The Cast Iron Park Bench

Age related macular degeneration (AMD) and the care of your eyesight. There is so much to see in life, seeing the world or the wonderful things around you. Don’t take your eyes for granted be actively involved in their care. One of the number one causes of blindness or vision loss in older Americans is AMD, Age Related Macular Degeneration.

Macular Degeneration is a common problem all over the world with older adults. A great way to keep up with the latest information is to talk with your eyecare professional. Regular, yearly, extensive eye exams can make it possible for early detection and prevention of these eye diseases. Just because you are told that you have cataracts forming doesn’t mean you will loose your sight or have to have surgery. There are many things you can do to slow or even stop the progress of cataracts. The same is true of AMD. There isn’t a cure but studies have been done and you can fight it and at least slow down the process or possibly keep from developing wet AMD which is more serious. Your eye doctor can find these conditions and give you much of the information you need.

With this condition your sight is at great risk. AMD results in the gradual and progressive loss of acute and detailed vision. The most common form is dry AMD which is caused by yellowish deposits called drusen that accumulate on the macula. The macula is the part of your eye responsible for central vision. This can lead to deterioration of the retina and loss of vision. This drusen can be seen by your eye doctor when you have your eyes dialated during your yearly examination. If you get the more serious wet macular degeneration there aren’t many things to help combat it. They do use laser surgery to try to keep eyesight from getting a whole lot worse when you have wet AMD. There have been many advances in the care and treatment of dry AMD.

While some macular degeneration is a natural part of growing older there are things you can do to minimize the damage to your eyes. One type of vitamin and mineral formula was clinically proven by the National Institutes of Health’s 10 year AREDS trial. This trial did find a way to help slow the advancement of AMD. The Areds formula showed consitantly to slow or stop the degeneration in patients that took their vitamins daily. These AREDS formulas are obtainable from several vitamin and mineral companies. Make sure you purchase a formula that duplicates the AREDS formula exactly or adds to it.

To further reduce your risk for developing age related macular degeneration, you need to watch your cholesterol level, eat a well balanced diet that includes plenty of fruits and vegetables, keep your blood pressure in check, avoid prolonged sun exposure, wear sunglasses, and don’t smoke. We all have a lot to see in this special world of ours and healthy eyes are essential to enjoying them.

Linda Moore has AMD but still wanted to stop using glasses. She went to the Lasik Vision Institute AKA Lasik Institute for more information

Is it really a free home based business opportunity? Can I make money without paying anything at all? – Those are about the most often repeated queries put forward by people who are hoping to find a way to make money at home online. People who see an advertisement for a free home based business opportunity want to be reassured that “free” means it will never cost them a penny to run their home based business and that they can easily make money at home online without investing anything. I’m amazed they could even start to believe such a thing could be possible.

When people ask me the “is it really free?” type of question, I give them an honest answer. The answer to both question is usually “yes, but…” and they tend to be disappointed and feel that they’ve been tricked and that the advertisers lied when they offered a free home based business opportunity. It is true that fortunes can be made from a free home based business on the Internet and it can be easy to make money at home online but that is not the whole answer.

I am completely anti-hype but I don’t think all Internet advertising is as misleading as people often claim. If you consider the average Internet advertisement, its wording is no worse than the standard “up to 50% off” claims we take for granted in offline advertising. We know that only a selected few items will actually be reduced by 50% and we don’t feel at all cheated if we find a bargain with just 20% off its usual price. The thing is, people see things differently when they are searching the Internet for ways to make money at home online, their expectations are far higher, they are more willing to believe improbable claims and their disappointment is, therefore, quick and keenly felt..

If you tried to tell the same people that they could make money at home with an offline business without incurring any costs, they would laugh you out of the auditorium. However, the Internet is a strange environment and people need to get acclimatised before they can recognise a legitimate way to make money at home online and to understand what is “free” in the context of a free home based business opportunity. After just a small amount of experience, people will realise that the free home based business opportunity is going to cost them money one way or another if they want to see profits accumulating at any significant rate. The ones who persevere also eventually realise that the cost of running a free home based business online is far less than the cost of running an offline business.

Let’s think seriously about starting a business. First, how about an offline business. Suppose you decide you want to open a shop and sell dresses. Before you see any profit at all, you will have to pay out for premises (rent and taxes), services (fuel, water, phone), stock, insurance and advertising. If you are going to continue with your current employment while you build up the new business, you will also need to find staff and add wages to your list of expenses.

