If there should be one lasting lesson that we should commit to memory from the current economic crisis , let it be that the medical care industry in the United States is not well . Three of the most iconic companies in our history, GM, Ford, and Chrysler, are on the verge of liquidation not because of stock market dirty tricks but rather because they can no longer remain in business while meeting their duty towards their employees’ medical insurance costs .

In fact, for each car or truck that GM builds, over $2000 goes directly to the endowment that the carmakers have created to deal with the ever-expanding costs of providing health coverage to their workers , present and past . And you just thought it was all about subprime loans .

As I write this, at the beginning of 2009 , the health care industry is the single largest industry in the country’s economy, as measured as a percentage of the GNP , or Gross Domestic Product ; in fact, health care represents roughly 16% of our GDP, more than military , more than automotive, more than information technology , more than any other industry you can think of. And it’s not close.

Any scenario that will alter health care must make an allowance for the expansion of new industry jobs, which will have an impact on the overall economy, as more people who find themselves unemployed or under-employed right now can be retrained to work the good, lucrative medical care jobs of the future ; such moves would have long-lasting impact not just on the whole economy and the individual people who will take on those better-paying jobs , but also on the treasury and our country’s balance sheet , as those new jobs will create tax revenue that will help reduce our staggering mind-boggling deficit and lower the national debt.

And this is where universal medical insurance comes into action . When you consider that over 46 million Americans lack medical insurance of any kind today, it is easy to see that by bringing these folks into the fold will only increase the size of the medical care industry, an industry which, as I pointed out earlier, is almost exclusively domestic. By giving these countless people a method to acquire their own medical coverage , we can help expand those more lucrative jobs , while improving the quality of life of those who are uninsured , and eliminating the wasteful spending that we associate with caring for the ill indigent by hospital emergency departments (the caregivers of last resort for millions) and other wastefulness.———-The author, Jonathan Krakowski, writes regularly for Auto Insurance In-Depth and Life Insurance In-Depth.

Often life takes turns we are not prepared for and our motivation takes a big hit. This can an event impacting our personal life or a situation at work that makes us feel miserable and takes away our motivation. Staying motivated in such situations is important to avoid burnout syndrome or depression. But how do people stay motivated and continue to look forward when all around them seems to turn dark?

Music can have very positive influence to people - especially when feeling down. Me personally I am able to get a lot of motivational power from music and I consider this possible for almost everyone else, too. What do you need to look for when trying to get motivational energy from music? Different personalities require different type of music. In general I recommend staying away from any slow or depressing when feeling down. Nothing is worse than to listen to your favorite love song when you just broke up with someone you really loved.

Songs should be inspiring and eventually have a meaning and some real lyrics. Reading song lyrics while playing the song is a good approach as the words from the singer’s voice and from reading get combined. What else is important? The song should be sounding happy and motivating from begin with. A classic example is Van Morrison’s “Brown eyed Girl”. The sound of Van Morrison’s voice, the rhythm and the lyrics do sound extremely happy and motivating. If this song is played with the right volume it is almost impossible to sit still and cry. The song just wants you to get up and dance. Other very motivating songs are Bruce Springsteen’s “Cadillac Ranch” or “Raise your Hand” - both songs should preferable be played from his live album collection. ACDC’s “You shook me all night long” is also a rocking invitation to let go of those dark feelings - followed by “Twist and Shout” - the old Beatles song. All these songs should be played with enough volume to give those dark thoughts no chance. The rhythm and energy that these songs represent should help you to blow away depression for a while and to collect necessary energy to look up again.

I find it very useful to have a collection of motivating and inspiring songs at hand at all times. Burning those favorite songs to a single CD might be a good idea as it comes in handy quick when in need of some motivation. A ready to go song play list on your favorite MP3 player can also be a good idea.

About the Author

Christoph Puetz is a successful entrepreneur and international book author. Christoph lives in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. His small business blog can be found at The Web Hosting Report.

PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor, better known as PHP, is a highly popular, server-side scripting language that can be embedded directly into HTML coding.

PHP can do anything that CGI can do, such as process form data and auto generate dynamic content, but PHP can do much more.

It can be used on all major operating systems and supports most web servers.

PHP is used by inserting PHP code inside your web page’s HTML code. When the page is called, your server automatically executes the code. What’s more, your visitors don’t need any special plug-ins for the code to run, as it will be displayed just like your HTML coding.

As PHP is a server-side scripting language, although your visitors will not need to install any new software, PHP must be set up on your server.

Following is a very simple script that will test your server to ensure PHP is installed. It is a standard PHP function called phpinfo, which instructs the browser to print out information in regard to the set up of your server.

To use the script, simply copy the following three lines of code and paste them into a plain text editor, such as Note Pad.

Save the file as phpinfo.php and upload it to your server where you store your HTML files.

To run the script, simply point your browser to the script address. It should look something like this: http://www.yourdomain.com/phpinfo.php

If PHP is installed on your server, you will be presented with a page of information about the PHP installed on your server.

If PHP isn’t installed, you will be prompted to download the file. In this case, you’ll need to contact your web host and ask them to install it, as it is free to download and install.

You can learn more about PHP and download it at http://www.PHP.net.

If you’d like to try some PHP scripts on your site, here are some great scripts to get you started:

PhpAdsNew - Rotating Ads
http://phpadsnew.com/two/

If you’d like to have a rotating ad system on your web site, this great script is an open-source ad server that provides a professional ad management and tracking system. Not only can you rotate banner ads, but you can also rotate buttons, pop-ups, text ads, DHTML banners and much more.

PHP Message/Quote of the Day
http://www.interaction-design.org/scripts/quote_of_the_day/

If you’re looking for a simple way to display a “Quote of the Day,” this script is for you. It consists of a simple script that’s easy to customize. You simply add any number of quotes, tips or whatever you’d like, into the database and the script will display a new message each day.

BMachine - Blogging
http://boastology.com/

Would you like to start your own blog? This script will enable you to do just that. It’s loaded with features, including calendar, file attachments, event display, unlimited categories, IP blocking, referrer tracking, search and much more.

Clicks Counter Pro - Link Tracking
http://www.clicks-counter-pro.com/

Testing and tracking your marketing strategies is an important part of doing business. Clicks Counter Pro is a PHP script that will enable you to track your clicks, downloads and advertising campaigns with real time statistics. Very reasonably priced.

Link Department - Link Indexing
http://www.hitcode.com/products/linkdept/

If you’ve ever wanted an easy way to set up a link indexing system on your site, this script may be your answer. Link Department will enable you to easily create and maintain a link directory. The system is fully manageable and completely template driven, so it will easily blend in with your existing design.

PhpDig - Search Utility
http://www.phpdig.net/

If you would like to enable your visitors to search your site, PhpDig is a web spider and search engine utility you can install on your web site. This powerful script indexes your pages and builds a glossary of keywords found in the page.

PhpBB - Bulletin Board
http://www.phpbb.com/

PhpBB is a fast and efficient, highly customizable, open- source bulletin board system. This highly professional looking system will enable you to create an interactive community on your web site and keep your visitors coming back again and again.

To learn more about PHP, visit the following web sites:
http://www.alt-php-faq.org/
http://www.hotscripts.com/PHP/

To find more PHP scripts, visit the following web sites:
http://www.hotscripts.com/PHP/Scripts_and_Programs/index.html
http://php.resourceindex.com/Complete_Scripts/

PHP is a freely distributed open-source language, which means if you would like to learn the language, there is a wealth of information available on the Internet to assist you. Why not give it a try? You may be surprised how easy it really is to write your own scripts.

Copyright © Shelley Lowery

About the Author:

Shelley Lowery is the author of the acclaimed web design course, “Web Design Mastery” (www.webdesignmastery.com) and “eBook Starter - Give Your eBooks the look and feel of a REAL book” (www.ebookstarter.com)

Visit www.Web-Source.net to sign up for a complimentary subscription to eTips and receive a copy of Shelley’s acclaimed ebook, “Killer Internet Marketing Strategies.”

