Persistence Doesn't Always Payoff

Has anyone ever wondered why some people succeed and others fail? Is it because one is smarter, more educated, prettier, luckier, etc..? If you look at many who have succeeded it is simply due to one thing – they never quit. Now I say that with caution, as if your 5’4” and trying to make it to the NBA, the odds are very much against you ever succeeding. If you look like Hilary Clinton and want to be a Playboy Centerfold, you are probably going to have a very tough go as well.

You see life is full of surprises, but it doesn’t have to be difficult getting to the top; as long as you choose a pathway that isn’t full of roadblocks. Many succeed simply because they walk down the correct alley way. It’s probably no accident that Tom Cruise is a movie star, Drew Carey a comedian, and Kobe Bryant an outstanding basketball player. They have all found the secret of success.

Many don’t quit, because they know they at least have a fighting chance, once they make their entrance to the career of their choice. If you pursue something like singing and all you ever hear from everyone is that you cannot sing, your tone deaf, or you clear out a bar, you might want to find another path, or take singing lessons. The above applies to most anything, as we have to be careful what we do, as time will defeat us always no matter what.

You might fall into a career by accident. I didn’t actually choose my career in sales and marketing, it chose me. Even when I didn’t try, I still was able to make sales. When I did actually work, I always found myself competing with the best of them. I personally would love to just play music and sing. I have actually made several thousand dollars over the years playing music, but after 10 years and a couple of albums, I know that my calling is probably sales and marketing, otherwise more than likely I would have made a better living at music than sales.

You see no matter how badly you want something, you still have to make enough money to pay your bills. You can pursue endeavors that don’t pay you upfront, but no matter what you are after, you are going to have to find a way to make a living interim.

How do you know if sales is a good career for you? I would simply ask the following – is it fairly easy for you to make deals? If it’s not and you find yourself always working hard and getting frustrated - it may be time to move onto something else. Most people who are successful in sales, will tell you that it isn’t hard for them to make deals. I believe sales is either going to be a great career choice for some, or a complete roadway to insanity for many. I would state that you will probably work harder than a ditch digger on death row in sales if you don’t have the persistence, attitude, work ethic and the personality required to succeed.

The reason I bring up sales versus being an artist, nurse, or doctor, is that I have been able to sustain a steady income in sales for over 10 years now. I have hardly ever put in more than 40 hours in a week and have gone from living in a one bedroom apartment, bankrupt, and destitute, to living in a decent home near the beach in a desirable neighborhood about 40 miles North of San Diego, I drive a Mercedes, and have made 6 trips to Australia, since my slow climb upwards.

Now I don’t want to sound like an ego maniac, because things are just things. And the only reason I bring up my materialistic accomplishments; is that no matter how successful you get in life you always have to remember where you come from. To some people I haven’t gone very far, and to others they might say - I’ve done very well. I come from a poor family that couldn’t even afford to send me to college, everything I have obtained over the years I have had to work for on my own. I like you, am still moving forward, and will never quit until the day that God decides my time is up.

The simple goal for writing this letter is that there is nothing wrong with wanting to become successful, just make sure that whatever it is that you pursue, that you follow something that you either already have a talent for, or something that is obtainable. I met a Pro Race Car Driver many years ago, who gave me some advice about becoming a race car driver. When I asked him how I would obtain the same success, he simply asked me, “Do you have a rich daddy?” I got the point, I hope you do too.

John Lowery is a home based entrepreneur. He lives in Carlsbad, CA with his wife and son. John has been involved in sales and marketing for over 10 years, and is also a published songwriter, and member of The Screen Actor's Guild.

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Hiring a Quality Home Movers

Moving from one dwelling place to another is a normal scene in Singapore. A number of occupants are not home owners. They are just tenants. The reason is that owning a house is not easy especially for non Singaporean citizens who obviously make up the lion's share of Singapore's manpower. Thus housing service is mostly on a yearly contract basis.

Given this real scenario and considering the volatile behavior of the real estate market, the demand for home movers is high in Singapore. While there are many service providers, it pays to do your job in screening out the most dependable home movers particularly if you are short of cash. And the necessity to make a good choice is paramount if you would like proper care on the manner your stuff are transported.