Now let’s think about our free home based business opportunity on the Internet. You need to budget for a product (the equivalent of the stock of dresses), a website (the equivalent of the shop premises) and advertising. The list is shorter and now the Internet home based business opportunity is looking like a much better deal by comparison. The products can be obtained either free of charge or for a small price, the cost of a website is small change compared to the cost of premises, this will be a home based business, so you won’t incur any additional service charges or insurance. An Internet home based business can be set up to run 24/7 with just a couple of hours work a day, so you can continue to earn money at your currently employment without having to spend anything on staff wages. That just leaves advertising costs.

Advertising your free home based business is the thing that’s going to take up the biggest part of your budget. If you were opening your first shop on a limited budget, you would not be able to afford large premises in the prime part of the busiest shopping district where you would benefit from passing trade. You would have to be content with a small side street based shop and, to make customers aware of your business, you would have to advertise. In order to get a steady stream of visitors to your shop, you would need to advertise consistently and continuously. You would need to place your advertisements where they can reach your target market and you would need to make sure your advertisements appeal to your prospective customers so that they would be prepared to make the detour from the main street to check out your products.

The Internet works in the same way. Nobody will know about your new free home based business unless you tell them. You can have the best website in the whole word but, if you don’t advertise it, it would be like keeping your shop door locked, the blinds closed and the lights off. No visitors means no potential sales and that inevitably means no profit. You have no advertise, simple as that. There are many free advertising resources available online for your home based business but you need to be selective as, although there are some very good free advertising resources, the results to be obtained from the free companies are not always as good as paid advertising. Another factor to consider is that using the free advertising resources can take up a lot of time and you need to place a value on your time and decide how it can be spent to best effect.

A free home based business opportunity does sound like the ideal thing for the numerous people who are looking for ways to make money at home online but are unwilling or unable to spend any money to do it. Many people leap into the first free home based business opportunity they see advertised and just as quickly give up when they find out they need to invest time and money in order to make money at home online with an Internet based home business. If these people would think things through, they would realise that starting an online home based business is far less costly than starting an offline business and the stage of getting into profit can come very early. Even if a free home based business it is not entirely free to run, being your own boss rather than being someone else’s employee is priceless.

Elaine Currie has a Work At Home Directory at her Plug-In Profit Site to help everyone who wants to work at home:
http://www.huntingvenus.com

Exhibiting at trade shows can be a cost-effective way to generate business, whether you are a new entrepreneur or have been in business for years. Some exhibitors, however, do not experience the success of others. The success of the exhibitor is the responsibility of the exhibitor, not the trade show organizer. The organizer’s responsibility is to promote the show, fill the exhibits and fill the show with large numbers of visitors. Being at the right show for your business is the first step. Attracting visitors to your exhibit is the next step and may be a challenge. Once the visitor is there, getting them to buy your product or service, or agree to a future contact is another challenge. Bring to mind a time when you either participated at a trade show or were a visitor at a trade show what attracted you to an exhibit, and what turned you off?

Here are 5 success tips that will assist you in enhancing your experience as an exhibitor at your first or next trade show.

1. Seating. Sitting on a barstool will keep you at eye-level with most visitors. Avoid chairs at regular height as it creates a sense of distance between you and your visitors, thus breaking rapport with them.

2. Create gender balance. Balancing the number of men and women in your exhibit will help ensure your visitors feel comfortable during their visit. An exhibit staffed by all men or all women may not be as inviting to the opposite sex. In addition to gender balance, when possible, have different ages of staff at your exhibit to ensure that visitors can relate to the staff at your exhibit.

3. Less is more when it comes to displaying your literature – it is better to replenish your materials frequently than have a disorganized surplus at any one time. Large piles of flyers or show-special handouts may appear to some visitors that no one has taken an interest in your materials. Store large quantities of your handouts and flyers under your table and only display short, smaller piles at any one time.

4. Offer carry bags. Many visitors collect a multitude of samples, brochures, and business cards during the show. Offer them a carry bag that displays your company logo. Not only will you appear as the hero for giving them a handy carry bag, you will also have your name/logo displayed at the show while people carrying your bags are browsing the other exhibits.

5. Use a photo. Put a head-and-shoulders photo of yourself or a photo of your product on your literature. These photos will help visitors remember you when they browse through your materials at a later date. Many visitors collect a multitude of flyers and brochures during the show and when they get back to their office, they sift through each piece, usually tossing away what they don’t need. Having your photo on your materials will help them reconnect with you again.

Michael Losier, a Law of Attraction Trainer and author, supports people in understanding and practicing the Art of Deliberate Attraction, so they can have more of what they want and less of what they don’t. Michael has been applying the principles of Law of Attraction for many years and enjoys a wonderful and rewarding life in the city of Victoria, BC, Canada. He facilitates a number of in-person Law of Attraction seminars as well as Teleseminars to a worldwide audience.

