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Selecting the Character's Emotion

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The last article covered the process used in selecting and portraying the character's objective. Many of the same principles also apply to the selection of the emotions. As with the objective, the ability to choose and convey strong emotions is a valuable tool for the actor. Many performances work mainly because of the powerful emotional portrayals.

In a dramatic sense, what are emotions and how do they affect the audience? Emotions, together with intentions and obstacles, are the forces that move the characters through the story. They are feelings so powerful that they can change the character's life or destroy it. And by destroy, I mean decimate one's inner powers, beliefs, even one's life. For the actor, such feelings must be larger than life. They must also be readable to stir and lead the audience in the desired story direction.

Emotions affect the audience in many ways. Most important is the empathy they create causing the audience to care about certain characters and follow their struggles. They likewise, create a for or against polarity for each main character as the audience observes, evaluates, judges, and even takes sides. As part of the behavior, emotions create deeper awareness of the character, often justifying their actions. In addition, emotions can change the audience perspective and the way they feel or think about a given issue. They are instrumental in leading the audience in the desired story direction

Like the intention, the emotion can intensify the conflict within or between characters. It can likewise, establish sympathetic or antagonistic roles, ones that make the audience root for the hero and boo the villain.

In choosing the emotion, the guidelines are similar to those used in selecting the objective. First read and study the entire play. Look for clues in the dialogue, the action, the stage directions, and in the resolution of the story. Select choices that result in the story line making sense.

Like the intent of the character, the emotion is derived from the character's viewpoint, what the character knows and feels up to that point in the story.

No one lives in a realistic world. We occupy a space of our own creation – bits and pieces of actuality mixed together with our internal perceptions, our hopes, our fears, our memories, and our anticipations. This "reality" we live in – half fact, half fantasy – is as much the product of our emotions as our rationality. Thus, in any given situation, what might be an acceptable intention and emotion for one character might be a contradiction for another character. Knowing the character's goals, flaws, and inclinations in context of the total story will aid in determining these choices.

Next, we need to answer the question, does the character's emotion assist the intention or does the emotion create an obstacle? Placing the objective, what the character wants, in conflict with what he or she feels will likely shift the focus of the scene to the character with the greater internal struggle.

Let's use the example where a man is at a dance and sees the women of his dreams sitting alone. His intention might be: To get to know her. But his emotion, fear of being rejected, would be in conflict with his intention. Thus the focus of the scene would be primarily on his internal struggle and the purpose of the scene might be to show the man overcoming his fear.

But let's say her intention, to marry rich, is assisted by the emotion, ambition. And the scene resolves when the women walks away when she discovers the man is dirt poor. If his initial emotion of fear were replaced by desire and his intention remained to get to know her then the focus of the scene would center more on the relationship and the impending discovery. The purpose of the scene could be to introduce his major obstacle in the story, the women, along with his over all goal: To win her love.

The initial choices for each character might look like this:

MAN

Objective: To get to know her

Emotion: Fear / Desire

WOMAN

Objective: To marry rich

Emotion: Ambition

The above choices set up confrontations, the inner doubts of the man, and then, his desire for her is countered by the revelation that he's not rich enough for her. After the woman learns this, her emotion changes to contempt for the man and she walks away. The characters' choices would now change to:

MAN

Objective: To win her love

Emotion: Determination

WOMAN

Objective: To marry rich

Emotion: Contempt (for the man)

These choices place the focus of the scene on the major conflict that is resolved later in the story when he wins her love. It, likewise, centers on what's important, the relationship.

As with the intention of the characters, the emotion need not follow the logic of the dialogue and action. Modern plays and movies do not always express the thoughts and emotions of the characters clearly, nakedly, up front. Today, we have to play the duality of people; playing what they appear to want against what they really want. And sometimes the two may have no connection what so ever.

In modern plays, every character has two behaviors. What is really going on and what they are willing to show to the world? So many emotions, to be played properly, need to be partially masked or repressed.

Using the man and woman from our earlier example, let's set up a scene later in the story, one that demonstrates the duality of the characters and uses of partially masked or repressed emotions. At a shopping mall, they meet by chance and their dialogue is mainly small talk. The scene ends with each alluding to errands undone. The only hint about what is really going on is found in the following script action lines:

He rarely looks directly at her.

They shake hands, each holding on longer than necessary, and then each goes their way.

In view of the story's final outcome, this is likely a scene where her objective, to marry rich, is weakening, and that she has some attraction for the man. Based on how their first meeting resolved, their selections might be as follows:

MAN

Objective: To not upset her / To win her love

Emotion: Desire / Determination

WOMAN

Objective: To show him I don't care / To make him want me

Emotion: Determination / Curiosity

This would be a scene where the characters are not open with each other, yet the audience (or camera) is aware of the inner conflicts and what's really happening. The behavior could best be reflected through masked and / or repressed emotions.

If the man were to play his emotion of desire openly, he would surely upset her. So he has to repress it or use a mask technique and unleash his desire when she is not looking at him. The woman is determined to show the man she doesn't care about him, but now he appears to have no desire for her. From her point of view, something has come to change the relationship and as a result, she alters both her objective and emotion.