You have permission to publish this article electronically, in print, in your ebook, or on your web site, free of charge, as long as the author bylines are included.

So youre ready to bring out the entrepreneur in you. Or you already are an established entrepreneur and would like to push the bar even higher. Whatever your situation is, this article will help you to start a profitable Internet business.

The first step is to decide on the commodity or service that you would like to trade in the Internet. If you are still not decided, here are some tips on how to choose:

Make a list of things that youd like to do. Make each activity the heading of a clean sheet of paper.

On each activity sheet, list all types of business that can be related to such an activity. This is where you should be imaginative on new products that can be offered that is not yet in the market.

Encircle the businesses that can last even during crisis. Basic human needs such as food, shelter and clothing, for example, will have demand at any point in time, so these maybe businesses that will last. One of those encircled items maybe your business of choice.

Once you have a shortlist of businesses in mind, ask your self the following questions to narrow your choice further:

Will I enjoy doing this? Most successful businesses thrive because the owner is passionately dedicated to it. Thriving in a business requires endurance, especially during the start-up phase, so you must love what youre doing in order to continue doing it for a long time.

Can I be an expert in this field? When you have a toothache, you dont go to the Family doctor and expect to be relieved of it. You naturally go to the dentist, because he specializes in tooth care and repair. Your intended internet business will be preferred by consumers if you are specialized in the field that you intend to do business in.

Will this succeed in an internet-based set-up? Traditional business schools will teach you that the location of your business is a key factor to its success. The Internet is, as any address, a good location for your business. In fact, since 2001, internet-based transactions have been growing exponentially from 14% to 44% per year. This alone can inspire every businessman out there to carve his own niche in the world of e-commerce!

If, after careful consideration, you are still not decided on what product or service to sell, there are other options into establishing an Internet Business, described below:

Resell Products You Bought in Bulk. If you are at a loss for your own product, why not sell those of others that already established their name? Wholesalers often sell at a lower price for those buying in big volumes regularly. This mode of Internet business is ideal for products that have not reached rural areas due to limited distribution capabilities.

Internet Business with Direct Sales. There are companies who choose direct sales as a mode of distribution for their product, that is, they do not go through retail stores or dont have their own retail chain. They partner with individuals or small companies to sell their products. The advantage of partnering with these Direct Sales companies is that they have established a structure for sales, marketing and after-sales support. All you have to do is apply those and you earn commission.

Affiliate Programs: This last type of Internet Business deals with marketing someone else’s products by being their affiliate. By taking on an affiliate program, you are paid based on the percentage of sales made through your referral.

By now, you would have picked one specific business among the four types above. Now its time to begin your e-venture.

Create a Business Plan. This step is important in the success of your Internet business. A well-written plan is specific narration of your business objective, strategies, financials and success measures. This will be the entrepreneur’s guide in breathing life to his Internet business. Also, he can use this document as he invites investors, business partners or suppliers. The plan can be further developed into the business proposal, which he will use to entice his buyers.

Carve out your E-Niche. The best way to take a place in the Internet is to have your own website. Before learning how to crate one, you need to understand the following terms:

Web Host - the company that provides the network of computers to stores the files of web sites.

Domain is a group of networked computers that share a common communications address. Examples would be .com, .org, .ws. In order to obtain a place in this network of computers (e.g. www.yourbusinessname.com), one must register with the company owning (or more aptly hosting) the network and pay the corresponding fee.

URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. This is the standard way of specifying the location of ones website. In the example, http://www.yourbusinessname.com, is the URL, and .com is the domain, where the URL is located.

Server - a computer hardware that that provides the file hosting services to other computers (like yours and mine) that access the websites it stores. Some web hosts can offer dedicated servers for websites, while other have multiple websites in a shared server. Depending on the reliability that your Internet Business requires and also the speed that your clients need in accessing and operating your website, you may choose between a dedicated and shared server. Consequently, prices for web hosting will vary.

