Many people ask me from time to time why I choose snowboarding as the sport that I wanted to do. Why I choose to work so hard at it, and why I managed to achieve a degree of success in doing so. The answer is simple, and it is the reason why many people do well at different sports. The answer is desire and love for the sport and that is what I had in abundance for snowboarding, before my accident.

When it came to choosing a sport, I thought long and hard when I came to a cross-road in my life. What should I do? Should I do snowboarding or skateboarding? This was really hard for me as I loved both sports, but I was having to train for both of them, and therefore wasn’t dedicating enough time to either. That is why when it came down to it, I decided that skateboarding was only going to be a hobby and that snowboarding was what I wanted to do with my life. The reasons that I preferred snowboarding were not clear cut, and to say I had anything less than love for skateboarding is also not true. But I think I loved the way that snowboarding was a whole different world. Do you know what I mean? When you choose to go skateboarding you can just jump out of bed, and skateboard down to the shop, Ollie over a step and grind down a pole. Is that fun? Yes, of course it is. But when it comes to snowboarding you are entering a completely alien environment. Let me explain. When you live in Atlanta you hardly get snow every day of the week, nor do you get hills and slaloms caked in it! That is why, whether I am boarding on snow or synthetic snow the feeling is the same. It is like, boy I am on snow!

When I choose snowboarding there was also another reason that really helped to make my mind up for me, and that was my friends! My friends who done skateboarding were not as close friends as my friends that done snowboarding and as you can imagine this had an impact. The thought of getting to spend more time with Collin, Justin and the lads was just to much to miss out on! We had such a good laugh, and had so much in common. We would always feel the same about snowboarding, and we were able to really help each other out on issues. When we noticed a flaw in each others technique we would always point it out to each other so that we could all improve together. This worked great, and was one of the reasons that I chose snowboarding over skateboarding when it came down to it!

Now I suppose I should tell you the sad part - the reason why I am no longer able to pursue a career in either, snowboarding or skateboarding. The reason for this is a terrible accident that ruptured my leg muscle, and has resulted in a six month time-out at such a crucial time. You see others will improve in fitness whilst I deteriorate and that is why my sponsor has now dropped me as well. What I am hoping to do is try my best to get back into the sport, because my love for it and my ability at it should be enough to make me come through. Collin and Justin are doing really well, but it is hard for me to spend as much time with them when they are always down the slope or working out. One of my friends called Blair, has also recently won the Junior USA championship, and although I am happy for him it makes me sad to think that I could have been their competing for that trophy. All I can do is try my best, and hopefully luck will fall on my side.

Summary:

Human life is fraught with adversity -- both physical and emotional -- although each person's experience varies greatly. In order to survive adversity, to overcome loss and difficulty, and to succeed in life a person must have inner resources to draw from.

Keywords:

inspiration, motivation, success, dream, fire, difficulty, challenge, dare, adversity

Article Body:

"We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival."

~ Winston Churchill

I remember reading some time ago about a study of longevity in humans. There has been a large body of scientific research into the reasons why some people are long-lived but of course while various diets, health regimes, and regional or ethnic differences are often linked to living long it is a very difficult cause and effect relationship to determine because there are so many other variables involved. However the study I remember didn't spend as much time on health and diet as many others. The researchers spent time observing and interviewing a number of people who are living long lives to determine what common factors these very diverse people shared.

Do you know what the single largest factor they all shared -- the trait that the researchers determined played the largest role in their long lives? It wasn't a specific food or faith or daily activity. It was simply the way these folks dealt with adversity.

The ways that these folks dealt with adversity did vary. Some had great religious faith, others had an unquenchable zest for life, and others had a great determination that they could and would overcome and difficulty.

If you think about it then this does seem to make sense. After all, the longer you live then the more adversity you must overcome. Human life is fraught with adversity -- both physical and emotional -- although each person's experience varies greatly. In order to survive adversity, to overcome loss and difficulty, and to succeed in life a person must have inner resources to draw from.