His apparent disinterest makes her curious and her objective in now: To make him want me, like all men do. Her actions might be to get his attention, to entice him. But the problem is, he's not looking at her. How can she obtain what she wants? She uses the lingering handshake.

You can see where these choices create conflict both within and between the characters. They also create subtle shifts in behavior that move the story forward. Interest in the relationship is likewise increased because the audience is aware of something the characters are not. And as the scene ends, the audience has a pressing question: "What will happen the next time they meet?"

The foregoing example demonstrates one answer to the character's choices. These are, by no means, the best or only selections. In fact, the type of actor you are is also a consideration. If you were Jack Nicholson, your emotions might be different than if Arnold Schwarzenegger were he playing the same role. Each actor brings to the scene his or her own perspective and emotional latitudes. Furthermore, a scene played as a comedy versus one being played as a drama might result in different sets of emotions for the characters.

Here are some other factors that should be considered: Who are you in the story? What is the situation, and what is the relationship? For instance, if you were playing a love scene as a character that had little experience with the opposite sex, your emotion might be fear (fear of the unknown) rather than the expected desire or lust.

Now change the situation to your having a good dinner with your loving spouse. Your emotion would change to maybe contentment or joy. Now change the relationship to your having dinner with an important client. Your emotion might range from apprehension to ambition to greed. Who you are, the relationships, and the situation, all have a bearing on the emotion selected.

How many emotions can you use in a scene and how long do you play an emotion? As a general rule, work with only one dominant emotion in a scene – until something occurs to change it. These occurrences could be a change in the relationship, the situation, who you are, new information, overcoming obstacles, new obstacles, and succeeding or failing at one's intention. Any one of these events could have enough impact to motivate a change.

Most scenes have one dominant emotion running through them and while the actor may use subtle shadings of other emotions, that one feeling prevails – until something occurs to change it. If the actor were to change the emotion at each minor occurrence, the audience would question the character's integrity and loyalty to the cause for which he is fighting.

Too many changes cause the character to lose part of his identity. We become uncertain about who he is, what he's attempted in the past, or what he's after now. Credible characters are made up of consistent behavioral patterns. By that I mean, what has happened before will likely happen again should the same situation occur. There will, of course, be a few surprises, but for the most part, certain emotions will dominate each character's behavior as he or she progresses through the story.

So when you research and study the entire play, you will likely find certain emotions and emotional patterns repeated to reinforce the identity and commitment of the character. For instance, the repeated pattern of mischief – embarrassment – fear might be the dominant emotions for a small overly rambunctious boy. A young executive struggling with business ethics might have an emotion pattern of ambition – determination – greed – guilt. A woman in jeopardy might follow a curiosity-suspicion – fear – terror progression.

As you can see, certain emotions and their progressions make up a portion of the character. Also look for surprises where the emotion swings 180 degrees, ie, contentment to fear, desire to contempt, revenge to compassion.

When working on a play or scene, write down in the margin of the script your choices in objectives and emotions, where the changes occur, and the motivation for making the change. Beginning actors tend to be non-committal while experienced actors, however, take dramatic risks and commit themselves to their choices. By writing them down, you've made a major step to that commitment.

To aid in selecting the emotion, I've compiled discussions of root emotions , the primary forces in most scenes. These discussions explore the physical sensations, sources, forms, and dynamics of the most common root emotions. They will serve as a guide in stretching the clarity, strength, and polarity of your emotional repertoire.

This article has covered the basic skills used in the selection of dramatic emotions. Use these skills as tools to nurture and release the character's true feelings, to foster the isolation and control of emotional behaviors, and to achieve the desired strength (story importance), clarity (audience knowing / feeling it) and polarity (protagonist-antagonist orientations ).

Implementation of your selections is addressed in another article. This article will cover the various methods used to generate credible emotions.

