Introduction Australia is oldest continent on earth and has one
of the most fragile and least fertile soils. Other than
Antarctica, Australia is the driest continent on this planet,
with over 80% of our land arid and infertile. It has one of the
least understood ecological systems in the developed world and
there are new species of plants and animals discovered every
year in Australia. Yet for over 150 years we have been using
“European Style” farming techniques with little regard to the
fact that European soils are far more fertile and are often silt
based, providing fertile soils every year. Since the Second
World War, the state of agricultural decay has increased
dramatically with the “Great Agricultural Push in Australia”, in
areas that were simply not suited for long-term agricultural
use. Mechanisation, fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides as well
as push to standardise products in order to increase yields
(productivity) has led to extensive environmental catastrophes.
One example that clearly comes to mind is the vast lands in SW
Australia (East of Perth), where people were fooled to believe
that they could run agricultural operations over a long period
of time. Our land is still being deforested at a rapid rate
leading to high levels of salinity, over-grazed leading to
desertification and land degradation through bad soil management
techniques. Its water courses altered, dammed drained
straightened etc. Whilst 95% of Victorian rivers lie in some
state of decay, with fish breeding grounds lost, flows reduced,
swamps drained etc. Our water management practices have in the
past been inadequate. Just take a look at our open channel
irrigation systems, which stretch across a vast reach of
Australia. It loses a third of its volume through evaporation.
In 1983 during our last water restrictions the government
promised that once the Thompson and Dartmouth Dams were finished
that we would never have water restrictions again. Twenty years
later it’s happening again. What has happened to our vision?
These are just simple examples of where our ignorance and lack
of foresight has let us astray. There has been and still is an
irresponsible approach to water, soil and forestry management.
Today Australia faces many environmental issues of which the
most important are: 1.Water management 2.Land Degradation and
poor soil management 3.Deforestation 4.Overgrazing Yet very
little has been addressed. For over 100 years we couldn’t even
get Victoria South Australia and NSW to sign an agreement for a
management plan for the Murray River. These mistakes have led us
to a more contemporary approach to agriculture. No longer are
farmers just simply doing what “their fathers did”. It simply
doesn’t work and is a time bomb ready to explode. The explosion
being total desertification and degradation of our land within
our lifetime! This has pushed us to a “big picture” approach to
Agriculture, which has made us stop for a moment and think about
what we are doing. Over the last 30 years there has been a push
into sustainable agricultural practices leading us to better
resource management with a long-term view. Sustainable
Agriculture can be described as resource management based
agricultural system that minimises the impact of agriculture
produce and practices whilst providing a profitable output or
produce at minimal impact to the surrounding environment, both
short and long-term, whilst maximising biodiversity.

Biodiversity So what is so important about biodiversity?
Biodiversity gives us the “quality of life” that enables us to
survive and enjoy life. Life’s wonderful choices! Many choices
provide many solutions especially in the random changing realm
of Darwin’s Natural Selection. We must maintain biodiversity if
the human species is to survive.

Farm Management Plan An integral part of any Sustainable
Agricultural venture is to have a Farm Management Plan. This
analyses all the resource to minimise inputs, and provides a
suitable output with view to long-term sustainability. Inputs
These inputs could be but are not limited to the following:
•Water •Soil •Fertilisers •Seeds •Chemicals including
pesticides, herbicides, fungicides •Labour •Machinery including
fuel

The Farm Management Plan should also incorporate a vision for
what you want to achieve, assess the inherent risks and provide
contingency plans to minimise all the exposure to risks as part
of the plan. It also provide solutions through an Integrated
Pest Management (IPM) Plan A Farm Management Plan should look at
all aspects of the current state of the venture and provide any
solutions, generally organic based, to rectify any inherent
problems occurring or to provide practices that will not lead to
long-term problems. Many of the problems in intensive
(monoculture) agriculture can be reversed if all the parameters
are understood. The problem in the past has been we have not
taken the time to analyse and understand our soils and
ecological systems that support us until it is too late. In the
past, (and still happening today) there has been a push by big
corporations, such as Monsanto, DuPont etc. to buy…buy….buy
their agricultural products, whilst their consultants, provided
us with the wrong, often biased information leading us to make
bad choices over time. Whilst Sustainable Agriculture is the
right step in our approach to resource management we still have
a long way to go to change people’s habits and provide them with
a greater understanding of our ecological systems which is
blocked by our ignorance and apathy from distractions such as
terrorism, boat people and war on Iraq. The real issue is
resource management, which we alone must take control of and not
rely on external states or systems to determine our destiny or
freedom of choice.

