March 31, 2008
By Steve Brunkhorst
http://www.AchieveEzine.com
I spoke recently with the owner of a large clothing store who had poured years of effort into his business. He had achieved his dream and built a successful career. However, his hectic pace was becoming difficult to maintain.
New interests were tugging at his heartstrings. He felt himself entering another phase of life. He wanted a change but didn’t want to give up his successful lifestyle.
What would you do if you felt yourself heading for a major change? How could you play a big enough game to follow your heart and continue to succeed? Here are some ideas and questions to consider.
Welcome New Desires and Changes
You will feel new desires as your needs and values change over time. Welcome these desires as doorways to a compelling future. Your new interests are there for a reason. They keep you on purpose and allow you to live in harmony with your changing values.
What do you really want the most right now? Write down what will be thrilling about your future. See and feel your goals as if you had already obtained them. Let your desire for new accomplishments build and burn passionately within your heart. Welcome new desires with open arms.
Ask Yourself Meaningful Questions
Ask questions that will intrigue you and lead to self-discovery. For example, what, more than anything, determines the quality of your life? What are the most important things your past has taught you? What would bring you permanent success and satisfaction?
These revealing questions will bring insights and focus your mind to take action. A life-long curiosity about yourself will move you toward the fulfillment of your desires.
Update Your Knowledge
Curiosity also leads to learning. Read a variety of books by authors you have not read before. Become a student of ground-breaking ideas as well as accepted theories. What do you need to know that would allow you to pursue a promising new interest?
Continuous learning is necessary for continuous success — especially in today’s rapidly changing world. Keep seeking new wisdom, and apply that wisdom daily.
Keep Great Company
Learn with friends and colleagues in an atmosphere of mutual support. Teleclasses provide an economical and enjoyable way to investigate current trends. Groups can discuss ways to interpret and apply the teachings of great books. Participants can examine new points of view as well as gain support and encouragement for their plans.
Supportive relationships with peer groups provide a positive influence and offer a wealth of learning and creativity through friendship and conversation. Where could you find the support to help you manifest your desires?
Create Some New Recipes
Use your knowledge to write some tantalizing plans to achieve your objectives. Think of your plans as recipes. Choose the ingredients carefully. Experiment with creative ideas and fresh approaches to reach goals.
Life-long winners dive beneath the surface of life’s circumstances and appearances. They uncover new options and solve problems in original ways. They focus on creativity rather than competition. They create fortune from misfortune. What usually triggers your most creative ideas?
Capture Your Wisdom in Words
Record your knowledge in a journal. Include experiences, dreams, stories, poems, and quotes that inspire you. Keep track of successes and failures so that you will learn from both.
Writing will also trigger valuable new ideas. What is the first thing you would write in your journal today?
Revitalize Your Body and Spirit
Life-long achievers maintain physical and spiritual vitality. A healthy body reflects a healthy spirit. Prayer and meditation can revitalize the spirit. An appropriate physician-approved nutrition and a fitness program can revitalize the body. How could you begin raising your level of energy and vitality?
Feel Gratitude for Your Achievements
Acknowledge with gratitude all of your life situations - the desirable and undesirable. Then create a deep feeling of gratitude for your future accomplishments as if they were already achieved.
Gratitude strengthens faith. It allows you to choose the life scenario you want based on present-moment actions. You will manifest the possibilities for which you are sincerely grateful. What are you the most grateful for now?
Bring Your Gifts to the World
Your definition of success will evolve throughout life. Your perspective will shift from what you want to obtain to what you want to give. It is by using your talents and bringing your special gifts to the world that you will receive your heart’s desires. What talents do you possess that you’ve never developed to their full potential?
You can succeed for the rest of your life if you honor your values. You will grow by welcoming new desires as a natural unfolding of your life’s purpose. A spirit of sincere gratitude and giving will manifest those desires. Best of all, you can enjoy every step of the journey.
