Special Speech

New York City is known for many things - the bright lights of Broadway, fine cuisine and corner vendors, glamour and excitement. Yet for those interested in the paranormal and unexplained, the Big Apple may very well be renamed the Big Haunt.

Once you’ve seen the popular sights the city has to offer, why not take a trip down the eerie side of the city many call home…years after they have departed? If you’re in the mood for a frightfully fun stay in New York, and can’t wait until the Halloween, the city is not without yearlong otherworldly charm.

Certain times of the year, Merchant’s House Museum presents ghost tours and lectures on various topics, including the art of dying. If you’re lucky you might catch a glimpse of any of the curious spirits known to wander the property.

It’s said, too, that spirits haunt the Hotel Chelsea, and that the ghost of Dylan Thomas (who died after drinking too many spirits at the White Horse Tavern) haunts the pub to this day. Of course, he was taken to the Chelsea after collapsing outside the pub, so maybe he’s pulling double duty?

Did you hear the one, too, about the Ziegfield Follies showgirl who haunts the New Amsterdam theater? Many have claimed to see Olive Thomas strutting the stage in her beaded costume.

The ghost of Roxy Rothafel is said to haunt the theatre he built, Radio City Music Hall, and various members of the Algonquin Hotel’s Vicious Circle are rumored to have continued their stay at their favorite table and elsewhere in the hotel.

If you’re interested in more contemporary ghosts, it’s said the ghost of John Lennon has been seen outside the Dakota, where he was fatally shot.

When you do decide to come to New York, the ghosts are waiting. Hop in a limo and you just might see a few wandering around Manhattan.

Kathryn Lively is a freelance travel writer who writes professionally for many travel bureau and travel company websites, including NYCLimousine.com.

Motivation is one of the key variables for the equation that yields long term weight loss success. The question is how do you maintain the motivation to attain the ultimate goal? Regardless if your weight loss goal is 20 pounds or 100 pounds you must change your thinking to change your behavior and writing makes that happen.

Weight loss really does begin in your head. Every successful athlete understands that his thinking process is either working for him or against him. The same holds true with weight loss. If your internal dialogue is negative, your results will eventually manifest the same result! You can’t degrade yourself to a healthy new you! You must change your thinking to work for you, to build your resolve, and to maintain that all important motivational factor.

Writing is an exercise that will help your mind change its thinking! It allows you to process the negative emotions and helps to instill the positive changes. Start with these simple exercises:

1. The Negative Emotions Daily Dump: Many success coaches advocate writing out your negative thinking on a daily basis. Simply spend approximately 15 minutes writing out all the frustrations, bad feelings, and discouragement. This helps you to process these bad feelings out of your system so that you can make room for positive affirmations. Do not reread the entries and do not keep them. Write it out, and then throw it out.

We call this the Negative Emotions Daily Dump.

2. Affirm Your Goals: Prepare a list of affirmations that will help your subconscious work with your conscious brain to make those all important behavioral changes. Then write your affirmations at least twice a day. Write them once after you have written your Negative Emotions Daily Dump. Don’t do the Negative Dump without filling it with the positive affirmations. You should always end with this. Write the second set of affirmations either right before you go to bed or first thing in the morning. Read your affirmations several times a day.

3. Understand your Motivations: In order to stay motivated you must understand your real reasons for losing weight. In other words, understand why YOU want to lose weight. Not why your spouse or friends want you to lose weight but why losing the weight is important to you. Do you really want more energy? Do you just love skinny clothes? Do you want to participate in an activity that would be easier if you were slim and healthy? Write these motivations out in detail so that you can solidify them in your head and they can continue to motivate you through the entire weight loss journey.

4. Accountability: Keep a food diary. Keeping a food diary has been proven time and time again to increase your weight loss success by as much as 50%! A food log is your accountability factor. It keeps you honest with yourself.

5. Visualize: Visualize yourself enjoying the portions of your weight loss program that you are currently struggling to do. For instance if you hate the cardio portion of your day, start seeing yourself loving it. See it as “”your time”. It can be your time to read while you’re on the stationary bike. Or your time to watch all those movies you feel guilty watching any other time. Once you begin to visualize positive feelings about a certain activity the easier that activity will become.

6. The Pat-On-The-Back: Keep a written log of your weight loss success. By writing down your weight loss on a weekly basis you are validating your efforts and giving yourself a pat-on-the-back. This will go a long way to keeping you on track.