The rate of home movers in Singapore can be quite expensive. It may turn out to be much more costly later if you happen to hire unskilled home movers who can only mess up with your priceless stuffs. Other companies engaged in this service because it is good money and those duly registered and professionaly trained to give moving service. You definitely opt to engage home movers who can offer the best rate and the best service possible.

If there is one good venue to locate these movers in Singapore, it is through the internet. Check on ebay Singapore. Search using the keyword "Singapore home movers" and you can most likely generate a good search list. What makes ebay a good source of info is that you can refer to testimonials of previous clients. Yes, while these feedbacks are not 100% reliable you can have at the minimum an idea on the kind of service.

Also, online forums which are Singapore based in nature can give you some guide on home movers. Just concentrate on heavy traffic blogs and forums. Of course, not missing out the classifieds. Home movers tend to post ads on online classifieds because ad posting here for free, if not at a very minimal rate.

With your filtered list, you expect to tap the most reliable home movers in town which will give lesser hassle house moving service for you.



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Business Start-up Finance: Estimating Your Start Up Costs

In addition to providing enough money to pay your family living expenses for three-six months, you will need money to pay for a variety of one-time expenditures necessary to set up your business. Let's take a look at typical expense categories required in setting up a new business.

Office Space

As locating one's business at home becomes more acceptable, larger numbers of new businesses are able to save a major start-up expenses - rent. Renting an outside office, retail store, or warehouse space results in some significant startup expenses. Included among these are:

- Rent deposits, usually at least one full month's rent, which can range from $300 to over $1000.

- Utility deposits, averaging $100 per utility.

- Insurance, costing from $500 to $2000 per year -- E.g., retail stores must often have plate glass insurance in addition to general business insurance.

- Phone line installation, starting at $85 per line, without any inside wire location work included.

- Redecorating & renovation, which you sometimes can negotiate with the landlord to include in your base rent. You usually must sign a multi-year lease to receive this however. This expense runs from $100 (you do the painting) to several thousand if you must build walls and add doors and windows.

- Furnishings are needed whether you locate your office at home or in outside space. Most offices will require at a minimum a desk, chair, lamp, file cabinet and a bookcase or bookshelves. Additionally, you may wish to have a separate computer table.

Equipment

Wise use of electronic equipment can allow you to run your one-person business as professionally as your larger competitors. This is one category of expenditure where it pays to shop as the prices are continually dropping.

- Telephones. Can be found in discount stores and catalogs, as well as direct from the phone companies. Plan on spending $30.00 for a reliable one-line phone and $60.00 for a good two-line phone.

- Telefax. Increasingly just having a phone is not enough. Your customers expect to be able to send you something immediately by fax. Coated paper faxes run about $125.00 and plain paper faxes cost around $300.00

- Computer. Take your pick! What a variety is available today. Learn what the main computer words mean and how a particular feature affects speed or ease of use. Then go around to both computer and discount stores to compare. And don't forget online sellers such as Dell and Gateway, both of which make excellent computers.

- Copiers. Rarely needed by a new business and really an expensive luxury because of their tendency to break down. Rebuilt copiers with high-speed features can be bought for under $2,000.00.

Telecommunications

At a minimum your business will require one telephone line and a telephone to

attach to it. You may be able to get by for some time with your existing residential phone line, thereby avoiding a connect charge. If, however, one line is not enough to take all of the calls or if you wish a second line to transmit and receive telefaxes, it will cost you a minimum of $80 to connect the line. Any inside installation is extra. Local phone companies bill their inside installation time at $60/hour.

Consider also your needs for: phone message handling, calls made outside of your office and paging. Voicemail may be sufficient to handle calls when you are not in. Special phone features, such as call waiting, call forwarding or caller ID carry installation charges of $30 - $40 apiece. Keep an eye open for occasional deals that combine features for one,

low cost.

Cellular phones often run over $100 to buy and set-up and pagers often require a $200 deposit.