Financial Benefits of Environmental Responsibility

Up until approximately 6 months ago, I was of the impression that being conscious of the environment was strictly for the benefit of the environment itself, and that I would derive nothing from it; the ultimate beneficiary of any recycling/waste reduction would be future generations, and the greater effect of my efforts would occur long after I was gone.

Thanks to Dr. Anthony Watanabe and my work as the web developer for the Toronto Regional Green Building Festival website, I have come to the realization that there are reasons beyond the ecological benefits mentioned above.

In speaking with Anthony, I noticed that he uses the word “sustainability” and the phrase “sustainable growth” quite frequently when describing his business. He even went so far as to conceive the Sustainable Business Resource Centre (SBRC), a network of for-profit and not-for-profit businesses whose collective mission is to grow while maintaining a sense of social responsibility and ensuring that they use the minimal amount of environmental resources

It was in speaking to the owners of the other members at the SBRC launch party that I discovered the direct financial benefits of sustainable growth:

Lower energy/utility bills. By using energy-efficient appliances and renewable sources of energy (e.g. solar), consumption of energy resources decreases and, in turn, utility costs decrease.

Increased productivity. A cleaner office environment will keep employees happier and consequentially more productive.

Government rebates and incentives. Depending on where you live, there may be municipal, provincial/state-wide, or federal incentives designed to reward environmental responsibility.

For example, Natural Resources Canada offers an ongoing series of rebates and incentives for both homeowners and businesses.

Another site worth checking out if you’re interested in rebates and incentives is http://incentivesandrebates.ca/.

Lower costs on goods, both in the short and long term. Reduced use of goods and recycling provide an increased supply of goods as well as a decreased demand for said goods. Simple economic theory teaches us that this increased supply and/or decreased demand leads to lower costs for goods.

Ways To Go Green and Save Money

Some of these ways may seem obvious, but bear repeating in order to ensure that as many of us as possible are contributing to our own sustainable growth:

Purchase energy-efficient products for use in the office. Look for consumption ratings on products that make use of hydro and gas. Another positive sign that a product is energy efficient is the Energy Star logo.

Don’t print/photocopy unless absolutely necessary. I’ve seen many people print non-necessary documents, web pages, and even personal pictures on the office printer and distribute them to friends and colleagues.

A good rule of thumb when it pertains to paperwork is, “if you don’t need a permanent record of it, don’t print it.”

Turn off all electrical devices and adjust the thermostat to match the outside conditions when no one is in the office. If you don’t want to adjust your thermostat manually, consider investing in an electronic programmable thermostat. These thermostats can be programmed within 10-15 minutes of installation and very rarely need to be adjusted.

Choose environmentally responsible companies for your commercial needs. Companies such as Diamond + Schmitt Architects Inc. that show a commitment toward sustainable growth will help ensure that your needs are met while making minimal use of natural resources.

Transmit mass-consumption documents electronically where and when possible. Besides being far less expensive to do so than to mail out said documents, paper use is also minimized.

Consider features for your fax line such as Call Screen and Privacy Guard. Companies such as Primus offer features for any phone line that will allow the owner of the line to filter out and eliminate needless and unnecessary calls.

In the case of a fax line, activating filtering features will allow you to block known mass fax senders from tying up your fax line, shortening the lifespan of your fax, and wasting ink and paper an on unsolicited commercial faxing. These features are typically minimal in cost (usually no more than $5.00 per feature per month) and can be considered a wise investment on the basis of avoiding unsolicited commercial materials alone.

These are just a few examples. If you examine your own business environment, you will likely find many other ways to contribute in a positive manner to both the environment and your company’s bottom line.

