Posts Tagged ‘book’
How to Benefit from The Mind-Body Connection
Dr. Bernie Siegel, author of “Love, Medicine and Miracles” was once a distraught surgeon who fretted over his inability to effectively serve his cancer patients. Dr. Siegel’s recognition and growing understanding of the mind-body connection eventually allowed him to serve his patients and himself in a greater capacity.
Bernie writes in his book, “When a doctor reports amazing improvements in a patient’s condition, he or she almost never mentions that person’s beliefs and lifestyle, but when I inquire, I find the patient always has made some drastic change toward a more loving and accepting outlook. The patient seldom tells an unreceptive doctor about this, however.”
When the person’s mind changed, the state of their health changed. Hence, the importance of the mind- body connection.
However, just covering up the surface with positive thinking isn’t necessarily going to help. It’s like cleaning out a house. The dirt and filth has to be removed and the stale air replaced with fresh air. There has to be a fundamental change for real healing to take place. Surface level, ‘positive thinking’ isn’t going to effect this kind of change, just like lightly dusting our homes won’t get the real dirt out.
So what are the dirty and stale things in our minds? Well, they could be things like grudges, prejudices, anger, resentment and hate. One spiritual principle from religion talks about “loving your enemy”. That can’t be done without giving up hate. By giving up something bad, we can make room for something good to come in and may, as a result, see a corresponding change in our bodies.
The problem here is that many of these bad things are buried and hidden and we won’t necessarily see them or recognize them in ourselves. We can be certain that they are there though, it is a virtually inevitable consequence of living in a world that is so focused on selfishness and less concerned with “loving” others.
So in order to find these bad things and eliminate them requires introspection, it requires looking at oneself hard and long. However, there is still a problem. When we are searching within our minds, we have to have a standard to do the comparison with. Otherwise, how will we find anything? How will it stand out?
Let’s look to one of the greatest thinkers of the Western world, Socrates. What did Socrates do with is life? Didn’t he teach others about virtue? Interesting, isn’t it? One of the most influential people in western thinking emphasized virtue to his students. Socrates talked about things like absolute goodness, beauty and truth.
If someone as great, as well loved and respected as Socrates thought these things were important, perhaps therein lies the key to the mind-body connection. To live a truly healthy and worthwhile life, maybe virtuous thoughts like truth and goodness are what our minds should embrace rather than the negative things modern life finds us clinging too.
Remember what Bernie said, “I find the patient always has made some drastic change toward a more loving and accepting outlook.” When we embrace truth and goodness, the beauty of life and this vast universe that we live in becomes evident. That is when we can heal our bodies. Real healing happens in the mind.
This article is for information purposes only, it is not meant to diagnose, prevent or treat any illness or health issue. If you have or think you have a health condition, please visit your primary-care physician immediately.
Dave Snape is a health, fitness and wellness enthusiast. His website is http://tobeinformed.com
Senate Finance Committee Delays FDA Approval of Vagus Nerve Stimulation Therapy for Depression
On June 15th, 2004, FDA’s Medical Devices Panel recommended that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approve vagus nerve stimulation as a therapy for chronic or recurrent treatment-resistant depression. I was at the meeting, seated in the first row and made a presentation to the Panel.
Yet, one year later, we still do not have a final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
What’s the delay? Senator Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, unexpectedly decided to examine the FDA’s decision to allow this therapy to be used to treat depression. Vagus nerve stimulation therapy has been FDA approved for epilepsy for eight years. Although this is not a formal investigation, it is apparently an impediment to the immediate issuance of FDA’s final approval. I am not aware of the Senate Finance Committee’s scientific and medical credentials. However, I do have first-hand knowledge of certain FDA Medical Device Panel Members lack of familiarity with the FDA’s own regulations and guidelines.
If you would like to express your outrage at the continued delay of final FDA approval, please contact:
U.S. Senate Committee on Finance
219 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-6200
Sen. Grassley Staff: (202) 224-4515
Sen. Baucus Staff: (202) 224-5315
Senator Chuck Grassley
Chairman, Senate Finance Committee
135 Hart Senate Building
Washington, DC 20510-1501
(202) 224-3744 Telephone
Web Link for e-mail: http://grassley.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home
Ironically, this one-year anniversary coincides with the issuance of a $20 million landmark study sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health. This is the most comprehensive mental health study undertaken by the government. The study reported that 25% of Americans suffered a psychiatric disorder in the year prior to the survey, but most failed to get adequate care. Dr. Thomas Insel, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health commented that “mental disorders are highly prevalent and chronic.” As expected, researchers found that the most common disorder was depression. Depression typically started in early adulthood, 20’s and 30’s, and progressively got worse and more difficult to treat. If you suffer from chronic or treatment-resistant depression, you don’t need a $20 million research study to tell you that depression is difficult to treat.