Now that you understand those terms, you can think of a name for your Internet business in order to carve out your e-niche in the World Wide Web. Things to remember about naming your website:

It is best to purchase your own domain name instead of using a sub-domain for free. For example, a free name would be www.internetserviceprovider.com/yourbusinessname. A purchased domain name is www.yourbusinessname.com. To customers, having your own domain is more professional than being just a part of another business.

Pick a name that is easy to remember and immediately identifies your Internet business. If you are trading books over the Internet, for example, naming your website www.bookstore.com will ensure that all those looking for books will visit your website.

If your capital can afford it, buy all domain names that maybe closely related to your Internet business. By the above example, you may choose to buy also www.bookstore.us, www.book-store.com, etc. You may channel all those addresses into a single webpage (called domain forwarding), which ensures you have a monopoly of the trade.

Upon registration of your domain name, you will also sign-up with a Web hosting company. Make sure to research the best deals and offers of each company before signing up. Aside from file size (amount of data you can store in their server) and band width (speed of data transfer from your website to the users), ask about website designing, e-mail hosting, historical uptime (amount the server is up and running, you want this 100%), back-up schedule and 24/7 support. The last thing you want is for your business to suffer just because your clients cannot access your website whenever they need to.

Lastly, promote your Internet Business. The first step is to make sure that your website ends up in the top 10 listed sites of search engines like Yahoo, Google, etc, called Search Engine Optimization (SEO). As a beginner, you may opt to sign up with companies that do this professionally for a fee. However, you can also do it on your own by reading up on tips on how to do SEO.

Another way of promoting your Internet Business is to use your e-mail signature to inform your friends about your new website. You can easily program your e-mail to have an auto signature to include your website name and a catchy phrase to lure your readers into clicking it.

You can also have an affiliate program. Above, this was discussed as another Internet Business in itself, but it can also be a means of promoting your website. Affiliate program means asking other people to promote your website through their website or e-mail programs. Sale made from referrals by your affiliate will be tracked and will be the basis of their payment, as a percentage of the sale. This is a very effective tool in getting wider coverage for your Internet Business.

With the Internet Business still rocketing, there are endless possibilities !

A good friend was complaining about her son the other day.

“Did you notice,” she started, “how he didn’t wait for me to get my salad before he dove into his?”

True enough, the teenager attacked his plate faster than a feral cat. If he knew how to growl, he would have done it.

Without manners, we’re no more than animals…

Actually, that’s not true. I’ve been observing and feeding a colony of feral cats, and they show unusual politeness and consideration toward each other. When food is scarce, they take turns, leaving at least a small portion for the next in line.

Motherless kittens cuddle with compliant surrogates, who are not much older than kittens, themselves. One cat, Cleopa, has allowed me to partly domesticate her, and she leaves food on her plate in the kitchen, knowing that I’ll place the remains outdoors for her pals.

My mother prodded and poked her three children like we were pin cushions until saying please, thank you, pardon me, and I’m sorry were reflexes. And I have to say, while it was a painful learning experience, it was one of the most valuable.

I can’t tell you how often I sat with my friends, eating at their dinner tables, while their parents raved about my social graces. While it was a little embarrassing, I knew even then that my mother’s teachings were paying off.

Decades later, when I was disseminating my seminars across the country, my manners really came in handy, and they were honed in places like Texas, Florida, Georgia,
and the Midwest, where moms everywhere are still prodding their youngsters to show respect and consideration for others.

While I regret that I haven’t been a perfect exemplar, I’m still working on it. I suppose, in this regard, my mother lives on through me.

I didn’t inherit her beautiful singing voice or her green eyes, but she did make sure I received one of her finest characteristics.

