When traveling for vacation or business, most people find themselves traveling by airplane. Here are some airline travel tips for using up your frequent flyer miles that you may accrue.You’ll find that you earn frequent flyer miles faster if you do most of your flying with only one airline.Another tip is to get a credit card with an airline rewards program. It is often surprising how many credit cards can be used to earn points good for airline tickets. Still other cards provide points that can be used to buy products.Whatever you do, don’t let those miles go to waste. If you can’t use them yourself, some programs allow you to transfer miles to a relative or friend. Rules vary for different airlines, so you need to check with your particular carrier, but sometimes you can also cash in miles to buy a ticket in someone else’s name. This would be something you could do if your miles are getting ready to expire but you yourself have no plans to travel at the moment.Don’t just assume that your miles have been credited. When you return from your flight make sure you check your account to make sure your miles are there. If you wait too long it might be too late to get credit.Remember that only a certain number of seats on particular flights are set aside for people cashing in frequent flyer miles. Keep this in mind when making your reservations.Upgrades are often the best use of your frequent flyer miles.If you find a great super cheap airfare price, you’re better off just going ahead and paying cash rather than using your accrued miles. Save them for a more expensive flight or a first-class or business upgrade.Using these airline travel tips, you can be sure to put your frequent flyer miles to better use.
Real Estate Investing: Apartments – How to Find a Good Property Manager
How do you find good property management? After all, you’ll pay if you don’t have a skillful, competent, honest property manager.How do you find good candidates for property management? The secret is referrals, lots of them. I speak with a lot of property owners about the possibility of my company buying their property, regardless of whether they are interested in selling. I ask them who currently manages their property and whether they are happy with them.I ask other property managers who manage other types of property – retail, for example – if they know of a good multifamily property manager. I ask everyone else I come across in related businesses, including attorneys and insurance agents. I like to get several referrals to the same property manager.Make sure your investment focus matches your property manager’s expertise. Don’t have a luxury class A property manager manage your working class C properties. Do your needs match the skills of the property manager? Do you need rehabilitation managed? Match the size of your properties with the size and capacity of your property manager. You don’t want to be your property manager’s smallest property. Calls get returned quickly when you are one of the largest customers.Interview your property manager, inspect one of the properties the manager currently manages and ask to see a rent-ready unit. Is their definition of rent-ready the same as yours? I remember one prospective property manager stepping over some trash on the ground outside a managed property. They just didn’t care. Find out who their favorite contractors are for plumbing, electrical, roofing, etc. What are the reputations of those contractors?Does the property manager know what’s going on in the rental market and how to react to it?Make sure your contact and discussions set the groundwork for a constructive business relationship. Make sure you are clear about your property manager’s repairs expense limit. Make sure you are on the same page about handling non-paying tenants and evictions.Monitor and verify. What do your monthly financials look like? Is it clear what your expenses are? How quickly are vacant units being made ready? How quickly are they being rented? How does the property look compared with similar properties in the area? When something doesn’t go as planned, what corrective action is being taken? One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Is that what your property manager is doing to rent your vacant units?In one market, I have a college student who takes pictures of potential property purchases. If I haven’t recently been by a property I own, I’ll have her go take pictures of it for me.
7 Insightful and Timeless Quotations on the Importance of Knowledge and Education
All through history, great thinkers from all areas of society have spoken on the importance of having a good education, but recently the importance of a good education has been under attack. Critic’s claim it’s gotten too expensive and has very little value compared to its costs.
History as well as the current geopolitical circumstances proves that the long term cost of an uneducated society can be even more disastrous. With so many nations developing at a frantic rate, the need for a top notch education system can’t be overestimated. In order for us to remain competitive we need people with the knowledge, skills and discipline for the next century. Many developing nations already recognize that their most valued asset is their young. In some countries after a person graduates from high school, they’re required to either join the military or go to college, cost free. Both are part of a continuing education that helps impart critical thinking skills, discipline, and life skills. Some countries even recognized that education is a right and not a privilege as some claim.
After years of researching and collecting quotations for my books as well as motivation material for my sales force, I’ve compiled an extraordinary amount of wisdom on the importance of having a good education. The amount of wisdom that I’ve compiled is too large for an article of this size, so I’m only listing several of my favorites. Some of my other articles are about the profound wisdom passed down the ages, but without a solid education and good critical thinking skills they lose most of their insight.