Charles Donovan was a patient in the FDA investigational trial for vagus nerve stimulation and depression. He testified to the Panel at the Advisory Meeting on June 15th, 2004. After 25 years of chronic depression, vagus nerve stimulation completely cured his chronic depression. The author is most grateful and humbled by this remarkable device. Learn more at his website: http://www.VagusNerveStimulator.com or read about this life-saving, life altering therapy in his book:
Out of the Black Hole: The Patient’s Guide to Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Depression.
It is available at on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com, 1-888-VAGUS-88 or on his web site, http://www.vagusnervestimulator.com/book/
Run to Win
I was never much of an athlete growing up. Notoriously clumsy, I was ostracized by our school volleyball and basketball teams. Nevertheless, there was one sport in which I excelled – running. Year after year I won top prizes at school track meets.
Characteristics of successful runners are similar to those that empower us to achieve our life goals. Reaching your purpose is like running a marathon. The race is different for each of us, for it represents our unique destiny.
But though we run different races, the same attributes are required for winning. The Bible says, “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb.12: 1-2).
I periodically evaluate my progress in light of this scripture. Am I running free of unnecessary weights? Am I running with endurance? Am I remaining focused on my overall purpose?
Run Free of Weights
Any runner knows that she must minimize resistance in what she wears. Extra ounds, whether in body weight or clothes, impede speed and performance.
Reach your dreams also requires running “light.” As the scripture above says, “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which easily ensnares us.”
Sin is easy enough to recognize, and we know what to do with it — repent. Weights, on the other hand, can be deceiving, for they are often obscured by well-intentioned motives. For example, excessive busyness is a common weight that is often rooted in the inability to say no or set boundaries.
Emotional baggage, such as regret and self-reproach for past failures and disappointments, will also weight you down.
Other common encumbrances include excessive amounts of time spent on activities such as hobbies, socializing, watching television, or shopping. All these are healthy in moderation, but overindulgence and imbalance will keep you from reaching your goals.
Make a list of all the things you need to lay aside, and prayerfully lift each area to God. If you have sinned, ask for God’s forgiveness. If are carrying negative emotional baggage, let it go. If you are wasting time, make a quality decision to make changes and hold yourself accountable.
Run with Endurance
I love the feeling of having completed a long distance run. But this feeling comes only after a series of events that severely test my endurance. The first few minutes are easy. After fifteen to twenty minutes, I hit what runners call “the wall.” My muscles ache. I’m burning up. I feel sluggish and fatigued. I can’t remember why I wanted to run. I’m convinced I can go no further.
But I push myself to keep going. After a few more minutes of pain, exhaustion and the longing to quit, I experience a sudden burst of euphoric energy. My mind is alert and focused. Running now feels effortless, and I easily complete the course.
There is perhaps no greater factor in long-term success than endurance. Anyone can be enthusiastic and confident when bursting through the starting gate. But how do we react when we encounter obstacles and pain?
Be tenaciously determined to finish the course. Push yourself to keep going, despite the obstacles. Keep putting one foot in front of the other. Refuse to give in to feelings of fatigue and discouragement.
I like the way best-selling author H. Jackson Brown, Jr. describes perseverence in The Complete Life’s Little Instruction Book: “In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins — not through strength but by perseverence.”
Run with Focus
Finally, running a successful race means staying focused. Nothing will throw a runner off stride or slow her down more than turning to look at the runner coming behind her or glancing at the crowds in the stands to see how they are reacting to her performance.
In the race of purpose, distractions will throw you off stride and sometimes steer you in a direction that leads you farther from, rather than closer to, your dream. Comparing yourself with otheres or seeking their accolades will also hinder you from running with effectiveness.
Running with focus means not sweating the small stuff. It means keeping our eyes on the big picture, and not becoming discouraged by setbacks.
As you apply these principles, you will successfully run the race of purpose and reach every one of your dreams.