As Oliver Wendell Holmes says: "If I had a formula for bypassing trouble, I would not pass it round. Trouble creates a capacity to handle it. I don't embrace trouble; that's as bad as treating it as an enemy. But I do say meet it as a friend, for you'll see a lot of it and had better be on speaking terms with it."

Most of us have seen the evidence of this even if we have never formulated a scientific theory about it. We have seen the cancer patient diagnosed and then does not even live out the time doctors predicted. We have seen the heart patient diagnosed who far outlives expectations -- by months and then years. What makes the difference between these two groups of people? I believe it has to be a will to live, some inner resource, that one group possesses and the other does not.

A few weeks ago my Uncle Carl's left hand was amputated after being injured in an accident with a log splitter. It was devastating to those who love him and certainly no one would have blamed him for becoming depressed and grieving.

But Carl hasn't chosen that path. Instead he is focused on what he can do, not on what he can't. And if he discovers something that he can't do one-handed then he puts his considerable problem-solving abilities to work on a solution. He isn't simply reacting to a tragic accident but proactively seeking solutions.

He is not a saint. He complains about the pain and discomfort of the healing process and is sometimes frustrated by the trial-and-error process of his problem-solving, but he is not wasting time feeling sorry for himself. He knows he has been given many gifts and those gifts include the ability to solve problems and overcome adversity.

I can only hope when my time comes to face adversity that I can meet it with as much energy, determination, and confidence.

Summary:

Much like the shows Seinfeld and Friends, Frasier, the Kelsey Grammer Cheers spin-off, dominated the NBC prime time TV lineup throughout the 1990s. Grammer stars in the title role of Dr. Frasier Crane who, recently divorced, moves back to his home city of Seattle, Washington. Landing a gig as a radio psychiatrist, Frasier reluctantly agrees to let his father Marty (John Mahoney), a Seattle cop recently shot in an attempted robbery, move into his new bachelor pad. Both Frasier...

Keywords:

frasier season 2 dvd review

Article Body:

Much like the shows Seinfeld and Friends, Frasier, the Kelsey Grammer Cheers spin-off, dominated the NBC prime time TV lineup throughout the 1990s. Grammer stars in the title role of Dr. Frasier Crane who, recently divorced, moves back to his home city of Seattle, Washington. Landing a gig as a radio psychiatrist, Frasier reluctantly agrees to let his father Marty (John Mahoney), a Seattle cop recently shot in an attempted robbery, move into his new bachelor pad. Both Frasier and his younger brother Niles (David Hyde Pierce) make a concerted effort to mend the relationship with their estranged father whose beer guzzling friends, plaid shirt wardrobe, and weathered recliner strike a dramatic contrast with the boys and their pretentious social circles. Daphne Moon (Jane Leeves) acts as Frasier’s live-in housekeeper and Marty’s personal physical therapist.

The Frasier (Season 2) DVD offers a number of hilarious episodes including episode #40 where Sam Malone (Ted Danson) visits Frasier in Seattle. Sam fills Frasier in on what the various members of the Cheers gang are now up to. In the next to last episode of the season, Frasier and Niles (against Martin’s advice) purchase a restaurant they enjoyed during their youth and rename it “Les Freres Heureux” or “The Happy Brothers”. The two inevitably run the operation into the ground (on opening night, nonetheless)…

Below is a list of episodes included on the Frasier (Season 2) DVD:

Episode 25 (Slow Tango in South Seattle) Air Date: 09-20-1994

Episode 26 (The Unkindest Cut of All) Air Date: 09-27-1994

Episode 27 (The Matchmaker) Air Date: 10-04-1994

Episode 28 (Flour Child) Air Date: 10-11-1994

Episode 29 (Duke’s, We Hardly Knew You) Air Date: 10-18-1994

Episode 30 (The Botched Language of Cranes) Air Date: 11-01-1994

Episode 31 (The Candidate) Air Date: 11-08-1994

Episode 32 (Adventures in Paradise: Part 1) Air Date: 11-15-1994

Episode 33 (Adventures in Paradise: Part 2) Air Date: 11-22-1994

Episode 34 (Burying a Grudge) Air Date: 11-29-1994

Episode 35 (Seat of Power) Air Date: 12-13-1994

Episode 36 (Roz in the Doghouse) Air Date: 01-03-1995

Episode 37 (Retirement is Murder) Air Date: 01-10-1995

Episode 38 (Fool Me Once, Shame on You, Fool Me Twice…) Air Date: 02-07-1995

Episode 39 (You Scratch My Book…) Air Date: 02-14-1995

Episode 40 (The Show Where Sam Shows Up) Air Date: 02-21-1995

Episode 41 (Daphne’s Room) Air Date: 02-28-1995

Episode 42 (The Club) Air Date: 03-21-1995

Episode 43 (Someone to Watch Over Me) Air Date: 03-28-1995

Episode 44 (Breaking the Ice) Air Date: 04-18-1995

Episode 45 (An Affair to Forget) Air Date: 05-02-1995

Episode 46 (Agents in America, Part III) Air Date: 05-09-1995

Episode 47 (The Innkeepers) Air Date: 05-16-1995

Episode 48 (Dark Victory) Air Date: 05-23-1995

Summary:

An article looking first at the tools you will need to start your own home business based on 3 points.

Keywords:

home business, starting a home business, home business ideas, work from home,

Article Body:

Just one of the advantages of starting a home based business is that it usually cost less than starting a business that requires office space or other facilities. Most people are already paying for a home or apartment anyway, so starting a business from that location entails very little extra overhead.

Aside from eliminating the need to pay for office space, warehouse space, a restaurant, storefront, etc., the average home business also typically requires a much smaller starting investment. This is especially true of network marketing, where most business opportunities cost under $1,000 to get started in, though some network marketing opportunities do cost more.

Some home business opportunities involve an initial cost well under $100, and may even advertise “free” signup.

Unfortunately, the lure of such low entry costs often causes people to overlook the bigger, long term picture.

This short article will cover three areas regarding budgeting that many people commonly overlook:

1) Make sure that you understand the total direct startup cost. “Direct” is defined here as what you’ll pay to the company you are signing up with.

2) Learn and develop a realistic budget for what your indirect and ongoing monthly costs will be. These include such things as setting up a home office if you don’t already have one, phone costs, additional training and seminars, travel, leads, advertising, etc.

3) You MUST reinvest back into your business in order for it to grow!

Let’s take a closer look at the three areas outlined above.

DIRECT STARTUP COSTS

This includes your signup fee, any basic kit of sales and/or training materials that you are required to purchase (or strongly advised to), any training that you are required or advised to purchase at the time of signup, and, a big one to avoid in most cases, a required initial amount of product or inventory.

Try to get as much information ahead of time about what you’ll really need to spend in order to be successful. Very often opportunities emphasize a low startup cost, but either the company, its literature, or those representing it fail to fully inform prospective representatives of additional expenditures that you need to make in order to advance and/or maintain your position with the company.

Again, be extremely careful, if not shy away from altogether, opportunities that try to get you to invest large amounts ( more than a few hundred dollars ) in inventory, samples, etc., or that commit you to purchasing expensive leads. I use a few hundred dollars as the threshold here. Obviously, however, if you are dealing with certain high-end products, just purchasing one may cost more than that, so adjust accordingly. The point is to make sure that you don’t buy more than YOU really need for your own personal consumption.

If you sign up with a company that sells $1,000 therapeutic massage chairs and you can afford to buy one, fine. Just don’t get talked into buying more of them on the premise that you need to keep them on hand to demonstrate and/or sell to others. Almost all modern, reputable direct selling companies take orders and ship directly to your customer, so, with rare exception, there is very little need to purchase or stock inventory.