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Source by Erik Sean McGiven

Views: 0

November 12, 2022
Top 10 Reasons for Studying Medicine or Dentistry in Eastern Europe
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Many students have been unsuccessful in pursuing medicine or dentistry in their home countries such as UK, Germany, USA. The nature of such courses is highly competitive. Here's why you should consider studying in Europe:
- The course is taught entirely in English, with a foreign language class taught a few hours per week to help you fit in to the country and culture. The foreign language class can assist you when you communicate with the local people or with your patients, as well as when interacting in typical every situations with your new international friends.
- You will be studying medicine or dentistry at some of the best universities in Europe. Even if your grades are not the best, you can still get accepted into some world class university as many Medical Faculties in Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Ukraine and many more allow some flexibility with grade requirements. Universities will not disregard your application and will individually look at your overall performance to give you a chance. Medical Schools in Europe want you to be able to puruse your dream so they'll give you a chance to study. It then depends on you to keep up with medical school and show them what you're worth.
- You'll be studying medicine or dentistry at some of the largest medical campuses worldwide and largest teaching hospitals in Europe. The universities are all surrounded by very reputable teaching hospitals with many specialties and specialists. Some universities have specific centers like a military hospital or private hospitals with up to date technology, methodology and equipment.
- Thousands of UK students are opting for studying medicine in Europe. The international community of students from the UK and Germany and other countries is amazing! There are many students who were in your shoes and managed to pursue their dream career abroad, and so should you.
- Europe is alive, beautiful and safe, you'll experience a true culturally rich experience.
- You'll have an exciting additional option, as opposed to the limited four university options that UCAS in the UK allows you. You can apply to as many medical universities in Europe as you like – your options are limitless. Apply to each university with its procedures and have an unlimited option of universities to choose from.
- Annual Tuition fees begin from € 3000 per year. The tuition is paid in one or two instalments every year. Usually, non-EU applicants must pay the tuition upfront before applying for the visa
- Living expenses are very low, you can live very comfortably on under € 300 per month. Living costs are fantastic and you will love living like a king with such a small amount of money. A Euro or Pound is twice or sometimes thrice as strong as the local currency making everything super cheap.
- This will be a great back-up option and your safety net incase you are not accepted into medicine back home. Don't risk losing out on a year of your life because of medical school decided to not accept you, because you're not the best of the best of the best!
- You are guaranteed a job after graduation from medical school in Europe as a doctor, as the universities are accepted worldwide.
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Source by Osman M

Views: 1
November 12, 2022
Breast Cancer The Cure

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You have my permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

Breast Cancer The Cure

There is no known cure for breast cancer. More than 1.5 million people will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year worldwide. Scientists don’t know why most women get breast cancer, yet breast cancer is the most frequent tumor found in women the world over. A woman who dies of breast cancer is robbed of an average of nearly 20 years of her life. Breast cancer knows no social boundaries. It’s a disease that can affect anyone. Some prominent women who’s lives that have been touched by breast cancer include Jill Eikenberry actress age 52; Peggy Fleming age 49 figure skater; Kate Jackson age 50 (Charlies Angels); Olivia Newton-John age 50 actress singer; Nancy Reagan age 77 former first lady; Melissa Etheridge age 43 singer; and the beautiful Suzanne Summers actress. These high rates of breast cancer are not acceptable to the women of the world and must be met with scientific research that provides results.

Despite over a decade of research, and more than $1.7 billion spent, hundereds of women worldwide are dying from breast cancer every day. Yet doctors don’t know how breast cancer starts or how to cure it. Doctors are still approaching treatment for breast cancer in the same old fashioned ways: surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Barbarick treatments…And scientists keep doing the same old redundant research that’s simply not working. It doesn’t have to be that way. Gen Cells Cures is a scientific biotechnology company that is focused on a cure for breast cancer. The company is dedicated to curing breast cancer before it’s too late for you. We’re not interested in a cure in five, ten, or twenty years from now. We want your cure for breast cancer within a year or two. We don’t want you to have to under go surgery, radiation, chemotherapy or take toxic drugs.

Why Gen Cells Cures? You can search the medical journals; you can search the internet until your blue in the face. You will find the same old news which is no new news about breast cancer research and treatments. Breast cancer research is locked up in a black whole. Gen Cells Cures is approaching the cure for breast cancer from different angles and using tomorrow’s scientific technologies today. Our expertise is in stem cell research and genomics. Malfunctioning stem cells have already been linked to the development of breast cancer. We’re not talking about using generic stem cells from an egg and sperm cell. There is no genetic match for you with the politically controversial generic stem cells that are always in the news. The isolation of cancer stem cells, coupled with our understanding of genetic mutations causing cancer, and our knowledge of genomics will result in ways to eliminate cancer cells while sparing normal breast tissues.

Genetics and Breast Cancer

People will tell you to accept what you can’t change…Your genetics, your genes, the genes your mother and father handed you when you were born that came with their particular genetic make-up. Most inherited cases of breast cancer have been associated with two genes: BRCA1 and BRCA2. The past five years has been a period of unparalleled discovery in the field of genetics, genomics, and stem cell research, but these discoveries are not being applied to breast cancer treatments. A job that Gen Cells Cures definitely wants to get our hands dirty in. Recently researchers have found that by blocking a gene called beta1-integrin the growth of tumor cells can be stopped. When this gene was removed the tumor cells quit growing. You don’t have to accept the genes that you were given at birth. Gen Cells Cures will be able to manipulate your genes to cure your breast cancer.