Judy Rushfeldt is an author, speaker, and online magazine publisher (http://www.LifeToolsforWomen.com) whose passion is to help women reach their dreams. Her latest book, Making Your Dreams Your Destiny – a woman’s guide to awakening your passions and fulfilling your purpose, is available in quality bookstores in Canada and the United States. You can read more about this book and order online at: http://www.MakingYourDreams.com Judy can also be contacted at: Judy@LifeToolsforWomen.com
Use Dating To Your Benefit
The easy way to date is really by empowering yourself. This unconventional approach is based on the reality that when we grow and expand, our dating also grows and expands.
The book The Joy Of Dating Again: 21 Self-Empowering Keys, will guide you through the keys for self-empowerment. Using the 21 keys, you will get the tools to move into a “new life,” stretching your old limits and breaking the barriers of what is possible for you. In addition, you will develop the tools to attract a partner that is really suitable for you; the “new you.”
To create the joy of dating again, you need to take action to make it happen. Some of you wish there was some kind of service where you call and they deliver the date of your dreams, with no effort on your part; or maybe, you wish you could fast forward time and already have found that special person, skipping the whole dating process.
The truth is there are powerful experiences of transformation, joy and self-discovery awaiting you in this adventure of dating again. A new level of self-esteem, passion for life, love and positive relationships can all be yours.
Empower yourself by following the joyful and easy road, with this book. You will be able to find a new meaning for dating again.
Start right now with a positive attitude and see dating as an adventure, a journey into love, a trip into your heart, a challenge that can help you grow, a fun activity, a process of self-discovery, a project for happiness, a quest for inner harmony, and a great opportunity to enhance the quality of your life.
© 2004 Jeanette Castelli. From the book “The Joy Of Dating Again” by Jeanette Castelli, M.S. ISBN: 0974206113. Features 21 Self-Empowering Keys to transform your experience of dating and your life, eliminating the trial and error. Contains exercises, worksheets and social experiments to implement each key. Book available now from bookstores, Amazon.com, and other online retailers worldwide. For more information visit website: http://www.JOY.urbantex.com/ Email: Postmaster@urbantex.com
Whatever Happened to Christmas?
Remember when no one started Christmas shopping until after Thanksgiving?
Wisconsin author LeAnn R. Ralph remembers it very well.
“When I was growing up on our dairy farm forty years ago, the stores didn’t put up Christmas displays until the day after Thanksgiving. No one was really thinking about Christmas shopping before that,” Ralph said. “In fact, my mother felt so strongly about it that she didn’t even like to hear the word ‘Christmas’ until after we had finished eating Thanksgiving dinner.”
Ralph’s new book, Christmas In Dairyland (True Stories From a Wisconsin Farm), celebrates Christmas during that simpler time.
“Back then, happiness was baking cookies, decorating the Christmas tree, and eating lefse that my mother had made,” Ralph said.
Lefse (pronounced lef’suh) is a flat potato pastry brought to this country by Norwegian immigrants who settled in Wisconsin. Ralph’s mother was the daughter of Norwegian immigrants, and their 120-acre family farm was homesteaded by Ralph’s great-grandfather.
“When I was a kid, people enjoyed simple pleasures. The Sunday school Christmas program was an event at the little country church just down the road from our farm that was attended by nearly everyone in the neighborhood,” Ralph noted.
“At the time, if someone had told me the Christmas season was going to change so drastically that you would eventually get Christmas catalogs in the mail in August and September – and that you would find Christmas decorations on sale in August and September, too – I wouldn’t have believed it,” she said.
“I also would have never thought that dairy farming would change so much. I always took it for granted that we lived in ‘America’s Dairyland,’ but today, most of the small family dairy farms have disappeared,” Ralph noted.
According to statistics from the United States Census of Agriculture , Wisconsin has lost two-thirds of its dairy farms since 1969. Forty years ago, Wisconsin had 60,000 dairy farms. Today, only about 20,000 dairy farms remain.
Nation-wide statistics from the United States Census of Agriculture show the same trend. In 1969, more than a half a million dairy farms operated in the United States. Today, only about 80,000 dairy farms remain.
“As far as I was concerned, one of the best parts of Christmas was going out with my dad to cut a Christmas tree. We had small stands of pine trees planted around the farm to stop soil erosion. We would walk around until we found a nice tree, and then we would cut it and bring it home,” Ralph recalled.
