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Tom Peters crafted a moving, educational animal
adventure story in his novel Star. This is a dog-lover’s fiction
- written for a young adult audience. Any young person who
loves animals, or wants to own a dog should read this book.

Without preaching, Tom enlightens humans to the plight of
dogs. He brings understanding to how they see things and
why they behave the way they do. The most moving moral to
the story for me was shown through the main character (a
dog named Star) whose owners had school, work, play and
friends - while Star has only them. It really puts their world
into perspective. I was torn and sorrowed by the incidents in
the kennel and animal shelter. If I have not been donating
enough to these shelters before, I will most certainly
endeavor do so now.

Star is a courageous, loving lab-rottweiler cross who goes
through many adventures from being ‘rescued’ from a
puppy mill, abandoned in a forest, being stolen by a trucker
and used by jewelry thieves. Star ensures a place in the
readers heart through his self-less rescue of a little boy and
his generous, loving heart.

I do not think a reader could put down this book without
being moved by the great heart that Star displayed
repeatedly. There are many lessons here for young adults
from the dangers in the world, to the plight of pets and the
strength of love.

ISBN#: 1553521927
Author: Tom Peters
Publisher: Tree Side Press.

~ Lillian Brummet - Book Reviewer - Co-author of the book Trash Talk, a guide for anyone concerned about his or her impact on the environment Author of Towards Understanding, a collection of poetry.
http://www.sunshinecable.com/~drumit

This article is based on the following book:

What Is The Emperor Wearing?
Truth-Telling In Business Relationships
Butterworth-Heinneman
ISBN 0-7506-9872-1
217 pages

This book is inspired by the popular tale “The Emperor’s New Clothes”. It provides stories of ordinary individuals in the workplace who are in the predicament of confronting the unlikely benefits of “deception” and steering away from the risks and dangers of “truth-telling”.

Unfortunately, “truth-telling” is justifiably perceived to be difficult, risky, and unrewarding. More often than not, others will try to invalidate your truth with what they believe is true rather than discover the true nature of the problem.

Take the case of Rita. She tried to tell the truth to her manager, Kerwin, but he refused to listen. Her predictions were correct, but it was only after the scandal broke out in the media that Kerwin realized it. Clearly, Rita’s truth was ignored.

Robert, however, was reluctant to accept that his store manager was stealing supplies from his dry cleaning establishment. Robert lost money in a store that seemed to be doing very good business simply because he’d rather not know what the truth is.

Truth-telling has become more risky and difficult to some of the characters in the book. Basically, they had hard times telling the truth when:

• the truth is bad news

• the truths collidethat is, when your truth gets fabricated along the way

• you’d be happier if you know what the truth is

• you’re not sure if your truth is really true

• your integrity is sacrificed

• it makes better sense not to tell the truth

The genuine stories of Rita, Robert and the other characters of the book proved the profitable side of truth-telling. In the long run, it has become obvious that truth-telling is always more beneficial than “deception”. To practice the skill the following is recommended:

• Examine Assumptions. With the fear of jeopardizing her position by confronting the manager, Kathleen decided to carefully examine her opinion that her boss is behaving inappropriately at meetings they attended. Eventually, it dawned on her that her objectives are different from his.

• Know Yourself First. Irwin, a telecommunications executive, was not aware of his alcohol problems. It took near disaster before he realized this. Looking back, Irwin identified that incident as a major turning point in his life and career.

• Use Your Intuition to Guide You. Elizabeth rarely understood the reason for crying at meetings. When the team examined the situation more carefully, they discovered that Elizabeth’s intuition was warning them when something subtle was wrong with some proposed action.

• The Truth Will Set You Free, but First It May Make You Mad. Pete’s team confronted him on his ineffective leadership style. It was difficult to hear the negative feedback, but as he listened and responded, the team members’ animosity changed to offers of help and support.

• Get the Information You Need Without Being Gullible or Paranoid.

• Ask Questions with Grace and Skill.

• Tell Your Truth with Compassion for Yourself and Others. Valerie struggled with herself about how to inform her client that she suspected he was using drugs. As she prepared him for job interviews, she started to think that other interviewers might notice the subtle symptoms and mannerisms she had observed in him. She carefully examined her own internal conversation and her fear of alienating her client. Her commitment to her own integrity helped her find an appropriate way to take the necessary risk while continuing to support her client.

• The “What I Feel Like Saying” Process. Staff meetings were becoming a waste of time in Monica’s mortgage banking office. Staff members would come late, leave early, and barely pretend to participate. Introducing a simple exercise at the start of each weekly meeting allowed everyone to gradually learn to work together more effectively.

