit
to those in need is a healthy part of any financial life.
It functions under the playground rule: share with others.
If you get a bigger piece of cake, you share it. Not all of
it, you keep some. But you give some, too.

3) Invest in yourself and your family. Enjoy the extra!
Live a little! Go out to dinner, or put it into a
retirement fund, or fix up your house, or save it for a
rainy day, or a little of all of those. If you aren't
enjoying the fruits of your labors, then your business is
going to become less and less fun.

The whole idea of "extra" that profit brings up is a
strange idea, since there's no extra in nature. But, if you
truly receive the so-called 'extra' in gratitude, and let
yourself be a part of the cycle of giving, you'll find a
great deal of ease and generosity in your clients, and in
your life.

----------------------------------------------------
Mark Silver is the author of Unveiling the Heart of Your
Business: How Money, Marketing and Sales can Deepen Your
Heart, Heal the World, and Still Add to Your Bottom Line.
He has helped hundreds of small business owners around the
globe succeed in business without lousing their hearts. Get
three free chapters of the book online:
http://www.heartofbusiness.com

3:10 to Yuma...Lessons Learned

3:10 to Yuma...Lessons Learned
Before we begin, let's start with a quote from one of my
favorite people. "I do not think there is any other quality
so essential to success of any kind as the quality of
perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature."
- J.D. Rockefeller

I watched a movie called "3:10 to Yuma" this past weekend
and let me tell you first... It was great! Besides being
known as the Travel Guru, I also love to watch movies. It's
just one of those past times that started with my mom way
back in the day with movies like:
Kelly's Hero's, To Hell and Back, Platoon, Star Wars,
Indiana Jones, and the list goes on. Man, movies just are a
great way to put motivation back into your life, to get
over the humps that we just can't seem to get rid of!

So, in 3:10 to Yuma we get to see Russell Crowe back again
doing a fine Ben Wade (an Outlaw). He had this calm role,
where you see him thinking before taking any action. You
can see the looks he gives as he plans out the next move.
Careful planning, then the decision is made and it's done!
Then, you have Christian Bale (Plays in Batman) now playing
Dan Evans, a former US Soldier with a missing leg. He has a
family on the ranch, which is broke and about to become a
landmark, as the railroad wants to claim his land for a
debt he owes. Sound familiar?

The storyline has Dan Evans as one of a few men to escort
Ben Wade to Yuma for the 3:10 train. Now, as simple this
may play out you got to go watch the movie, if you haven't.
But, the story line thickens as different challenges are
faced along the way.

=============
Overcoming Self
=============

One of the hardest things to overcome in life is self. Now
Dan Evans really had a lot against him, before all this
started. For example, his sons where challenging him, his
wife was not happy because he does not have any money, and
his ranch (business) sucks! Now, on top of all this, he has
a severe case of self-doubt. For any average man to press
on with this much burden would be difficult, right?

As, I stated earlier, overcoming self is one the hardest
things one can do. But God always has something that he
shows us to help us get the courage to move past our
temporary problems.

Dan Evans was offered $200 to help escort Ben Wade to Yuma.
Now this is not much, but it would help get some of his
debts paid, and maybe it would help get things back on
track in his personal life and help him to make money down
on the farm. He accepts the offer and the journey starts.

========
Fear
========

"One great source of failure is found in a lack of
concentration of purpose. There will be adverse winds in
every voyage, but the able seaman firmly resists their
influence, while he takes advantage of every favorable
breeze to speed him on his course."

"So in our aims and pursuits we shall find much to
counteract them, much to draw our attention from them, and,
unless we are armed with a steadfast purpose, that can
subordinate the lesser to the greater, that can repel
hindrances, resist attractions, and bend circumstances to
our will, our efforts will not be crowned with success."
Anonymous

Dan Evans also had fear. With the odds stacked against him,
how could he achieve this enormous goal? After all, who is
he to think that because he was some war hero, and that he
could escort an Outlaw to a destination a few hundred miles
away and out smart Ben Wades Posse?