Our Cancer Stem Cell and Genomics Program will bring together the top scientific minds in the world under one tin roof to maximize the use of diverse approaches to the understanding of cancer genomics fused with stem cell solutions. Gen Cells Cures isn’t looking for a multi-million dollar biomedical research center like the Stowers Institute in Kansas City, which is a medical center to be admired. A rented tin shack will do just fine. Of course, we would accept hand-me down michroscopes from the Stoweres (billionaires who bought their own multi-million dollar biomedical research center) if they would be gracious enough to grant them to us or we would accept a small prime the pump check to move forward with our research. The Stowerses and all the scientists from the Stowers Institute have an open invitation to visit our lab in the Caribbean. What we are looking for is a cure for breast cancer to stop the humiliation, pain and suffering this menace to society causes millions of women and thousands of men worldwide, and not a new biomedical center… Every dollar invested with us goes into pure medical research and equipment. The same offer goes out to all the millionaires and especially the billionaires of the world. People that come to mind are: Paul Allen, Bill and Melinda Gates, Jon Huntsman, William and Alice Goodman, Ann Lurie, Jamie and Karen Moyer, Harold C. Simmons, Alfred Mann, Sumner M. Redstone, Michael Milton and the Palm beach billionaires, there are simply too many to mention. The combined wealth of the three Microsoft billionaires alone is more than ten times the amount spent by the U.S. Federal Government on research to fight cancer and other deadly diseases. We know we’re in the wrong business to become billionaires ourselves. This kind of biotechnology has never produced even one billionaire. It’s the cure for breast cancer that we want.

Simply put the cancer research organizations are funding the wrong researchers. It’s time to go outside the normal research channels. Do something different. The same story year after year after year and no cure. These unmotivated researchers just aren’t getting results. Let someone else have a shot at it. It’s time to try something new and different. A different approach. There are races for the cure, golf tournaments for the cure, there are walks for the cure, there are foundations for the cure. These foundations have been funding the same ineffective research for more than twenty years now. These foundations have been betting on the wrong horse. Joining the crusade won’t help if the research being done doesn’t take on a twenty-first century scientific approach. It’s been time to move forward scientifically for five years now. But today’s breast cancer researchers are stuck in a twentieth century mind-set. The Excuse is someday we’ll find the cure, but someday doesn’t help today’s victims of breast cancer. We need top notch scientific action today.

The genetics are out of the bottle and stem cell research is moving forward whether the U.S. government likes it or not. Gen Cells Cures has moved off-shore to the Caribbean to avoid the political controversy over stem cell research. I am sure you won’t mind a walk on the beach with me to talk about your cure for your breast cancer. Once we have the cure we can take the cure from the bench to the patient without a long and costly wait for FDA approval. There are many advantages to not having big brother breathing down your neck. The governments of the United States and Western countries have nothing to offer except road blocks, red tape and detours. Our patients don’t have time for political smoke and mirrors. With a little luck we could have your cure before the time comes that you need that dreaded surgery and chemo.

Our gifted world-class researchers are visionary and have been schooled in winning and have courage, creativity, can-do attitudes, burning desires, unfaltering belief and an obsession that they will be there first. By first we mean years ahead of the other biotechnology companies. Like determined, fighting NASCAR drivers our scientists are living to take the chequered flag of biotech and win the coveted race for the cure for breast cancer.

Focused on breakthrough discoveries, Gen Cells Cures nurtures a culture that encourages high standards of excellence, original thinking, hard work and a willingness to take risks. Our world-renowned scientists believe in themselves and its belief that gets us there. The company will seek to develop a work environment that is results focused and team-orientated. We compete against time. Though we compete intensely we maintain high ethical standards and trust and respect for each other. Quality is the cornerstone of all our activities. We seek the highest quality information, decisions and people. Our success depends on superior scientific innovation. We see the scientific method as a multi-step process which includes designing the right experiment, collecting and analyzing data and rational decision making. It is not subjective or emotional but rather a logical, open and rational process.

Our success comes from one simple fact; we are committed to being a science-based, patient-driven company, driven by that one special breast cancer patient…you.

Gen Cells Cures lost most of our one million dollar start-up money in offshore bank scandal and currency devaluation last year. We are now actively pursuing financial support. Unfortunately, the Gen Cells Cures team is made up of great scientific minds and not great marketers, salesmen, or fund raisers. Yes, we are looking for a millionaire or billionaire without a cause to support our work, but if you are not our wealthy saviour, we welcome any help, be it financial or a donation of your time. The scientific team is on stand-by. What we’re lacking is the funding to go forward. We could use motivated salesmen to sell our research, fund raisers, skilled internet marketers or someone just to pass out flyers or mail out promotional material. We could use help from the media with publicity stories, ads and promotions to get the word out. We are particularly interested in looking for assistance from the billionaires of the world; there are approximately 600 in the world. Billionaires like Sergey Brin and Larry Page (Google billionaires), Rupert Murdoch, Ted Turner, and Oprah Winfrey and others who control the media could get our life-saving message to the world fast. We are also hoping that some of my celebrities friends will come forward and spread their wings to help support our breast cancer research: Steven Seagal, Charlie Sheen, Wesley Snipes, Danny Glover, Erik Estrada, Tom Arnold, Dolph Lundgren, Roger Clinton, Bill Clinton, Usher, Hulk Hogan, Ivana Trump, John Secada, Sylvester Stalone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mike Reno, Richard Branson, Cindy Crawford, Cher, Demi Moore, Michelle Pfeiffer, and other stars that I have had the good fortune of meeting in person and others celebrities that I hope to meet in the future. (Photos of Gerald and the stars can be viewed at his promotional group listed below.) I am waiting to get my photo with Suzanne Summers!

