Masamuru Ltd.

Dedicated to the memory of Jerry Garcia…

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On August 9, 2001, the world lost one of the most talented musicians and insightful individuals to walk this earth – Jerry Garcia, a phenomenal solo artist and leader of The Grateful Dead.

The influence of his lyrical genius lives on – this feature is one small testament to that fact. As I listened to the lyrics of the Dead tune “Eyes of The World,” I was inspired to write this feature. You can find all the words of this song on this site http://arts.ucsc.edu/GDead/AGDL/eyes.html

The particular line that made me think of writers is -

“Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world.”

I believe this phrase applies to how influential writers can be on the public, in history and just in general.

We usually write about what we see (through our eyes). Our experiences serve as a catalyst for creating stories, poetry, books, scripts, newspaper and magazine articles and columns and more.

Writers can write from almost any location (the world). From big cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago etc… to isolated places like the mountains of Montana, backwoods of Maine or deserts of Arizona – writers can live anywhere they want.

Depending upon what type of writing you do and where your work is published, it may reach a huge percentage of the people, an international audience or a targeted group of society, a tiny segment of one small town’s population.

Think about the magnitude of the media (both print and broadcast). Editors and producers decide what is “newsworthy” and/or worth publishing or airing. But writers create the content for television, radio, newspapers, magazines, books etc…

Although some types of writing (like journalism) are supposed to be objective a reporter still reports what SHE SEES when she’s covering an event, what she views when she’s on the scene of a crime or disaster, what she gathers from interviewing people and what she interprets after investigating stories.

YOUR EYES become the EYES OF THE WORLD almost every time you pick up your pen or type at your computer.

Creative writers certainly rely on what they experience in life or what they feel strongly about as inspiration for short stories, poetry, some books, plays, and scripts.

These processes provide good writers with the power to become a significant influence in the lives of so many different people from so many diverse places.

They say money = power – however – I would argue that the power of words is equally consequential. When you think about in these terms – it’s a little overwhelming – being a writer is a major responsibility not to be taken lightly…

Don’t you agree that we can be the Eyes of The World?

Resource Box – © Danielle Hollister (2004) is the Publisher of BellaOnline Quotations Zine – A free newsletter for quote lovers featuring more than 10,000 quotations in dozens of categories like – love, friendship, children, inspiration, success, wisdom, family, life, and many more. Read it online at – http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art8364.asp

A relatively new concept in the online world is “Virtual Real Estate Investing“. Everything from using the internet as an avenue to make more money in real estate to online games such as SecondLife seem to be included in the popular definition of this term.

To get the facts, I sought out the man generally considered to be the father of virtual real estate investing: Bryan Ellis of BryanEllis.com.

When I began using the term virtual real estate investing in the late 1990s, I did so because I saw clear parallels between the strategies used for profiting from physical real estate and those that would create income in the online world, said Ellis.

One example of the parallels between virtual and physical real estate Bryan Ellis cites is the similarity between the monetization of domain names versus physical property. “There’s a huge difference between a website and a piece of real estate, but the ways you can profit from them are similar: ‘flipping’, rental/leasing, advertising sales, etc…all of these apply to both markets” he states.

The similarities really are obvious. Consider this: If you own a piece of real estate in a desirable neighborhood, your real estate has value because other people are interested in that location. Similarly, ownership of a desirable domain name is valuable for the same reasons. Regardless of the type of asset, you can sell or lease or use any number of strategies to turn the assets into cash.

In our next installment of this series on virtual real estate investing, Bryan Ellis will share the internet analogies to the physical concept of real estate development.

The uniform response when quizzing people on what exactly it is that givers Peter Sutherland the winning edge is that his unique mix of great charm and directness has served him well over the years. Peter Sutherland was a key figure in negotiating the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and it has been well documented that in order to get the accord passed, it was not unusual for him to keep negotiators at the table late into the night. The deal came together after almost a decade of negotiations, and the very gavel he used throughout now sits on his desk at his office in London where he serves as chairman of the arm of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. that oversees Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

It was back in the mid nineties when he rejoined Goldman Sachs, where where previously he had a position as an adviser. The story goes that he was recruited by Eugene Fife on an international flight. Not only current but also former Goldman Sachs employees say Mr. Sutherland gave the bank a lift when it was trying to position itself in Europe.

Peter was widely recognized as being key for winning business away from some of London’s most illustrious and well established banks as well as European financial firms. He brought with him a set of invaluable contacts. Not only that but he is also known to be close to Italian Prime Minister Prodi. In more recent times he accompanied former Goldman CEO Henry Paulson on trips to Russia and China before Paulson became treasury secretary last year. Not only this, he also played an important role in forging a relationship between Goldman and Mittal Steel Co. That paid off when Mittal hired Goldman as lead banker in its $39 billion takeover of Arcelor SA last year. By all accounts Peter Sutherland has been instrumental in some keys bits of business which have had a massive impact on the development of Goldman.

