Visual Job

Fading Toward Enlightenment by Wayne Wirs is definitely a
well made book of excellent quality – it will certainly endure
multiple readings. I loved the feel of the pages as I turned
them. I would classify this book as a useful, inspirational,
self-help tool for those searching for inner peace. Wayne
shares his personal experiences while he searches to
come to turns with himself and life in general through this
beautiful work of art.

Wayne is truly a seeker of understanding. I was reminded
occasionally of Joseph Campbell throughout the book, as
the two focus on similar themes. Wayne shares his journey
towards understanding that takes him through vigorous
studies of mystic and myths, traveling into himself and then
out again. He dreams of being able to reach beyond the
ego.

Attractive, attention-demanding black and white
photographs are enhanced by the deep-thinking quotations
and the author’s excellent discussions. Each stage in his
journey is accompanied by the exquisite photos, and the
photos add depth to the text – feeding each other. I found
that I would read a sentence and then look at the photo;
back and forth – each page a slow and rewarding process to
savor. Written to inspire others to delve deep into
discovering who they are, Wayne asks us (as he asks
himself) “Who are you behind those busy thoughts?”

The question and answer interview at the end of the book
was quite helpful in finding out more about the author’s
personal side and his particular views. He also includes a
list of resources to aid the reader interested in furthering
their journey.”

ISBN#: 0976358107
Author: Wayne Wirs
Publisher: Missing Man Press

~ Lillian Brummet – Book Reviewer – Co-author of the book Trash Talk, a guide for anyone concerned about his or her impact on the environment Author of Towards Understanding, a collection of poetry.
http://www.sunshinecable.com/~drumit

There are so many decisions to be made concerning your new baby. Whether to breastfeed or use a bottle is one of them. When making your choice, consider the benefits of breastfeeding.

Breastfed babies receive a large amount of nutritional and health benefits. They have lower rates of hospitalizations, ear infections, rashes and allergies. They also have better vaccine protection, meaning a higher response to immunizations. This is due to the transfer of the mother’s antibodies through milk.

All of baby’s nutritional needs will be met. There are one hundred ingredients in breast milk not found in formula. Breast milk contains fatty acids, lactose, water and amino acids that are essential. These, among other nutrients aid in digestion, brain development and growth. It also promotes good jaw development. Breastfed babies also have a lower amount of trips to the dentist when they are older.

Babies tend to have virtually no allergic reactions to breast milk.

What about the psychological benefits? Touch is so very important to any human, especially a newborn. With breastfeeding, there is skin on skin contact, whereas a bottle fed baby may not be touched by anything other than a hard plastic or glass bottle. Time spent between a breast fed baby and its mother aids in bonding. Baby gets an early sense of attachment, security and warmth.

These are but a few of the multitude of positive outcomes from breastfeeding. Many studies have been done and the results are strongly in favor of breastfeeding over bottle feeding. It is healthier for baby both physically and mentally.

Nikola lives and writes in Oklahoma. She is a member of her local Citizen’s Police Academy. Volunteers in Policing and Skywarn. She enjoys reading, scrapbooking and spending time with her two dogs. This article has been submitted in affiliation with http://www.BabyNameVote.Com/ which is a site for Baby Names.

The incommodity involved in going to a casino can be enough not to go unless one must go there. Certainly traffic accidents, the incommodity, and chores called for seem not worth the distress merely for that possibility to take your chances at casino, still, if you’re the sort of gal who absolutely pines for bets then going for virtual betting rooms should be the more obvious solution.

You will not need to leave your familiar environment to have a bash at online video poker or other preferred games for the reason that it’s easy to access from within your domestic environment provided you possess a fully functional laptop or pc and, obviously, a reliable Internet connection. Yet, you will want to read on first because there’s various hints that you’ll need to see about online video poker or other preferred games, all the more if you’re still still inexperienced in this department. So, placate that delight of yours to absorb the outline that follows. Here is our concise plan which instructs you how to track down a creditable online video poker or other preferred games web site.

The first thing that you as a discriminating Web high roller will make sure to pursue is an online video poker or other preferred games Web site of the category which promotes the best winning odds. Make sure the online video poker or other preferred games Web site has partnered up with a creditable certified public accountant to assay the quoted games pay-out odds on a monthly basis. This may be extremely beneficial to establish the greenbacks you will be wagering as a part of your expected spree will actually compensate the struggle.

You positively must take care to ensure that the virtual poker Web site is legally licensed, for example by inspecting the governmental warrant on the webpage. Should you fail to ferret out any governmental warrant on a given virtual poker Web site, don’t think of venturing with this Web site.

Another tip is obviously to place your bets at the start in modest amounts instead of disbursing so much it can hurt instantly. Check first the integrity of this virtual poker system before going for any major risk- all the more that of losing your money… Arguably the most vital tip about online gambling. It can only be this: to call to mind always that all gambling should chiefly be about pleasurable recreation and not so much about making a buck. Betting in an online casino is not a vocation, but a leisure pursuit that is intended to let you feel glad and your life delectable. Don’t miss the action! Top free online gambling here.