If you think that education is expensive, try ignorance.
- Derek Bok 1930 -; American lawyer & educator.
A proper education is now mistakenly thought as a business rather than an investment. We don’t live in a bubble and a society with a sub-par education system will feel its effects for decades to come in all sectors of society. The fact is that in the long run, education pays out dividends far more valuable than money or wealth.
Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among the people.
- John Adams 1735 – 1826; American Politician, 2nd President of the U.S., a founding father of the U.S., diplomat, & first Vice President of the U.S.
People from all nations, in all areas of society; instinctually know that education is essential, if people want to keep their freedoms. An uneducated population is susceptible to manipulation by the powers that be, who can use various techniques to influence one or thousands of people into action or inaction. (See my other article on communication)
Let’s trace the birth of an idea. It’s born as rampant radicalism, then it becomes progressivism, then liberalism, then it becomes moderate, conservative, outmoded, and gone.
- Adam Clayton Powell Jr. 1908 – 1972; American politician & pastor.
One of the facts of life is change and most change comes with the birth of new ideas. At first people are suspect of new ideas because it challenges the conventional thinking, interferes with their current beliefs, will require people to make changes that many have gotten used to, or interferes with the benefits that most people derive from the current system, even though the current system cause a tremendous amount of problems for the vast majority.
As more and more people get used to the idea and see the benefits, it moves along its life cycle. Until finally, due to enormous other changes occurring in the world, the idea is no longer feasible because it’s incompatible with the changed world. Eventually needing to be replaced with newer ideas.
It’s useful to take away 2 things in regards to this quote. One: Change is always needed and constant. Two: The life cycle of an idea as well as where that idea is in its life cycle. Communism for example would be on the outer edges of “Outmoded” just about to cross over into gone.
New ideas are always needed but they also need to be critically scrutinized as to their costs and benefits without regard to the challenges they provide to the current established ideas. Emotions need to be taken out of the equation. Done properly, idea’s like Communism would never have taken hold and rightly so, didn’t in most parts of the world. Due to constant change cause by flood of new ideas, we need people with proper knowledge and education to critically evaluate every aspect of these new ideas.
I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.
- Confucius 551 BC – 479 BC; Chinese teacher, politician, & philosopher.
Nothing substitutes for experience. Knowledge and education are incomplete without experience. You can learn the concepts but to gain understanding, you have to put those concepts to practice or full use. This is why internships and apprenticeship programs are so essential.
Those that know, do. Those that understand, teach.
- Aristotle 384 BC – 322 BC; Greek philosopher, polymath, & one of the fathers of Western philosophy.
This quote has been butchered in recent times to “Those that can, do! Those that can’t, teach!” Nothing can be further from the truth. Why would someone that can’t do something, teach it? We need to honor our teachers and not degrade them. If you know a thing or two, spread the knowledge if you’re able.
The ignorant are always prejudiced and the prejudiced are always ignorant.
- Charles V. 1500 – 1558; Holy Roman Empire Emperor.
Ignorance and prejudice go hand in hand. Prejudice usually grows out of ignorance. Most of the time people are prejudiced because they don’t have full knowledge or understanding of the other person or idea. They haven’t taken the time to acquaint themselves with the other side. Once you fully understand another person or idea, only then can you fairly judge. One of the perks of a good education is realizing how limited your knowledge is, which is why education should be a right.
Sell (or give) a man a fish, he eats for a day, teach a man how to fish, he eats for the rest of his life.
- (Possibly coined by Karl Marx. Often attributed to Chinese philosophers Lao Tzu 6th century BC; Chinese philosopher. (A.k.a. Laozi, circa 5th century BCE) and Confucius 551 BC – 479 BC; Chinese teacher, politician, & philosopher. Although sometimes attributed to Jesus Christ, this proverb does not exist in the Bible’s New Testament.
It is better to teach someone to self-sustain rather than sustain them indefinitely. This is one of the primary reasons for a good education system. A person with a good education will not only survive in the real world but depending on their level of education, can thrive. Thus creating opportunities, exemplifying creativity, and discovering new knowledge that benefits all of humanity.
Bonus
Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward.
- Chinese Proverb
Sometimes, the only way to get good experience is to get in there and make your mistakes. Take your lumps. Failure isn’t failure but lessons toward success.