• Is Something Sinister Going On? Everyone at the meeting was frustrated. People were repeating their points several times, but they were not reaching any resolution. A simple matter that should have taken five minutes had been debated for an hour. After a brief recess, Barry raised a new issue that concerned everyone. When the discussion of the new topic was completed, they went back to considering the original issue, and they reached agreement on a solution almost immediately.

• Using Agreements to Create Dialogue Instead of Conflict. It is important for any truth teller to realize that your truth is not THE TRUTH, and neither is anyone else’s. Exploring different perspectives on the truth instead of arguing about which is correct can best be accomplished in a safe environment. A variety of organizations use an ever-evolving set of agreements to create and maintain a context in which truth-telling can occur.

About The Author

Summary By: Regine P. Azurin, http://www.bizsum.com

“A Lot Of Great Books….Too Little Time To Read”

Free Book Summaries Of Latest Bestsellers for Busy Executives and Entrepreneurs, Mailto:freearticle@bizsum.com

BusinessSummaries is a BusinessSummaries.com service.

(c) Copyright 2001-2002, BusinessSummaries.com - Wisdom In A Nutshell

samantha@bizsum.com

The role of leadership is changing because of technological advances, increased competition (both domestic and international), and the desire of employees to be more involved in managing their own work. Now and in the future, leaders deal with a more educated, talented group of employees who have definite interests and aspirations. People can have the greatest influence on productivity, excellence, and quality, but only if leaders can empower employees and give them more autonomy while maintaining effective accountability. This means a substantial change in the role of the traditional leader and in his/her skills to interact on a one-to-one basis. The new job of the leader will be to coach, develop train, delegate, facilitate and run interference rather than doing all the planning, organizing, and directing from an authoritative base.

Leaders will need to instill a new competitive spirit in employees to streamline work, reduce errors, respond to customer needs, and solve challenging problems. Leaders and employees will become more like partners whose common cause will be to accomplish the job in the best way possible. Leaders will be required to learn how to convert employees into allies, not adversaries, without sacrificing standards of quality and productivity. Because organizations have defined resources and because actions that can be undertaken are limited, leaders and employees will need to develop a common vision of the mission or work to be done. These leaders will need to coach, monitor, and help employees realize the organization’s vision and purpose. In fact, the main reasons we advocate coaching is because it enables us to more adequately respond to the demands of customers, to maintain standards, and to fulfill the purpose of existing in the organization.

Some leaders may find the new approach described in these coaching books as a challenge because their own bosses may not have been the best models to follow. In the past, we have looked at employees as children needing a benevolent parent rather than entrepreneurial partners. More and more employees now want to be included, to contribute, and to be treated as necessary, not like just extra pairs of hands or pack mules. The new attitude will test the patience, skills and knowledge of leaders.

These coaching books are about your beliefs as a leader regarding your employees and how they should be managed and directed in a very positive way. Our promise to you is that if you will seriously ponder the message in the books, put into practice the behaviors, and assimilate the values advocated, you will definitely succeed in winning the cooperation and support of your employees. It won’t come overnight, and you will find some employees who defy the recommendations that we suggest. These exceptions will require a different and perhaps tradition management style. However, others will appreciate the refreshing difference in your approach and will reward you with incomparable levels of performance. We also ensure that the reading and search for solutions interesting and to the point.

So there you have it. There are many leadership and coaching books. Choose one or both of these books if you want to concentrate on specific skills related to positive leadership and coaching interaction. We believe coaching is a constructive game for leaders to learn, a lot of games can be learned, some good, some not. Why not learn the art of a good one?

Moon Child by Simone Maroney is a larger sized adventure, fantasy novel with 55 chapters. The story line involves complex relationships between six main characters, which are delicately balanced leaving room for intrigue.

Hanna, the chief character, was selected from birth by the Goddess, given special training and endowed with ‘gifts’ the elders call the ‘Memories’. As Hanna goes through many travelling adventures, she becomes respected and known as the ‘One’ a ‘Reader’ and a ‘Healer’.

Her father, a priest and a shaman in the village tries to protect her while making Hanna learn to stand on her own. Manon, a dear friend and fellow ‘Healer’, helps Hanna find a position in the same village that tried to kill her. Raer, her childhood friend, whose brain was inadvertently injured during play, becomes a valuable aid to Hanna and her adopted village. Janna, Hanna’s archenemy, keeps people at attention with her evil and treacherous behavior. A little romance is thrown in with Jio, also known as ‘Maih’, who is actually Janna’s brother.