People will spend months or even years planning to buy their own home. They will work hard to build good credit. They will save a sizable down payment. They will search for the perfect house. Then they will settle for the first mortgage they see.

What is wrong with this picture?

It is important to remember that if you have good credit and a down payment then you are in the driver’s seat when it comes to negotiating a mortgage. You are the dream customer that lenders want on their books. Even if your credit is not perfect and your down payment is nonexistent you are still an attractive client for many lenders.

Repeat this mantra whenever a lender acts as if they are doing you a favor by lending you money: I am going to give them a lot of money. Yes, you are. Over the next five to 30 years you are going to pay a lot of interest to this lender as well as repay the principal they originally put up. They are not giving you anything. This is a business deal and the lender stands to make a lot of money so you need to protect yourself to get the best deal you can.

While most lenders tend to make you think you should be grateful to them for taking this huge risk on you, it really is the other way around. A mortgage lender can’t lose. If you honor the deal they will make a lot of money and if you don’t honor the deal then they simply take your house back and keep the interest you paid in the meantime!

However there is an even bigger fallacy that lenders like to perpetuate. They don’t want you to know how desperate they are for your business. Look around and you will realize the truth of this. Check out the television, radio, and print ads that abound and you will see the mortgage lenders are getting pretty competitive.

That is why you simply must shop around to find the best mortgage deal available for you. In the end you could save yourself thousands of dollars. Here are five ways to help you find the best deal:

~ Shop around – Get quotes from various lenders. Look at local and national lenders and don’t overlook the internet.
~ Compare terms – Interest rates vary from lender to lender but lenders offer different interest rates depending on the terms of the mortgage. How long will it be (15, 20 or 30 years)? Will it be variable or fixed?
~ Tweak some of the optional items that you control, such as the type of insurance you will carry and whether or not you will use escrow for taxes etc.
~ Adjust your down payment – Sometimes being able to increase the percentage of what you are putting down can make a difference in the lenders terms (similarly buying a less expensive house will work the same)
~ Haggle – Yes! Lenders often act as if their rates are written in stone but this is not the case. This is where shopping around can really come in handy. If you can show that you’ve got a slightly better deal with another lender then sometimes another lender will lower their rate to beat the competitor. Hey it’s worth a try!

Just remember that you are in control of your future. You can choose whether or not to accept a mortgage lenders terms. There are a lot of lenders out there so you do not need to sign with the first offer you receive.

One last hint: It might be best to go through this process before you’ve found the home of your dreams! You can get preapproved for a mortgage with most lenders and that removes the pressure and worry of losing the home of your dreams while you negotiate with a lender. It also puts you in the driver’s seat when you are negotiating to buy that dream home when you finally find it if you already have a mortgage ready to go.

You can find more information at Answers About Loans and Answers About Family Finance.

Submitted with Article Distributor.

Many people sign up for affiliate programs with the hopes of making some serious money. They advertise a few places and then wait for the money to start pouring in. When it doesn’t, they blame it on the program and quit.

I am convinced the only way to make money online is to have a consistent Advertising plan. A plan you are willing to work hard on and commit to for a selected period of time. When making this plan, you need to do two things. First, you should pick a few affiliate programs that are of interest to you. Second, you need to decide how long you want to work these programs. Once you decide on a time period (I recommend 6 months to a year), you must make a promise to yourself that you will not stop advertising until that time period is up. This is perhaps the most important factor in your success.

Next, you need to consider your advertising options: traffic exchanges, classified ads, e-mail campaigns, ezine articles, posting to forums or message boards, chatting with others who are interested in what you have to offer, and posting flyers around your town. Now you see the many possible advertising avenues you can choose from. I recommend doing all of them. It may sound like a lot of work, but when broken down into a plan, it is not.

One possible plan may look like this: Traffic Exchanges-1 hour per day. Post 15 classified ads per day. Make 5 posts to a message board or forum per day. Submit an article once per week to an ezine. Visit chat rooms and distribute flyers as you have extra time during the week. This all can be accomplished by spending 2-3 hours per day. You will be surprised how much you get done when you have a plan. You may also choose whether you will work 5 or 6 days per week. Make a checklist for each day of the week, and mark each task off as you finish it. That will keep you on focus, and will make you feel good that you are one step closer to reaching your goal.

Make a commitment to your new plan and don’t get involved in any other programs until your current programs are making you money consistently. Don’t give up. Sticking with this plan will significantly improve your success. Remember, Advertise, Advertise, Advertise.

Alicia Bodine, a work from home specialist, is a stay at home mom and website owner. She has compiled a work at home directory full of online business opportunities that are legitimate and profitable. To get more information about home based businesses visit www.homebusinessesthatprofit.com. Alicia also works part time teaching others how to get their own website setup free. Get your own internet business now. Everything you need to make

Most organizations conduct employee surveys of various types either annually, every two years or sporadically. Some organizations use the data from the employee survey to affect real change that contributes to their ongoing success. There are organizations who like to focus on comparing their survey scores to the scores of other organizations and there are the organizations that do little with their survey results. The focus of this article is to discuss the middle group: those organizations that like to focus on and compare their employee survey scores against the average scores of all the organizations that are in a third party database.