© Copyright 2004 by Steve Brunkhorst. Steve is a life success coach, and the creator of Achieve! 60-Second Nuggets of Inspiration, a popular mini-zine bringing great stories, motivational nuggets, and inspiring thoughts to help you achieve more in your career and personal life. Subscribe today by visiting Steve’s site at http://www.AchieveEzine.com
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Canadian eCommerce growth was recently flat but still has an attractive upside…
Recent studies found that Canadian retail e-commerce growth was flat year over year (2003-2004). After further examination however, approximately 60% of the 100 largest non-travel sites succeeded in growing their sales over 20%.
Also interesting is the trending of Canadians from buying at non-Canadian sites to domestic sites (63% domestic, 37% foreign). This “domestic shift” clearly benefits the launching of a new eCommerce business in Canada.
The sales opportunity lies with the “early adopters”, individuals primarily the 18-34 year old age range. This segment is more technologically savvy and more likely to purchase online. In a 2003 to 2004 sampling comparison, this segment’s overall e-commerce spending increased 44%. The 35 to 54 age group increased only 5% and 55+ increased 18% (includes online travel).
Overall Internet Adoption rates still trail the U.S. and come in at approximately 52%. However, with the development of new Internet infrastructures and the maturation of Canadian ISP’s, this number will likely rise in the next 3-5 years. The following quote from the Canadian government re-enforces this theme.
“To reach our new national goal (relating to e-commerce) Canadians will need to develop strategies that build an intelligent infrastructure to serve as the backbone of the e-economy- by encouraging investment, strengthening research, enhancing commercialization and ensuring that all Canadians have access to this infrastructure and know how to use it.” (September, 2004)
Shifting demographics & lack of online competition equal a substantial opportunity…
Forrester Research reports that 48% of Canadian web shoppers are now female compared to 39% in 2003. 74% of web buyers are married and likely are home shoppers, compared to 68% in 2003.
With the gender gap closing, online home retailers have a great opportunity to target their core customer segment: the 30-40yr old female who owns or maintains a residence.
Within this sector, it is rare for U.S. based retailers to have online Canadian stores. Many brands will ship to Canada, for very high costs (customs duty & shipping) but this likely leads to an unpleasant experience for the Canadian consumer. These high costs, compiled with a lack of domestic Canadian retailers providing an e-commerce offering, are driving the stagnant growth of the online sales channel.
By being a “first-mover” in establishing a presence in the online marketplace within Canada, online retailers will facilitate sales from consumers that want to get products shipped from their native homeland after being paid for in Canadian currency.
Similar to the U.S., consumers are exhibiting multi-channel tendencies and embracing the emergence of broadband connectivity…
Canada is the only country in the world in which broadband overtook dial-up access in 2003. Currently 48% of all Canadian consumers have broadband access and they are 67% more likely to have high speed web-access than American consumers.
This impressive penetration may prove to be a strong driver for online circulars and new online merchandising tactics, as product differentiation are established outside of price.
Canadian shoppers are also parallel to U.S. consumers in their multi-channel behavior. 58% of Canadian shoppers have researched a product online and purchased offline, spending an average of $440. An online Canadian strategy must focus on integrating the online and physical store with store locator functionality and other tools to promote cross-channel behavior.
In conclusion, multi-national retailers should closely examine the Canadian eCommerce opportunity. Attractive consumer demographics, an established broadband infrastructure, and a shift in overall shopping tendencies make the Canada a high-growth and un-saturated area for multi-channel retail.