Keep in mind that if you are utilizing the assistance of a personal fitness trainer or weight loss professional that they may use techniques to help you face your self-defeating habits. This might feel harsh and negative, however it isn’t. Honesty is necessary to motivate change and this is different than running yourself down! Sometimes we have to hear the hard words to make the hard changes. Keep in mind that these professionals are seeking your ultimate success. Your success is their success. Let’s face it, the weight gain started with you and to change that behavior you may have to deal with some uncomfortable feelings. A good trainer will help you feel cared about while still insisting that you deal with your bad habits. It’s a good thing to be pushed past your comfort zone to becoming a better you!

Writing is the new “exercise” that can make all the rest of your weight loss efforts including good nutrition, exercise, and resistance training work for you because you will be working with these principles instead of against them. You will start seeing these weight loss techniques as a positive and permanent part of your life, instead of a temporary device. That will result in faster results that last forever!
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Dr. Fit, Sidney E. Reeves, CFT is a nationally recognized personal fitness trainer. Dr. Fit has been helping overweight America understand and change their self-defeating habits while learning the important elements of good nutrition, exercise and positive change. He has launched a website to compliment his daily fitness show at http://www.WritingForWeightloss.com where members receive all the tools to lose weight permanently. Join Dr. Fit as your fitness trainer today at WritingForWeightLoss.com

Contrary to what myriad Internet sites would have you believe, there is much more to small business planning than a good marketing mix and solid financials. Whether you want to sell the next big thing or you simply want to rev up sales and profits for an existing operation, no business plan template will adequately address the complex psychology of being an entrepreneur, especially a successful one.

To illustrate what I mean, let’s pretend you aspire to be the next coffee shop ingénue. You have articulated a comprehensive business plan; you have chosen your product lineup, location, promotion plan, and pricing strategy; and you have snagged some decent financing to keep you running for at least a year. On paper, you are a coffee empire in the making. “Great!” you think to yourself. “Let’s get started!”

You proceed to sign the lease, shell out some bucks to a lawyer and an accountant, order a few gazillion pounds of coffee beans in anticipation of your success, and open for business.
About six months and a few hundred lattes later, you realize that you do not possess high tolerance levels for the teen angst, high turnover, and sleep deprived yet incredibly nitpicky about extra-hot-no-whip-non-fat-double-mocha-latte-now-or-I’ll-go-postal cranky clientele that have suddenly become an intimate part of your life. You despise this situation but also realize that it will probably be your reality for many years to come, or at least until you can make enough margin to take a day off and enjoy a five-dollar coffee poured for you across the street at Starbuck’s.

Perhaps this all too common scenario points to one explanation for the alarmingly high failure rate of small business start-ups in North America. The Business 101 textbook explanation of this phenomenon would state that failure to plan is the root cause of most small business shutdowns. Indeed, without some kind of road map, inspiration can quickly turn to chaos if not complete financial ruin. But even the most well crafted business plan cannot cement the road to success, and an entirely fabulous product is no guarantee either.

Work-at-home business gurus, Paul and Sarah Edwards, cite two independent studies involving a number of successful entrepreneurs. Both studies concluded that business plans are overdone in many cases and their importance even overemphasized. What is needed, the Edwards say, is a succinct plan that uncovers key aspects of the market you wish to pursue and a simple roadmap for pursuing them (www.workingfromhome.com/pages/faq.htm). Of course, in approaching the planning process this way, you are more apt to make strategic changes when necessary because you will be less “invested” in the document itself and more interested in doing whatever it takes to succeed.

Failure to plan is a symptom, not a root cause, of small business collapse. The true “illness” lies within the heart of western entrepreneurship and the bizarre twists and turns it has taken in the information age. Get-rich-quick schemes abound in magazines and on the Internet, yet the only ones getting rich from these programs are the passionate individuals who envisioned the intricate pyramid of wealth in the first place. However, one need not take such an unethical path of deception toward financial independence.

My overpriced but thankfully small “l” liberal education taught me something I have not seen in any business textbook: Determine the correct questions before seeking answers. In saying this, I am not at all trying to sound literary, highfalutin or Stephen Covey-esque (loved 7 Habits by the way). I write only what I know from observation and experience, and it would seem to me that you cannot derive health, happiness, or wealth from something that does not reflect your personality, your vision of your best self, or your basic code for living.