Ralph’s book, Christmas In Dairyland (True Stories From a Wisconsin Farm) (August 2003; ISBN1-59113-366-1 ; trade paperback; 153 pages), features 20 stories set on her family’s farm during the Christmas season. Story titles include “The Lefse Connection,” “Milkweed Pods and Poinsettias,” “Wintergreen,” “White Christmas,” “Jeg Er Sa Glad Hver Julekveld,” “The Most Perfect Toboggan,” “A Candle for Christmas,” and “A New Year Unlike Any Other.” The book also includes recipes for lefse, fattigman (a Norwegian cookie, pronounced ‘futty-mun’), julekake, and Christmas cookies, as well as instructions for making candles out of old crayons, as featured in the story “A Candle for Christmas.”
“Several years ago a story of mine about my dad making ice cream was published in an e-mail newsletter. The title of the story was ‘Dad’s Favorite Recipe,’ and for several weeks after that I received e-mails asking for the recipe. That’s why I decided to include recipes in the book for some of the foods mentioned in my stories,” Ralph explained.
About The Author
LeAnn R. Ralph is the editor of the Wisconsin Regional Writer (the quarterly publication of the Wisconsin Regional Writers’ Assoc.) and is the author of the book, Christmas In Dairyland (True Stories From a Wisconsin Farm) (Aug. 2003); trade paperback. For more information about Christmas In Dairyland, visit http://ruralroute2.com
Why Does God Allow Suffering?
Justin was a typical ten year old boy. He liked Leggos, trains, and watching TV. He had red hair, freckles, and a huge smile. Justin was a great kid and everybody loved him. Because of cancer, he didn’t live to see his eleventh birthday. His mom Mary, who had watched him suffer for months, held her son in her arms when he died. Every day, for the last two years, she has lived with the grief of her loss and the memories of Justin’s suffering.
This issue of suffering is the most common argument against religion. People often ask, “If there is a loving God, why does He make people suffer?”
I firmly believe that God does not cause sickness or pain. He doesn’t make people hurt, and He doesn’t want them to suffer. The life of Jesus proved this. He cured people; He did not make them sick. Why, then, are so many in pain?
There is no easy answer. To try and understand, I step back and look at the big picture. God made everything perfect. Then man sinned and that perfection was spoiled. Now we live in a world where evil abounds. We are subject to the evil actions of sinful people and to the natural consequences of those actions. This is not at all what God intended for the world He created.
God can and does intervene in some events, but why not others? Only He knows that answer, but the Bible teaches that there will be a time when He will put an end to ALL death, sadness, pain, sickness, and suffering.
Below are some possible reasons that people suffer.
1) We do things ourselves that cause us pain. We don’t eat right, so we have heart attacks. We drive fast, so we have accidents. We smoke, so we get cancer. We start wars, we break laws, we don’t show love to our fellow man. Much of the sorrow in this world, we bring upon ourselves by our own actions.
2) But what about innocent children who are not responsible for their suffering? Why do they get sick? This is a tough question. What I know for sure is that when God created this world, He intended for us to have strong, healthy bodies and freedom from pain and suffering. When evil entered the picture, it brought with it suffering. That is not to say people suffer because of their own personal sins, necessarily, but the world is changed, due to sin being part of the world. Jesus said, “In this world, you will have tribulation.”
Just as in the case with Job, I believe that evil forces attack us and cause much suffering in an attempt to get people to blame God and turn away from Him. (Job 2:3-9)
3) God gives us rights as individuals. Because He allows us to choose for ourselves how we’ll live, He had to also allow us the freedom to sin. This means He had to allow the consequences of our behaviors, too. Some of those consequences are diseases caused by toxins, accidents caused by risky behaviors, and natural disasters caused by things like changes in the ozone layer, which we have brought about.
4) Though some people think God punishes us by making us suffer, Jesus said that a blind man He healed was born blind, not because of his sin or his parents’ sin, but “that the works of God should be revealed in him.” (John 9:3) God didn’t cause the blindness, but He used it to show His power to all who saw Jesus heal the man.
5) Another possible reason God allows suffering is so that our faith in Him will grow, our compassion for others will increase, and we’ll be better able to encourage other hurting people (2 Corinthians 1:3-5).
6) Romans 1:22 says that God gives rebellious people over to their own foolishness. He lets us go, hoping that we will return to Him after we hit bottom and see the error of our ways. Giving His permission is not the same as causing the problem. God doesn’t cause people to stubbornly refuse to follow His way. He doesn’t want us to go ever deeper into degradation, but He does permit us to have our way when we are determined to choose our own path.