Since the dawn of the 21st century very few nations have been recognized or emerged to have the largest economic stability in the world. Leading nations like the United States entered the 21st century with an economy that was bigger, and by all means more successful, than ever. Despite enduring two world wars and an everlasting depression in the first half of the 20th century, it faced challenges which ranged from a 40-year Cold War with the Soviet Union to the existence of sharp inflation, huge unemployment, and enormous government budget deficits in the second half of the century. Finally this great nation had the opportunity to relish a period of economic calm in the 1990s. Prices on goods were steady, unemployment dropped significantly, the government posted a budget surplus, and the stock market experienced an unprecedented boom.

The United States however has been undergoing philosophical economic change right at the start of the 21st century. They witnessed a wave of technological innovations in telecommunications, computing, and other biological sciences, which profoundly affected Americans work and play. At the same time, the growing economic strength of Western Europe and the emergence of powerful economies in Asia and the increased global integration of business and finance posed new opportunities as well as risks. All of these rapid changes resulted or lead to the Americans in re-examining everything from how they manage their workplaces to the role of government. Perhaps this is the reason why many workers, while contented with their current status, looked to the future with uncertainty.

Moving to the third world, according to economics experts and various studies as conducted across the globe envision, India and China should rule the world in the 21st century. Its been over a century since the United States has been the largest economy in the world but major developments have taken place in the world economy since then, leading to the shift of focus from the US and the rich countries of Europe to the two Asian giants India and China.

With the arrival of the 21st century, there has been a dramatic shift in India’s approach to external sector management in accordance to the changing situations. With the materialization of marginal current account surplus, the sustainability of India’s current account deficit may not be a problem though the deficit on her trade account persists and has been increasing. The main providers to the positive outcome in India’s current account are workers’ remittances and export of software, both being a result of process of global integration. The exchange rate system as well as external debt management has served India well. The new policy regime assisted India to withstand several global crises while maintaining a respectable growth. It has become obvious that the management of the external sector is closely linked to the domestic sector and the major thrust of Indian public policy is now on managing the integration.

Further, the simultaneous emergence of China and India with significant competitive strengths in trade in goods as well as services will have to be accommodated by the global economy. Thus, the future for both these nations seems to be bright as they struggle to correct current global imbalances. In brief, India has moved from managing external sector to implementing an optimal integration of domestic and external sectors, thus providing itself a better position when it comes to global economy.

video Source,
“Wanni Meheyuma” News Report from Sri Lanka Rupavahini corporation.

Duration : 0:3:5

(more…)

Technorati Tags: 57, 58, A32, A9, Army, B69, Bank, Bridge, Brigadier, Bund, Bunker, Ceylon, Dharmapuram, Division, Earth, Elephant, Force, house, Human, INGO, Karachchi, Kilinochchi, Lanka, LTTE, Mahaveer, Mankulam, Mullaitivu, Mullativu, News, NGO, Of, Operation, Paranthan, Pass, Poonakary, Pooneryn, Rights, Safe, SF, Shavendra, Shield, Silva, SLA, SLAF, SLDF, Sri, Tank, Task, Tharmapuram, Tiger, Trench, UNHCR, Vaddakkachchi, Velikkandal, Vision, Wanni, War, World

Rising volume when prices are falling can come in two flavors. There are volume spikes which typically indicate a short term bottom as those hoping for higher prices bail; and then there are the gradual build up in volume type moves accompanied by gradual but continuing declines in price. These are the sickening moves that happen from time to time where you have a blow off type volume move over a period of days that results in very low prices relative to the general price level and is usually accompanied by a V shaped volume and price spike back in the other direction. The problem is having the patience and the nerve to stick your neck out in such a decline. You have to gradually average in to such a move as the odds of catching the bottom tick are almost nil. You will find these types of plays all over the place during a bear market.

In a bear market, there are stocks that still rise. However, in a bear market, there are times when even the good stocks are pulled down and you find declining prices on average or falling volume. Falling or average volume when prices are falling is usually a sign of strength, not weakness; especially if the stock has generally been in an uptrend prior to the short term down trend.