A large percentage of business are stuck, tied to narrow ways of thinking about themselves and their products. In the business environment you can’t be stuck and survive.

Using the techniques of stage Improv, companies and their employees can free their minds so that profit will follow. If you have ever watched “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”, a comedy sketch show by Drew Carey, then you have seen the techniques of Improv in action.

“Applying Improv skills to a business results in endless possibilities,” said Dina Amadril, owner of Marketing Improv, a Long Beach, CA based training and consulting company. “Improv teaches you to think on your feet. Expose your employees to a Marketing Improv Skill Session and they will return as unstoppable idea generators who wreak profit on your business”

What are the 4 steps to free your mind so that profit will follow?

FOCUS/ ACCEPT/ BUILD/ LET GO

Focus on the present tense. Don’t let any past failures or attempts derail your improv-ing. Attempt to view your product or service as if you are seeing it for the first time. Consider that any path you discard here could have been the path to the future pot of gold.

Accept every idea without judgment. Richard Amadril from Marketing Improv warns “The quickest way to squash idea generation in a group is to have someone pass judgment on an idea, especially if that someone is the Boss”

Build on the ideas presented. Using an Improv technique called “Yes, and…” one idea can sprout into 15 in minutes as Dina Amadril explains, “During the Yes, and … phase of the Improv each participant builds on the others ideas. An idea, ‘We can sell our product in sets’ becomes ‘Yes, and we can color code the sets’, ‘Yes, and we can let the customer choose the color on our website’ Ideas fly when you have no boundaries”

Let go when the time is right. You will notice when the ideas start to lag and people are ready to move on to the next topic. Wrap up the topic with a quick idea review and start on your next topic.

Using this simple four-step Improv technique will help build your business by revealing new paths to profit.

For more information on how Improv can evolve your business visit http://www.marketingimprov.com.

If you are in Southern California attend the Marketing Improv Skill Session on April 22, 2005 information about this event can be found on marketingimprov.com or by calling 562-215-4454.

About Marketing Improv – Marketing Improv helps companies target their resources for maximum impact. Our evolutionary seminars focus on your specific marketing issues, identifying new paths to profit.

Dina Amadril
Marketing Improv
645 Pacific Ave #204
Long Beach, CA 90802
562-215-4454
http://www.marketingimprov.com

With the legal way of life growing all over the world, possessing professional indemnity insurance is turning out to be more and more indispensible. If you do not presently have professionally indemnity insurance integrated into your building cover, then now is perhaps the point in time to look into obtaining enhanced cover. Here is some recommendations about why you require insurance, and what to pay attention to.

What is professional indemnity insurance: Public Liability insurance is an insurance contract that shelters you from claims that 3rd party’s might make against you in the occurrence of an accident. If somebody damages their possessions or harms themselves in or around your property or company then the public liability insurance will protect you for any damages that could possibly occur. Insurance usually ranges from two-hundred and fifty pounds up to one million pounds.

What are you covered for: Insurance will insure you for accidents or loss that other people may endure in or around your residence or business premises. You are covered against claims from burglars as well as damages that may well happen to anybody from falling objects or individuals carrying out repairs. If an accident arises on your land and someone claims against you, your insurance policy will help out to pay any expenses. Buy public liability today.

What’s included A lot of contents or property insurance policies enclose integrated liability insurance. You should check with your insurance company whether this is the case, & what amount of cover you have. Even if the insurance is built-in, you must guarantee that you are sufficiently protected for any specific accidents that may perhaps arise.

Payment: The payments that you are expected to have to pay depend on the kind of protection you want. If you only cover your home, then the costs are extremely likely to be much lower than if you are covering a business. On the other hand, premiums are pretty cheap inexpensive the amount of cover that you receive & it is therefore critical for any individual running an organisation.

Are you looking for some new ways to build your bottom line this month?

First of all – keep in touch with your customers! One of the best ways to do this is with a newsletter. Today it’s easier than ever to have a newsletter – use email. If you don’t have your customer’s email addresses already, start asking for them when they pay for something at the cash register. Give them an incentive for signing up for your free newsletter – maybe a free gift or a small discount or even a prize draw they can be entered into. Use your newsletter to let customers know about sales in advance, extend special invitations to past customers only and open the store during non-regular hours. A popular sporting goods store where I live does this twice a year – and the lineups to get in weave through the store parking lot and people talk about the sale for weeks – before and after it happens! This is a GREAT publicity AND sales tool. Add other incentives in the newsletter like: a 10% discount for past customers on a new product line, or offer an old customer a 5% discount on their next purchase if they bring a new customer to a special sale. Give customers a gift for every referral they send to you.