Licenses, Fees and Permits

Common start-up costs in this category include: assumed name registration fees, ranging from $30 to $50, incorporation fees of $100 and up, business licenses starting at $30, health permits sometimes cost several hundred dollars, and state-issued licenses, such as cosmetology licenses, can cost up to $1000 or more per year.

Insurance

If you are starting a typical home-based service business, your renter's or homeowners insurance may cover your business equipment, supplies and inventory. But it may not, so be cautious and call your insurance agent before you open for business to check the policy coverage. Often a small additional fee, known as a rider, will increase your home insurance to cover

equipment such as a business computer, telephone and fax machine. If you need a rider, figure on adding $50 to your start-up costs.

Stationery

To promote a professional, established image for your business, have well-designed and printed letterhead, envelopes and business cards done. Quick printers and office supply warehouse stores, such as Office Max and Office Depot, offer very attractive prices on packages. For example, Office Max in Chicago offers 500 letterhead, 500 envelopes, 500 business cards

and 200 invoices for $49.95.

Professional Fees

If you are considering incorporating your business, need contract forms setup, will deal with import/export, want to set up distributors or require any other legal guidance, you had better budget 5-7 hours of a lawyers time. Good business attorneys charge between $125 and $175 per hour, so you would need to set aside $500 to $1000 in start-up investment for legal help.

If you are going to open a retail store, a wholesale company or a manufacturing company you would be wise to consult an accountant before you launch. Budget $500- $1000 in start-up investment to cover accountant's fees.

Summing It Up

When you total up all of the categories of start-up expense, you may be amazed at the total. If you include a computer, start-up costs can easily run over $5000, without any cash contribution toward your personal living expenses. Advance planning is the key, because you should try to avoid borrowing the money to pay start-up costs. You will need to borrow later to stay in business. Borrowing before you start puts you in the credit hole before you have started to market your company.

Jeff Williams worked for big business for years, until he decided to take his career in his own hands by establishing his practice as a small business trainer and coach. Since 1988, he has guided more than 3,000 people to successfully go from employee to boss. For those seriously considering self-employment, he is pleased to offer his free, monthly telegroup: "Are You Ready To Leave Your Job?". Register at: http://www.bizstarters.com/ready2leave.cfm

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Online Stock Trading Strategies - Help You Make Trading Profitable

Online stock trading is a simple way of buying and selling stocks online using an online stock broker. Since stock markets are highly volatile and sensitive markets, you are required to strategise every move you make regarding buying and selling of stocks. For new comers, it becomes ever more essential to be cautious and follow certain online stock trading strategies.

Conventionally, you are required to give a call to your broker, giving him or her instructions as to what you want to trade in. But the advent of the internet has simplified this and now you can trade in stocks online at your will and discretion. Every stock broker cannot be trusted to make financial decisions on your part as most of them are simply sales agents who have been handed over a stock list from their seniors and told to persuade their clients to buy or sell them.

Now the question arises as to which online stock trading strategies should be followed to get a reliable broker. It is usually a big ask as there is no dearth of them to choose from. Hence, you need to be vigilant. Look for a reputed and major broker that owns huge assets. You do not want your broker to get into bankruptcy.

One of the online stock trading strategies is to seek some information from prospective brokerage agencies, asking them a fews questions so that you can make the right choice. Ask them what is the minimum amount that you should invest to start online trading and whether any fee will be charged for inactivity. Inquire about trading commissions for stocks and the type of trading guidance you need.

You must follow online stock trading strategies seriously. As it is a business, you need to educate yourself on different aspects of stock trading, prepare your funding amount, and plan carefully. Don't try to become a millionaire in a single day.

Judicious online stock trading strategies demand that you are disciplined, skillful, and trade according to a plan. If you are really serious about this trade, then and only then you should plunge into the online stock trading market.

This article written by David Jose is on online stock trading strategies David Jose has been a avert writer on various online trading communities. His work has been published in several places across the web.

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30 Minute Emini Day Trading System

Choosing The Best Travel Cot

At www.smileybaby.co.uk you’ll find a wide range of travel cots, from Graco to Baby Dan, Disney to Hauck. Now this is not an exhaustive list and there are many more available on the market, but this gives a balanced range of travel cots to suit your needs.

