Vector Gnosis Blog

If you’re organized, smart, capable and willing to work with deadlines, you could start a virtual assistance business and cash in on your skills without having to commit to an employer (you’d be your own boss instead) or the “cube life”. A VA (virtual assistant) is basically like an administrative assistant (or whatever duties need to be filled, such as writing, link building etc) that serves in a virtual capacity. What this means is that they are independent contractors, and not employees of individual companies.

VA’s get to set their own rates, their own hours and most importantly, get to pick and choose as to who they will and won’t take as clients. They can choose what duties they are willing to perform and what duties are not in the repertoire. They can start their own VA firms or gain business through those already established. And with the boom of the Internet, virtual assistants are in becoming more and more utilized by companies around the globe.

According to the Virtual Business Alliance, virtual assisting (of whom most are female) will be a 130 billion dollar industry before the year 2008. In fact, many women see the trend and are entering the field with high hopes of where they can be a few years from now.

Christina Cole is the owner of www.virtualcontentandmore.com – a virtual assisting business who caters primarily to webmasters looking for content and link development services – and has found being a VA to be very rewarding. “I started my business by doing odd services for friends of mine who owned multiple websites and became overwhelmed due to too many things needing to be done and not enough time. I liked the work and before I knew it, those friends had referred me to friends and I had a full time booming business.”

While not all VA’s have “formal” training, some of them elect to by attending VA courses like those offered through VirtualAssistanceU and AssistU.But, if a person has good business sense, marketing skills and a passion, like all entrepreneurs, it is doable with or without “formal training”.

But, beware of some pitfalls – many virtual assistants end up working long hours (as with any start up business) in the first few years and some continue to work odd and/or long hours well after their practice becomes successful. Be sure you are willing to put in the time to make your VA service a success.

Try to find a niche to focus on – a way to make yourself stand out from the crowd. Have a proper home office in place and figure out what your rates will be – and remember to advertise, advertise, advertise – be it via paid efforts or by making a “brand” out of your name. Christina advises, “Don’t think that because you’ve hung out your shingle or built your website that clients will begin to bang down your door. Contribute to the business communities, brand yourself, brand your agency and let people know what you can do for them. The ability to market your business and yourself is extremely important in this business.”

Audrey Hoffman is a successful entrepreneur who owns several businesses – including http://www.speedy-incorporation.com – a site that offers information about incorporating a business online as well as simple LLC formation in all 50 states.

Since Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, people who previously had limited or no access to public places now move about with a degree of ease in the workplace. While these people have their challenges with sight, hearing or movement, those who work with them are often confused about how to interact them with sensitivity and understanding.

Here are some of the issues to keep in mind.

When it is necessary to mention the disability, language should emphasize the person first, the disability second. Rather than referring to someone as an epileptic, say “person with epilepsy” or “John, who has epilepsy….”

Avoid words that have a negative tone. People who use wheelchairs are not “bound” or “confined” to their chairs. A person may have spastic muscles but should not be described as spastic.

Preferred language is simple. Instead of saying that a person is “crippled with arthritis,” “suffering from MS,” “afflicted with ALS,” say, “John has epilepsy” or “Mary has MS.”

Use the following terms:

“Congenital disability” rather than “birth defect.”
“Non-disabled” rather than “normal,” “healthy” or “able-bodied.”
“Condition” rather than “disease” or “defect.”
“Visually impaired” rather than “blind” unless a person is totally sightless.
“Deaf” or “hard of hearing” rather than “hearing impaired.”
“Little person” or “dwarf” rather than “midget.”
Words or phrases like “victim,” “cripple,” “unfortunate,” “dumb,” “deaf mute,” “deformed” and “pitiful” are offensive.

Ask people with disabilities if they need or want help before trying to assist them. If they want assistance, ask for specific instructions on how you can be helpful.

Look directly at any person with a disability when talking even if the person has an interpreter or companion present.

Don’t assume a speech impairment indicates that a person also has a hearing impairment or intellectual limitations.

Allow people with speech impairments to finish their own sentences. Don’t talk for them or interrupt. Ask questions that permit short answers or a nod of the head. The other person always has the option of giving a longer response.