When a stock exhibits steady volume when prices are steady, then this doesn’t really give us anything to go on. It doesn’t give us any insight into where prices will necessarily go based on a volume read, but the fact that the price range is narrowing suggests that something will occur soon enough. It is then that we will get both a volume and a price read to determine the sustainability of the next move.

There is a close relationship between price and volume. Although indicators have been built on various volume measures, all indicators have a couple of inherent problems and we continue to feel that it is important to view price and volume as a relationship that says different things about a stock when the general trend is up versus down, versus sideways. In general, rising prices should be accompanied by rising volume for the market and/or stock to be healthy.

Similarly, falling prices should be punctuated with volume spikes and to a lesser degree, rising or steady volume shows a healthy continuation to the downside. Falling volume that is associated with rising prices generally is a red flag warning you to be careful as a healthy correction could be just around the bend.

Average volume on rising prices generally occurs when a stock is turning from down to up or sideways to up or sideways to down. Generally a stock that moves from up to down has large prices drops that is accompanied by large spikes in volume.

If you intend to trade stock, you should only ignore volume at your own peril. It can give you the comfort to stay with a position when times are tough, or to signal that you need to lighten up or get out of a position when things seem fine. Volume recognition is your friend just as is the trend.

Article Written by wallman Hot Penny Stocks

The world is a big place with big problems. Some environmental
activists demand we stop living our lives and look at everything
we do as an Earth-changing event, but not everyone can focus
their entire lives around saving the planet. The truth is that
it isn’t necessary to make drastic changes in one’s life to make
a difference. It isn’t even necessary to spend more money to be
environmentally conscious. Below are seven simple ways to make a
difference in the environment, and save money doing it.

1. Buying compact fluorescent light bulbs instead of
incandescent ones. Advances in technology have led to a light
bulb that’s designed to last up to 15 times the life of a
standard bulb. They cost more up front, but they are replaced
much less often, which makes them cheaper in the long run. Plus,
these bulbs will use less than a third of the power of
incandescents, which will reduce electricity costs. They also
generate less heat, so less air-conditioning is needed in the
summer.

2. Reusing shopping bags. Every bag reused is one less bag that
needs to be manufactured. Also, several supermarket chains have
started giving small credits towards their customers’ bills when
they bring in old bags to reuse. Some people like to keep old
shopping bags in their trunk, just in case. Even more of an
improvement would be using non-disposable canvas bags – they
still count towards the credit at the check-out, but are made
from eco-friendly materials.

3. Carpooling. Most people associate carpooling with going to
work, but there are many other opportunities to share a ride. A
great deal of money could be saved on gasoline by one car going
to the mall rather than two. Also, with a little planning,
shopping trips could be taken less frequently.

4. Turning off the water when not in use. Simple things like
using half a sink full of water to wash dishes instead of
running the water can prevent waste. Turning the water off while
brushing your teeth is also a good idea. Finally, making sure
faucets aren’t left dripping will make a significant difference
in water bills.

5. Completely turning off electronics. A great many of today’s
appliances and electronics have a standby mode. Televisions and
stereos in particular tend to use a great deal of electricity
while on standby. Plugging devices into a power strip that has
an on/off switch can give consumers more control over their
electricity use. Particular attention should be paid to anything
with a big transformer plug, as these devices tend to use the
most power and waste the most money.

6. Turning off the air-conditioning and/or heat when leaving the
house. A great deal of electricity is wasted cooling or heating
an empty home, which leads to bigger bills. Even setting the
temperature one or two degrees different, keeping the system
from activating as often, can save significant amounts of money
each year.

7. Turning off the lights. A good rule of thumb is, “light is
useless if there’s nobody there.” Turning off any ceiling fans,
floor fans and lights when leaving the room saves just a little
bit of electricity, and money, every time it’s done.

Of course, there are many more ways to help the environment
while saving money. These seven are simply among the most often
overlooked easy solutions. Public libraries and environmental
websites are great sources of further information

The path of least resistance is by nature the course most traveled. In economic terms this path is most difficult to measure at start up because no personal experience is present and so we must rely on the experience of others to guide us. Other persons experience at this point is theory and sold using a variety of techniques that every internet entrepreneur must choose from to get it.