Many surveying companies sell their services on the basis that they will be able to compare the scores of the one company against the average score of all of the organizations in their database. Comparing yourself to someone else is enticing. We have been exposed to comparative data from the first day we stepped inside a school. Throughout our primary and secondary education we were compared to the rest and typically this comparison was against the “class average”. We knew who the smartest and the dumbest kids were but it was the average that counted. Was I above or below the class average? That was important in terms of dealing with our own self esteem and dealing with our parents. This was not the case for all students. The parents of some students demanded top marks and that is exactly what those few students worked towards. They had to be the best. They had to have the top marks.

This was all very interesting but in the end it was irrelevant. When it came time to apply to university a new standard had to be reached. University entrance requirements varied but one thing was clear. Average marks were not good enough. In fact being above average in many instances was not good enough. University entrance requirements were demanding and one had to strive for a new and much higher standard than “average”. The profile or status of a university that you were interested in attending, determined the level of academic excellence you had to achieve.

It is puzzling to see how many organizations fall into the trap of placing a great deal of emphasis on comparing their surveys scores to a database that represents the average of a number of companies. These comparisons are sought not only for the overall scores of the employee survey, but for every question in the survey.

It would appear that a fundamental question needs to be asked by every organization-why are we conducting an employee survey in the first place and what are we going to do with the results.

From a strategic perspective it would seem reasonable to think that an organization would wish at the very least, to demonstrate that the survey is helping the organization to achieve their strategic goals. In other words, they are conducting the employee survey as a way of obtaining employee information that can be used to improve for example, workplace practices in order to lift their employees’ working experience. In turn this will lift the customer experience and profits.

However, if this or some other strategic purpose is not being fulfilled by the employee survey than the value of conducting the survey is questionable. One could argue that comparing oneself to other organizations is in fact a legitimate strategic objective. It is worth knowing how you compare to the best. How does your stock performance compare to the best in your business sector-not the average of all the companies in your business sector but only the best? How do your employee survey scores compare to the best in your business sector-not the average of all the businesses in the database but only the best?

Comparing oneself to the very best is legitimate especially if the best sets a benchmark that you adopt as your own. But to compare oneself to the average serves no useful purpose. If a senior management group knows that their scores are better than the average of all the companies in a database, strategically of what use is this information. Perhaps it may give them a sense of pride knowing that they are better than the average. But it may also lull them into a false sense of confidence. The question that should be top of mind is “are we really as good as we can be and are we really achieving a level of excellence that will sustain us over the long term.”

For example, employee turnover in the retail sector is fairly high. Most retailers take it for granted. Entec Corporation has been working with Gap Inc. Canada for several years. Gap offers excellent training programs especially for their associate managers and store managers. In 1999, Gap was routinely being raided by other retailers and their annual turnover rate for store managers was 39% and for associate managers it was 48%. This was costing Gap hundreds of thousands of dollars each year in recruiting and training. With over 200 stores and 10,000 employees across Canada, these costs were unacceptable. Entec Corporation was engaged by Gap to conduct an Organizational Health Survey. Gap acted upon the recommendations in the survey and was able to reduce manager turnover rates to 13% in one year.

But these lower turnover rates were accompanied by real business gains. For example, secret shopper scores increased by 5% after only eight months and sales in Canada over the last few years have improved to a level where the Canadian operation moved from being about in the middle to becoming one of the most profitable divisions in the world. The survey results were linked directly to the bottom line.

If Gap accepted “the trap of comparing themselves to the average” and accepted the conventional wisdom that “this is the average turnover rate in retail so we are OK”, they would not have saved thousands of dollars each year in training and recruiting. More importantly they would not have experienced the benefits that reduced turnover brought them; namely preserving human capital of highly trained managers that helped to grow Gap’s business. This last point is typically overlooked. The impact of a reduction in turnover of well trained employees to the bottom line of a company is considerably higher than the cost savings achieved from reducing recruiting and training.

Several points need to be considered when embarking on an employee survey:
1. Develop clear strategic objectives
2. Measure towards those objectives
3. Inform your employees of the survey scores
4. Follow up with positive implementation
5. If you must compare yourself to others, compare yourself only to the best

If this process is not followed the organization can expect:

1. Employee participation rates in the survey to be low (30% or lower)
2. Rising employee cynicism with the organization (why bother if the activity of completing an employee survey does not make a difference)
3. Employees become disengaged from the organization
4. The organization loses an opportunity to make significant strides in performance

Conclusion

The trap an organization falls into when they become focused on benchmarking themselves against others is that they lose sight of what is really important-what is it that we are doing well and where do we need to improve in order to create an even better organization than the one we already have. If you must compare yourself to others, compare yourself only to the best and do not get side tracked. Focus

Kelly McCullough is a graduate with a Masters in Organizational Health from the University of Michigan. She has worked for Entec Corporation as research assistance. One of her most significant projects was her work as a research analyst on a major study of older workers that was led by Entec Corporation for the Canadian Federal Government.