Money in the hands of an entrepreneur who does not know himself might as well be lumps of coal. And a business plan written by such a person is not worth much more. No bank loan or angel moneys can replace the value of introspection. Some questions you must ask yourself:

-> What are my reasons for pursuing this venture?

-> Will those reasons be enough if I don’t turn a profit in the first five years?

-> What will I have lost if the business fails? What will I have gained?

-> Does this venture reflect who I am? Or am I only trying to be someone I think I “should” be?

Such questions should be fleshed out long before you begin typing up that business plan. How you honestly answer those questions should subsequently color every element of your marketing mix. Passion must precede planning. This authenticity will shine through in everything you do and say thereafter, andin this daythere is nothing so irresistible to your prospects as authenticity.

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Karri Flatla is a business graduate of the University of Lethbridge and principal of snap! virtual assistance inc., a small business consulting firm providing online marketing services to the progressive entrepreneur. Karri also produces Outsmart, the newsletter for small business with big purpose. Visit http://www.snap-va.com for more information.

>From the very moment people began migrating to America, their
dreams have been to have an idea, start a business and become
rich in the process. That has always been the American dream.

In The US today more people are realizing their dreams of
financial independence than ever before because owning a
successful business is easier than ever before. A good majority
of these people gain financial independence as owners of
franchised businesses. Franchises offer the best shot at owning
a successful business for first-time entrepreneurs because they
operate on a proven system. And there are many reasons why
franchising is the best type of operation for the majority of
first-time business owners.

As a franchisee, you will not be required to draw up a business
plan; that has already been done for you. You will gain all the
benefits of a proven system, training and ongoing support and
reap the monetary rewards.

How can franchising
make you wealthy? 75% of the people who are extremely wealthy in
the The US own a business. This indicates that your best shot at
creating extreme wealth is by owning your own business. Starting
a business from scratch, however, can be a very risky and a
complicated procedure. Newly started businesses experience a
very high failure rates, most likely due to
bad planning and not having a tight hold on expenditures.
Franchising offers less risk than starting an independent
business and offers all of the same benefits of an independent
business. Franchising eliminates the need to draw up a business
plan and gets you on the road to success quickly.

If you have put all your efforts into buying a franchise,
congratulations! You have made a decision to buy the right to
sell goods or services from an established name-brand company
with a proven business plan, training and ongoing support. Soon
you will be on the road to financial independence. There are
steps, however, that must be taken to insure that everything,
from researching the right franchise to the opening of your
business, goes smoothly-most importantly, researching the right
franchise
opportunity.

Not every franchise opportunity is perfect for every individual.
Franchises come in many flavors and each is as unique as your
own personality. To find the right franchise opportunity,
research different franchises for the one that best suits your
personality, skills and interests. To clarify this point even
further, imagine an individual with 15 years of financial
planning experience that decides to purchase a franchise. He
researches different franchising options and chooses to purchase
a financial consulting franchise. Does this individual
have the potential to make this business successful? Absolutely!
Imagine the same individual, but this time around decides to
peruse a restaurant franchise. Does he have a chance? Not
necessarily! Someone with 15 or more years of financial planning
experience would probably feel lost running a food
franchise. Pick a business in which you have demonstrated
expertise. The point is that it’s necessary to own a franchise
that matches your personality and skill level. When those
conditions are met, you’ll have a greater chance at being
successful.

Once you have settled on a franchise, you will want take your
research to the next step by gathering as much information as
possible on that particular company. Do the right research! Just
because a franchise has been successful in another part of the
country does not mean it will experience the same success in
your community. Ask for contact information and talk to current
franchisees operating in territories with the same demographics
as the area in which you will be operating.

A franchise is like operating any small business - you need
capital. Build the right budget that will allow you to
incorporate a realistic cash-flow plan. The initial franchise
fee will probably have the most significant impact on your
finances. You need to have enough capital for the initial
franchise fee and enough to get through the first few months
after opening the doors to your business.

The most successful franchisees are the ones that take a less
formal and more relaxed approach to selling. Successful
franchisees genuinely enjoy talking to strangers and get
involved in community events in hopes of exploring new ways of
promoting their business. although franchisees are often
provided with standard corporate advertising programs and
national exposure for the chain, being involved in the community
and being perceived as part of the local family helps keep
customers loyal.