Gen Cells Cure offers more than hope. We can do the job. If you’re going to eradicate cancer you have to have the right people doing the right research. One thing is for sure. We couldn’t do any worse than what the scientists before us have done. Which is virtually nothing! Help us alleviate the pain and suffering. Together, with your help, we can cure breast cancer.

Article by Gerald Armstrong- scientist0707@yahoo.com

Gerald is the owner of Gen Cells Cures

Visit his group for information about “The Cure” for incurable diseases and aging.

Group address [http://www.msnusers.com/cures]

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Source by Gerald Armstrong

Views: 1

November 12, 2022
How to Bundle Your Leveraged Sales Offers

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Is there a way to bundle leveraged sales in a way that it is lucrative to both you and your prospects? The answer is yes and we will cover the basic process promotion of bundled goodies. If you're looking to increase your income potential without having to rely on your primary offer, leveraged sales is the way to go. Small gains over time leads to decreased overhead and a stronger bottom line. You can see places like McDonald's, Amazon and even Starbucks offer unique items at a low cost. They offer value to their prospects that ends up building up their revenue flow.

Bundle your leveraged sales on the need of the prospect

Leveraged sales are only as effective as the planning that has been put into creating them. From concept to research and finally to deployment, every aspect requires attention to detail. Just like when you created your marketing strategy. The leveraged sales offer must be developed from a need. This need comes from knowing your prospects. It will take time to ensure that your offers are gaining sales. If they are not, you can look at your promotion efforts, type of offer and prospect profile to see if you're hitting the mark or not.

You can bundle your leveraged sales ideas together in order to increase value to your prospects. They can then lead to other offers or even to your main attraction. The most common way to bundle offers are to include two different offer types. As an example, for this would be an eBook and worksheet bundled in one package. Other examples include podcasts with personalized email correspondence. There is no limit to what you can bundle, you can bundle a series as well. The most difficult elements to work with is the pricing.

Promoting your leveraged sales bundle effectively

Promoting your leveraged sales bundled offers is very important to your success. Self-promoting can be hard, but nevertheless your revenue will require careful monitoring as you cast your offers out on various social media networks. As you promote informational material, you may want to mix in your offers as well. Some channels can offer you other ways to reach your audience, running a small advertising campaign could provide great insight to the effectiveness of your call to action message. Be careful with the data and always keep analyzing it to see where you can make improvements.

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Source by David L. Feinstein

Views: 1

November 12, 2022
Starting a New Relationship – Dating Tips for Women in Their 40s

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If you're a single woman in her 40s and you've recently started dating a great guy who you think might be the man for you, congratulations!

You've successfully navigated meeting him and going on the first date plus a few more. Perhaps you two have gotten past the initial small talk and have started discussing a relationship together. Now what?

First of all, now that you're in your 40s, remember, you have all the time in the world. There is no need to race to exclusivity. Before you commit yourself to a relationship with this great guy, ask yourself, "Am I ready to take myself out of the dating pool?"

Before you remove yourself from the "after 40" dating scene, you want to make sure you've done a few things to be certain about what you're doing.

How Many Mature Men Have You Considered?

Have you met and dated at least 10 men in the past year or so? If you're close to that number, that's OK. 10 is just a guideline. It is not a strict requirement.

What Types of Men Over 40 Have You Dated?

Also, have you allowed yourself to consider some very different men than you dated when you were in your 20s and early 30s? Now that you're in your 40s, some of your husband requirements might still be the same as they were when you were younger. However, their order of priority might be different.

Let me give you an example. If now you're a divorced and single mom, then you are not looking for great potential father material. Your children, hopefully, still have their father. What you're looking for now is a man who would be a good step dad. A good step dad is typically more of a part-time job than a full-time job, unless your children's dad is no longer around. This is just to illustrate how your life is different now than in your 20s.

Does Your Man Have Time to Share with You?

Also, by now that you're in your 40s, you have an established career. You might not be looking for a man with massive earning potential because now you have that financial security and status yourself! What does that mean for you now for your after 40 mate selection? Naturally, you want a man who is financially stable. You also want a man who has enough time and outside interests to share himself with you and be an interesting life companion, right?

Now that you've considered what you want in a relationship and if you are saying yes to most of these questions, then, yes, by all means, agree to become exclusive! As the two of you start a relationship, remember to share both fun date nights going out as well as the daily activities of life, like grocery shopping together. Have fun and let me know how it's going.

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Source by April Braswell

Views: 0

November 12, 2022
The Real Reason Why Small Businesses Can’t Get Approved for a Loan

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Oh no, not again. Yes, that’s right, I’m not going to go there… at least not for today. There’s no shortage of excuses and reasons why small businesses can’t get approved for business loans. It never fails to amaze me the coverage this topic gets especially when the national economy goes into recession or when major political races are at stake. Yes, I agree that small business growth and success is the economic back bone of the US and also, that more than 60% of the US workforce are employed by small businesses. But where I get off the group think is when it comes to the lack of financing for a small business with a business loan. In this article, let’s explore the REAL REASON that small business don’t qualify for loans and the truth may even surprise you.