Craig Smith
Trinity Insight LLC
http://www.trinityinsight.com
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Choosing a good coffee maker is not a decision to be taken for granted. If you are going to spend money on your favorite coffee, you will want to make sure the coffee maker you choose is of good quality and has the features you want. The majority of coffee makers are generally quite good and you will notice no difference in the taste of your coffee from one brand to another. There are some basic features to look for when choosing a coffee maker and some luxury features that may give you a better tasting cup of coffee
The first decision you must make in choosing a coffee maker is what type of filter you would prefer. You can choose a basket type filter or a cone shaped filter, the difference in the two being different contact times between the coffee grounds and the water. A basket type filter seems to provide a longer contact time between the water and the coffee grounds, so if a basket filter is your preference, make sure you use coffee grounds that are fairly large. Cone type filters are generally less prone to spillage. If you are considering a gold tone filter, it will give your coffee a richer taste, but the upkeep may not be worth the small difference.
The color of your coffee maker is not a major concern, but keep in mind that if you choose a color that is pleasing to you, your coffee will seem to taste better. The only real issue involved in the color of your coffee maker is to remember that white stains easily and tends to look old rapidly. A dark color will look new a lot longer than a white coffee maker. Coffee makers with a pot that has a long neck will be harder to clean. If you cannot easily wash the coffee pot with soap and water, your coffee will taste stale over time due to the build up of residue that cannot be cleaned easily. Make sure your entire hand can fit inside the coffee pot to make cleaning easy.
Other than the basic features, which include color, filter, ease of cleaning, etc., there are some additional features that you may want to consider. If you don’t mind your coffee grounds being exposed to air overnight, a timer is a wonderful thing to have. Timers will allow you extra time in the mornings and if you choose a coffee maker with an attached grinder, the noise would probably eliminate your need for an alarm clock. A feature that is often overlooked is the shape of the housing around the coffee pot. Many manufacturers are making the housing larger so that the coffee in the pot stays hotter. The housing area in any good coffee maker should cover at least half of the coffee pot, the keep heat in.
In general, coffee that is freshly ground tastes better. Grinders that are attached to coffee makers are a bit of a hassle. They make the coffee maker harder to clean and the coffee beans are not always ground uniformly. If you want a coffee maker with an attached grinder, look for a burr grinder rather than a blade grinder. You may also want to look into a coffee maker with a built in water filtration system. Filtered water does tend to make the coffee taste better, but purchasing distilled or purified water can serve the purpose just as well as a built in water filtration system.
For the perfect pot of coffee, the water temperature needs to be around 200 degrees Fahrenheit. In general, the less expensive coffee makers do not reach this temperature. Most of the better brand names will advertise the temperature you can expect your coffee to reach while brewing. Choosing the right coffee maker is not easy. Make sure you purchase from well-known manufacturers. You will be able to find replacement parts and will be assured of an acceptable level of quality. Choose a coffee maker that meets your basic needs and any has additional features you desire.
About the Author
This article has been provided courtesy of Kitchen Junkie. Kitchen Junkie offers great kitchen articles available for reprint and other tools to help you get the best bargain on kitchen appliances and more.
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I have one of those handy-dandy small roto-tillers made especially for gardeners. It can do darn near anything, short of creating world peace.
I used the roto-tiller one time. Its performance was impressive! But now it’s gathering dust in my shed.
The roto-tiller, though a marvelous device, took away my satisfaction in tilling the soil.
I like the feel of the shovel handle while I dig a new bed. Sweat trickles down my aching back while I stab the metal blade deep into the ground. I lift out the blade to reveal fertile earth ripe for planting seed.
I plunge my arms into the warm dirt to mix the soil and compost by hand. The sun is hot on the back of my head. I can feel my too-fair skin burning under the rays. But I keep mixing and lifting and sweating.
And then one morning, after days of watering, waiting, and watching, I find the first brush of green seedlings in the new bed.
A sense of peaceful satisfaction steals over me. I usually give the seedlings a pep talk.
Roto-tillers are terrific. But having an aching back and dirt under your nails from doing all the hard work to reach the moment of green life…
Baby, there’s nothing like it!
About the Author
Jenny Harker is an avid gardener and writer offering free PDF e-books on gardening and the gardening life at mygardensoul.com
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