What is this magical formula? It sounds so easy - write an article, add a short bio and your link then distribute it to article directories. Webmasters worldwide, thrilled you deigned to impart words of wisdom, trample over each other to be the first to post your article on their site. You put your feet up and sigh contentedly, thinking about the millions of links to your site now spread throughout the internet. And that’s how it works, right?

Err … not exactly.

You see, not all webmasters are created equal. What some consider unacceptable in terms of article quality, others will be happy to add to their site. The former we’ll come back to in a bit. The latter don’t care how appalling the content is. It’s adding another page to their website.

Simple - because an interesting, relevant and engaging article generates interest. The number one reason to write not only a good but an excellent one is this: your articles are a reflection on you and by association, your business. You’re marketing your skills to a global audience with every word.

Think about why you’re submitting articles anywhere. Is it to drive traffic to your site so that you can sell a product or service? Do you want to be seen as an authority in your chosen niche and raise your profile on the internet? Most webmasters use article marketing as a promotional tool for those reasons.

Whatever the reason, a good article will go farther and be more flexible than some shoddy piece. For example, a poorly constructed, yawn enticing article gathering dust in a directory doesn’t do you much good. Aim to create an article suitable for inclusion in a newsletter with a wide distribution base. The only way to attain and get the most out of that kind of coverage is to write articles of superior quality. You’ll find that if you impress them the first time, they’ll always be hungry for more.

No one is going to follow your link if your article’s rubbish nor will some of the more discerning webmasters want it on their site either. I should also point out there are superior standard article directories too that a poor article won’t get accepted into. With substandard work, you’re shooting yourself in the foot at every turn and closing more doors than you’re opening.

What’s the secret?

It’s commonsense. If you want your article and link on a high PR site, your writing needs to be worthy of placement there. One of the main reasons sites gain a high PR is because when they attract visitors, the visitors want to stay. They go all over the place, reading more and more pages. Nothing makes a visitor click away faster than poor content and all the smoke and mirrors in the world can’t disguise that.

Whichever way you as an article writer choose to go can affect your success. Good and bad articles have backlinks in article directories simply due to inclusion, that’s true. But you can do so much more and raise the bar on your article marketing strategy with quality work. You’re writing it anyway so why not put in that bit more effort while you’re at it? Otherwise you’re not only selling the reader short but also yourself.

Write a polished, interesting article and distribute it to article directories either yourself or via outsourcing. After that you can find ezines and communities within your target audience that accept article submissions and send it to them too. The better your article is, the further it will spread and before you know it, interested parties will be knocking down your door with job offers. That’s the magical part.

Wait…you mean I need to work at it?!

Yes, you do! Have no illusions - the magic is within you, not out there. And you don’t even need a wand.

Shop around for credit card rates.

Look at competitors and find out what they’re offering. Often you can get a better deal on existing balances elsewhere. You don’t have to stay with your current credit card provider unless you already  received a special rate from them by agreeing to not to switch for x amount of time.

If you leave before that’s up, you’ll be charged a penalty which usually makes it not worth switching. Double check with the company prior to switching to see if you’d incur one. In fact, just making that enquiry alone can be enough to prompt your existing company to offer a better interest rate. Tell them what another company’s offering and see if they’ll match or better it. Remember, if you don’t ask, you don’t get!

Cut out the extras.

Do you really need to stop and get that Big Mac on the way home when you’ve got a kitchen cupboard full of food? Resist the impulse that fast food outlets count on and if you do it out of habit every week, break it.

Heat the house and not the yard.

With winter nearly here, now’s the time when spending a little can help a lot. Cut your heating bills by weatherstripping those doors and windows. Laying down more insulation in the loft if it’s thin and ancient can help prevent heat escaping out the roof.

Give up your brand addiction.

Many of the generic brands will do the same job as brand names. When you shop, compare the ingredients list on both to see how similar they are. A can of peas really can’t be that different, can it? If you have some brands you absolutely must buy, then do so but when you can exchange a named brand for a store’s own brand, you’re saving money every time.  This applies not only to store cupboard staples but also some common  medications like painkillers or cough and cold syrups.

Make it a family matter.

Everyone needs to pitch in and help. Kids that are old enough to turn off a light switch in an empty room or reduce their long showers by half to save on hot water are big enough to help do their bit. Help them understand that the more the family can save today, the better prepared everyone is in case anything happens.