Speak calmly, slowly, and distinctly to a person who has a hearing problem or other difficulty understanding. Stand in front of the person and use gestures to aid communication.

When walking with a person who is visually impaired, allow that person to set the pace. If the person asks for or accepts your offer of help, don’t grab his arm. It is easier for him to hold onto you.

Never start to push someone’s wheelchair without first asking the occupant’s permission.

Leaning on a wheelchair when talking to the person is inconsiderate.

If you will be having a long conversation with someone using a wheelchair, get a chair and sit at eye level with the person. You will both feel more comfortable.

Keep in mind that people with disabilities are just like everyone else with the exception of certain physical conditions. Treat them as the capable competent co-workers or colleagues they are.

(c) 2005, Lydia Ramsey. All rights in all media reserved.

Lydia Ramsey is a business etiquette expert, professional speaker, corporate trainer and author of MANNERS THAT SELL – ADDING THE POLISH THAT BUILDS PROFITS. She has been quoted or featured in The New York Times, Investors’ Business Daily, Entrepreneur, Inc., Real Simple and Woman’s Day. For more information about her programs, products and services, e-mail her at lydia@mannersthatsell.com or visit her web site www.mannersthatsell.com.

Never limit you future by the shape of your past. This time-worn truism is still around for a good reason. We still need to be reminded of that, especially as we move forward with our goals, whatever they may be.

Never limit your future by the shape of past. As I thought about that statement I realized that history bears witness to many who have overcome horrible pasts and moved on to be very successful in their lives. Many of our current heroes and heroines have overcome poverty, child abuse, serious illness and disabilities to become successful in their chosen fields of endeavor.

I am reminded of successful people like Oprah Winfrey,
Dolly Parton, the late Ray Charles, Loretta Lynne, President William J. Clinton and many others. All of them overcame great obstacles to achieve the success that was in them.

Overcoming one’s past to achieve success is not limited to those who achieve great fame or fortune, but to everyday people like you and me. Each of us likely has something in our past that could have prevented us from getting to where we are now.

If you are reading this article you already have a history of achievement. If you don’t believe me, think about the many thousands of Americans that are functionally illiterate (not able to read and understand the average newspaper article).

Since you are able to read this, you are able to achieve many other things in your life. You are likely reading this because you have an interest in starting or maintaining a profitable online business. I may be slow-going, but do not give up too soon. Often, we give up when on the verge of success because we cannot see what is ahead.

Have enough faith in yourself and what you are doing to prepare as best you can for success. Learn from others by reading about how they became successful. Follow the paths of successful people. If possible, find a mentor.

I also suggest you subscribe to a few good E-zines to help you sort through and find the best resources to help you. On such E-zine is Manna Success Newsletter published weekly by Burke Publications. You can read it at:
http://news.burkepublications.com

Until the next time,

Dr. J. Elisha Burke
Editor, Manna Success Newsletter

Burke Publications
http://burkepublications.com
jeb@burkepublications.com

Our kids are continually getting more and more obese and so are we. We need to our workout, go to the gym and seriously loose some of the flab that is getting attached to our bodies. The best equipment for this purpose are the best elliptical machines. Elliptical machines offer a nice way for a cardiovascular exercise plus excising upper body and lower body muscles as well. These low impact fitness devices can definitely do wonders to our body and are easily and readily available in many places across the United States of America, although they may not always be the most economical option around! For right awareness regarding elliptical machines, elliptical news letter is compulsory.

Elliptical news letter would obviously keep us updated regarding various developments happening in the world of elliptical machines, probably which machine we should buy and which we shouldn’t even think about and answer our queries on the same. Elliptical news letter are especially needed by those who are involved in the trade, as in gym owners and workers or staff at health clubs. After all, they must know which is the best elliptical machine out there, lest they would never be able to provide their customers their best. Would they?

We all know about the recent wildfires in the plains of Texas, which burned millions of acres and it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out why. There have been severe droughts, which dried much of the land. Drought in West and South Texas are well known by anyone who is studied the region for the past century. However, much of the state has been put into a scientific report, which confirms what we already know and that is these regions of Texas have always been problematic in regards to precipitation.