BUT WE ARE NOT WITHOUT HOPE:
Though this world is no longer perfect, God will create a perfect world some day in heaven. He will get rid of everything that is not HIS. Suffering, sin, pain, tears and death are not HIS. “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’” (1 Corinthians 15:54)
We have HOPE that all suffering will be relieved when we go to spend eternity with God. But this promise of eternal bliss is only for those who know, serve, and love Him.
God doesn’t cause suffering; Satan does. When we get angry at God, it’s exactly what Satan wants. By blaming God for evil, we’re actually following the one who IS responsible.
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” (1 Peter 5:8-11)
Our souls are of greater importance to God than our bodies are. Though He cares about our physical suffering, healing our soul is more urgent because it is the soul that lives forever. Our relationship with God is what determines where that soul spends eternity. If only those who suffer here on earth would seek God and the true healing (of the soul) that He offers!
In this world, bad things happen to good people. Those who have a personal relationship with God are better able to cope. We can live without fear, even though we do not know what the future holds, if we know the one who holds the future in His hands. When we discover the great love God has for us, we can let go of fear.
Psalm 27:1 says “The Lord is my salvation. Whom shall I fear?” Jesus triumphed over death, and He alone can save us from eternal death. He can also see us through all the trials of life and bring us safely to heaven.
I don’t have all the answers. I just hope that, in sharing what I’ve learned through my own experience, I’ve helped you to feel more at peace knowing God has ultimate control in every circumstance. He is GOOD, no matter what evil befalls us. We can trust in the one who is full of compassion and loves us more than we can imagine. Without that knowledge, I don’t know how anyone could cope with the trials of life.
No one can comfort the depths of our sorrows except God. I’m convinced that if you read His promises in the Bible, your heart will be encouraged.
Author Marsha Jordan is founder of a nonprofit charity called Hugs and Hope for Sick Children (http://www.hugsandhope.org). More of her articles on depression are in her book, Hugs, Hope, and Peanut Butter, a compilation of thought-provoking essays illustrated with drawings by critically ill children.
In this book, the author combines hope with humor, drawing upon her own experience of living with chronic pain and depression for thirty years. She opens her life and her heart to share everyday experiences and the lessons God has taught her from them.
A wonderful mix of the serious and the humorous, this book warms the heart and lifts the spirit. PROCEEDS BENEFIT SICK KIDS! This book was written to encourage anyone who faces disappointment — which is EVERYone! Some essays in the book include “What Did I Do To Deserve This?” “What Was God Thinking?” “More Than I Can Handle,” and “Ten Tips For Beating Depression” Order the book or learn more at http://www.hugsandhope.org/book.htm
The Subconscious Diet Can Help Protect Your Child From Type 2 Diabetes
Until obesity became epidemic, type 2 diabetes was virtually unheard of in children and teens. It was originally called “adult-onset” because it was mainly seen after middle age. At least 9 million American children are seriously overweight and another 9 million are heavy enough to be at risk, yet studies show that many parents are in denial about their children’s obesity.
16% of U.S. children have weight problems but doctors make weight reduction suggestions to parents about their children in only 1% of visits. There are a number of reasons for this denial and lack of concern:
Obese mothers nearly always recognize that they are overweight but only 1 in 5 correctly identified their overweight children.
Many doctors are just too busy to become involved in problems not directly related to the symptoms the child was brought in for.
78% of the population of the U.S. does not see being overweight as a health problem.
Many cultures equate thinness with poverty and starvation; to them a fat child is a strong and healthy child.
Many parents believe that the child will grow into their weight.
A child that is overweight will very likely become an obese adult. Studies show at least 15 conditions causally related to obesity. They include diabetes, heart disease, sleep apnea, hip fractures, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, end-stage renal disease, liver disease, urinary incontinence and several forms of cancer.
For many overweight children the possibilities of disease in the future is not a concern. There is a far more pressing cause of pain for these obese children on a daily basis. This pain is caused by discrimination by their classmates. Other children are much more direct and cruel then most adults when it comes to ridiculing the “fat kids” they associate with. A first grader is likely to believe that thinner is better and young children will put these thoughts in to action by excluding their heaver classmate from their team or by calling them names.
This ridicule may cause a child to retreat from social interaction or to become a bully, using their weight to intimidate their tormentors. Either course of action only causes the child more grief and frustration in the long run.