3 Tips To Make Sure You Avoid Foreclosure At All Costs
After the recent real estate boom in Texas and nationwide, there are many homeowners concerned about lagging property values, spiking mortgage payments and the economy in general. When the dream of homeownership is threatened by the possibility of default on a mortgage, Texas homeowners have avenues available to them to avoid foreclosure. Here are three things you can do to avoid foreclosure of your Texas home.
Know your refinance options.
If you have an adjustable rate mortgage or interest-only mortgage, you can and should plan for the time when your payment “adjusts.” It’s usually going to be much higher than your introductory payments.
But it’s not a good idea to count on refinancing before your payment adjusts to avoid a payment spike. Property values could stagnate, someone in your household could lose a job, or you may have unforeseen expenses in the meantime that would make it difficult to refinance.
While you shouldn’t count on refinancing as a slam dunk solution, it’s important to know your options in advance. You’ll get the best refinanced loan if you own at least 20 percent equity in your home when you apply. If that is unlikely, because of stagnating property values or the fact you haven’t paid down enough principal, research your options and know how much a refinanced loan is likely to cost in closing costs and fees. The time to understand what refinanced loan is best for you is before you get a drastic monthly payment adjustment.
Contact and work with your lender.
Many homeowners are reluctant to let their lender know they’re having trouble or are anticipating problems making their monthly payments. But it’s in your lender’s interest to make sure you continue paying on your loan, and they are always willing to discuss options with you. Contact them as soon as you foresee problems.
If you wait and begin getting default notices from your lender, definitely do not ignore them. They very worst thing you can do is pretend you don’t have a problem.
Your lender may talk to you about several options. One is loan forbearance, in which you stop making payments for a certain amount of time until you’re back on your feet. Another is a payment plan for repaying past due payments and fees. You may even learn about a modified loan that is easier on your financial situation. There may be any number of other constructive options. Don’t hesitate to work with your lender!
Consult with a listing agent
One option available to Texas homeowners behind on their payments is a “short sale.” In a short sale your lender agrees to let you sell your home for less than the balance you owe on your mortgage. Your lender may still work out a repayment plan with you for the difference, and the difference between what you sell for an the market value may be treated as income for tax purposes, so this isn’t a totally painless option. Still, it is increasingly a more desirable course for troubled homeowners than foreclosure.
Whether you live in Dallas TX, Houston, Austin, or anywhere else in Texas, a local listing agent can help you determine the likely sales price of your home on the open market, and help you market your home as a short sale. A listing agent’s expertise in the CITY real estate market can be invaluable if you’re considering a short sale to avoid foreclosure.
Outdoor Fitness – Tips To Get Fit Out Of Doors
Experts advise to break up the long-term fitness goals into shorter, smaller and more realistic ones in order to ensure success and to be able to stick to an exercise regime, many professional health instructors suggest making work-outs fun to do! Once you eliminate boredom from an exercise routine, such as only working out on a stationery bike or hitting the home-gym where you are faced with the treadmill and the same old environment by taking your workout out, you stand a better chance of sticking to the routine – thanks to the novelty factor as well as the freshness of the ideas as such.
Moreover, with increased health awareness and learning about the ill-effects of obesity, there is no dearth of the number of open-air fitness options that are increasingly being made available to singles or groups of people wanting to explore being outdoors – and benefit health-wise from it, too!
So, it’s a common sight today to find people engaged in sporty pursuits for a health purpose as well as one that combines a certain amount of communing with nature or socializing such as walking the dog or swimming in a community pool ensures they benefit from.
The advantages to taking your daily work-out outdoors are many: from needing little by way of expensive gym equipment (read nothing more than your own two feet or a pair of dumbbells, if you wish) to avoiding the sweaty crowds at the local gym, from no having to drive back and forth to a health spa to availing the benefits of fresh and pure oxygen, from ensuring your daily dose of vitamin D that is only available from sunlight to being free to exercise anytime of the day, anywhere – the benefits of outdoorsy workout are huge!
There are also many different types of activities one can pursue outdoors, some of which we list here for your benefit and healthful knowledge:
Apart from exercising your lungs and filling them with pure oxygen that an outdoor work-out in the early morning guarantees you, you also get to benefit from the added room and spaciousness of an outdoor environment where you can perform lunges to build leg, buttock and thigh muscles. You can team these with other forms of exercise that are restricted by limited space indoors, such as jogging and stretching.