Now however there is empirical proof, which is been gathered by a commissioned research project studying tree rings. Below is a copy of the report, which was commissioned by the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA);

http://www.gbra.org/files/pdf/eda/MalcolmCleavelandDroughtStudy.pdf

Currently many billionaires are buying up water rights to these regions because they know that water is life in Texas. Additionally, this also shows the importance for conservation of water in the United States. Many other nations are also going through severe droughts right now and outlast in states like California, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, and Montana we see the same problems.

Heads up to the people of the United States of America it is time to take personal responsibility for the conservation of water in your community, town, region and state. If we are careful to conserve in the U.S. we will prevent widespread disruptions in the flow of this most important natural resource; water. I hope you will please consider this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Do you want to build wealth through real estate? You need expertise in two critical areas: specific investment strategies and sales and negotiation skills. But if knowing how to identify good deals is what’s really important about investing in real estate, why do investors need to worry about their sales and negotiation skills?

“Knowing how to identify good deals is certainly a critical part of real estate investing, but it’s not the only part,” says Russ Whitney, internationally recognized real estate expert and bestselling author of Millionaire Real Estate Mentor (Dearborn Trade Publishing). “Your investment may be an inanimate object, but in the process of making that investment, you have to deal with people. If you take a look at anyone who has made a lot of moneyregardless of the circumstances or the vehicle they usedyou’ll find they have at least one trait in common: They have top-notch selling skills.”

Peter Conti and David Finkel agree. In their book, Making Big Money Investing in Real Estate, they say, “The single most important skill you have as an investor is your ability to connect emotionally with people.” With an emotional connection, you can work through the mechanics of any deal.

The first step in developing strong sales and negotiation skills is to get rid of any preconceived notions you may have about what being a salesperson is all about, says Russ Whitney. “It’s not about making a slick, fast-talking presentation or tricking someone into buying something they don’t want, won’t use, and can’t afford,” he says. “Selling is about solving problems. It’s about creating win-win situations. It’s about honesty, integrity, knowledge, and building relationships that serve everyone.”

Second, Whitney says, understand that you can use sales skills in just about every aspect of your business and personal life. “Think about it: buying a house for no money down, getting a loan at a bank, convincing your spouse to support your dreams, even persuading your toddler to eat his vegetables–it’s all selling,” he says. “Once you realize this and work on developing your sales skills, you’ll find it much easier to reach your financial goals–and in fact, you’ll find just about everything in your life is easier.”

Third, commit yourself to win-win results. “Too many people think that in any negotiation, you must have a winner and a loser. That’s just not true,” says Whitney. “You want people to come away from a deal with you feeling good, and that’s why you work on reaching a win-win resolution. Communicate clearly enough and consider all your options so you can come up with a plan that benefits everyone involved. That’s successful selling.”

Fourth, learn the techniques. “The techniques of positive communications–which is what selling basically is–are techniques anyone can learn and develop,” says Whitney. “There is no such thing as a ‘born salesperson.’ Learning the techniques may be easier for some than others, but everyone can learn them.”

Fifth, get rid of your self-imposed limits and believe you can negotiate profitable deals. In his book Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, T. Harv Eker writes, “One of the principles we teach in our programs is ‘If you shoot for the stars, you’ll at least hit the moon.’ Poor people don’t even shoot for the ceiling in their house, and then they wonder why they’re not successful. Well, they just found out. You get what you truly intend to get.”

Whitney suggests taking courses, reading books, and studying successful people to learn effective sales and negotiation techniques. But, he says, the most important thing for someone to know about developing selling skills is this: “Always operate with truth, honesty, and integrity. Your reputation is the most valuable asset you’ll ever have; guard it well.”

Jordan Taylor is the editor of Millionaire Mentor Newsletter, which is published by Whitney Education Group, Inc. To sign up for a free subscription, visit http://russwhitney.com

Modern society teaches little if anything of the True Power that each of us is. Stemming from the Dark Ages of spiritual repression, we have been taught to all but ignore our inner guidance (guidance and direction from our Higher Self) and intuition, instead we are encouraged to seek guidance from ‘authorities’ outside of our selves. As a result, our awareness of our Self tends to be limited to our physical body and our Consciousness.