It’s Deeper Than Statistics

I love numbers and even better, I love reading financial statements and the notes. The love for numbers did not become a passion for me in the world of small business lending until I came to understand that the financial statements tell the story of a business. Similar to the story behind the financial statements, there’s a story behind the statistics stating that small business owners can’t get approved for loans especially if they’re of a certain ethnic group, gender, and / or industry. I’m not completely washing away the reality that there’s a shred of discrimination in our world… hey, we live in a broken society with broken people. However, a large part of this thinking (small business owners can’t get a loan because of skin color, gender, etc) is just simply untrue. I’ve been on both sides of the fence so to speak in the world of small business lending. I’ve worked for a big bank, and I’ve worked for a not for profit community development financial institution and it’s always the same. The number one reason why small business can’t (and don’t) get approved for loans is due to the considerably large operating risk that exists in these businesses.

Operating Risk: It All Starts with You

What does operating risk mean? Well, here’s a question to bring some clarity. What speaks more to sustainability: a business that’s been operating for at least one year or a business that’s still in the owner(s) mind? I’d go with the first option. Operating risk means that you have and continue to execute on your business plan(s) and that the business is cash flow positive (i.e. returning a sustainable profit margin to cover costs and make you money). Here’s the sad truth: not many small businesses get to this point. Most if any, within two years are still trying to figure things out. OK, granted, there are levels to this particularly when you observe the diversity of businesses. However, I’m speaking to the ones that endeavor to obtain a business loan.

In closing, I offer a couple of ways to minimize your operating risk and increase your chances of getting approved for a loan. (1) Grow tough skin and learn to survive. The game of business is one of survival. Most days, things will not go your way and you just have to stay the course, be adaptable, and stay true to the business mission. (2) Never forget the 3 P’s – Production, Processes, and Personnel. Become efficient in the production of what you offer for sale, create and put in place processes to enhance production efficiency and ultimately the customer experience, and finally, hire, train, and invest in people who share your vision for the business.

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Source by Pierre Pinkerton

Views: 1

November 12, 2022
What is the Ultimate Lifestyle?

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Since the mission of this newsletter is to help you define,

carve out, and live your own Ultimate Lifestyle, I figured I

should devote some space to laying a proper foundation for

doing that.

Before you can hit a target, you need to know where it is!

So, to begin, let’s answer the question:

What is The Ultimate Lifestyle?

First of all, it’s different for different people. There are

no rules or formulas. For some people, it means a lot of

money, lots of “stuff,” a fast-paced and “jet-set” sort of

lifestyle. For others, it means a very simple, slow-paced

life that focuses on service to others. And for others, it’s

every possible scenario in between these two “extremes.”

There’s no right or wrong lifestyle, or good or bad

lifestyle.

There’s just what works for you — and it will likely change

over time. I know it has for me.

No matter how you end up defining Ultimate Lifestyle for

yourself, now and in the future, there are 8 components that

must be considered:

1) Income Streams

To live your Ultimate Lifestyle, you must have income

streams flowing that allow you to pay your bills and finance

all the “extras” you prefer. To me, the ultimate target to

shoot for in this arena is to have income streams flowing

whether you “show up” for “work” or not, so you can choose

what you want to show up for (even if it continues to be

what you call “work” or a “job.”).

That’s what I’ve been able to achieve by applying my

Invisible Path/11th Element strategies combined with direct

marketing on and off the Internet.

Having income streams flowing whether you show up or now

seems like “pie in the sky” to many people, but it’s

actually very attainable in today’s world. You’ll learn more

about how to do it in future issues.

2) Emotions and Beliefs

Many people fail to create their Ultimate Lifestyle because

they have emotional blocks, issues, or beliefs (what I call

“p.s’s.” or “master biography files”) that hold them back.

Other people have produced extraordinary results and could

live their Ultimate Lifestyle, but their blocks, issues or

beliefs prevent them from doing it — or fully enjoying it.

Therefore, living The Ultimate Lifestyle must include having

access to resources and inner skills that allow you to

uncover and remove, heal, or release any blocks, issues or

beliefs that hold you back. You’ll learn more about how to

do that in future issues.

3) Fulfillment and Satisfaction

Whether you have a 9-5 job and career, you’re a full-time

mom, or whatever you do with your time, a big part of living

The Ultimate Lifestyle means getting as much fulfillment and

satisfaction from what you spend your time on as possible.

Many people don’t ask for this, don’t focus on this, and

therefore don’t get it. You must make it part of your

intention and focus!

4) Living Environment

How and where do you want to live? In the mountains? In the

big city? On the water? Multiple homes? Do you want to live

in a big home or a small home? Is privacy or seeing

beautiful scenery out your windows important to you? Do you

like modern furnishings, antiques, or an eclectic mix?

Living the Ultimate Lifestyle means asking these questions

and having a home base that nourishes you at a very deep

level. My family recently moved to Charlottesville, Virginia

in pursuit of the nourishing living environment we craved —

and we got it, even better than we expected!