Thus, when outdoors, you can accommodate various forms of energetic exercise to sweat more, weigh less and look great by combining different motions such as performing standing lunges, brisk walking and rear lunges besides elevated walking.
The benefits of performing push-ups for a toned upper body are many and these can best be realized when performed in a natural environment that does away with the need for investing in a bench-press machine or an expensive gym membership fee. Basic movements for a push up includes standard, wide and close gripping of surfaces that will help to stimulate shoulder, chest and triceps muscles and this can be achieved with simple elevation of the hands; more intense work-outs can be performed by elevating your feet.
If you feel up to it, try clapping between push-ups or even squatting on one leg then standing and trying a wider stance; do remember to repeat till you feel the legs experiencing the effects of your efforts.
Other great outdoor exercises include sit-ups, chin-ups (try a tree or playground), uphill running or even walking like a duck – and you will be on your way to good health, cost-effectively!
Video Marketing – Trump the Competition and Win New Customers In No Time
As a savvy marketer, you’re always looking for an edge. Competition for customers is keen. You need to generate leads, build your brand, and promote your products and services.
Fortunately, online video marketing helps you do that. And when it’s properly integrated you’ll see results in a zip.
Simply put video marketing works and now ranks as the sixth most popular content marketing tactic. Seventy percent of B2B marketers create online video.
Let’s examine five compelling facts about online video marketing:
Fact #1: Online video marketing is exploding
To say that video marketing is growing is an understatement. Its rate of acceptance and adoption is remarkable. Alexa, for example, ranks YouTube, as the third most popular website in the world. In just the U.S., YouTube has over 189 million unique viewers.
But effective marketing must be targeted. For B2B marketers that’s not a problem. Today, 83% of senior executives watch more online video than last year, according to a survey by Forbes Insights.
This means you can achieve greater exposure. More viewers – viewers that matter – lead to more customers. And more customers lead to more sales. You won’t have to explain this to your boss.
Fact #2: Online video marketing is versatile
One reason online video is so popular lies in its versatility. Marketers can use online video to repurpose other marketing materials such as white papers and case studies.
Also, marketers can promote their products and services using a fresh delivery method that informs, educates and even entertains prospects.
Internet videos can be found in e-newsletters, blogs and websites. And prospects and customers can subscribe to them as RSS feeds.
Let’s not forget social media. Videos abound on sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+, to name a few.
Versatility translates into extraordinary marketing power. Video introduces a new way of communicating. It enhances existing marketing platforms by bringing them to life, such as email marketing.
This uncovers a sea of new consumers who perhaps wouldn’t “read” your content. Viewing videos is faster and in many cases more preferable to reading text. Now you’re reaching a wider audience.
Fact #3: Shareability is fast and effortless
In the same Forbes study mentioned above, 54% of senior executives said they share
videos with their colleagues every week. A slightly greater percentage, 59%, says they receive work-related videos.
Again, these statistics show that online videos are highly shareable. More important to B2B marketers is that decision makers share and receive these videos.
The future for sharing videos online is bright. The data suggest this trend will significantly increase. Younger executives share videos at much greater rates. While 47% of all executive say they post videos to social networks, that percentage increases to 69% for younger executives.
Fact #4: Video Search Engine Optimization Extends Reach and Access
Search engine optimization work wonders for textual content. And it works especially well for videos. As with text, video content has to be useful. Relevant and valuable content attracts prospects.
For videos embedded on your website, you can optimize videos by including keywords in the title. And use those keywords in the description.
On YouTube you have three opportunities to add keywords. A form pops up that includes fields for the title, the description and tags.
Optimizing your videos makes them easier for your target audience to find. Keep those senior executives in mind when optimizing your videos.
Fact #5: Internet Video Achieves Great Impact with Low Cost
By now, I’m sure you agree that video marketing has great impact. It reaches millions of viewers, depending on the platform you use. Its shareability is instantaneous. And it does a good job in reaching and attracting your target market.
Video drives action. According to a Forrester report, click-through rates easily double and even triple when inserting video into emails.