Dan Evans had to make a decision. Was he going to let his
family starve and the ranch go under, or was he going to
face his fear and do it anyways? He took a deep look inside
himself and found the answer. Notice, he first took
inventory of himself, then made the decision to either fail
standing up or to fail down on his knees. Let me tell you,
it was the most courageous decision one could make. To fail
standing up was his decision!

==========
Opportunity
==========

"Teachers open the doors, but you must enter by yourself."
Chinese Proverb

I am doing my best to not tell you the whole movie here,
but you must understand that "3:10 To Yuma" has so many
life lessons that one should really rent it today!

Let me tell you a bit more about Dan Evans. Dan has made
his journey to Yuma. But, is his journey complete? Has he
achieved his goal of claiming the $200 reward for escorting
Ben Wade to Yuma? Well my friend, you are about to find
out. Dan is now sitting in a hotel with Ben Wade, only a
few hours until 3:10pm. He can see that his journey is
almost complete, and he can see the joy that his wife and
kids will feel when he soon returns home to be with them.

I know, what the heck Clinton, is this really the end? Has
he reached his goal?

As I mentioned before, God places things in your eye that
may seem pleasurable, only to lead you to do greater
things. Yes, the $200 reward was the pleasurable thing in
Dan's eye. He can now claim it, but the Ben Wade Posse
surrounds them. The local town Marshall, who was supposed
to support Dan until the train arrived, has already
abandoned Dan. But the Marshall's cowardice only led to a
quick and embarrassing death at the hands of the bandits,
who had demanded Dan Evans and his party to give up Ben
Wade, in exchange for their own freedom.

Ben could have decided to give up against these odds. He
had realized that the $200 was not worth facing the odds he
was against. But, he would not quit. Instead, he decided
that he would up the stakes and make life pay him for what
he asked for. What was his new offer for life? He wanted
$1,000 and all of his debts paid off, and he wanted the dam
that was blocking water to his ranch to be destroyed. Only
a crazy man or a man who saw that he could accomplish all
that he had set out to do only if he put his mind into it
would venture such a gamble.

He is a crazy man, you might say, but this man had a
definite purpose backed only by a definite plan that would
lead him to accomplish what he wanted to achieve. He wanted
his family to have a secure future and never have to worry
about being hungry again. Dan Evans made it to the train,
but not with out great sacrifice. He lost his life along
the way.

But the greatest things we have to do in life is to look
within our self and ask if we are willing to do the things
that we need to do to help those we love, even if those
things require us to be selfless in our actions.

Until Next time, take care and be blessed.

----------------------------------------------------
Clinton Douglas IV, teaches people about internet home
business. Get his FREE Special Report - "How To Make More
Money In Only 30 Days Starting From Scratch" By Clicking
Here ==>
http://online-empire.vasrue.com/How-To-Start-Your-Online-Bus
iness_F.html

The Ricoh Range - What Is On Offer?

The Ricoh Range - What Is On Offer?
Ricoh is one of the world's leading technology
manufacturers and offers a wide and carefully selected
range of quality office machines at great prices, with
excellent levels of customer service and support.

Their range of machines is varied, with something available
from the high-quality, world-leading brand to suit every
level of the office requirement. Whether you need a black
and white or colour photocopier, a printer, a fax machine,
a digital duplicator, or a scanner, Ricoh have a machine to
fit your needs.

Ricoh is also one of the world's leading IT manufacturing
companies and its vast, global expertise is put to use in
the design and build of high quality, high specification
printing and other office machinery. The company has been
operating in the UK for almost 30 years and is a market
leader in office machine innovation and excellence.

Ricoh is well known for their black and white digital
photocopier, with their lower end machines having speeds of
up to 15 pages per minute , perfect for the office that
requires a reliable, moderate-use copier. These digital
photocopiers can also copy and produce documents up to A3
in size with a maximum resolution of 600 dpi (dots per
inch).