Kids worry too about what they see and hear on the news even if they don’t mention it. Seeing adults be proactive and involving them gives them confidence that everything will work out okay. Explain that they’re helping their family in the same way that doing chores helps make everyone’s life easier. Remember to acknowledge and say thanks when you see them doing something positive.

Set a savings target and make it fun getting there.

Even if you only save two dollars a day, that’s over $700 a year that could go towards something you really need. Keep track of what you and your family members save each day. Make it a dinner table ritual after the evening meal. Everyone can report in on what they did that day to make a difference and estimate what the daily saving was in total.

Keep a note of the numbers in a notebook and you’ll soon see it mount up! It’s a good idea to pin a chart to the fridge where everyone can see how it’s all working out. Keep the whole saving idea fun and creative and the family will stay motivated.

There’s a saying, “Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves.” Small changes can make a big difference to your pocket. You can get ahead of the game by doing so now. Make your mind up to begin today and you’re off to more of a flying start than most. Be frugal, be happy and enjoy saving!

During his unplanned trek Johnathan encounters characters whose outward appearances reflect ordinariness, initially at least. The longer Johnathan spends with them however, the more he learns about how special they are. He also realizes how little time he’s spent paying attention to life’s mystical undercurrents and the connections we have with people that cross our paths, however briefly.

As his journey progresses and despite - or perhaps because of - his grief engulfing him periodically, Johnathan discovers more about life and himself than he could ever have dreamed of.


This slim volume of a life transformed, while unique and distinctive in its own way, is reminiscent of such books as The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield and Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach. Both of those are two of my personal favorites. (I hope the co-authors won’t mind me aligning them with such illustrious company. It’s a sincere compliment on my part.)

The Compass would fit snugly alongside those classics in any personal enlightenment fan’s bookshelf and not seem at all out of place. This book reminds us to stop and reflect awhile on why we live the lives we do and what our real true purpose is or if we even know it. To look with fresh eyes at those we encounter and to question more deeply ourselves and others rather than assume we have all the answers. To feel alive, dream our dreams and let go when the time is right of whatever holds us back.

Tammy Kling and John Spencer Ellis have brought remarkably complex ideas about universal wisdom to the printed page in a simple manner. The co-authors’ easy going style of storytelling raises questions I found myself mulling over for days. They have this talent of doing so with only a smattering of words, such as: What if you changed your expectations of your life?

That one alone kept my brain whirling!

There are many equally challenging questions and life lessons captured in this 224 page novel and yet no pomposity. Tammy and John guide you gently and share ideas and concepts via Johnathan’s journey without being pushy, overbearing or “in your face”, unlike some other personal development books.

The Compass leaves you with an unspoken whisper to make up your own mind on what you’ll take away from it rather than screaming in your ears with a bullhorn. And that’s as it should be.

Finding out who you are is always an adventure. I’ve believed for years that the routes to self discovery can be found everywhere - in people, in books, on the radio for example. You just need to be open to listening.

The Compass may well speak a new message to your intuitive side every time you read it. That’s a trait I’d found only in my well thumbed favorites by Mr Redfield and Mr Bach up until now. It was a nice surprise to add The Compass to that special group.

If you feel directionless and a little bit lost or simply want to feel uplifted about life’s possibilities again, this is one Compass to keep close at hand whether you’re halfway up a mountain or on your couch. Excellent! 5 stars.


Available at all good bookstores including Amazon.

Is it so difficult to type six letters? Would expending that amount of effort to show the slightest glimmer of appreciation really be such a drain on their energy? It must be.

When your life is too busy to acknowledge a kindness, something has gone far astray.

I have literally hundreds of articles on my site and received probably a dozen thank you’s out of all those authors whose works I’ve showcased. A grand total of two took time to send a longer thank you note and amazingly also offered to do something for me in return. An uncommon courtesy indeed.

Is courtesy a dying trend? Only if you and I allow it to become so. Taking is very easy, but so is giving. I’ll continue to give of myself what I can when I can and live in hope that catches on.

From the first days of diagnosis Leeann sets foot on a determined road, puzzling her way through the maze of therapies and treatments available.