Most children are not receptive to traditional restrictive diets. When they are told that they can no longer have the foods they crave, such as: white bread, candy, cookies, and ice cream they feel that they are being punished. It makes little difference how much time the parent spends trying to convince the child it is for their own good.
Children will often find access to the foods that are being denied to them at home with friends, relatives who don’t believe in diets or by spending their own money to purchase the sweets. If the child doesn’t have money they may begin to steal the foods they crave.
Many times when the child gains access to the forbidden items they will binge. 30% of girls and 16% of boys who were on a diet admitted to binging on foods that had been forbidden to them when they got the chance. Now the child not only feels punished by the parent, they have added guild to the emotional mix by defying their parents’ orders or breaking the law. This guilt causes stress that may cause the child to act out in other more serious ways.
Since traditional diets do not work for most people, it is far past the time to start looking for ways to change a person’s way of thinking about food, states Hugh B. Sanders the author of the Subconscious Diet: It’s not what you put in your mouth; it is what you put in your mind! (www.TheSubconsciousDiet.com)
This is not hypnosis. Hypnosis implies external control but what is vital to any weight reduction program is a system of internal control. A child or an adult must feel that any change, such as a diet, is not only their decision but it is also something they understand and want to accomplish. Most diets are only restrictions on eating, very few offer the steps to changing a persons mind about the way they approach food.
The Subconscious Diet shows a person how to develop a new operating system for the subconscious mind. The subconscious is very much like a computer in that it holds all of a person’s values, habits, memories, and is constantly working to come up with answers to each situation that life present us every day. Just like a computer we can choose to change how the mind goes about finding the solutions. The steps are relatively simple:
Clearly stating our goals (weight loss is a goal).
Writing out and repeating those goals daily (affirmations).
Getting rid of fear, anger, hate, and guilt (letting go!).
Learning to associate only with positive friends (get away from negativity).
Vividly seeing the desired end result in our own mind (visualization).
Children are ideal candidates for the Subconscious Diet because they are more in touch with the subconscious portion of their minds then adults generally are and they naturally day dream (Visualize). If the parents help the child direct those day dreams to focus on a positive view of the child’s body, eating habits, and physical activities, the parent can assure a healthy path for the future of their children.
The catch for the parents and it is really a benefit, is that they can’t just tell their children what the kids have to do. The parent must lead by example. The adults in the family must incorporate all of these steps into their own lives. “Do as I say, not as I do!” just won’t work and has never worked for children.
Eighteen million children are at risk of suffering pain and premature death if their weight is left uncontrolled. If your child is getting heaver each day, you have to make a decision about the amount of effort you are willing to put forth to make your child’s life as good as it should be.
For more information please check out: www.TheSubconsciousDiet.com.
Hugh B. Sanders is an award wining speaker who has been involved in the study of self-improvement, personal growth techniques, and success training for over thirty years. He has won production awards from every company he has been associated with. The author has conducted training classes and motivational seminars across the country. This book is a project of passion, and one that his readers and peers are very excited about.
Some of the major firms the author has been associated with as Top Salesman, Office Manager, Regional Manager, Sales Trainer, and Motivational speaker are, Marcus & Millichap Investment Brokerage, H. Bruce Hanes, Inc., Wagner / Jacobson, Inc, Trace Miller / American Airlines, Avis, Washington Mutual Bank and Countrywide Home Loan.
How to Build and Sell your eBook at the Same Time
Why write an eBook?
You want ongoing, lifelong multiple streams of income. You want to raise your credibility and trust ratings with clients or customers. You want to get your message out so the world can be a better place.
Yet, you want to spend only a little time on it. (Would you be willing to spend 4 hours a week?) You want to get it out fast (Would 4-6 weeks be OK?) You want to market Online at a low-cost investment. And, for some of you, you are ready to be innovative and even take a small risk to get your eBook read by millions, rather than hundreds!
In order to finish your eBook fast you need to first, look at where you are now; second, where you want to be; and then you’ll know how to get to your finish line.
Where are you now?
You have the idea for your eBook; you have a lot of ideas! Take a moment and decide which one you are most passionate about now and will be for the next year. Focus on one great idea, then add others you know will work.
You have your eBook well on its way, but aren’t finished. You need advice on how to get it done, what’s needed to publish (not much!), and how to distribute it.
Who Should Write an eBook?