Moving towards the middle end of the scale, you can expect
quality black and white copiers from Ricoh that are capable
of producing up to 45 pages per minute. They come with
printer, scanner and fax options as well as the option to
connect to your wireless local area network for a 21st
century office-solution. These copiers can handle documents
up to A3 in size and its range of finishing options include
a booklet maker; hole-puncher; sorter; and stapler.

If you are looking for very high quality copying then Ricoh
manufacture the ultimate in black and white copier
specification, with a speed of up to 135 pages per minute,
and a machine that will prove a great addition to any
reprographics department or company - for very high quality
copying. They have designed copiers to offer a complete
work flow solution - through from job receipt to creation
and, finally, invoice. These machines are engineered to
work quickly and efficiently at high volume and feature
large, colour touch screens that provide easy access to
view stored documents.

The range and specification of Ricoh colour copiers is of
equally impressive high quality, with a variety of print,
fax, scan and duplex options available as standard on the
colour copiers offered and speeds ranging between 6 and 55
colour copies per minute, you will be certain to find a
colour copying machine that meets the needs of your company.

You will also find wide format photocopiers which are a
specialist piece of equipment, particularly suited to
design or copying businesses. Ricoh wide format
photocopiers can handle paper sized up to A0 and are
quality, professional machine. These machines designs are
compact, and are fitted with time and labour-saving
options, such as synchro cut and multi-copy. You will find
Ricoh colour copiers with the ability to produce 250,000
copies per month which makes a great investment for your
business.

Do you need a high-end printing solution for your business?
Ricoh offer a selection of top-specification document
publishers manufactured that will suit your business
requirements perfectly. Ricoh's digital document publishers
are digital printers that can produce up to 156 black and
white pages per minute, have a range of finishing options
and comes with network capability as standard.

----------------------------------------------------
Whether you are looking for a black and white or colour
copier, a high end digital printer or a top-spec print or
document management software solution, ABT can offer you a
fantastic range of Ricoh products and great prices with
unrivalled customer service and support. ABT also offer
customers a regular newsletter, featuring new product
updates and the full range of Ricoh office machines and
solutions available from ABT can be viewed online -
http://www.ricoh-photocopiers.co.uk/

Leadership Strategy - Horses teach the first step of Emotional Intelligence for effective leadership

Leadership Strategy - Horses teach the first step of Emotional Intelligence for effective leadership
My horse, Minnie is sleek and black with eyes that dart
left and right watching my every move. She is standing
stiff and tense by the round pen wall, waiting for me to
begin our workday. Her ears are turned towards me and her
eyes are wide, showing the white around the pupils.

She looks like she is ready to bolt for the slightest
reason. It's a foggy, rainy day and the air is cool enough
so that when Minnie sticks her nose out to blow and snort I
can see the frosty air rise and circle from her nostrils
and finally dissipate in the wind.

The atmosphere feels heavy with some unseen expectation
hanging, waiting. Her tenseness surrounds us like a dark
cocoon and I find myself waiting for one of us to snap like
a banjo string.

Picking up my whip I point it at Minnie's hip and before I
can say a word, she springs up in the air and jumps
forward, racing around the arena.

Frustrated I think the word whoa and as I let my breath out
to say the word she slides to a stop. I point with the whip
again, this time asking her to change directions.

She bolts with her tail in the air galloping around and
around the arena. She is still blowing and snorting in the
cool morning air and once again I barely think the word
whoa and she jumps to a stop. Her whole body jars and
bounces with her stop and it appears that she will come up
over the top of the round pen wall.

I am feeling more and more agitated. What on earth is wrong
with her today? This is getting us nowhere.

Throwing down the whip and grabbing the lead line I lead
her out to the pasture mumbling the whole way. I'll just
let her work off her excess energy alone, I mutter to
myself.