So much is going on in the book that readers may find themselves stopping to retrace a few pages. I enjoyed reading this novel and found that it reminded me a little of Clan of the Cave Bear - because of the tribal differences, traveling and ‘gifts’ the chief character endures. Sometimes being selected by the Gods brings a tumultuous life!

ISBN#: 1933157046
Author: Simone Maroney
Publisher: Draumr Publishing

~ Lillian Brummet - Book Reviewer - Co-author of the book Trash Talk, a guide for anyone concerned about his or her impact on the environment - Author of Towards Understanding, a collection of poetry. (www.sunshinecable.com/~drumit)

Every marketing campaign should begin with a plan. Sales letters are no different. No plan and you may miss the mark of High Sales you are aiming for. Set a roadmap that you can follow to explosive sales every time with every ebook. Focus and aim your sales letter with these 8 preparation tips. Then get ready to sell more than you dreamed:

1. Write a list of frequently asked questions for your ebook.

You want to make sure you pin point what your prospects and visitors are looking for and then give it to them. Find out what their burning questions are and then answer them in your sales copy and product. Before you write the benefits of your products you need to know the problems that audience face.

2. Develop a list to help your prospect visualize using your ebook.

Answer the questions: “When will your prospect read your ebook?”, “How will they read it,” “Why will they read it?” For example will they read it on their desktop, laptop or will they print it out. Will they relax on the couch and read your insightful tips. Perhaps they will print them and read on the way to work or during lunch break…

3. Write down what your up sell offers or possibilities are.

This is where a lot of small business professionals miss out. They fail to create up sell offers. Create your up sell offers and opportunities before you even write your sales letter so that they can be woven into your back end pages and sales messages.

4. Write a list of Benefit Bullets.

What do they get will they experience upon purchasing this product, what will this product give them.

5. Make a list of bonus gifts.

Select bonus gifts before you write the sales letter. This way you can include the benefits in your sales message as a part of your product.

6. Develop your guarantee.

Think about it? A lot of businesses shake in their shoes when it comes to developing a guarantee. But think about it; most small businesses have a built in guarantee. If someone ask for their money back, most small business professionals will just give their money back. They don’t haggle over whether they should or shouldn’t.

7. Gather your testimonials into one file.

If you don’t have any yet for a new product, use famous quotes about your field until you get some. Sprinkle throughout your copy.

8. Go look at your competitor’s sales page.

Examine their FAQs (see if you missed any), what are their bonus gifts, what is their guarantee, what is their up sell, if any? I made this step last so you wouldn’t be tempted to just be a copy cat. But you can use your competitor’s sales pitch as a measuring stick. How did you measure up? Did you whiz past; leaving them in a cloud of dust? Or did you miss a few things that you will now add after examining their pages?

Preparation for your super sales maker will give you the competitive edge you have been looking for. Put these steps into place before you even write your sales letter and sell more. Enjoy the journey and life is made easier.

© Earma Brown, 9 book author, web developer and small business owner
EBK: eBook It! Ten Tips to Profit From Your Passion Helps small business owners and writers who want to market effectively online! She also mentors other writers and business professionals through her bi-monthly ezine Passion to Profit With Ebooks & More Send any email to passiontoprofit@clickeasyebooks.com and receive monthly free ebook or visit her on the web at http://www.clickeasyebooks.com for more online marketing tips.

When I started out back in 1998, there was a lot of junk on the web. Really useless junk that internet marketers tried desperately to make a buck with. Well, that’s about all they did make - a few bucks. eBooks were still a very new concept and it would take all these years for them to reach the level of demand you see today.

The concept of reselling digital goods like ebooks and software has been around as long as I remember, but there has never been a time when the quality of products and methods for profiting with them has been so easy. For anyone starting out in the internet marketing game, reselling digital goods is a great place to start. If you already have an existing website, these products can make a great addition both in attracting new customers to your site, as well as generating extra profits.

Benefits of Reselling eBooks & Software:

- Most reseller packages contain everything you need to get started. A good reseller package includes all the sales materials, instructions, and graphics to start selling the same day.

- Your small investment turns into long-term profits. Once you purchase a product with resell rights, you can often sell the product for whatever price you choose and with the ease of automated orders & deliveries, you have a system which can generate profits for years. It’s a simple “Buy Once, Profit Forever” concept that works extremely well and is the backbone of many internet marketer’s success.

- Boost traffic and revenue to an existing website. Finding related products to resell from your website can only benefit you by attracting more visitors and boosting revenues. Think about it, if you add ten extra products to your website, each with their own search engine optimized page, you could pull in 100’s or 1000’s of new visitors every month. So what if they’ve seen or boughten this same product before? You can simply add a display of your other products on the same page, so that they are introduced to your main products.