In a time when we are realising that ‘bodies of authority’ are not necessarily guided by wisdom, nor do they always have our best interests at heart, a call is going out around the world for a greater wisdom. Once again, we are seeking Divine Guidance.

Unlike the Churches would have you believe, there is not one single path that fits all. Instead, each persons path to God (The Universe, Great Spirit, Goddess) is as unique as a finger print. Each of us has our own bridge to the Divine Creator, our journey and the path by which we walk, is at its most powerful and rewarding when we are using this bridge. The bridge, is our Higher Self.

Please don’t misunderstand, sometimes, part of a persons journey involves joining a church. This is particularly common amongst those who are lost or struggle with structure, as religions provide a structure and clarity that help some people get back on their feet and journeying forward. However, whether the church (whichever church that may be) is part of their long term plan, or life time plan, well that depends on that individuals path.

There will come a time when the guidance of Higher Self is common knowledge, when it becomes more readily recognised that just because an individual or a group speaks with an air of authority, doesn’t mean that they know what they are talking about. It is easy, especially when you are feeling lost, unsure of yourself or distressed to attract to someone who speaks with great clarity and assuredness of their beliefs. Sometimes, as a short term solution, this can be useful in giving the individual an opportunity to get back on their feet, while the other person ‘drives the car’, however, unless the person takes back the drivers seat, they will likely increasingly find themselves feeling once again lost and confused, out of control and increasingly relying on this other person to take charge. Why? Because they are not walking their own path, they are not following their Inner Guidance.

Without realising it, much of what we do is based on our Inner Guidance. Raising children, developing relationships with others, asking for help and giving help to others are all examples where our Inner Guidance can plays a part. We’ve all known people who are clearly guided by their Higher Self (Inner Guidance). People who are confident, self assured, self reliant, calm, peaceful and wise, with no need to belittle or control others, are usually in strong connection with their Higher Self, whether they know it or not.

In the next article, you will learn more about your Higher Self, how to develop your relationship with your Higher Self and some great things you can do with the help of this beautiful Divine being.

Daniella Breen, B.Sc.(Psych), Reiki Master, Universal Shaman, Angel Intuitive (cert.), is a spiritual teacher and Path Work instructor whose primary focus and passion in her work is empowerment. For more information about Daniella and her work go to http://www.shamangoddess.com

The morning starts with a bang or one bang after another, a series, a chorus – the same sound that lulled me to sleep the night before. Well, I smile to myself, after all it’s their country and they’re free to do as they like. How does it matter that most cities elsewhere have practically banned firecrackers?

I totter out of bed, thinking I’ll go for my morning walk, a habit that’s not been practiced for over three weeks, courtesy a broken rib, couretsy an evening of hard drinking, a huang jiu (house liquor, yellow in colour at a restaurant), bai jiu, the fiery white rice wine topped by swigs from a bottle of Chivas Regal. I was brought home (apartment at the university) drunk where I promptly crashed into my bed…yes crashed, and was left with a broken rib. Anyway, that was a few weeks ago…

I sit at my computer, checking my mail – there’s hardly any, other news sites – nothing of earthshaking importance and a chatsite where I meet new people, flirt and generally make friends fast and lose them faster with my sacrilegious pronouncements.

I spend the morning doing this and a little more of the same….Ahhh wait…CCTV 3, there’s a girl in a gypsy dress on what looks like a circus stage, walking a dog through her very pretty legs…hey, I think to myself, I too am a Dog (was born in the Dog Year) so why am I being denied the pleasure of weaving in and out of those legs. As if in response, she stops!