Can you team up with other businesses in your area to offer a “package” promotion? If you are a make-up artist can you team up with the high end dress shops in your community to offer a “bonus” make up package for prom or other special events? By combining services both businesses win and customers love it because they save time since they don’t have to run all over town! This would work well if you gave manicures, pedicures or did hair as well. Professional photographers can also find unique ways to team up with all of these businesses as well. Think “strength in numbers”! If you save the customer time and effort running around THEY WILL BUY FROM YOU and very much appreciate you.

Can you offer a “deal of the month” package? Let’s say you own a restaurant on a beach and October through February are always very slow – and so is your cash flow! Due to construction delays you didn’t open until September which means you are going to be struggling this winter unless you get an influx of cash and FAST! How about selling a twelve month package of meals? Set a price for a 3 course dinner (starter, entrée and dessert), multiply by twelve and then take off a small percentage since the customer pays all at once. Selling these packages allows you an instant influx of cash. You can encourage people to use them as gifts (one gift certificate at a time or the whole book) or they can keep them for themselves to use when they’re low on cash. This idea can be used in many industries, not just food. How about for pet grooming, house cleaning, yard care, car detailing, hair cuts, manicures – any product or service that is bought more than once!

Is there a time of day, or day of week that is slowest for your business? That’s when you have a sale! In the area I live Tuesdays are “cheap movie nights” and all tickets are half price – it’s because historically Tuesdays are the slowest nights at the theatre. Now most Tuesdays the theatres are full! Think about ways you can make this work for your business. I’ve heard of tax accountants who offer a discount to people who bring their taxes in to be done before February 1. This gives the accountant some much needed cash after slow season, and helps ease some of the crazy rush around tax time.

Open up your mind – see what other industries are doing to generate quick cash – DON’T just look at what’s been done in your industry before – try something new – become an innovator in your industry. When you do something different you’ll stand out – by being unique your business can really grow!

Remember, in these directories the best and most legitimate survey companies will be listed which you will be able to apply to for free. Legitimate survey companies never charge a fee to participate in their surveys. Getting Land Survey Notations is simple. They use this information to make their products better and ultimately make more profit, read on more about Land Survey Notations. There are websites that don’t do this and will pass the cash onto you and here if to find them and finally make money filling out surveys. Also see Freebies Free Stuff No Surveys. Many people take surveys from home and do quite well at it.

Not duplicating information should be taken note of as it is one of the more important guidelines for writing effective surveys. Customer data should never be repeated. Avoid posting questions that have been asked previously – to avoid annoying your customers. Read on to find out more about Land Survey Notations. It is also advisable that before joining the survey panels you get a new email address dedicated solely to this purpose. Find out more about Land Survey Notations and Freebies Free Stuff No Surveys. The coupons or discounts can be redeemed online by using the mails or by submitting them at a local retailer.
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My most recent product sampling was three bottles of body wash. More about Land Survey Notations and Freebies Free Stuff No Surveys at our website. Get all the info on Land Survey Notations from our homepage. It would take you months on months to find enough survey sites on your own and you run the risk of giving out your information to the wrong people. Get paid survey network list absolutely FREE from our website! Absolutely no charge for joining the industry’s TOP 7 paying survey networks from www.top-paidsurveys.org

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Good Luck!

Six years ago my daughter then 28 was taking regularly a very powerful pain killer for back pain. Her doctors had to monitor her usage because it could become addictive.

One day I volunteered to go on a trip with a friend of mind to watch a demo of a simple machine that promised much with minimum output on the part of the user. When I tried this machine called a Chi Machine I had an amazing experience.

After just five minutes of use I felt the energy flowing through my body. Since I was a Reiki practioner I recognized this Chi or Bio-Electric energy easily. In addition I felt alert, energized, and focused. Other people at the demo spoke of the benefits they had got from using the machine regularly. This included one person who had suffered for years with back pain.

Enthused I went to my daughter and suggested that she invest in a Chi Machine. My excitement fell on stony ground. She suggested that maybe I was ‘conned’ by a slick MLM operator. She said that new immigrants were constantly being pushed to get into business with gimmicky products. She could not see how something so simple that moved your legs in a swing cycle could have such profound effects.

To cut a long story short… I went ahead and ordered a machine. When she saw I was going ahead my daughter offered to pay half of the purchase price to ease me of any financial let down if things went wrong.