- Affiliate program visibility & expansion. If you run your own affiliate program, then you already know how powerful it is in generating sales and traffic. Most affiliate programs are set up through networks where 100’s or 1000’s of products are displayed for affiliates to choose from. It can be easy for your affiliate program to get lost in the crowd. Remember, many affiliate networks consist of 1000’s or 10,000+ affiliates looking for programs to promote. If you add 10-12 new products into the affiliate network, you are increasing your visibility among other other sellers, and reaching even more affiliates for your products. A large number of those affiliates will visit your site and may notice that you offer even more affiliate programs for them to promote. This gives you a great advantage over other sellers using the same affiliate network. The added bonus is that those affiliates may decide they want to buy your products themselves! Another win-win situation.

- Offering visitors a bonus. Many ebooks with resell rights allow you to offer them as a “bonus” whenever someone purchases your own product. This is a great way to boost sales as it adds more value to the purchase. It also gives you an edge on the competition.

As you can see, reselling ebooks and software gives you many advantages in boosting your internet marketing revenues and website traffic. To overlook these products because of pride or preconceived notions about these types of products is like having a winning lottery ticket and throwing it in the garbage.

Carole Nickerson has been a web developer and internet marketer since 1998. Visit http://www.thenetter.com for more free articles, tips and software.

If you are a writer of an ebook you definitely get others to proof-read your work, right? Is
proof-reading one of those tasks that if you had the option you would rather take the
garbage out to the bottom of the driveway and tolerate the stench then have to sit down
for a session of proof reading (not unless it’s your passion of course)? Because of the
nature of the business and the reading required to provide this service those that are
proof-readers are normally in great demand. By hiring a proof-reader you have the
advantage of having someone from the “outside” looking over your work thereby
increasing the chances of your work looking professional, well written and helping make
it an even better read. Proof-readers are troopers, long nights, blurry eye’s, a temporarily
forgotten spouse…just kidding. So mentally focused on the work at hand, seeking
mis-spelled words like a heat seeking missle and placing exclamation marks where there
should only be periods. Proof-readers are often sought for their services from virtually
almost all industries, called on to create sales brochures or promotional pamphlets.
Thanks to the launch of the internet they are more widely accessible. They are called
upon from professionals from all walks of life, doctors, lawyers, accountants. If you
think about it their like a literary first aid kit, they patch up your grammatical mistakes.
Some writers hire proof-readers for their final drafts, they are familiar with the way most
documents are supposed to be properly structured. Proof-readers are always there when
you need them, most use a checklist to make the process as painless as possible especially
for them days when it feels like it’s a Monday. Most approach proofing in a systematic
way, breaking the tasks into segments or sections completing them one at a time so the
job at hand doesn’t seem so big. Some have “their” way that works perfect for them but
not for others, everyone’s different. What you can’t see or don’t notice proof-reader’s
usually do. Some are even fluent in many different languages but be prepared to pay for
such a valuable service. When seeking the services of a proof-reader cash may not
always be required, although I’m sure they would prefer cash instead of an exchange of
services don’t count out the bartering process totally. Some may also provide
copywriting services that pack a punch with your target market, treat your proof-reader
like the “diamond” they are and send them the occasional thank-you card. Proof-readers
are a valuable tool, the next time you see one salute him or her (I wouldn’t recommend
kissing the shoes though).

About the Author

Brian is a freelance writer and owner of www.theebookking.com. He publishes a monthly newsletter called The Ebook King Chronicles.

Have you been considering writing a book and just cannot seem to find the time? Well you might be surprised that you will have all the time in the world if you’re caught unable to evacuate from a major category hurricane, which is ready to make landfall near where you live.

For instance during the 2005 Atlantic tropical hurricane season many people who failed to evacuate were stuck in their homes for three to four weeks without power or water. Many people who decide to stay during large tropical hurricanes are smart in that they are careful to stock up with water and food. But without TV, telephone or anything to do, one would get very bored, yet if you are writing a book you might be able to finish the entire work and subsequent drafts completely.

If you find the 2006 Atlantic tropical hurricane season forcing you to evacuate or putting you to position where you have to stay home, perhaps you’ll figure out a way to hook up the car battery to an inverter and do a little writing, while you wait for the authorities to turn back on the power and the water. Perhaps you’ll get a small generator with several gas cans so you can run your word processing laptop. In any case perhaps the hurricane season is a good time to write that eBook you have been considering for so long.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Since its inception, ebooks had long been regarded as an effective tool in boosting the sales of online businesses. They have regarded ebooks as a means to generate traffic at the same time entice people to consider the products and services that your business offers.