5) Relationships

What good is having income streams, a healthy emotional

life, empowering belief systems, a great living environment,

and a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction from how you

spend you time if you’re alone (and don’t want to be) or

your relationships with significant others (parents,

siblings, kids, associates, etc.) are a mess? Believe me, I

know about this one from long personal experience (before

meeting my wife, Cecily).

Therefore, living The Ultimate Lifestyle must include having

access to resources and inner skills that allow you to

attract, build, and maintain healthy relationships.

6) Health

Again, what good is having income streams, a healthy

emotional life, empowering belief systems, a great living

environment, fulfillment and satisfaction, and great

relationships if you have health problems that drag your

quality of life into the gutter?

Dr. Robert Lindberg says, “We spend most of our life gaining

wealth and we then spend most of our wealth on gaining back

our health.”

Living The Ultimate Lifestyle means having access to

knowledge, resources, and skills that allow you to get

healthy, stay healthy, and quickly resolve difficulties if

and when they arise. I discussed some of the resources I use

for this in previous issues, and will continue to share them

in future issues,

7) Time

You can have income streams, a healthy emotional life,

empowering belief systems, a great living environment,

fulfillment and satisfaction, great relationships and health

and if you don’t have any time to do what you love, to

follow your non-work passions, or to truly enjoy anything,

what’s the point? I know many people who could absolutely be

living their Ultimate Lifestyle, but they choose to work too

much, to the detriment of their quality of life. That’s too

bad — to have the choice and ability and not do it.

8) Wealth Building, Management, and Responsibility

The final component to living The Ultimate Lifestyle is

having systems in place that allow you to use your income

streams to create wealth (as you define it), manage it, grow

it, protect it, structure your financial and business

affairs for maximum efficiency and personal benefit, and

find ways of contributing and giving back (if that’s

important to you, which it is to me and my wife).

I’ll be writing a follow up article, called “The fuel that drives the Ultimate Lifestyle” shortly.

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Source by Bob Scheinfeld

Views: 0

November 11, 2022
Latest Metrics for Small Business Owners to Measure Their SEO Success
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Let's face it – SEO is not easy for any business. It becomes even more complicated when you've limited money, time and resources. According to the latest Cluth Survey "More than 36% of small businesses have already an SEO strategy and rest 23% are planning to develop one."

In order to maintain and develop a long-term SEO strategy, it is important for small business owners to understand the best way to measure their SEO success. As a small business owner if you are looking for ways if your SEO strategy is working, then here are the three SEO success metrics that can be helpful.
1. Traffic Retention
2. Backlink quality
3. Conversion rate
Let's have a look below how these three metrics can help you measuring SEO success.
- Traffic Retention for measuring quality search audiences
Every business wants to draw the attention of quality traffic to their website. Here Google Analytics play a crucial role. It is one of the effective measures to know what type of audience you want to target and what type of audience is visiting your website. There are two metrics in particular that can help small business owners to decide the quality of your search traffic. These are – Scroll depth and Bounce Rate.
- While Scroll depth determines how far your visitors scroll down specific web pages. If they scroll down the entire page, it means your audience is keen to read the topic.
- Bounce Rate refers to those searchers who visited a single page of your website but then left your site without browsing other pages.
- Backlink Quality defines the impact of Inbound Links
The quality of a backlink is measured by the total number of links from sites with high Domain Authority. To know the quality of the backlinks used in your site, you need to make sure that these are relevant and endorsed from new domains that can have more impact.

Although you can't control all links coming to your website, you can target the quality of those links via outreach to guest posting. Make sure your targets should include websites that offer domain authority, a new audience, and website relevancy.

3. Conversion Rate Offers Insight about SEO strategy Effectiveness

Conversion rates play a major role to measure small business performance metrics.

It enables you to know how well you are achieving SEO goals, along with the scope of success.

SEO success largely depends on generating many leads as possible. The conversion rate is the total number of website visitors who are becoming your potential clients. By tracking this, small businesses can easily measure the impact of their SEO on their revenue.

Wrapping the post

Every business needs context and time to measure and earn SEO success. By understanding the right metrics for measuring SEO success, you will surely lead the race and become a winner.

@page {margin: 2cm}
p {margin-bottom: 0.25cm; direction: ltr; color: # 00000a; line-height: 120%; text-align: left; orphans: 2; widows: 2}
p.western {"Liberation Serif", serif; font-size: 12pt; so-language: en-IN}
p.cjk {"Noto Sans CJK SC Regular"; font-size: 12pt; so-language: zh-CN}
p.ctl {"FreeSans"; font-size: 12pt; so-language: hi-IN}
a: link {so-language: zxx}

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Source by Triveni Thakur

Views: 0
November 11, 2022
Have Your Grief Healing Efforts Been Half-Way?

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Have Your Grief Healing Efforts Been Half-way commitments? Because of your awful grief happening have your self-promises to overcome your unwanted sorrow and loss been only half-hearted?