When I let her go Minnie races about fifty feet into the
pasture, stops, looks around, and then quietly begins to
graze. It seems she has no excess energy now!

Taking a break and watching Minnie in the pasture I begin
to realize this is about me today, not her.

Horses mirror-image their handlers.

If she is bouncing off the walls it is because there is
something in me that's bouncing off the walls. She's
reading me; it's my energy that's causing her to exhibit
high, uncontrollable energy. I am the one who needs to take
the time out and figure out what's going on inside me
before I can get anything accomplished with Minnie.

Isn't this the way it is with your employees or team? The
tenseness in the air, the activity that causes your team to
argue and not get anything accomplished and certainly not
act as a team but more as a group of individuals each
having their own agenda. And by the way the agenda is about
them and their needs, not the company needs.

Your team picks up their mood from you their leader. As
their leader it's up to you to know what your emotions are,
what feelings are driving you and how you're exhibiting
them to your team.

Otherwise you end up in chaos because your team is
responding to your inner workings regardless of what you
are attempting to say with your mouth.

----------------------------------------------------
Jean Starling holds an MBA in International Business and is
an Author, Business Strategist and Executive Coach. Go to
http://www.leaderstakingthereins.com to get your Free
Leadership Home Study Course and learn how to be the leader
that people want to follow. Contact Jean at
mailto:jean@leaderstakingthereins.com .

How to be Consistently, Creatively Productive.

How to be Consistently, Creatively Productive.
==Flash back to 2004==

As I sit down to write an article, I feel stumped. I've got
an hour to "get it done," and meanwhile I'm just staring at
the screen... 55 minutes later, with a few sentences
written, I have to stop, and I'm off to the next thing- two
back-to-back conference calls.

==Flash forward again.==

Your business depends on your creativity. Your creativity
in your marketing, in your product and service creation,
and just in how you show up for your customers and clients.
Without creativity, everything grows stagnant, you are
unable to produce to meet deadlines, yours and others, and
you begin to feel lifeless. And so does your business. And
so do your profits.

How do you nurture the absolutely critical, bottom-line
necessary creativity since you can't just turn it on
between appointments?

Well, let's take a look at creativity, what it is, and what
it needs.

The first thing to get clear is that "creativity" is a bit
of a misnomer. You aren't creating anything, in the meaning
of "making something exist out of thin air, where nothing
existed before." No human being can create at that level,
although it can sure look that way sometimes.

So, when you get creative, what's really happening? In the
best-selling management book Whale Done, by Ken Blanchard,
the book describes how a failing manager attending a
business conference in Florida, takes time off to go see a
killer whale show. Amazed by the performance, he sticks
around to find out how the trainers get the killer whales
to perform so consistently.

A best-selling book was born out of this apparent
mis-match: training killer whales who could easily kill and
eat their trainers (means you want to keep them happy and
well-fed), and creating positive and effective
relationships with employees and others in your life.

Amazing. Simple. Creative.

Although Whale Done is written as a fable, the event of
meeting the killer whale trainers really happened. And it
happened during time off from working.

Creativity is a synthesis of different elements, not
normally seen together, or expressed in a certain way. In
order to make those unusual connections, you need
unscheduled time. You need room to think and play and
daydream, where there is no pressure to be "productive."

You need space.

==Flash back to 2006.==

I have an entire week of unstructured time, except for
three appointments. Clients ask to meet, and I smoothly
schedule them before and after the week. People want to
"get together." I schedule them out. A high-priority board
meeting comes up, but, I'm unavailable. So sorry. My week
is packed full. With space. And the creativity and insights
pour through.

==Flash forward again.==

How do you defend your spaciousness from the unrelenting
onslaught of demands and deadlines? Read below in "Keys to
Space Defense."

Keys to Space Defense.

• Take "Cafe Days."