Likewise, if you spend even as much as several hundred dollars on nutritional products for you or your family, that’s fine too. But if you then purchase hundreds or thousands of dollars more of the product just to qualify for an increased level of compensation or bonus money, again, not a wise thing to do at all. Businesses make money by selling legitimate products and services to others at a fair and honest profit. You DO NOT make money if you are the only one buying all of the products and services yourself!

It is very common for some companies to offer various levels at which you can start and/or continue to qualify monthly. This is especially true of nutritional companies. Determine ahead of time which level you can be satisfied with and whether or not your budget will allow you to continue to make whatever purchases are required each month to stay qualified.

Another common requirement with companies of all times and especially those in the telecom and financial services industries is that some kind of training package must be purchased in order for you to qualify for certain promotions in compensation and bonuses. This is usually an option that you can elect to add either at the time you sign up, or later, though sometimes you may lose certain opportunities by not doing so in the beginning. Again, be sure to get all of the information about what the requirements are. In these kinds of programs even though the purchase of the additional training is, “optional,” if you do not you will not be promoted and thus you may miss out on substantial extra income and bonus money.

In each of the above scenarios it may also be a requirement that in order for you to step up in the compensation plan that others whom you have either personally sponsored or are within your organization have made this same additional investment. And, since leadership is by example, always keep in mind that it will be easier to interest others within your organization if you’ve made the same investment.

To recap: Make sure when you research an opportunity and signup that you understand not just what the “basic” or minimal costs are to get your foot in the door, but that you understand the true cost of getting off to the right (and best) start that will give you the maximum chance of being successful.

INDIRECT AND ONGOING MONTHLY COSTS

A very large percentage of people getting involved in a home business or network marketing for the first time make the mistake of overlooking what their after-signup and ongoing costs will be. If done correctly there is no reason why these costs need to be high. However, without the additional investment you quite literally may find it extremely difficult to get your business off the ground successfully.

As you can learn by reading some of the articles and free reports on ABCIncome.com, it is usually NOT the best idea to start by trying to talk to your friends, family, or co-workers. Therefore, you’re going to need to purchase (or generate) some kind of leads. Here again, through articles and training available from ABCIncome.com you’ll learn why you should never pay more than 5 to 50 cents a lead unless it’s a lead you generate yourself. However, even if you assume an average cost of 20 cents per lead, which is 500 leads for $100, you’ll probably go through at least 500 to 1,500 as you work your way through the learning curve on your way to profitability. So, if, hypothetically, it only cost you $39.95 to sign up, you would still need to budget at least $300 more dollars to purchase enough leads to have a reasonable chance at becoming profitable. These same guidelines apply whether you are dealing in small amounts like those above, or much larger amounts.

In addition you have to, at the very least, figure in the cost of telephone calls, and, if you conduct your business via local meetings, perhaps even the cost of renting conference room facilities, etc.

Regardless of whether you are dealing with smaller amounts of hundreds of dollars, or with larger amounts running into the thousands, remember that lack of capital is one of the leading causes of failure in all businesses of any type. If you cannot afford to invest the money that will truly be needed to get your business off to the right start, then you may want to seriously evaluate whether or not you might be better off waiting until you can.

REINVESTING BACK INTO YOUR BUSINESS

More often than not when someone ends up having more money come in that was the case previously, especially if it’s a significant amount, they often spend all or most of the money instead of seriously giving thought to how much they should invest back into their business. Big mistake!

If you don’t reinvest back into your business, you may not be able to sustain sufficient growth and revenue to make your business viable. That’s why the old saying, “it takes money to make money,” still has a great deal of truth to it.

Because most home businesses require relatively little overhead you can indeed keep more of what you make. Whereas in a traditional business (such as your local grocery store) as little as 5 cents out of every dollar may end up as profit, home businesses and network marketing often enable you to earn as much as 30% to 50% profit, or more.

The more money you are already accustomed to making then, in theory, the less this may apply to you. If you are already earning a high income and/or 6-figures, then you’ll need to adjust these examples accordingly.