The key things you need to consider when buying a travel cot include:

1. The Purpose of the Travel Cot – are you planning to transport it with you across the world on a weekly basis or is it merely going to sit at a friends or family members house for the odd occasion that you stay with them?

2. How heavy is the travel cot that you’re considering? Again the first point of how frequently you’re going to transport the cot from A to B comes into play here, as you need to consider how easy the travel cot is to transport.

3. How solid / robust is the travel cot you’re considering. You need to consider the purpose of the cot, along with the weight to ensure that the travel cot is robust enough for your needs.

4. What size of room are you looking to use the travel cot in, this will impact your choice of going for a mini or full size travel cot.

5. Are you looking for style? Graco travel cot and Baby Dan Travel Cots are pitched at the more style conscious parent, although the Graco travel cots tend to be a bit heavier than most, and you’re paying a bit of a premium for the name.

6. Are you looking for pure functionality as well as value for money, if so then the Hauck travel cots are robust, functional and weigh in at about 10kg.

7. Are you looking for more of a themed travel cot, such as Disney Characters or the Pooh Family?

8. What accessories do you want with the travel cot, such as portable mobile, adjustable basinet, built in nightlight, built in music player? The list of accessories is endless.

The most important things you need to consider are; what is the purpose of the travel cot, what size are you looking for and how heavy is the travel cot.

Claudia Nicoll is a mother of two, Toby and Joel, as well as a keen fitness enthusiast.

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Best Gifts for Baby Boys

So, you’re scouting for a suitable gift for a cuddly baby boy and you don’t know where or how to start especially if you can just spare a limited time of your busy world. There’s no need to panic because shopping for a baby boy gift is easy as long as you know what to look for. Below are a few gift ideas to make your shopping a trouble-free one:

1. Educational Baby Toys: If your objective is to keep the baby entertained while he learns; then, these toys are a great option. There’s a wide variety of educational toys available. There are learning activity and puzzle toys available for you to choose from that helps stimulate the child’s mental ability and growth development. Surely, the parents and the child will have a wonderful time bonding with each other through these toys.

2. Baby Booties: With the emerging fashion trend in shoes today, baby booties are of no exception. Baby booties are designed to keep the baby toes warm no matter what the temperature is. Look for designs that match with the personality of the baby or his aura.

3. Baby Hats: Baby hats that have attractive designs are hard to resist especially those that resemble like that of a baby animal. With ear flaps, eyes, and nose attached on the hat, it sure is very appealing to the child’s tastes.

4. Baby Hooded Towels: Cute hooded towels are fitting for an after bath or dip in the pool time. Made with quick-drying fabrics, these towels are safe for the baby’s sensitive skin and are very cuddly to use. The baby will surely enjoy these.

5. Baby Animal Slippers: These funky animal slippers are must-haves for cute baby boys. They are perfect in keeping the baby’s feet warm inside the house. You’ll be sure the baby will have fun wearing these adorable slippers.

6. Bodysuit: A baby bodysuit is the basis for nearly every baby outfit. It offers an easy way to give your baby an extra layer of warmth during cold weathers. There are wide selections of bodysuits available in the market today. Basic, solid colors are perfect for the baby boy.

7. Mini-Playground: If you’re that extravagant, you can purchase a mini-playground or a mini-gym. Although they can be pricey, baby boys will surely love this one. As we all know, boys are very active and they love to run and play around. Mini-playgrounds and mini-gyms provide a lot of activities for small boys. These minis are complete with stairs, slide and sometimes, a steering wheel. They also have small doors that the baby could open and close as frequent as he wants for his enjoyment.

8. Ride-on Toys: Ride-on toys are very popular for baby boys even at a very young age. Baby boys love being behind the wheel while parents love the durability. Riding toys include wagons, rocking toys, pedal toys and a lot more variety. Baby boys and their parents will certainly enjoy playing with these wonderful toys.

For the best baby gifts, visit Simply Unique Baby Gifts where you will find a large selection of baby gift baskets for boy, girls, unisex and twins.