Nutso marketing guru Sean D'Souza calls these "cafe days."
I've adopted them, and they are brilliant. Go spend 2-4
hours in a cafe. By yourself. No computer. Bring a pad of
paper and a pen if you like. Eat lunch. Sip tea. Watch
people. Daydream. See what happens.

• Give yourself one appointment a day for you.

If you see clients, or vendors, or whomever, and you
typically schedule 60-90 minute appointments, give one of
these to yourself every day. Yes, every day.

I struggled with finishing my book for a long time, until
my mastermind group convinced me to treat my book like a
client. A very big and important client. A daily client.

I made the decision to give my 9am client slot to my book
every single day. I finished the book in a little over four
months. And, I liked the habit so much, I kept that 9am
slot for me. Just try and get a 9am appointment with me.
Sorry, I'm booked. But I'll gladly see you at 10:30am. :-)

• Schedule unproductive time.

I really did schedule a whole week of unproductive time,
but that was at the end of December. During the rest of the
year, I'm more likely to schedule a Cafe Day, or simply an
hour or two in the afternoon, once or twice a week. And,
when I put it in my calendar, it doesn't move. Someone
needs an appointment, an important meeting comes up? Sorry,
I'm already booked.

You are not a robot. And even robots need to oil their
joints. If you really want to make that quantum jump in
your business, then you need to do more than just stand
where you want to jump from because when you make a quantum
jump, there is a little bit of time before you land in the
new place, when you are flying through unstructured space.

Action step: Take out your calendar right now and look at
the next few weeks. It might take a few weeks to start to
work it in because of pre-scheduled commitments, but
schedule your "unproductive" time right now. And don't give
it up for anything.

----------------------------------------------------
Mark Silver is the author of Unveiling the Heart of Your
Business: How Money, Marketing and Sales can Deepen Your
Heart, Heal the World, and Still Add to Your Bottom Line.
He has helped hundreds of small business owners around the
globe succeed in business without lousing their hearts. Get
three free chapters of the book online:
http://www.heartofbusiness.com

The Shocking Truth About How To Start An Internet Business......Part 1

The Shocking Truth About How To Start An Internet Business......Part 1
Do you have a hot new idea or must-have product? Are you
ready to take the dive and start your own e-business? While
not overnight, thousands of e-business start-ups have
become massive success stories in the past few years. The
Internet is a prime entrepreneurial environment, fostering
creativity. But even Google, Amazon, MySpace, Flickr and
NetFlix had to start somewhere, and that somewhere is
probably just where you are right now.

Most entrepreneurs find that starting a web business can be
daunting. Where do you start? How do you get the word out?
Where can you acquire funding? "The first three years are
the most trying," states one entrepreneur. "Not only are
you faced with planning along with heavy sales and
marketing efforts just to get your name out, but you often
lack a sustainable budget to do so." Patience and planning
are the key to surviving your first three years - and
beyond.

Vasrue's five part article series on starting your own
e-business will explore the basics of launching an online
business, show you the key steps to take and challenges to
consider.

This informative series includes:

1. Determining Your Brand and Niche. Brainstorm a unique
business trait to form the foundation for your company's
brand.

2. Defining Your Audience: Get in your customer's shoes, so
you're better able to advertise to them.

3. Setting Your Business Structure: Understand the benefits
of corporations, partnerships and sole-proprietorships, and
ensure proactive tax compliance.

4. Developing a Sales, Marketing and Business Plan:
Understand the importance of planning, and critical plans
you should set into action.

5. Creating a Realistic Budget: Don't spend $1,000 on a new
desk. Allocate money where you see the strongest ROI.

6. Finding Funding: Start-ups have many avenues to take for
capital - from mom and dad to venture capital partners.

7. Finding People: Determine your values as a company
first, then hire staff based on these core beliefs.

8. Planning and Building Your Online Storefront: Organize
your website before you hire a designer to ensure
everything fits and navigation is smooth.