“Many important things shouldn’t be done half-way. Think of getting married, having children, starting a business, changing your career. There are times to gather your courage and make the leap, the whole leap.”

~ Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Grief healing is certainly an imperative, essential and important consideration! It is vital to you to recognize half-way actions as simply expressed words that fade into the air and are nothing more than uttered wishes. To stop grieving and start healing, after a horrendous grief experience, requires total commitment of the mind and heart.

“You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps.”

~ old proverb often attributed to David Lloyd George

Overcoming your grief chasm is personal and unique requiring essential action steps. Have you clearly defined beneficial steps you will take? Half-measured actions are an unpalatable food-source for healing from your grief and loss.

Action Steps

Perhaps because of your awful grief and loss, your what-to-do actions have been like a Beebe rattling around on the floor of a boxcar. It is important that you identify your personal decisive grief healing actions with clarity. Your sorrow and loss need your attention now!

“Up to a point a man’s life is shaped by environment, heredity, and moments and changes in the world about him. Then there comes a time when it lies within his grasp to shape the clay of his life into the sort of things he wishes to be. Only the weak blame parents, their race, their times, lack of good fortune, or quirks of fate. Everyone has it within his power to say, ‘This I am today; that I will be tomorrow.’” ~ Louis L’Amour

Early in your grief experience perhaps you have lacked clarity, even experienced confusion, as to actions you should take. In the aftermath of your extreme sorrow and loss you may have taken the shotgun approach rather than pondering and deciding clearly what you wish and should do. Ready-aim-fire-shoot without an identifiable healing plan target purpose is not ever in your best healing interest. Now is the vital time for you to decide. Because your grief experience is unique to you it is essential you decide now the most beneficial actions you will take.

Commitment Action

Over the years my life’s happenstances have underscored a vital clarity. I have learned an essential personal truth: As I have experienced failures and successes – professionally, personally and physically – I have learned that until I commit, I am hesitant; there is a chance I will draw back and be ineffective. Nonetheless, the moment I absolutely commit, expectations also move. All sorts of things occur; a stream of assistance and helpful happenings, which I couldn’t have imagined, have come to me. Possibilities and opportunities appear, often unforeseen until I commit to act. Then I experience new personal and spiritual empowerment to develop new habits that support me in new special desired efforts. I am enabled to choose to be willing to grow and evolve professionally, personally, spiritually and physically. This commitment concept has been proven to me time and time again, and so indelibly stamped into my mind, that I believe it is a true principle for individual support and growth.

After your personal commitment, your life will begin to give beneficial answers to help stop your grieving and start healing. You will receive insight, inspiration and strength far beyond what you imagined.

What Is Half Success

Half-way and half-hearted actions result in half success. What is half success? Fifty percent of a forever life condition that can be restored more whole is not what you should accept. You can’t always control life experiences that often permanently change what you hope and dream your life will be. Nonetheless permanent peace, happiness and a life more whole is attainable even if your wholeness is different. Be willing to take the action and make the commitment to seek more happiness and peace. Seek your joy with all your mind and heart. Believe you can obtain lasting hope, peace and wholeness.

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Source by Duane Marchant

Views: 0

November 11, 2022
Four Types of Marketing For Small Businesses

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As a small business owner, you most likely spend quite a large amount of time trying to discern new ways to gain customers. Marketing can be a fun or stressful business. They key is to understand the types of marketing.

Instead of sending your marketing budget in many different directions, you can choose a specific type and be consistent with it. You will quickly see that your marketing budget pays off much more quickly.

Here, you will find information on four of the main types of marketing. This way, you will be able to choose the marketing actions that will work best for your business. You will then be able to point your marketing budget in the right direction.

1. Blanket marketing is a type that is often used by larger business. Blanket marketing means that you spend money advertising to everyone. Many people choose to do blanket marketing by advertising in magazines or newspapers. You will not really have control of who sees your advertising, but you will have the potential to reach many people.

The downside to blanket marketing is that it can be quite expensive, and you could be wasting money marketing to people who may never become your customers at all. Blanket marketing is best for those who have plenty of funds available and who feel that they will be able to gain many customers from the plan.

2. Targeted marketing is a method in which you choose a certain demographic and only market to them. This could mean that you advertise to everyone in a certain area. Alternatively, you could advertise to everyone in a certain age range.

The great thing about targeted marketing is that you will have a much better chance at getting customers since you will be advertising to the types of people who would most likely become customers. The downside is that it will take a little legwork to determine who your target is and then find the right way to advertise to them.

3. Social media marketing could be called the new kid in town since it is relatively a young concept. With this marketing, you use any one of the many popular social media sites to advertise your company. You can also use a daily blog to garner business.

The downside to this type of marketing is that you will be sending your information out to many people who may not be interested at all. With blogs, you will have to take the time to keep the blog up to date. Otherwise, people may stop reading it.

4. The last type of marketing is not marketing at all. There are not upsides to this. It may seem like a way to save money, but when your business fails, you will actually lose a great deal of money. It is extremely important to find marketing funds within your budget.

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Source by Melissa B Evans

Views: 0

November 11, 2022