I sit and spend the morning thus, making friends and losing some and finally decide lunch can wait no longer. I walk down the four four flights of the hotel building where I and others of my ilk are housed. We, the so-called foreign teachers are on the top-floor, I guess, to ensure we can’t make a quick getaway. My apartment is cold. The airconditioners (with heating) stopped functioning many weeks ago. I complained to the FAO, they bought me an electrical heater. I suppose they didn’t consider me worthwhile investing on any more…they have me by the balls of my contract anyway and the contract says nothing about ensuring the aircons will work. So, here I am, freezing sometimes. The weather has been very cold, well below zero most days…

Anyway, I walk out and out the compound that houses the teachers and oficials’ residences, looking for a place to get some chow. Everything is closed. Everyone is celebrating the Spring Festival. I walk further down the road and come to a fandian (a small restaurant) that’s still open to custom. I order some cabbage (not the hot and sour one, I make clear to the waitress, a young thing with a bigger butt than most but an equally pleasant smile) and rice. I watch television while I wait for my meagre lunch to arrive and then eat quickly and leave. Outside, I walk past the numerous karaoke bars. Looks like everyone’s there, dressed in their best, smiling their prettiest. Young women in tight jeans through which my eyes can sometimes discern the indiscernible never fail to escape these lecherous eyes. Sometimes I wonder if my eyes are the busiest on earth. I wave at a few nodding acquaintances. Suddenly someone steps into my path, ‘Jack’ he says. I smile a smile that’s reserved for times when I know I am known but don’t know the knower myself. He fishes out a red pack of cigarettes…Chungwahs. Very expensive at about 50 to 80 a pack. He gives me one and I gratefully accept. It’s not polite to refuse offers of cigarettes here in China.

In any case, it would take me very little persuasion to accept a Chungwah though I often refuse others, and perhaps make secret enemies. I already have a lit cigarette in my hand and resist the temptation to stick the new one above my ear as so many do here and also in India. I don’t want a precious Chungwah to fall unceremoniously onto the spit-and-retch-washed pavement from where retrieval would be difficult and non-retrieval of a Chingwah equally painful. Pleasantries over, I make my way further down….and I see a family get off a bus and a young woman looking curiously at me and then suddenly calling out, ‘Jaaaaaack’. I look more closely. It’s a former student, and she’s back in Huainan from Shijiazhuang in Hebei to be with her family. She runs across the street, arms opened wide, her family trailing, a curious and confused expression on their faces as she comes straight into my arms. We hug..it feels warm in this season of frost, ice and snow. Passersby look even more curiously. We stand and talk for a while, exchanging telephone numbers and her father offers me a cigarette…I am about to say a polite no, when I notice…yes, another Chungwah. My lucky day, I smile to myself. They continue on their way, as the father says they must have me over for a meal. I nod gratefully…it’s nice to see a former student.

Further, into the main city square…i see more of what I saw at the karaoke bars…people…happy, smiling, chattering, shopping, spending. China is a giant at all times…during Spring Festival it’s like a giant dancing. People from Xinjiang, the ones with the small muslim white caps line the streets selling small pieces of meat kababs on sticks, little stands where kids and adults take aim and shoot at helpless balloons in an effort to win an apreciative word or look, electrically operated height-weight measuring machines, stalls selling preserved and sweetened colourful fruits on long sticks, smellly suasages also on little sticks. Everything seems to be on sticks, even girls’ legs in tight jeans look like sticks…i wonder what delicacies come on those!

I notice the heat…it’s the warmest day we’ve had in months and I’m sweating…i unzip my feather-lined hooded jacket to let in some fresh air. Others stare at me…they don’t like bearded men, I guess…only the homeless, the beggars, the tramps in China seem to have anything close to a beard…I carry on…until I return to my sanctuary, hot and sweating…

http://www.writingup.com/blog/oneinabillion
http://o3.indiatimes.com/kjack

Rajesh Kanoi (Jack) is a published writer, now living and working in China. Many of his short-stories, poems and articles have been published, including a book of short-stories, ‘Tales From China’ (Lipstick Publishing).

So there are destinations and destinations, each offering their distinct USPs. Hot attractions that draw tourists seeking an ‘experience’ to carry home – a trophy to substantiate a battery of travel yarns. But in this craze for acquiring the best seller, our jetsetter often overlooks the finer details – colours that give a place meaning and significance. After all isn’t the great thing about travel, the joy of savouring an authentic experience in its entirety… like the succulent slice of a fruit, stones, rind and all?