My first impression of web marketing tactics was that there were many people offering their experience for sale as a quick and easy way to earn extraordinary income. Understandably there was no mention of what experience was brought to the theory of success before start up. Claims like “If I can do it anybody can, broke to riches in 30 days.” were allegedly proved by pictures of bank or pay statements. However, there was still a leap of faith or trust that did nothing to clear the view of start-up reality even after buying.

Competition for sales to new marketers is fierce because every one that has gone before tries to copy the tactics they have purchased only to discover a saturated niche. Competition in a saturated market is the first object lesson delivered and once learned used to open the door to the next level of opportunity. Alternatively, the experience may also be considered as a rite of passage that tends to be implied, not stated, and so acts to filter the short run opportunist from the long term business builder.

To help business builders better understand the economic value of experience, bitter and sweet, I’ll construct a simple view of start-up to better characterize the short and long term view to prosper.

Everyone who has chosen to earn money online enters the market at some point, and at some time. They bring whatever knowledge and skills they may have to bear upon the single goal of selling something for profit. Start-up then begins at this point and continues until income meets or exceeds what was being earned upon entry. In other words the first marker of progress is income replacement.

Income replacement occurs when average monthly income from internet business meets or exceeds present income. For example, $3,000 a month means the replacement income target would be $36,000. The time it takes to get there is the actual time it takes to start-up. Since there is no way to forecast this variable, genuine offers will usually include a disclaimer to this effect.

Time then is relative to variable factors like how much time you spend to learn, to build your business, and recover from choices that lead you in directions that may differ from your goal. While some may argue that the lower your present income is the shorter the start-up will be, the other side of that coin is setting a target income that enables a standard of living you need or desire. Now standard of living implies another variable of setting an appropriate income value as your start-up milestone.

Notwithstanding the well meaning and important value of being all that you can with visions and plans for future achievement, present reality is a stark contrast. For the purpose of this discussion it is the place from which measurement begins. So we must start by making a distinction between the present and the future standard of living.

To begin then, a standard of living is a measure of what you can afford to purchase with your present income. Typically, as income increases so does the standard of living. However, a common approach to improving living standard is to leverage earning potential by taking out a loan to buy what you feel improves your standard. This is a basic concept of leverage used both personally and in business. This form of credit is based on an optimistic forecast that the person or business can meet the payment obligations according to the terms. What makes this optimistic is to assume the basis for the ability to pay will stay the same or improve. Sometimes it doesn’t.

In economic theory, theory and practice are the same. In reality they differ. After all, why would anyone want to start an internet business with little money or time to invest except in the event the reality of their financial situation compels them to seek a path of least resistance to sustain or improve a standard of living. Now let’s return to putting a value on present standard of living and set an economic cornerstone.

First let’s disconnect living expenses from debt. This places present standard of living without debt as a number value or target value for replacement income. Debt and current income are variables. Time and experience then becomes your main assets on the path to prosperity where debt is short term, standard of living is paid up, and income meets demand. Once this point is reached start-up matures to business operation for the purpose of sustainability and growth. So the day you start to do business on the internet until you have paid your debts and have reliable recurring income that pays for your ongoing standard of living and business operating expenses is the day start up ends and business begins.

To put the time factor into some perspective here is an excerpt from an interview Ewen Chia did with Graham Hammer.

“Ewen: When did your ‘big break’ come and what was the turning point that changed everything?

Graham: My “big break” came when I set up Profit-Plan in 2002, but you’ve got to understand that “big breaks” don’t just “happen”. They are worked-for and hard-earned.

Let me explain… I started planning and constructing Profit-Plan in mid 2002 (it actually launched in late January 2003). But before I could construct the site, I had to learn how to write HTML pages, and I began that process in 2001. (I still write my pages “by hand” in raw text. I just feel it gives me more “control” over how the page looks.)