Thank you, Mom, for the good manners!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman © 2005

Dr. Gary S. Goodman is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. A frequent guest on radio and television worldwide, Gary’s programs are offered by UCLA Extension and by numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. When he isn’t consulting, Gary can usually be found in Glendale, California, where he makes his home. He can be reached by calling (818) 2437338 or at gary@customersatisfaction.com

About two years ago, I had a go at commercial web site design. I put a medium-sized ad in a London classified ad paper. Nothing fancy: “Web designer seeks work …” etc. This was expensive, about £500 for a month’s run.

Got a few replies. Lesson number one: advertise where clients of the calibre you want will see it. The clients I got thought £300 was a lot for a web site. They didn’t want to pay web hosting. They wanted a lot of bang for their buck. ‘Mission creep’ was a term I grew to know and loathe.

This set me thinking: how could I give these people all they could ever want, but not spend a lot of time and money? Lately, I realised how.

So how can you get a full featured site up in a day? Easy (ish!).

1. Mambo Content Management System http://mamboserver.com

I wish I’d found this software a couple of years ago. It’s freeware. The default set-up allows people without web design skills to update the site. It has a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) option. This adds HTMLArea code to text input form fields. Each HTML code input box becomes a mini HTML editor.

If you can use Microsoft Word, you can add formatted HTML code to the site.

To get it running you need to know how to install MySQL databases, or have PHPMyAdmin as part of your web-hosting package.

You can add articles, edit them, send emails to members, and be contacted by users.

The only criticisms I have of this software are:

1. The admin interface is confusing. It’s all there, just finding and using it is the problem!

2. You need to search around template sites to find ones suited to your site purpose. I wanted simple, clean, business ones. Most of those available seem to have a fat graphic which covers half the screen. There are more restrained ones out there.

These are minor gripes, compared to the relief of finding what is essentially a web site in a box. It can be installed in an hour, once you get familiar with it.

To add ecommerce to your site:

Oscommerce Shopping Cart http://www.oscommerce.com

Again, this is a full-featured, freeware software. You can add lots of freeware ‘plug-ins’ to it, to get a professional shopping cart.

Therein lies the danger. Some of these plug-ins require altering or overwriting the default cart files. When you try to upgrade the cart version later, you may ‘break’ it, by overwriting a plug-in, thus creating errors.

The trick here is to only install plug-ins that add files (rather than overwrite them) or that require minor alterations to existing files.

What I do is download all the versions of the plug-in type I need e.g. a WYSIWYG editor. I then choose the one which has the least files, or which creates a new directory for its files. If it requires that important files be overwritten, or is complex, I chuck it.

Mambo and Oscommerce. Don’t try to integrate them! Hyperlink from one to the other. I’ve tried integrations of other softwares, like PhpBB and PhpNuke. Fine, when it works, but when you upgrade one or the other, arrgh!

*Keep databases separate*. If one goes skew-whiff, then at least the other will still work. Same goes for adding chat rooms and the like. If they’re all running off the one database, and that database becomes corrupted …

It may offend your sense of tidiness for your visitors to have to sign up twice at your site, but you’ll thank me for this sage advice later.

Remember KISS is the basic rule of computing (Keep It Simple, Stupid!).

T. O’ Donnell ( http://www.tigertom.com ) is an ecommerce consultant and curmudgeon living in London, UK. His latest project is an ebook on conservatories, available at http://www.ttconservatories.co.uk T. O’ Donnell freeware may be downloaded at http://www.ttfreeware.co.uk

casino games

So maybe you haven’t yet figured out casino gambling, do please read on…

In the name of clarity, a gaming hall is an edifice that focuses on games. At such a place, clients will hopefully test their luck by having a bash at the one-armed-bandits or trying out plenty of other betting games. Gaming establishment games mainly have transparent chances built in which make sure the casino maintains its edge against the betting devotees.