Michael Miller, author of The Idiot’s Guide to Video Marketing estimates that a business can invest as little as a $1,000 dollars to develop quality videos. Some businesses may not need an investment at all.
Round Out Your Marketing Campaigns with Video
If you haven’t already integrated videos into your marketing, consider adding it now.
You can easily rev up your lead generation and branding by adding online video to your marketing mix. Video has many advantages with no obvious downside.
It adds another dimension to your marketing content, while expanding your prospect universe. More viewers lead to more conversions. More conversions lead to more profits.
It’s fast. It’s affordable. Most importantly, your customers love it.
Is Online Shopping Better Than Actually Going to the Malls?
In the last few years, there has been a dramatic increase in online shopping. Despite difficult economic times, online shopping is thriving. There are a number of reasons why online shopping has become more popular than going to traditional ‘brick and mortar’ shopping malls.
Below are a number of reasons why online shopping is better than actually going to the malls:
1. Going to a traditional shopping mall requires getting ready, getting the proper clothing, doing your hair and make up, making sure you have your money, and getting in your vehicle and driving there. When you shop online, you just switch on the computer, connect to the internet, and start shopping. It is easy, convenient, and it does not matter what are wearing and what you look like.
2. Transportation can be a hassle when you shop at a traditional mall. You have to spend money on fuel, fight the traffic, locate a parking spot, and carry all your purchased items to the car. With online shopping, you don’t have to worry about transportation hassles and often your packages are delivered right to the door. If you don’t have a car, taking a bus can be a real hassle when going to a mall.
3. Shopping malls are well-known for the crowds. It can be frustrating trying to get the items you want to purchase. With online shopping, there are no pushy crowds and you can relax and enjoy your online shopping experience.
4. Shopping online is better for the environment. Most online retailers keep their items at a central distribution centre so there is less energy being used which is better for the planet. Retail stores have such energy consuming things as lights and heating and cooling units. As well, shipping from online stores is better on the environment. According to the Center for Energy and Climate Solutions, “shipping two 20 pound packages by overnight air – the most energy-intensive delivery mode – still uses 40 percent less fuel than driving 20 miles round-trip to the mall or store.”
5. Online shopping is a definite time saver. Most people shop on the weekends. Many shopping experiences at a traditional mall can take an entire day. Online shopping saves time so you can enjoy the rest of your weekend. Or, you may have the weekend free if you online shop during the weekday. You can shop any time of the day or night.
6. You can save a lot of money when you online shop. There are many deals on the internet just waiting to be scooped up. As well, most online shops offer free shipping on a certain amount purchased. You are also paying a cheaper price because online stores have less overhead.
7. Shopping online gives access to millions of different products. When you go to a shopping at a shopping mall, you only have access to what the stores have in stock so you end up going from store to store trying to find what you are looking for. Sometimes, it is not always available. When shopping online, you almost always find what you are looking for. You can also comparison shop to find the deals.
Online shopping is continuing to grow at astounding rates. With improvements in secure payment processing, the online shopping industry shows no signs of slowing down. More consumers are discovering that it is a great way to find exactly what you are looking for at a low price.
Boomers In The Work Force
If you follow the baby boomer demographics and you are a baby boomer (born between 1946-1964) you begin to wonder about a lot of things because the numbers are staggering when it comes to our generation. We are 76 million strong. (39)They numbers say that 64 million baby boomers (over 40 percent of the US labor force) will be eligible to retire in large numbers by the end of the decade. Statistics also show that the average retirement age today is 63 because baby boomers are staying on the job longer, either by choice or because they need to stay employed. (57)The increase in retirement age from 55 to 63 represents a trend for baby boomers and requires a change in our culture to recognize that retirement age is an arbitrary number and must be adjusted to respect the choice many make to stay in the work force. (45)As a society we must change our vocabulary and shift the paradigm that life begins to decline once a person enters the fifth decade of life, to life for many is just getting started in the fifth decade. If we replace the word retirement with “transitional phase”, for example it creates a different image in our minds and leaves more room for individual design of that phrase rather than a “one size fits all mentality”.(75)The word retirement leaves no room for variation on that theme in terms of employment and it is very cut and dry… either you are working or you are retired. Why can’t employers work with employees of retirement age to develop a transitional plan that allows the worker to remain productive and the employer to continue to benefit from the knowledge and skills provided by the experienced employee? (68)