So a journey that appears to have begun in January 2003 with the launch of Profit-Plan actually began in 2001 when I picked up a book about HTML code. Profit-Plan was an instant hit, not least because the headline read….”Make a profit today, or your money back today” (which I guess shows the power of a great headline).”

The path of least resistance still requires the learning and practice of skills whether you pay large sums for trial and error or take a path of lower cost. The question is how much are you prepared to spend in time, money, trial and error to start-up your business. Fortunately for those with limited budgets there are options to start-up faster in a collaborative online workspace at low cost. The h4h.biz projects are well on their way to becoming the workspace of choice for those determined to walk the path to prosperity online.

According to Stephen Carson, executive vice-president of Visibility Corporation, “The requirements of each company end product in many environments, especially ETO type of environments, often starts with being able to quickly design and configure custom products for them. If a company is not configuring from a preset mix of common components, the need for a collaborative environment is extremely important to design to the customer specifications”.

Previously engineered solutions required lengthy bid generation processes before the supplier could deliver a strong response to a proposal request. Interaction between engineering and manufacturing was hindered because of the lack of system tools and lack of integration between CAD and ERP systems.

Currently the process and system enhancements allow many enterprises to excel in this complex environment. The best designers have a feel for what would be the right answer and utilizing integrated tools dramatically adds value; the speed to respond, innovation in design, competitive pricing based on superior knowledgebase of similar projects offers historical information and where appropriate reusable parts.

Carson asserts, “What end customers want is an end partnership that includes close collaboration for developing new product innovation and extends beyond design and becomes integral to manufacturing and long term supportability.

Visibility Corporation (www.visibility.com) is a leading developer and supplier of business software solutions designed for the unique needs of project-based, engineer-to-order and to-order manufacturers. Visibility’s Enterprise Application solutions help midsize manufacturers of complex products operate their businesses effectively. Visibility has an extensive customer base throughout North America and Europe and has the strongest representation of ERP among complex manufacturers.

VISIBILITY.net is an integrated ERP solution and more. Offering unparalleled functionality and integrated workflow, this browser-based solution cost effectively delivers the power of .NET-based Web services for use with either a Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle® database. Conducting business any place, any time, any where is a reality, deployable with unprecedented flexibility.

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past 20 years, the MLM industry is plagued with accusations of underhanded sales techniques shoddy tactics and dishonest representatives.

As we have said before this is due to the early MLM/Network marketing companies of the 1980′s and early 1990′s.

They darkened the door to MLM, in its very infant years, with underhanded sales techniques evasive answers and downright lack of integrity.
How many times have you presented your opportunity to a potential prospect, only to have them rile back with a look of contempt and uninterested body language. If you are really lucky, you will hear the never-ending statement, with a down leering smirk ‘So what you are trying to flog me is Amway? Right’

Before we have said that Amway is a good network-marketing model, this is still true. Unfortunately, the damage done by their affiliates are still being felt today.
If you have cold prospects, that did not go looking for you in the first place, you cannot expect a better outcome. If the prospects have not sought you out, then they are also going to be totally uniformed about the industry as a whole. These people will simply follow the flow so to speak, and only hear the bad reputation and feeling the MLM/Network business has.
The industry has never really bounced back from the shocking blows it did receive in the formative years.

Do not despair all is by no means lost, if you are new to the MLM business. There are more than ever before a multitude of high demand products and services being offered by reputable companies all over the world. These same companies offer outstanding rewards and benefits to their distributors. Systems have had time to develop and be improved upon, the income stream programs of today are the most powerful models the industry has seen. People now more than ever are making huge incomes.

You only have to watch what the ‘Global Marketers are looking at’ Corporate identities are linking them selves to ‘Network Marketing’ people such as my mentor Sir Richard Branson ‘Virgin’. Celebrities are getting involved and indorsing MLM products; Michael Schumacher for one is promoting the virtues of MLM. The problem we are faced with every day is lack of education; this is also not really the consumers fault.

Look at our market place, the Internet I am referring to hear. It is rife with pyramid frauds, broken promises, down right lies. There are people with a great deal of money perpetuating this problem, on the internet with powerful sales techniques and money to burn, still every day people are being sucker punched into the dead end. These programs are normally easily spotted, but still do a great deal of harm to the Legitimate MLM/Network market industry.