Franchises influence The United States in everyday life. As a
matter of fact, the IFA estimates that franchising has had a
$1.5 trillion impact on the American economy. I hope it is clear
to you that franchising offers an amazing opportunity to own
your own business and a little piece of the American dream.

One of the fastest growing trends in health and fitness today is the use of personal trainers. According to the American Council on Exercise (ACE), for the first time, the number of students studying for ACE’s Personal Trainer Certification Exam has surpassed that of those studying to be aerobics instructors. Even icons of American culture like Oprah have joined the trend with tremendous results. In 2005 she was selected by CBI (Club Business International) as January’s fitness role model of the month. Bob Greene, Oprah’s personal trainer in Chicago, was credited with helping her lose 90 pounds and, best of all, with keeping it off.

What is a Personal Trainer
A personal trainer acts as a partner who can help you set up a fitness program that meets your personal wellness goals. He or she informs you on the best exercises for your needs, keeps you motivated and tracks your progress. Many people fail to see results from their workouts because, without guidance, they are staying in their comfort level, using the same equipment and exercises over and over. A personal trainer will push you to try new things and tailor your work out to fit your personal goals.

Exercise
A good personal trainer will assess your physical abilities and discuss your goals before creating an exercise program. Once created, he or she will train you on each exercise and piece of equipment, ensuring that you are using proper form and technique, thus ensuring faster and better results from your efforts.

Motivation
Sticking with an exercise program can be difficult. There are always excuses not to go to the gym, so having someone else vested in your success is a great source of motivation. You know that your time will be well spent because you will be correctly performing your exercises. You may be financially motivated not to miss appointments and thereby lose the cost of a session. Accountability to your trainer will also inspire you to succeed, as a good trainer will monitor your progress and share in your setbacks and your triumphs.

What to Look for in a Personal Trainer

Finding a personal trainer in Chicago can seem like a daunting task. In such a large area it might seem impossible to locate the right person for you; but it does not need to be. Start locally by asking your friends, coworkers or doctor for referrals. Call area gyms and health clubs and set up interviews. You can also use online services such as Personal Trainer Finder or American Council on Exercise. When you have a list of possible choices, sit down with them and ask a few important questions.

Certification and Education
It is very important that your trainer be certified by a reputable fitness organization such as ACE, ACSM or NASM. Check the website or ask for information about the certifying organization. According to American Sports Data, (ASD), 5 million Americans used personal trainer services in 2001. At that time there were only 66,000 personal trainers practicing in the country. With such a gap between supply and demand a number of less than reputable web sites have sprung up offering quick certification.
Your trainer should also be certified in CPR, first aid and possibly even Automated External Defibrillation if you have any issues with heart disease.

Experience
In addition to education it is wise to choose someone with experience, particularly if you have specific goals or health issues you wish to address. Find someone who has dealt often with your particular needs. Be it Pre-Natal exercise, heart problems or even just the particular type of exercise you prefer, you want someone knowledgeable in that area.

Personality
Personality is a very subjective factor in who you will select; but it is one of the most important. You are looking for someone who will inspire you and motivate you to continue with your fitness program. It is vital that this person is not someone who is intimidating or even irritating. If you do not like your trainer you will not develop the give and take needed to form a productive team. Your trainer should be a good listener and give you their full attention while during your sessions. He or she should be focused on you, not answering phone calls or chatting with others. Your trainer should be aware of your personal style, some people respond to a drill sergeant approach, but many others prefer firm but patient guidance.

Warning signs
As you begin working with your trainer keep in mind that you are the client. You should be concerned if your trainer ignores or dismisses your questions or neglects any part of a complete program. He or she should not work you too hard. A little muscle soreness is expected but you should not be in real pain or fatigue. A personal trainer should never diagnose injuries or illness, but should refer you to a doctor.

Taking action
Finding a personal trainer in Chicago should not be as daunting as it may seem. Start locally, ask questions, educate yourself on the proper credentials and find a partner who will motivate you and inspire you to your best health and wellness.

You Turn Health & Fitness has a mission to
help you look and feel better as well as add
years to your life and life to your years.
Programs are designed specifically for you,
monitored daily and modified to help your body
achieve ultimate health. If you are looing for a
Chicago Personal Trainer give
us a try.