- If you are ready to invest a little to reap a great deal.
- If you are a business person who want to serve a wider community
- If you have a unique message you want to share with the world
- If are willing to write, publish yourself, and sell 2 years ahead of traditional publishing
- If you want to create active, lifelong streams of income
- If you want to promote yourself, service or products
How to get there.
Build and Sell your eBook at the same time
Every part of your book can be a sales tool. When you include the essential “Seven Hot-Selling Points” before you write chapter one, you’ll sell more books than you ever dreamed of!
1. Write for your one preferred audience. Not everyone wants your book. Find out what audience wants/needs your book? What problems does your book solve for them? Create an audience profile and keep your audience’s picture in front of you as you write. Ask yourself, is my topic narrow enough? The Chicken Soup For The Teenager, For The Prisoner, and other specific groups sold far more copies than the original Chicken
Soup.
2. Write a sizzling book title including benefits. You have 8 seconds to hook your potential buyer. While an eBook cover doesn’t need fancy graphics you will want to create one that can be printed both in color and black and white. It must be easy to see and read. Your title and cover should compel your audience to buy.
3. Write a thirty-sixty second “tell and sell.” You only have a few seconds to impress your potential buyer. Include your title, a few benefits, and the audience. This billboard needs a sound bite to grab attention. “Write, Finish, and Publish your eBook Fast to Pull Online Sales” shows professionals how to shortcut each step of writing, publishing, and promoting a salable short eBook.
Add a sound bite to the above “tell and sell” something like this: Compare your book to someone who is famous. One client’s title “Passion at Any Age” used the sound bite “this book is the ‘Artist’s Way’ for seniors.
4. Write your sales letter before you write your book. Think about your potential buyer. What are his resistances? His problems or challenges? Be sure you address these. Your sales letter used to promote your book either by email or on your Web site needs to give the benefits your potential buyers want and need. Include compelling ad copy, features, testimonials, and a small blurb about you, the author. If your potential buyer likes it, they will buy on the spot.
5. Write your eBook’s introduction. Include the problem your audience has, why you wrote the book, and its purpose. In a few paragraphs include more specific benefits, and how you will present it (format). Keep it under a page. Your introduction will help you write your sales letter.
6. Create a table of contents. Each chapter should have a title, preferably a catchy one. If your reader can’t understand the chapter title, then annotate it. Add some benefits or a sub title. In my first chapter called “Why Write an eBook?” I added this partial list of benefits: Ongoing lifelong multiple streams of income, credibility as the expert, products sell easily online, buyers are more targeted and hence you create more profit.
7. Reach out to opinion molders. After an initial contact of asking for feedback, resend them the same chapter and the table of contents of your book. Ask for a testimonial then. These influential contacts’ testimonials will help promote your eBook Online.
Design every part of your eBook to be a sales tool and a beacon that brings out your best: writing–compelling, easy to read, organized, and enjoyable. Your book can sell to thousands, even hundreds of thousands when you design it correctly.
Judy Cullins, 20-year book and Internet Marketing Coach, Author of 10 eBooks including “Write your eBook Fast,” and “How to Market your Business on the Internet,” she offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, The Book Coach Says…and Business Tip of the Month at http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml and over 140 free articles. Email her at mailto:Judy@bookcoaching.com
The Joy Of Dating Again: Self-Empowering Keys
For some, the idea of dating again can be intimidating or even scary. For others, it means an experience full of expectations and adventures. Whatever your idea of dating again may be, one thing is clear, you want to have a joyful experience and ultimately find new love in your life.
Dating again is not just about going out with people that you like. It has to do with transforming your whole life. Dating again is the step that will lead you to a new relationship, starting with yourself. Dating has a deep meaning in our lives, because relationships have a deep meaning in our lives: one leads to the other. We can almost conclude that the quality of dating will determine the quality of our next relationship.
When you try to get into a relationship just for the sake of not being alone, you are selling yourself short. You truly deserve the best relationship you can get. A great relationship can transform your life, but first you need to empower yourself to be at the level where you are ready for that special relationship. Why? Because we attract people who match our self-esteem, level of passion, happiness and intimacy.
Only through self-empowerment you can discover the greatest relationship of all: relating to your inner self. The rest will come. You can count on that! You will find more dates, better dates, meaningful and compatible relationships; it all starts with you.
Take this opportunity to make the best of your life and your self. Use self-empowerment to implement new ideas, behaviors and life strategies.