Again I bring up my point that if, pay per email was introduced it would greatly clean the industry. Pay per email brings accountability, how fast would they all disappear if an email cost 0.20c to send. This is a win win situation. The customer wins, because the swamp of spam will stop, they also will be presented with opportunity copy that has come from an accountable source, and they had to pay to send it. No one is going to send out 500,000 emails costing 0.20c each $100,000 cost. Straight away real add copy testing ill be needed on the net. We have spoken much about the need to test copy.
The affiliate wins by consumers being far more open to what you have to offer, because they are not being bombarded with junk mail. We are making huge in rows into markets that have not been subject to the same barrage of ‘spam’ that the current market place has.

We are presented with an interesting problem. We have always spoken about ‘Image is everything’ we have a broken image a perception problem. How is this still happening? Network marketing industry as a whole is a working model, billions of dollars every year in product sales, affiliates becoming rich every year and millions of satisfied consumers. So we cannot blame the industry can we? We have to start looking at the people involved in the industry.

It is a sad statement that there are a high percentage of un ethical people involved in network marketing, they tend to congregate around the lesser programs. These are the people that are the rot at the core of our upstanding industry. For they do not care if the program has good products, or a sound residual income program. Their only concern is how to market this opportunity to get the money out of you. We must lose these operators from our radar. We are being hurt from bad operator of past and still being hurt from new scammers.

We are not the first to have an image problem. Industries since the beginning of the industrial revolution industries had been faced with image problems. Right now, we have McDonalds spending millions of dollars trying to change public perception of them. You only have to look at the petroleum companies working hard to change their image, because they want to be at the forefront of their industry as the world’s energy requirements and technologies change.

Let us turn the attention back on what maters us the MLM industry, Amway was plagued with lawsuits in the US brought about by unhappy consumers and affiliates. Amway were accused of many things ranging from operating with intent to deceit, to exploitation of lower affiliate ranks. They were ridiculed on their rigid system and business practises. Most people that joined Amway in the early 1980′s and 1990 has left including me, with a rather unpleasant taste in ones mouth. This did untold damage to our industry. What did Amway do about this? They completely overhauled their organisation. They took to heart what their affiliates were doing, with hard sale tactics, deception, and dishonesty. These tactics are never well received in today’s more educated consumer market. Amway cannot be help accountable completely for what there affiliates were doing while out of their control.

You see it is in most cases the affiliates them selves that are doing and can do the most damage to our industry. How quick is the media to expose yet another fraud fleecing the public of their hard earned? How often do you see the same media exposing how network marketing has changed the lives of countless people? Alternatively, how some of the products are unique in their health benefits. We know we have the best products, services, and residual income business model! When was the last time you saw on mass media how MLM had changed someone’s life?

Perception is a hard thing to change, it can haunt us through school, university and beyond, tarnish what people think of you and you ay be in for a hard road ahead. When this is connected to an industry, it can be fatal. The public is fickle it will change its opinion at the drop of a hat if it does not like what this company, organisation, government. Companies once strong have been brought down by mere public opinion. The larger the company the more subjectable they are to this by their mere public profile.
Large corporations have been implementing more and more consumer relation channels because they know; if you do not listen to your consumer, you will not get the chance to hear from them again. There is even a register of reputation ‘Reputex’ they measure factors including social acceptance, corporate responsibility, business ethics and sustainability. This alone shows the importance of image and public perception.

So what do we do? We are trying to do our bit, partly by returning to promote ‘Network Marketing’ and to create a support home for affiliates. It is our goal to educate as many people on the virtues of ‘Network Marketing’. It is our companies standing to supply a support network for network marketers, where they can learn true ethical marketing values and techniques. Where they are supplied customised advertising copy that has real world testing, free. Where they can contact real support personnel, when they are lost and de-motivated. Where they can build a support network with their fellow counterparts in other lands. Where they can learn to promote MLM business opportunities in a concise ethical manner.