The tiger is undoubtedly India’s most charismatic export and the twenty seven odd tiger reserves dotting the country cope with a steady file of tourists descending with the single-minded determination of encountering the big cat – an encounter resourcefully ‘arranged’ by guides and rangers with persistence to match.

Make no mistake. To a wildlife freak – and I belong to the species – a tiger sighting is the climax of the safari, the delectable icing on the cake. Often however the obsessed tiger chaser, fanatically pursuing his quarry, remains obdurately blind to the countless other wonders that make up the typical Indian jungle experience, a realization that sank its teeth in during our first trip to the Kanha Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh.

Kanha is beautiful; a glimpse of its ancient forest giving way to open meadows and again erupting into thick sal or bamboo, suffices to counter any residual hangover of braving the hazards of Indian state transport travel. And queuing for entry to the safari, even the jeeps seem to purr in suppressed expectation.

Kanha has often been described as the best place in the world to see a tiger; alas during our visit it did not turn up even an apology of a pugmark, let alone a whisker. And we were not alone. “Seen any?” “No, you?” None” was the common refrain between jeeps. “It seems to be one of those days when for some unexplainable reason no tigers are spotted any where in the park,” consoled the guide. It was true. During the three days we were there not a single self-respecting tiger chose to disclose itself, not even as far as the Mukki range on the other side of the park.

A wasted trip then? Sure, if you discount the sambar, herds of gaur, and hundreds of chital and langurs and peafowl. Any rare sightings? Not unless you include the barasinghas (Kanha is the only place in the world where you find the hard ground variety of this species). At the very beginning we impressed upon our guide that besides the top cat, we were also interested in the other lesser creatures that constituted the food chain. Luckily he took our request to heart so that we were amply rewarded: a black necked stork wading in a stream, a collared scops owl simulating a dry tree stump, a crested serpent eagle surveying the terrain, nothing missed his trained eye. Suddenly he would motion the driver to stop and point. Only after following his frantic gestures and urgent whispers would we see it. A barking deer, outline barely discernable, crouching in a bush. A monitor lizard clumsily scampering over a rocky slope. Or a woodpecker excavating its larder.

Today, many wild excursions later, nostalgia relives golden memories of that first trip. Like the herd of gaur, calves and all, which grazed on unconcernedly letting us approach close. The glory of the evening light on their backs as they ambled away followed by a flock of cattle egrets. The unexpected sighting of a lone old bull foraging down at a waterhole, magnificent even in the past of his prime.

On our last evening in Kanha we waited by a stream, praying for the tiger our guide suspected was around, to appear. After a certain point it did not matter any longer and we simply surrendered to the electrifying atmosphere, jungle silence broken only by the repeated calling of a jungle fowl, as darkness quickly descended and our driver rushed to get back before the gates closed. The next morning Kanha saw an unexpected drizzle of rain. The temperature dropped sharply and an uncanny hush pervaded in the jungle. Few animals were about and on this last safari we saw a different side of the forest, eerie almost forbidding.

Later at the gate we met with the question again, “Any tigers?”

“No, tough luck”, I said, “But what the hell!”

For those interested, www.traveljini.com has extensively covers destinations in India including wildlife.

About The Author

Roozbeh Gazdar

Copywriter by profession… interested in travelling.

seo@traveljini.com

Whatever you do don’t get caught out like us and purchase boiler/central heating insurance that doesn’t have a 24/7 helpline! We thought we were “sourcing local” by getting our breakdown cover from a regional rather than national firm, and, in fact, we were. But in this case I’d rather spend the money with a larger company if it means 24/7 service. Foolishly we didn’t notice our providers 8AM-8PM phone availability until we’d signed the contract and – oops – had our first emergency! Needless to say the wife wasn’t happy when the emergency helpline number I’d stickered to the boiler went to answering machine!

Our contract is due for renewal soon and we’ve done our research this time. This page outlining things to look out for when choosing central heating breakdown cover came in pretty handy, and though they all seem like no-brainers in retrospect I’d forgotten, until reading that, to double check 24/7 phone support also meant 24/7 call out. I may have only just managed to avoid another tongue-lashing, as my first choice provider had round the clock phone support but only send out a man to fix problems during office hours. She’d have killed me if I’d made essentially the same mistake twice!