Countless betting room games encourage you to get obsessed in no time. There’s the notorious slot machine, a cash operated gadget with three, occasionally more discs which orbit when a lever on the side is manipulated. The machine on the whole pays in correlation to an array of pictures presented on the information screen of the contraption. Disastrously, gaming room pastimes tend to convey the false impression of supremacy, hoodwinking the gambler — the addressee is provided with choices, but they don’t match the customer’s disadvantage. That is brought about by the the betting saloon not repaying the entire wager as expected. This systematic process will generally be noticeable in famous casino games like poker, craps, roulette or blackjack.

Seven card stud poker is indisputably an immensely fashionable casino pastime. The gambling aficionados, playing with guarded hands, place bets in the pot that is then given to the prevailing punter owning the winning set of cards. (And as eveyone knows, the shameless bluff may well prevail too.)

Not far removed from poker, blackjack is also an immensely trendy casino game. A good part of its acceptance is caused by the mix of luck and expertise and choice making, and a method tagged card counting. It is an approach by which players will change the chances of the game for their own good both by betting & strategy decisions correlating with the hands dealt.

Craps is a incredibly popular gambling hall pastime utilizing the throw of dice. Clients have to place their stakes on the score of 1 spin, or on a series of cycles on 2 dice. Contrary to blackjack, there isn’t any conceivable winner tactics players can exploit to boost the odds.

Roulette is an insanely popular casino game — a croupier twirls a roulette wheel that incorporates a set of exactly 37 (European roulette) or thirty eight (American roulette) separately marked chambers in which the tossed ball will come to rest, which establishes the winner and the supplemental odds. Supposing that our gamester wagers on a single number which is successful meaning they’ve got a lucky hand, the profit will be 35 to 1, the original wager proper will be paid back. Thus in totality it is increased by thirty six.

Please make sure to be very on the alert notwithstanding for many of gambling house pastimes are extremely habituating. A totally unacceptable number of lives have indisputably been wasted thru reckless gambling and even if it may be enjoyable, struggle to balance yourself.

You’ve probably seen it on sites like Google. They do something to tweak their site for Christmas and other holidays. The big question is, when is that type of thing appropriate for business sites, and to what extent?

For business to business sites, changing some element of the site itself is not generally appropriate. However, you might post a picture on the front page of an employee handing out gifts, or maybe the winner of the office costume contest, depending on the holiday.

When a site sells direct to a consumer, some additional dressing up of the site is appropriate. However, there are still guidelines for what you should and shouldn’t do.

You shouldn’t:

- Do anything that interferes with the user browsing your site

- Make changes so large that your site does not look familiar to those who have visited it before

- Add any animation that detracts from the content (very minor animation is okay, but no snowflakes falling over the whole site)

- Use cheesy clip-art

You can:

- Modify your banner at the top of the site to add a Christmas tree, Santa hat, Jack-o-Lantern, etc.

- Change your color scheme to holiday appropriate colors (green and red, orange and black), while everything else remains the same.

- Add a holiday graphic to the bottom of a side menu.

- Simply put a holiday-related picture that also relates to your business on the front page.

When you do any of these modifications, make sure you save the original first! As long as you do that, dressing your sit up occasionally can make customers and potential customers see that you really care and are not just a faceless company.

Is the traditional bridal bouquet toss not for you? Many modern gals are ditching
this traditional altogether, and looking for new variations and interpretations. Many
women see the bouquet toss as pressure, and hate the implication that single
women are chomping at the bit to be married.

Here are six alternatives to the traditional bridal bouquet toss that will make
everyone happy:

• Wish Come True Bouquet Toss — Invite all the women onto the dance
  floor, married and single. Ask them all to make a wish right as the bouquet is
  tossed and whoever catches it will get their wish.
• Fortune Bouquet Toss — Invite everyone onto the dance floor and
  have a bouquet that consists of several small bunches of flowers are simply held
  together in your hand. On each bunch, have a handwritten “fortune” attached to it
  that you made up. When you throw the flower bunches in the air, they break apart
  so several people will get a “fortune” bouquet. Before throwing a break apart
  bouquet make sure they are easily separated and not entwined together so they
  really do break apart in the air.
• Longest Married Bouquet Toss — Invite all married couples onto the
  dance floor and have the DJ announce that everyone married less than 5 years to
  leave, then less than 10 years to leave and so on until the couple married the
  longest is left dancing and they are awarded with the bouquet. Keep in mind that
  this may not be the right bouquet toss for you, especially if you have a recently
  deceased grandparent that would have been married the longest if they were still
  living. This also focuses on married people and leaves out the single folks.
• Special Honors Bouquet Toss — Split up the bouquet into halves and
  give one half to your mother and one to your mother-in-law. The bridal bouquet
  could also be presented to grandparents, split apart for all the women in the bridal
  party, presented to your maid of honor, your sisters, a friend who is engaged, etc.
  Think of someone you’d like to honor and give it to them as a “good luck”
  bouquet.
• Favors Toss — Instead of tossing flowers, toss the wedding favors!
  Much like candy being tossed in a parade you can toss small or soft favors to the
  guests. Children can help in the fun, and everybody has a chance to get something.
  Candy, small stuffed animals, silly toys and gift cards are good choices.
• Gift Cards & Money Bouquet Toss — Rather than have fortunes
  attached to a break away bouquet, why not attach gift cards (from coffee shops,
  record stores, etc) to your bridal bouquet! Rolled up $1-$20 bills is also fun for
  everyone. You can invite everyone onto the dance floor, men and women alike.
  
  So rather than skip the bridal bouquet toss entirely, why not start your own
  tradition? Unusual tosses can be explained by your DJ, an appointed person or
  written in your program. Choose a bridal bouquet toss that is meaningful to you
  and don’t be afraid to simply present it to someone you care about.

  Amber Dusick is the editor of The Do It Yourself Weddings Guide at http://www.do-it-yourself-weddings.com/ where you can get instructions for wedding crafts, do
  it yourself favors, centerpieces, make your own invites and programs and more!
  Learn to do most everything to do with weddings…yourself!

  Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 
  • 

Two weekends ago I had the great pleasure to be visited by a new friend, Ricardo Flores. Ricardo and I first connected last November when he participated in the 17th LIVING THE FULFILLED LIFE FOUNDATIONAL PROGRAM. Since then we’ve been exploring how Ricardo could bring the Life On Purpose Process to the Spanish speaking portion of the world since he was born in El Salvador and speaks fluent Spanish as well as English.

I had a full and invigorating weekend with Ricardo, who now lives in San Antonio. We went to Simpsonville to a Catholic church on Saturday night to hear Tony Melendez, a very talented singer that Ricardo had heard about and discovered was going to be in this area over the weekend.

Tony was born without arms — a result of his mother receiving thalidomide while she was carrying Tony. He taught himself to play the guitar with his feet as well as doing everything else with his feet that most of us do with our arms and hands without a moment’s thought. He was called to sing to the world and in 1986 had the opportunity to sing to Pope John, who at the end of the music, walked over to Tony, embraced him and encouraged him to take his gifts to the world which Tony has been doing ever since. (www.tonymelendez.com)

Listening and watching him helped put life in perspective. I was reminded of the quote that goes something like - I felt bad that I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet. Any excuses I’ve been giving myself about furthering my own purpose and mission seem to evaporate.

Meeting Tony was a great inspiration to both Ricardo and me. Bringing a transformational program like the Life On Purpose Project to a new segment of the world suddenly doesn’t look so hard.

©2005 Brad Swift of Life On Purpose Institute, Inc.
This article can be reprinted freely online, as long as the entire article and this resource box are included.

Dr. Brad Swift founded Life On Purpose Institute in 1996 with the vision of creating a World On Purpose by assisting people like yourself to clarify their life purpose & live true to it. Determine how on or off purpose your life is with the fun & insightful Self Test at:
http://lifeonpurpose.com/_forms/self-test.php?source=ezart

Inspire yourself with a fr.ee subscription to Purposeful Pondering Ezine:
http://lifeonpurpose.com/index.php?dir=_ezines&task=view-ezines