9. Launching Your Plan and Building Momentum: Revisit your
business and marketing plans annually, fine-tuning and
updating for your changing business landscape.

Whether you've dreamed of working from home, being your own
boss, setting your own hours, becoming one of the many eBay
entrepreneurial success stories or simply promoting a
remarkable idea, the next few weeks are certain to bring
valuable insight. Stay tuned and leave your inhibitions at
the door.

Determining Your Brand and Niche

It doesn't matter how many clothing stores, gadget
distributors or gizmo providers are in your market, you can
still differentiate your product or service from the next
and create a powerful brand that people are drawn to time
and time again. Develop a winning strategy. Branding is
just as important online as it is off.

A brand says who you are, what you stand for, what your
core values are and where you're going. It infiltrates into
everything you do from this point forward. Your brand
includes your logo, mascot, corporate colors, uniforms,
sales tactics, marketing visuals, copy and advertising
methods. It's a unique business differentiator which sets
the tone for your image, your name and your corporate
culture. It's a conscious and subconscious message
companies give off.

For instance, if you compare two major computer companies -
IBM and Apple - you'll notice that not all computers are
created equally. While Big Blue's image is corporate and
conservative, Apple radiates a more progressive and edgy
appeal. But how do companies differentiate themselves - and
how can you?

In the start-up phase of ebusiness development, it's
important to brainstorm a brand, set this plan on paper and
into action. Companies like Ben & Jerry's focus on the
environment, and they've developed not only a product
mission, but an economic and social mission as well.
McDonald's brand is youth-oriented, from its hip 'I'm
Lovin' It' commercials to dear old Ronald the clown. Geico,
yet another online insurance solution, promises to save you
money - a ton of money.

Once established, everything your company does should
reinforce this single point - your brand message. Customers
hear it, remember it and go to you over and over again to
acquire it.

----------------------------------------------------
Clinton Douglas IV, teaches people about internet home
business. Get his FREE Special Report - "How To Make More
Money In Only 30 Days Starting From Scratch" By Clicking
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Top 5 Resume Writing Myths & Mistakes To Avoid

Top 5 Resume Writing Myths & Mistakes To Avoid
Are you struggling to write your resume and promote
yourself effectively in your job search? Here are five
prevalent resume writing myths and mistakes to avoid that
you must be aware of.

1) Myth: Resumes should be only one, or at the most, two
pages.

In most cases, this is true. It is the rare reviewer of
resumes who, when being completely honest, will tell you
that he or she spends more than a few seconds in the first
review of a resume. Unless your resume captures immediate
attention through an eye-appealing design and succinct,
compelling language, your resume will be screened out after
just 15 seconds. With this reality in mind, imagine the
thoughts of the reviewer when he or she receives a four- or
five-page resume, with another 100 resumes waiting for
review right behind it. Clearly, the odds of your resume
capturing attention and being read increase when the length
is limited to one or two pages.

Are there exceptions to this rule? Absolutely!

While it is true that with each additional page you reduce
your chances of your resume being read thoroughly, for many
executives, contract workers, consultants, and technical
professionals it is unrealistic and nearly impossible to
compress years of experience into one or two pages. When
attempted, important achievements are left out to make room
for a full chronology of the career history and education.
What is left is a boring listing of companies, positions,
and dates that are virtually guaranteed to turn off the
reader and land your resume in the circular file.

A better strategy is to write your resume with exactly as
much detail as is needed to persuasively convince the
reader that you are the ideal candidate to solve his or her
problems - to compel the reader to pick up the phone and
call you for an interview. While this is sometimes a
difficult balance to strike, you should edit your resume
with a very discriminating eye toward reducing unnecessary
wordiness. Every word in your resume should have a purpose.
Items that can be presented as a list - continuing
education courses, technical summaries, associations and
memberships, etc. - can often be included in an addendum
that may or may not be used as appropriate. Within the
resume, use succinct, dynamic, action-oriented language to
convey your ability to add value to the reader's company
and you will capture and hold attention through three or
even more pages.