Basically, ebooks are the virtual replicas of books. It refers to a work written by a writer but instead of promoting them on its typical printed format, they are published on its digital form.

In online business, ebooks are basically created to boost an online business sales performance. It attracts people to the website and eventually patronize the product.

With the creation of viral marketing, ebooks have been the primary tool to create a growing awareness of a certain online business. Its popularity continues to grow.

Why?

Because viral ebooks are promoted through the word of mouth. This means that when a certain person has read an ebook, and was gratified with the concepts contained on that particular ebook, usually some individuals will tell their friends about it.

This kind of promotion is known as the word of mouth or viral marketing. This is considered to be very effective because the promotion is usually guaranteed by the person who upholds the goodness of a certain item.

One of the good things about viral ebooks is that the person who shares their own experience with the item or the product is a first-hand testimonial, which becomes reliable especially when other people are still doubtful about the product.

Best of all, viral ebooks can generate income and profits for your business. This is because ebooks are distributed like a virus that inflicts one person after another. In addition, when the viral ebooks is widely spread, chances are, more and more people will buy your product.

Here is a list of the reasons why using viral ebooks can create income:

1. Ebooks are aimed to be given away

The good thing about ebooks is that it is intended to be given away. Most of the ebook writers encourage their customers to give ebooks to their friends, business associates, and family members.

Hence, it becomes a powerful marketing tool. Generally, ebooks are created to inform people but unconsciously it aims to promote a certain product or website. So, if it will be executed properly and will be spread to a vast number of people through viral marketing, you can absolutely earn profits from it.

2. Viral ebooks obtained for free are the best

If people are able to obtain ebooks for free, chances are, there is more intensity when used in viral marketing. This means that people will most likely spread the word to their friends, and their friends will spread the word to their own set of friends, until it reaches a vast number of supporters.

Hence, it will generate income based on the fact that they are getting something good and yet they do not have to spend money for it.

3. Ebooks are not just virtual replicas of books

Another good thing about ebooks is that it does not primarily pertain to books on its simplest form. Ebooks, since it is on its digital form, may contain videos and other digital graphics, which creates a more interactive feature.

In this way, ebook owners are subconsciously enticing their readers to visit their websites and look for more tools that might help them solve their problems. What happens next is that you are in for a workable increase in your income because you get to boost your sales through viral ebooks.

4. Ebooks can be a way to advertise your product

If you are not so much into creating your own ebooks, you may till promote your product and generate income by providing ebook owners your banner ads or graphical displays with your link on it. In this way, it would be easier for ebook publishers to promote your product or website through the word of mouth.

Indeed, viral ebooks are tangible forms of customer evangelism where people talk about your product because they have been satisfied with it. Hence, that would convert more money for your business.

So, if you want to create quick cash that is as good as not spending more money like what you do in advertising, then, it is best that you employ the services of viral ebooks.

Some poker players have asked me “Why would I require this Full Tilt Poker rakeback? I only play online if I have a bonus to clear.” What happens if you get the opportunity to be a professional poker gambler? There are too many card players who are very upset at disregarding rakeback offers but straight off most of them have now opted in for every leading internet poker website and skins.

Do not let this happen to you. If you are a person who plays up to a couple of dollars and then only bets when using bonuses, you should be obtaining usually around 100% rake back considering the bonus payment on your wager. One well known poker site lately removed betters who logged into their poker website only for this purpose. Who knows if this might initiate a trend. If it come about then a rake back deal will be extremely important.

Eventually you may just hit top form and grow extremely successful, even if it has not occurred by now. I was hurt in an on the job accident then poker came along during my recovery, I have no regrets. That occured the best part of two years back now and I have not required a job in those two years all due to online betting and of course rake back offers. It’s great plan to look ahead. Regard it as an investment fund, even if you do not imagine rakeback is for you today it for sure might end up being an outstanding investment in the future, there’s nothing to lose. Should you be looking at signing up for a different poker rooms checking out rakeback is essential. Rakeback Offers The Rakeback Professionals web site is pleased to offer so many respected partners in the same place.

It can be as uncomplicated as going to any Rakeback Professionals affiliated site or as simple as e-mailing. The affiliate can set everyone up on the spot. You will be able to start playing directly. Sign up with an affiliate through Rakeback Professionals you can be confident as every affiliate will have been checked out and have agreed to authorize Rakeback Professionals to arbitrate any conflict you may have. Granted that we always screen our partners, problems have been few and in addition we will invariably work directly to look into the complaint for the security of any gamers.