However, for example’s sake, let’s say that someone who earns $2,000 a month all of a sudden gets a check due to their home business efforts for $1,000. Perhaps prior to that he or she had some bills they were behind on, or maybe there is a dream vacation they’ve been wanting to take, etc. It certainly may be tempting to spend most or all of those new earnings.

However, it’s very likely that you incurred some expense in earning that initial check, including your initial signup costs? If so, then for starters it might be a good idea to “repay” or at least put back into your budget at least that amount.

Let’s say for examples sake that your expenses looked something like this:

Signup costs: $500

Products you purchased: $200

Leads and/or advertising: $200

======================

Total = $900

It’s very likely that you may have incurred even more expense initially getting started. However, if your first check was for $1,000 then you realistically need to consider the fact that you’ve really only made an initial profit of $100. Especially if you are tempted to spend that initial check on something else you might not be happy about the prospect of having only earned a net profit of $100.

However, when you consider that you’ve now successfully added $100 to your budget that wasn’t there before, that’s not bad at all. Especially when you consider that, as mentioned above, the average profit for a traditional business may be as little as 5 cents on the dollar ( 5 percent). AND, most traditional businesses involve substantially more startup costs and may not show a profit at all for months or even years. So, to earn $100 ( or a 10 percent ) profit in just your first weeks or months in the business, again, really isn’t all bad at all.

What you do with that remaining $100 is up to you, but below I’ll offer a few suggestions as to how you might want to be thinking as the weeks and months go by and you continue to grow you business.

If your first month you earned $1,000 and made a profit of $100, then in your next month, as long as you continue to do the same things, it’s very realistically possible that you may earn at least as much if not more. Keeping in mind that these are only hypothetical examples. Some people earn much, much more in their first weeks in their new businesses, while most probably earn much less. It’s not at all uncommon for a first check in a network marketing business to be less than $300.

However, using the same kinds of numbers we are already working with, let’s assume that your second month looks something like this:

Earnings: $1,100.00

-------------------------------------

Signup costs: N/A

Products you purchased: $200

Leads and/or advertising: $200

-------------------------------------

Total Earnings = $1,100

Total Expenses = $400

======================

Total Profit = $700

Just by virtue of the fact that you don’t have to factor in your initial signup costs your profit margin is already improving. You’ve also earned a little more money this month as your business starts to grow.

So, you now seemingly have more money in budget. At first you only made a true profit of $100, but now you seem to have an extra $700 this month?

Well, if you are tracking your expenses then you can easily see that, at least currently, your expenses are running about $400 a month each and every month, and that, at least so far, you are making a net profit of $700 a month.

So, what do you do next? Extenuating circumstances may prevent you from reinvesting back into your business as much as you would like to. You may have pressing bills that need to be paid, for instance. However, barring extenuating circumstances, it’s definitely time to start thinking about how serious you are about your business, how much you want to reinvest, and how quickly you want to try to make your business grown.

First, there is an age-old rule that money financial planners, money managers, and home business experts would likely tend to agree on. It’s called the 10-10-10 rule.

Always put at least 10 percent of your earnings (preferably your gross earnings, as opposed to taking it out of your net profit) into savings and “safe” investments for the future, and for retirement.

Reinvest AT LEAST 10 percent back into your business.

And, depending upon your own personal faith and beliefs, apply at least 10 percent toward helping others, whether family members, your church, your favorite charity, etc.

The more money you make the more opportunity you have to change the numbers by reinvesting more back into your business and yourself.

As business and success philosopher and speaker extraordinaire Jim Rohn points out, the more money a person make, assuming they are managing their money wisely, the higher their percentages will be.

http://www.abcincome.com/success-resources/index.html#jim-rohn

For instance, while the average person might save as little as 10 percent of what they make and spend the rest, Jim Rohn saves and invests as much as 90 percent of what he makes, and lives off the remaining 10 percent. Easier to do when earning a higher income.