2) Myth: All resumes should include a clearly stated
objective.

It is essential that your resume is audience-focused - it
must succinctly communicate that you understand the
employer's needs and that you are uniquely qualified to
meet those needs. While the use of an objective is a
controversial issue, at its basis, an objective tells the
reader what you want from him or her (focused on YOUR needs
rather than the employers'). A popular and often more
effective alternative to the objective, the qualifications
summary, allows you to establish focus for the resume while
summarizing the key qualifications and value you offer the
employer. This is a subtle but critical difference - one
that may weigh heavily in opening the door to an interview.
While an objective is both appropriate and effective in
some cases, for example, career changers or new graduates
with little or no work experience in the targeted field,
experiment with the qualifications summary as a strong
alternative.

3) Myth: Resumes should thoroughly describe the
responsibilities of each position.

The absolute most important element of your resume is your
value proposition. Your unique ability to solve business
problems, meet challenging goals, and produce desired
results should be the focus of your qualifications summary
(see above) and this focus should be supported by proof
throughout your career. How better to do this than through
achievement-oriented, results-focused descriptions of your
career history? While employers and recruiters will want to
know the scope of your position (number of direct reports,
amounts of budgets managed, areas of management authority,
etc.) this is most effectively communicated within the
context of the challenges you faced, the actions you took,
and the results of your actions. "Responsibilities" only
tell the reader what you were supposed to do, not what you
actually did do. Use powerful, active language to concisely
tell the reader the "story" behind your most recent or
relevant positions. By documenting your consistent ability
to produce results and solve problems you will demonstrate
your ability to produce similar results in the future.

4) Myth: Resumes should include only the last ten years of
experience.

Content of your resume should be strategically selected to
support your focus and value proposition. While it is true
that readers of your resume will be most interested in your
most recent experience, there is often value in including
experience further back in your history. Perhaps your early
career includes work for well-known, prestigious companies.
Perhaps you want to document the full scope of your
cross-industry experience, much of which occurred in your
early career. Perhaps you believe some valuable networking
opportunities may come out of your experience 15 or 20
years ago. Or perhaps your most impressive accomplishments
were in a position you held 12 years ago. In any case, if
your career history is lengthy, it will be apparent to the
reader that your career did not suddenly materialize ten
years ago, so there is little harm and many benefits to
summarizing this early experience. Of course, this does not
mean that you must give equal page weight to your early
career. If you feel early dates will be used to screen you
out, subtly leave them out of your early career summary. If
some early career positions have more strategic relevance
than others, give them more emphasis in your summary. Think
carefully about the content of your resume. If there is
solid reasoning behind your desire to present early
experience, than do so.

5) Myth: Resumes should include personal information, to
indicate the many dimensions to your life and interests.

There is no way to predict the personal biases of the
individuals who will read your resume. The first and
primary way that an employer uses a resume is to screen
candidates out; don't give them any reason! Professional
memberships and related volunteer work should often be
included but religious affiliations, family status, social
club memberships, and hobbies have no place on a resume.
The only exception to this is when you are preparing a
resume specifically written to appeal to a single
individual who you are absolutely certain would be
fascinated in your piloting license or passion for golf.
Even then, be careful; you never know where your resume
will be passed. However, if you are certain that your
personal information will help you to break the ice and
build rapport, you may have a valid reason for including it.

----------------------------------------------------
Certified resume writer and personal branding strategist,
Michelle Dumas is the director of Distinctive Career
Services LLC. Through Distinctive Documents
http://www.distinctiveweb.com and her Executive VIP
Services http://www.100kcareermarketing.com

Michelle has
empowered thousands of professionals all across the U.S.
and worldwide. Michelle is also the author of 101
Before-and-After Resume Examples
http://www.before-and-after-resumes.com