Six years later we both own Chi Machines. For 2 years we had a network of over 100 users in 10 countries. My daughter quit using pain killers for her back pain because it disappered after three weeks of using the Chi Machine. I lost 15 lbs and four inches off my waist in one month. I have maintained this over the last six years. My daughter has maintained the same weight and dress size without dieting over the six year period. I have been physically fit and without major illneses despite my age.

We both use our machines daily. Our sleep has become deep and profound. We are mentally alert after use in the morning and relaxed in the evening. As we explored the world of energy healing we realized that our right and left brain co-ordination was way above avewrage. In short it is easier for both of us to access our intuition and creative abilities.

So I heartily recommend a twice daily 20 minute session with the Chi Machine. All you do is: drink a glass of water before and after the session, lie on a mat, put your ankles in a comfortable position, and let the machine swing you back and forth in a precise manner. After the session lie quietly for two to three mintues and let the energies flow freely through your body.

For twenty minutes your body gets a spinal massage, your mind is allowed to float freely between the left and right poles of your brain, your lymph and blod systems are allowed to clear themselves of toxins, each organ of your body recives the most efficient flow of energy, and you feel connected to the universal source.

That’s it. Total cleansing of body, mind, and spirit twice a day.
Six years later my machine has paid itself over many times in physical, emotional, and spiritual benefits.

So for those of you who find it difficult to keep a proper Yoga, Pilates, or Tai Chi routine perhaps this might be for you. Be warned though that you have to create a habit. I estimate that one month of use can get you into the habit.

Milton Drepaul: Resume Consultant, Writer, Online Entrepreneur, Numerologist, Reiki & EFT Practioner.

Creative Ideas: Smart Business Choices http://www.2000sbc.com

The Resume Expert: http://theresumexpert.com

When shopping for rose petals you first need to decide whether you would like to use fresh, freeze dried or silk. What you plan on using rose petals for will help you decide on which type is more appropriate for your wedding needs.

• For Outdoor use: Fresh or Freeze dried are more appropriate as they are a natural, biodegradable product.
• For Indoor use: Freeze Dried or Silk rose petals are more appropriate. Fresh petals can stain or be slippery. You don’t want to slip when you walk down that aisle!
• Flower Girl use: any type will do, since they do not need a large amount and the rose petals will not be closely examined by your guests. However, keep in mind that indoor use of fresh rose petals even in small amounts can be slippery!
• Table Decoration: freeze dried petals are the real thing only preserved at the peak of their freshness. They look more realistic, but also are more costly. Silk petals can give the look of rose petals at a fraction of the cost.
• Tossing at Church or after the Ceremony: again, if it is outdoors use fresh or freeze dried, as they are degradable. Indoors, silk would be appropriate.

Now that you know where you plan on using your rose petals, lets discuss the three different types, as you can use more than one type in several areas.

• Fresh Rose Petals: the most expensive of the three types, not only because they are fresh but because the roses will have to be de-petaled at the time just before use. They are all natural and biodegradable which is a good thing! However, because they are bio-degradable, they will degrade fast – sometimes so fast they often do not look good by the time they are used. Must be obtained the day needed, sometimes just before use. Another disadvantage is that fresh rose petals can stain and be slippery.
• Freeze Dried Rose Petals: not as expensive as fresh but more expensive than silk, freeze dried gives brides a long lasting alternative to fresh with the look and feel of fresh petals (after all they are real petals!). Freeze dried petals can be ordered and received several weeks before the wedding, avoiding the last minute stress for the bride. Freeze dried petals are preserved at the peak of their freshness for excellent quality when they time comes to use them.
• Silk Rose Petals: often the least expensive of the three options, silk rose petals are wonderful for indoor use. They work well when large quantities are needed for indoor pathways or table decorations. If you plan on purchasing silk rose petals try and ask for a sample first from the retailer if you can’t see them in person. There are many websites out there which offer cheap silk petals – but if they are cheap, they more than likely will look cheap, feel thin, be all the same size or even be almost transparent. Don’t waste your money on poor quality silk rose petals. Quality silk rose should vary in size – after all real rose petals vary in size too! Quality rose petals should not be transparent, but should be made of a microfiber peach silk, giving them the texture and the weight of real rose petals.

Now that you have decided where and what type of petals you will be using, you need to know how much you need! Here are our recommendations:

For Silk Rose Petals

• Tossing: 100 petals per 6 to 8 guests
• Table Decoration: 100 petals per 1 to 2 tables with centerpiece
• Aisle: 100 petals will cover: 1 square foot (dense), 2 square feet (moderate coverage) or 5 square feet (light coverage, like a scattering of petals)
• Flower Girl: 100 to 200 petals depending on how she tosses them and how long the aisle is.