As you continue to work to achieve greater success in your business you will continue to adjust your own personal numbers. In general, however, the more money that you invest ( wisely ) back into your business on those things that make it grow and produce more income, the better off you are likely to be. Eventually, you will reach a point where you have both enough money coming in to reinvest significant sums back into your business and your future, AND have plenty of extra money left over to do the things that you enjoy in life!

If you are comfortable using a computer then picking up a good financial management and/or accounting program can assist you greatly with issues regarding budgeting and managing your personal and business finances.

There are a number of good products on the market. However, after having used them all since the very first such software appeared over a decade ago, my personal preference is for the Intuit line of products.

If you make less than $100,000 a year then their Quicken line of software can handle both your personal and business accounting needs, while keeping them both separate if necessary. If you make more than $100,000 a year, or plan to, then you may want to consider using Quicken for your personal finances and their QuickBooks like of software for managing your business finances.

You can visit Intuit’s Website to learn more, and their products are also carried by most major retailers that carry software, such as Best Buy, Circuit City, Office Max, Office Depot, etc.

Up to 25% Off Quicken Products + Free Shipping

Another product/service worth considering is a very unique and powerful subscription service offered by EverydayWealth. It offers many features similar to the software above, but doesn’t require you to install any software on your computer and goes beyond what most financial software does by actually playing an active role in showing you how to leverage your current financial position and even your current debt, into greater wealth. Most people aren’t wealthy, but most people do have debt, and EverydayWealth allows you to literally turn your debt into increased wealth.

There are two approaches to building a radio powered model of a vehicle such as a boat, car, plane, or helicopter. The first is to buy a kit that contains everything that you need. If you buy this, all you need to do is snap everything together, or glue it into place. This is a great place to start for anyone who is interested in radio controlled hobbies. However, after you make this first project, you will probably want to move on to the more advanced method of construction. This involves finding very precise plans for a radio controlled project, and creating it from scratch. You will use wood, power tools, and glue to get your miniature vehicle looking as close to the real thing as possible.

Throughout the course of building a radio controlled project from scratch, you will almost certainly find yourself lacking certain items. Whether your exacto-knife breaks or you accidentally set your wood on fire, you should always have a vendor that you can fall back on for your supplies. There are many different choices for people who you can buy components from, both local and long-distance. Usually hobbyists will end up finding certain people who they are comfortable buying from, but here you will find some of the main ones that you should investigate before you decide on a single one.

Local hobby stores will almost always have some form of whatever you want. If you just need a quick substitute for some item that you lost or broke, then craft stores will have what you need. You can find knives, some kinds of wood, paint, model glue, and various other small items. However, most of the time you won’t be able to find products that are specifically geared towards radio controlled hobbies. You will have to decide for yourself whether you can make do, but more often than not you will want to hold off and buy specialized items that will allow for the ultimate in precision.

To find tools that are specifically used for radio controlled hobbies, you should look online for specialty stores. There are many web pages that sell (or even just point you towards) items that are perfect for the project that you are working on. Usually they will have user reviews so that you can see what kind of response the items get from radio controlled hobbyists who use the item for the same thing that you need it for. Before you buy from a certain site, you should search on the internet for experiences that people have had with it. How fast is their shipping? Do their customers ever receive broken items? These things are rarely problems, but you should still be sure before you order.

EBay has quite a few tools and parts that can be useful in the making of a radio controlled project. If you know exactly what you are looking for, you can usually find it for less than any other site. However, if you want to look around for something and find out about the best items to use, eBay is probably not the best choice since it doesn’t provide user reviews and recommendations for the items. This is why it is a good idea to do your research on a site that is geared towards radio controlled hobbies, and then find the same items on eBay after you have decided which ones will work best for you.

If you buy high quality parts for your remote controlled project, you will probably not have to buy them again. If you buy cheap and low quality parts, they will break very soon and you will end up buying them over and over again (which will ultimately be more expensive than if you had bought the nice parts to begin with). So do the research, and find out about the best tools and parts to suit your needs.