For more articles by Michael Losier, Teleclass information or to purchase the book, Law of Attraction, The Science of Attracting More of What You Want and Less of What You Don’t, visit http://www.LawOfAttractionBook.com.

We’ve all heard the saying: If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. But I like to think of it another way. Ask yourself, “am I planning to succeed?”

In business, it’s important to follow a plan. It’s important to have a plan for your year, each week, and each day. Otherwise, you’re being reactive in your business instead of being proactive. When you’re proactive, you control your business – it doesn’t control you.

Here are three easy-to-follow tips to creating and following a successful plan:

1. Start with the end in mind. Set a deadline for your goal. Write the completion of your goal on the deadline date in your calendar. Then, work backward by putting tasks in your calendar each day or each week. For example, if you want to send out a mailing this spring, choose the date that you want the mailing to go out. Then, work backward to create a to-do list each week. If you wanted to send your mailing out on April 1, you would write, “edit mailing” on March 31, and “finish creating mailing” on March 30 and so on. Do this for each goal that you have. Before you know it, you’ll have weekly, and even daily plans laid out.

2. Spend time each day planning. Take 15 minutes every day to create a plan. If you follow the example above, you’ll have a broad plan to follow. However, life is full of opportunities, and you don’t want to miss out on anything. Life is also full of things you don’t plan on – like having to get the hot water heater fixed. You’ll need to spend some time planning to include unexpected things into your day. It’s ok to change your plan, move things around, and re-arrange your schedule. It happens, and it’s ok to shift your plan to make room for the unexpected things.

3. Put strong activities on your to-do list. There are actually certain things that you don’t need to include in your to-do list. The little things. The things that will get done no matter what. For example, don’t put “mail the bills” on your to-do list. Keep your priorities on your to-do list. Put incidentals or non-essential tasks on sticky notes. Once they’re done, throw the note away. Also, don’t put little things on your to-do list just for the satisfaction of having something to cross off.

Planning to succeed doesn’t have to be intimidating or overwhelming. Simply set your goals and follow these three tips. Before you know it, the road to success will be laid out right in front of you.

Remember – any good plan needs to be put into action. It’s not enough to simply write words on paper. You must go forward and create your results.

Jenn Givler is a Business Empowerment Coach who teaches entrepreneurs how to create a Powerful Business. Get her free e-book Be Empowered! http://www.jgivlercoaching.com/newsletter.htm

1) If we accept that every business must have a mailing list. To me this is fundamental. The new business with one customer has a mailing list of one plus prospects?

That list is a means of communicating with the customer, verbally or in writing. Failure to communicate could mean losing the most valuable asset of the business, so your potential customers are just as important.

Cherish your customer(s) and grow your mailing list to consist of customers, lapsed customers, potential customers (qualified prospects), prospects and possibly new leads.

You can tailor your communications to the whole list or segments of the list. Learn how to grow and manage your list.

2) How do we grow the list? One of the most profitable ways is to use classifieds advertisements.

Classified advertising is best used to build a list of qualified prospects. A qualified prospect has been turned from a prospect (someone who may have a need for your product or service) to someone who has an identified need for your product or service.

Because they have responded to your advertising efforts they have indicated a possible need. Use classifieds to offer a free catalogue, booklet or report relative to your product or service.

3) Generally you can sell anything from classifieds so they are great for pulling enquiries with lines such as: Write for further information; free booklet offer, send for product or service information. Be creative in what you offer and have fun developing your advertising skills as you build your list.

4) Advertise all year round. Responses will vary, but by keying your advertisements

according to the month they appear, and by careful tabulation of your returns from each keyed advertisement you will find that steady year round responses will continue.

It has been known for enquiries and orders to still be coming as long as two years after the date of an advertisement! The media used for classifieds can lie around for a long time.

5) How can I decide where to advertise my product or service? Targeting! You have
to know your target market there are many sources of information. Public libraries, trade journals, the Internet and good old word of mouth.

In the UK we have BRAD (British Rate and Data). You are sure to have similar where you are.

BRAD contains information on nearly all journals and magazines in Britain. However you do it, make a list of the addresses, circulation figures, reader demographics and advertising rates.

Individual trade journals will provide a ‘media pack’ if you ask. The pack contains all of the necessary data.

Advertising costs money so at all times you must be sure that you are building your list profitably. The very best way to build your list for free is to get free advertising which you can do by offering an article to the journals.

The best free advertising is from the issue of regular press releases. Editors are always looking for news. Get to know the journals that cover your specialisation and issue a press release on a regular and repeating basis.