For Real or Freeze Dried Rose Petals Quantities can vary but on average there are 25-35 petals per cup (like a measuring cup) of real or freeze dried rose petals. SInce real and freeze dried rose petals can vary in size, the actual petals per cup can vary.

• Tossing: 1/3 to 1/2 cup per guest
• Table Decoration: 2 to 4 cups per table with centerpiece (depends on how dense you want it to be)
• Aisle: 8 cups per square foot (dense), 4 cups per square foot (moderate coverage), 2 cups per square foot (light coverage), 1 cup per square foot (scattered look)
• Flower Girl: 4 to 8 cups

How to Use Freeze Dried Petals

Using freeze dried petals at your wedding does take some minor prep work to make them useable. The easiest way to soften them is to place them in the bathroom while taking a shower. While they do not become as soft as a fresh petal (so don’t expect that) they do soften and become more pliable. The longer the petals are exposed to moisture, the softer they will get. If the outside air humidity is normal to humid, this process can take a few days to achieve the softening. If the outside air (the air in your home) is dry then the petals can dry out again if you attempt to soften them too long before your wedding. Softening petals by exposure to moist air will also brighten darker colored petals.

We recommend shipping your petals with 2 to 4 weeks before your event for the best quality. Don’t purchase freeze dried petals months ahead of time just “because”. Many colors will fade over time, especially when exposed to light and humidity

If you have a website, sooner or later you’ll get interested in search engine optimisation. It’s the art (or is it a science?) of tweaking your website copy and links, so your site ranks higher in the search engines.

There are many professional search engine optimisation firms (commonly known as SEOs) who will charge you substantial amounts of money to improve your website’s rankings for certain search terms.

It’s tempting to go down the SEO track, particularly when you find your precious site languishing far, far down the rankings on Google.

But one of the world’s top Web marketing experts, Ken Evoy, has written a new report predicting the imminent demise of the SEO industry – and recommending an alternative, more reliable method of achieving a top search engine ranking.

Evoy argues search engines are getting smarter and smarter at recognising sites that have been “SEO’d”.

The engines are constantly getting more sophisticated, to avoid some of the unethical SEO practices being used to trick them into giving a site a good ranking.

So SEO experts are on a continual treadmill to keep up.

Initially, SEO revolved mainly around keywords. Now, it seems to centre around building inbound links to the site, to get a higher ‘page rank’ on Google.

But Evoy believes website owners are wasting their time and money by becoming too focused on either of these SEO techniques.

They would be better off, he argues, simply adding more and more quality content to their websites, to provide visitors with what they really want on the Web – information.

To quote Evoy: “Make your content so good that others will want to link to you.”

He adds, a little honest push-start by a solid, simple inbound link programme is a good idea but this doesn’t have to become an all-consuming pre-occupation.

All you need are a few popular sites, in your market sector, linking to you. There are several ways to achieve this, including contacting the owners of sites you would like linking to you, and asking if they want to exchange links.

Evoy’s company, Sitesell.com, has an excellent, free link exchange service, which I have found very satisfactory for gaining links to my own sites.

Once you have a few quality links to your site, that’s enough, according to Evoy. From then on, concentrate on adding more and more content to your site.

There is an important place for keywords on these new content pages. It helps to focus each page on one or two keywords (actually, it’s better to use key phrases, because these are what Web searchers typically use) sprinkle these keywords and phrases throughout your page.

You can find the best keywords by using a service called Wordtracker. This is particularly useful because it saves you from simply guessing which words and phrases people are searching on, and gives you the actual search terms being used – and how much competition there is for these terms.

I won’t go too much into keyword analysis here. Suffice it to say, if you follow Evoy’s advice, you’ll focus mainly on writing content-filled pages that are of genuine value to your prospective customers or clients.

As the search engines see the content on your site continually changing, they’ll return more often. They’ll spider new content on your pages faster and faster. This is good news and helps your search engine rankings.

The only downside of Evoy’s approach is that it does take time and commitment to keep adding content to your website. It may seem easier to pay an SEO expert.

But consider this. Even if you do achieve a good ranking in the search engines through SEO, if a visitor arrives and finds mediocre content, what’s the use. They’ll simply click away. For most small businesses, with limited financial resources, the key to getting your website noticed in the search engines is a slow, steady approach of adding more and more pages with great, relevant content for your marketplace.

Then you can forget about SEO and every other trick.

Focus on building content and everything else will take care of itself.