Clay’s journey through strict therapies and dietary regimes reaches a point where the autism diagnosis no longer applies, ultimately rewarding Leeann’s tenacity and her son fulfilling her dreams. The bleak picture presented initially of what Clay’s future may hold was in essence decimated by the love of his parents.

I probably had a more unique perspective than the average reviewer when it comes to this book. My grown son’s also on the autistic spectrum. He has Aspergers Syndrome (AS). I was really interested in reviewing this 336 page paperback from Sourcebooks to see how much times have changed in the last fifteen years or so. What I didn’t expect was the years to fall away. The more I read, the more I empathized with her family’s challenges, triumphs and setbacks in the years following diagnosis.

Leeann captures well the initial feelings of denial, the surge of “can do” energy that brings out the tiger in you when you begin looking for answers, the inevitable exhaustion and the rudeness of strangers you deal with daily. The way your life becomes enveloped in the condition to the exclusion of almost everything else is masterfully demonstrated in A Child’s Journey Out of Autism. Leeann tells the truth - you live and breathe it.

I love this book. My only very small quibble is that anyone not quite so well versed in the terminology used when discussing autistic spectrum disorders may find some passages difficult to follow. In particular I’m thinking of where the treatments or theoretical causes of autism are covered.

Leeann has obviously made a real effort to keep the explanations simple so the majority can understand them but not to the detriment of getting the facts across and that’s as it should be. This is no criticism of her writing style. Rather it’s an observation about the complexity of autistic spectrum disorders and how for a casual reader it may not be their cup of tea.

As is mentioned in the book, when you get embroiled in the autistic spectrum world, you learn a whole new vocabulary. Although that world is completely foreign to the uninitiated, it doesn’t mean it’s not worth discovering.

Any parents of an autistic spectrum child will recognize and relate to many of the situations described about Clay’s behavior. Leeann does a fine job in illustrating not only the struggles and highs and lows faced by the child, but by the family as well when relationships strain from being under unyielding pressure.

The storytelling formula of A Child’s Journey Out of Autism helps dissuade the bookstore browser from thinking this is a dry as dust autism reference book. Yet it’s so much more than simply a tale being told that to call it a story is doing the book a disservice. Interwoven as it is with details of the actual therapeutic processes the Whiffen family tried, A Child’s Journey Out of Autism illuminates what’s sadly lacking in other autism related books I’ve read which shall remain nameless.

Too many of the other ones share only a vague superficial reference to the actual processes. Parents of autistic spectrum children, hungry for more, are left disappointed at having to go track down additional reliable resources yet again on the subject. Leeann unselfishly addresses this by sharing information throughout as we watch and learn from Clay’s progress. She also provides a comprehensive guide at the end of useful websites and addresses.

Speaking from my own personal perspective for a moment, fifteen years ago there was practically nowhere to turn for information on how other parents handled it all. Teachers were uninformed and school systems were woefully unprepared for the needs of autistic spectrum kids. Even the web was no comfort, filled with impersonal medical reference journals. Doctors proclaimed conflicting information on why autism occurred, arguing over the best therapies and essentially dismissing the research of others. Numerous theories abounded but no unequivocal, concrete answers stood out.

A Child’s Journey Out of Autism reveals that lack of consensus of opinion still exists in part today. On the more positive side, there is far more information and parental support out there than ever before. I’m being absolutely sincere when I say I wish Leeann’s book had been around back then when I was struggling to understand AS. It shines a light of hope and encouragement that if it can happen for one child, it can happen for many.

Compelling in its honesty, educational yet captivating in its content and heart wrenching in places, A Child’s Journey Out of Autism shows us a diagnosis of an autistic spectrum disorder need not be a permanent one nor does it mean a child will be denied a life well lived. This book is a must read for anyone and everyone who is connected in some way to an autistic child. It exudes expectations, frustrations, love and sincerity all bundled up in a mother’s words.

The line that the dedication, a few pages in to A Child’s Journey Out of Autism, closes with reinforces what could well be a mantra for every parent facing those same challenges - “Never Give Up.” I have a feeling that thanks to the Whiffen family’s generous decision to share their lives and Clay’s journey in this wonderful book, some never shall. 5 stars.

Economy Convinces Families to Meet Online

DALLAS, Dec 04, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — With economic pressures tightening purse strings everywhere, the thought of looming holiday gift giving and travel expenses can put a dampener on anyone’s festive spirit.