This keeps your name in front of your whole list, customers to prospects, and can offer information, free, this is what works every time ‘free information’. Don’t be daunted at the prospect of writing press releases. We show you [How To Write A Press Release] here.

Tip ‘The man who knows most is the first to want to know more’. Use press releases to offer him free information as part of your program of advertising.

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Fat free has almost become a cornerstone in many households. It is certainly something of a fixture on modern restaurant menus. And industries have catered to the fat free preoccupation by supplying foods labeled fat free and low fat, as well as herbal and medical products that block fat metabolism. But the bottom line on the beauty and health fronts, is that if you want beautiful skin with fewer wrinkles, or to speed up your metabolism, you need to eat the right kind of fats.

The benefits to your skin of eating the right fats daily are many. Beneficial fats stimulate the production of collagen, improves the blood flow in the layer below the skin that supplies nutrients for the creation of new, healthy skin cells. Poor quality blood flow here means under performing new skin cells. Fats keep the skin moist, from the inside. Fats are crucial for the absorption of the fat soluble vitamin – A, D, E, and K. And the beneficial phytonutrients like carotene, lycopene and lutein need fat to be absorbed also.

For example, eating salad with a dressing containing fats increases the absorption of these phytonutrients. A study, published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition (and referenced in Gorgeous Skin by E Angyal) found that those who ate a salad with a low fat dressing had very little alpha-carotene, beta-carotene and lycopene in blood tests taken afterwards. Those who had a full fat dressing with the salad had noticeably higher levels of these carotenes and lycopene metabolites in their blood.

Fats also help produce and regulate hormones, reduce inflammation (the right fats anyway), and prevent eczema, psoriasis, and hair loss.

According to Erica Angyal, you need about 2tbsp, or 20 grams of fats per day so the skin can lubricate itself, and so enough vitamin A can be absorbed. Vitamin A prevents premature aging.

Erica Angyal recommends olive oil, flaxseed oil, walnut oil, pumpkin seed oil, coconut oil, mustard seed oil, avocado oil, soy oil, macadamia oil, and canola oil. She suggests using extra virgin, virgin, cold pressed oils where they are available, as these are always much better quality, and the way they are processed means unhealthy chemical changes to the oils are avoided. Of the oils here, the mono unsaturated oils are olive oil, avocado oil, macadamia oil, as well as the oil from cold water fish, like swordfish, mackerel and salmon. Mono unsaturated oils can reduce wrinkles. The polyunsaturated oils are flaxseed, walnut, pumpkin seed, and canola oil. For the reasons outlined below, I would not personally use these to gain the bulk of needed daily fats. Coconut oil is a saturated fat, but extremely good for you.

Coconut Oil

I love this stuff. Not only does it have a beautiful aroma when it is good quality, cold pressed coconut oil, but it has amazing health benefits that go beyond great looking skin. Aging, including aging of the brain and skin, is associated with a process called ‘peroxidation’. This simply means that free radicals remove an oxygen electron from the fats (lipids) in our cellular membranes. Ultraviolet light, from the sun, causes peroxidation in unsaturated fats, both in the laboratory and in your skin. This increases the rate at which wrinkles form.

And unsaturated fats, like regular vegetable oils, decrease the metabolic rate. Unsaturated fats suppress the response of the body’s tissues to thyroid hormone. Unsaturated fats inhibit the protein digestive enzyme that forms thyroid hormone, as well as damaging the mitochondria in cells, which relates to cellular energy production. Coconut oil counteracts these unwelcome effects of unsaturated fats.

Coconut oil it is incredibly versatile. Because it is so stable, it can be used in cooking without becoming hydrogenated. And it doesn’t change the flavor of the food, despite its strong aroma. Coconut oil contains medium chain fatty acids. These are not stored in the cells like other fats but go directly to the liver which converts them into energy. The shorter chain length allows them to bypass the metabolic pathway that other longer chain fats need to use. Coconut oil is the only saturated fat that is good for the body.

Interestingly, Dr Mercola’s website quotes an article by Dr Ray Peat in which he mentions that when so called essential fatty acids were used in patients fed intravenously, their immune systems were suppressed. Consequently, coconut oil is used instead. The only exceptions are in cases where immunosuppression is needed, such as in organ transplant patients. The essential fatty acids are the omega 3 and omega 6 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Examples are flaxseed oil, the oils of cold water fish like salmon, evening primrose oil, and sunflower oil.

References:
1. http://www.mercola.com/2001/mar/24/coconut_oil.htm
2. Erica Angyal, Gorgeous Skin In 30 Days (Lothian Books, 2005)

If you’re troubled by acne scars, check out this article to learn about the different types and the best forms of treatment for each. Learn all about puberty acne here.