Network marketing is the way forward, there is no doubt in that, every year billions of dollars of products are bought, and affiliates lives are made wealthy exciting and financially free. Our industry offers some of the biggest give a-ways know to man from houses, to cars, to home goods and more. The tools are there to promote your business in an exciting and believable ethical manner. There is no need for cheap tactics in this business; the life changing proof is everywhere. It is up to you the affiliate to stop promoting dodgy products, and using un-necessary sales techniques.

Network marketing is in my opinion easy to build, you are offering people financial freedom, and if you need the tools to help you visit us, we will train you to become a top earning network marketer. We believe in network marketing to such a degree we give every affiliate one free paid member every month until they have built there business to a point where they can teach the next person.

If we as a collective strive to teach the new correct duplication, marketing, business ethics and training. We are destined to reach dizzying heights this business has never yet witnessed. A completely new world is about to be born! Make sure you are there with the forethought to bring about change to this bright new time of Internet Marketing.

Think about this next time you are presenting your opportunity to your prospect, take comfort in the fact that if they are not interested in your plan, after showing them concrete proof of how MLM is changing peoples lives every day. Feel warm at the fact you do have the perfect income opportunity and it is only the ignorance of people, not willing to re-evaluate their pre conceived ideas that ultimately is only going to hold them back.

Market your business with ethics and give your prospects relevent honest information, offer them a solution to their problems, this will make your network grow faster than you can keep up with the welcome letters.

Change is inevitable. That is the law of nature. The natural process of aging is gradual and those who are near and dear to you seldom notice the changes.

The fact remains that you are growing old. With advancing years your lifestyle too should be re-oriented in such a manner that you do not put unnecessary strain on the diminishing reserves of your body.

Moderation in everything that you do is the key-word. You may continue with your activities but do it in moderation. Health plays a major part in the lives of the elderly but unfortunately another aspect that is often overlooked is the “Environment”. If due importance is given to this aspect then, many other problems such as Accidents, Loneliness, Health etc. could be easily managed.

Some major environmental problems that should be high priority when you retire are:

1. Finding a suitable place to live after retirement should be priority No.1 Larger cities are good for the younger people but the Retirees should consider moving out to a pollution free town or village in the outskirts of the city.

2. Choose a place not too far from your friends and relatives so that they could be of assistance whenever needed.

3. Ground floor is the best for the elderly. Split level houses should be avoided. If there are steps, good hand rails should be provided.

4. The house should be well ventilated and provide plenty of sunlight.

5. The floors should be well carpeted. Worn out carpets are dangerous since you could trip and fall.

6. Electric wiring should be permanent and all electrical gadgets should be in good working order.

7. Avoid loose and long clothing. Many accidents are caused by tripping and falling. Fractures and injuries during old age could take a longer time to heal and be a source of worry and agony.

8. Clothing should always be appropriate to the season. Inappropriate clothing can lead to health conditions such as, body pain,arthritis, chest cold etc.

9. Entertaining of guests and socializing should also be done in moderation. The consequences of exertion and heavy drinking can be detrimental to your health.

10. Keep your mental faculties active.

One of the best ways to keep yourself well informed, mentally active and to have fun is to spend time on the Internet. The whole wide world is at your finger tips if you can operate the computer. If you are unable to use a computer, it is advisable to take a few lessons that will make you quite proficient in using the computer and the Internet. Sending e-mails to friends, reading the latest international news and visiting interesting websites can be fun. In fact you can even earn an Additional Income. Full details are given in the article, Practical Internet Home Based Business Ideas, for the Young and 50 Plus Entrepreneurs : http://www.business-fromhome.com/article671.html

Old age should not in any way mean that you must give up participating in community activities. It has to be in moderation, that is all. Your lifestyle might have changed but your experience, knowledge and expertise will be needed and much appreciated by your community. Share it with them, enjoy yourself and make life happy and pleasant for the others too.

Change in lifestyle and environment during retirement does have certain emotional under currents such as missing your long time neighbors, some of your old friends and of course some of your favorite haunts. Unfortunately certain changes have to be made in a changing world and changing circumstances.

Make these changes in the right spirit and enjoy your retired life.