Don’t wait for the great relationship to come along. Start giving your best today, and see your love life unfold as you discover the joy of dating again. Have fun in this journey that you have already started.
© 2004 Jeanette Castelli. From the book “The Joy Of Dating Again” by Jeanette Castelli, M.S. ISBN: 0974206113. Features 21 Self-Empowering Keys to transform your experience of dating and your life, eliminating the trial and error. Contains exercises, worksheets and social experiments to implement each key. Book available now from bookstores, Amazon.com, and other online retailers worldwide. For more information visit website: http://www.JOY.urbantex.com/ Email: Postmaster@urbantex.com
Competing With The Big Dogs
You run a small consultancy. You’re well qualified, experienced and dedicated. Yet you can’t get a meeting with the corporate decision-maker.
Your proposal was a work of art. You provided exactly what the client needed, plus a ton of added value. Yet the business went to a well-known firm offering a standard approach at twice the price.
You did a great job for the client, during which a whole lot of other needs surfaced. All are within your expertise, but you weren’t even asked to submit a proposal.
Any of these situations familiar to you? If so, what you’ve encountered is the power of a well-known brand name over rational choices based on factors like expertise, ability or value.
How Corporates Choose
When you sell to established businesses, especially large ones, you start off believing they’ll be more rational than the guy around the corner. You have what they want, you give great service and your price is highly competitive. At least they’ll listen to you.
Welcome to the real world of small consultancies. The Big Dogs mostly take emotional decisions based on fear and desire. Their “minders” — the people who control access to them — know this very well. That’s why they won’t let you through to talk to the boss.
What do these people fear? Looking foolish. What do they desire? Prestige. What do they dislike most? Uncertainty.
See It From Their Point of View
They’ll talk to the person from the big consulting group — even if he or she is far less qualified or competent than you are — because doing so meets all the requirements.
Working with a big consulting group seems safe. They have a reputation. Their powerful brand name implies an unwritten assurance of success. And if it does go wrong, they’ll take the blame, not the buyer. As they say, “Who ever got fired for buying IBM?”
They also convey prestige. The Big Dogs talk to each other and drop names into the conversation to shine in one another’s eyes. Will your name produce admiration — or a superior smile and “Who on earth are they?”
Action You CAN Take
You aren’t going to beat the big consultancies on ground favorable to them, so don’t bother trying. But they can be beaten, so long as you go where they’re weakest. And you always remember to see yourself from the buyer’s perspective.
Here are some possibilities:
1. Narrow your focus. The big guys of the profession do everything. Become known for doing just one thing to an exceptional level. Be the “go to” expert. Experts are often individuals. That’s what many of them are academics. And corporate Big Dogs seek them out because working with them also supplies prestige and removes fear. If your focus is really narrow, you’ll have zero competition. And you don’t have to be an expert to write the book. Writing it is how you become an expert. All you need at the start is determination and basic research skills.
2. Stress your credentials. Add to them all the time. Write THE book on your narrow focus or THE articles. You don’t need to be an expert to write the book. Doing it will make you the expert.
3. Seek publicity. Instead of trying to force your way into the executive suite, make them come to you. If you’re the person who writes those witty pieces in the local rag on that vital topic to them, they’ll rush to call you up.
4. Always focus on what’s in it for them. Provide free material. Produce a newsletter that ISN’T full of selling, but contains truly useful data.
Most small consultancies are afraid of giving away what they can see is valuable to clients. Here’s a secret. The more you give away, the more people will believe you have yet more they don’t know about yet. The seekers for free consulting aren’t the Big Dogs — who are always willing to pay for what’s useful to them, if only to stop you selling it to someone else — but morons at middle management level who want to pass it off as their own ideas.
Be Careful Where You Focus
Finally, think hard about what you choose as your consulting area. If you set out to provide a generic service in an area of consulting just about everyone says they can do, you’re laying yourself wide open to being run over by the big guys.
Where the competition is endless, buying from a well-known name seems a good way to avoid being taken in by some snake-oil salesman.
But everyone knows the big consultancies are jacks of all trades. If they want a real expert in a vital area, that isn’t where they look.
That’s your chance.
Adrian W. Savage writes for people who want help with the daily dilemmas they face at work. He has contributed more than 25 articles to leading British and American publications and has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and The Chicago Tribune.
Visit his blog on the ups and downs of business life.