FamilyLobby.com provides a solution to both these challenges and best of all, at zero cost. Allowing family members to connect virtually in a private setting immediately slashes those ever rising costs associated with attending family gatherings, giving everyone a much needed breather.

(Photo credit: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081204/DA49823) At FamilyLobby.com, you can create a lasting gift that gives pleasure to generations of families, both young and old, for years - a family website. The brainchild of former Microsoft engineer Brenda Cannon, FamilyLobby.com helps loved ones worldwide keep in touch by giving them a private family website of their very own absolutely free.

In these budget conscious times, families need to find more frugal ways to communicate. Thanks to FamilyLobby.com, the only cost is how much time and heart you’re willing to put into it.

With over half a million users and more than 51,000 family websites created within six short years, FamilyLobby.com’s popularity is undeniable. With articles on topics like budgeting and parenting and a community area where you can meet other FamilyLobby.com families if you wish, the site’s offerings are plentiful. Diane Sheets of California is one of the family friendly site’s biggest fans.

“I love the ease of letting family, near and far, know what we are up to!”, Diane says. “Soccer games, dance recitals, birthdays … all can be updated with details, videos, maps and pictures.” The ability to construct a family tree detailing your family’s history is a FamilyLobby.com favorite. Themes make creating a website child’s play while simultaneously offering customization options. “It can be as simple or as elaborate as you want,” Diane added.

It’s no wonder the idea, which sprang from a Cannon family reunion, has flourished. The website’s success story attracted attention from Fortune magazine as well, resulting in Brenda being interviewed.

FamilyLobby.com’s the closest online equivalent to sitting around the dinner table together. As Diane noted, “My grandma says she feels like she is there with us, even though she is 3,000 miles away.” It makes sense to find less expensive alternatives in a tough economy. When it comes to gifts, the thoughtfulness of creating a family website is priceless.

For more information, visit http://www.familylobby.com

SOURCE FamilyLobby.com

To most people, suggesting they read a book that is even remotely related to investing would send them running screaming from the room. Pilgrimage to Warren Buffett’s Omaha: A Hedge Fund Manager’s Dispatches from Inside the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting by Jeff Matthews (McGraw-Hill) is about to change all that and unlike many books, is exactly what the title promises it to be.

The book chronicles the author’s trips to two successive annual meetings of Berkshire Hathaway shareholders in Omaha in 2007 and 2008. Pilgrimage is an apt description and resonates well with the feelings captured within this. Author Jeff Matthews relays how the faithful converge in their thousands to hear the famously wealthy and arguably most astute value investor in the world, Warren Buffett, speak to them directly.

These meetings are the not dry, boring scripted events that most investors would prefer to avoid if at all possible. There’s music, shopping and laughter at what Buffett likes to call “Woodstock for Capitalists”. During the events Buffett shares not only how their company is doing and the road ahead but enters into a much anticipated lengthy question and answer session where he takes center stage with his long time business partner Charlie Munger. It’s interesting to find out that none of the questions are screened beforehand nor is any subject off limits including personal ones except “what we’re buying now.”

Anyone that’s looking for some insightful technical stock market analysis will be sorely disappointed in this book. That’s not what Pilgrimage to Warren Buffett’s Omaha is about nor does it claim to be. If however you want to discover more about the great man himself, his life, his work and his relationships, there are plenty of insights to be gleaned from there. Many of the Q & A responses at the meetings demonstrate his thought processes, his honesty and straightforwardness and just how unique a man Buffett is. Few men can say they already planned who will be their successor upon their passing but he can. Who will take the reins of Berkshire Hathaway then is for the moment top secret but again shows Buffett’s forward thinking.

Since you can’t get a ringside seat unless you’re lucky enough to be a Berkshire Hathaway shareholder or invited guest, this book is the next best thing. Matthews has made Pilgrimage to Warren Buffett’s Omaha: A Hedge Fund Manager’s Dispatches from Inside the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting a comfortable read that’s accessible to all. By the time you get to the point in the book where Warren Buffett steps up to the microphone for the first time, you’re just as much on the edge of your seat waiting to hear what he’s going to say as any loyal shareholder or Buffett fan would be that was right there.

Jeff Matthews does an excellent job of capturing the sights and sounds of the auditorium as well as the energy. You don’t need to understand investing to enjoy this book. The snippets and anecdotes shared of Warren Buffet’s life as well as his unwavering dedication to his work are fascinating. I had the greatest respect for the gentleman before I read this first hand account and Jeff Matthews’ book has reinforced that even more.

I know of no other man who as a young newlywed would have read Security Analysis by Benjamin Graham to his wife on their honeymoon. But then perhaps that’s why there’s no other man as universally respected, inspiring or admired in the investing world as Warren Buffett. Overall, a great read.

At its peak, hundreds of thousands of homes lost power, people were killed and thousands are still without electricity or water in outlying areas. Ever tried living by candlelight for that long? You couldn’t get batteries, torches, candles nor anything remotely connected with lighting for love nor money anywhere by the time it came back on. I’ve talked to 75 year olds that have never seen anything like it having lived here all their lives, so I think it’s a once in a lifetime experience. Thankfully!

These really don’t give any indication about how much destruction there is across where it hit as it’s just a small part of the front of our yard and immediate surroundings.

This is more than just the facts, ma’am. We Interrupt This Broadcast with 3 CDs chronicles those sometimes unexpected and always historic events that took our breath away as individuals and as a nation. Spanning seventy years, from the devastating Hindenburg explosion in 1937 right up to the 2007 Virginia Tech Massacre atrocity, We Interrupt This Broadcast* looks more deeply at forty two of the most pivotal stories behind the newsflash.

Why are we never happy with what we have? It seems each time the goal’s achieved, we’re incapable of saying “ok, that’s enough.” The bar always gets raised higher or the achievement feels empty because we tell ourselves that if we hit it, it must have been too easy.

Funny how when everything we wish to happen happens, some still can’t quite accept it’s because of all the hard work that went before on focusing our thoughts to create the reality we want. It’s not simply ‘luck’. It’s what you drew to yourself. We find it hard to pat ourselves on the back and sit back, enjoying what we’ve achieved. Yet we know we can blink and have missed a month, a year, five years of our lives. Time you’ll never recover. While your nose was to the grindstone, the whole landscape of your world was changing.

You think life’s hard for you because you’re so busy working? Others have it much harder than you do. I’ll prove it.

Walk into any emergency room or ICU to see real hardship and suffering or visit a shelter. People often say they have to because “I want to give my family/my wife/my husband a better life.” That’s admirable of course. But what you give to your business in time and focus, you take away from those that love you most. There’s only 24 hours in a day and you can’t give your all to both round the clock.

There’s no have to. Everything is a choice and blend of priorities. Where the priorities fall on the list is entirely up to you. Once you’re beyond the levels of being able to provide adequate food, shelter and clothing for your family, everything else is a bonus.

Look around you. You’re online so you have access to a computer, probably your own. You’re most likely inside, which means you’re either at home, at work or in a library or internet cafe. That means you’re in comfortable surroundings. No doubt you have a fridge or vending machine only a few rooms or strides away from you. You’re not huddled in a doorway trying to stay warm or wondering where your next bite of food’s coming from.

You probably have close friends or family you could IM or call at a moment’s notice if you needed them or just to shoot the breeze. Heck, you might have one sitting close by right now that’s waiting for you to lift your eyes from the screen. They’re looking to make some kind of connection with you. Meanwhile you’re so absorbed in what you’re working on, it doesn’t register. How this is affecting our nearest and dearest and in turn, our lives, doesn’t become obvious until some crisis arises.

Hard work is to be applauded and yes, we all have to make money to survive, but there has to be a balance. Your life needs quality as well as your work.  No “when I’ve reached x target, we’ll do such and such” as a family or a couple or “if I can just get past these six months, then I’ll relax.” Career success isn’t the be all and end all if we want a well rounded life.

If your daily life is so frantic, you need to start relaxing now. Just promise yourself even half an hour or an hour a day where you do nothing but relax and forget work completely awhile. That’s all I ask. Schedule it into your day the same way you would anything else. (For all you spluttering ” I can’t give up an hour!!!”, how about sixty seconds?)

Think seriously about what makes you happy and what you can and can’t live without. I’m asking you to gain some perspective in life, then go hug that person waiting to hear you tell them they’re in the latter category. You’d be surprised how many don’t know it for sure.

Count your blessings, people. You have more than you think.