I know that I have said a lot in the paragraph above, but I have examples to back up why you should not get so excited about the live of a ‘celebrity, because we all remember how they used to get a lot of publicity .  You were excited over MC Hammer or over Vanilla Ice, it just seemed as if their reigns would never end, but then, all of a sudden, they somehow faded into the sunset, and became irrelevant, something that you could not have fathomed would ever occur for such ‘celebrities’ that were on top of their game within the music genre.  Now they can use a press kit or EPK to help their public careers get back on track, as they need to now start their PR all over again. The point is that we sometimes get so swamped in the success of these people that we really forget to think about the fact that they are really no better than we are.  Why do we care that Madonna is going to adopt another child – as there are many people that adopt children everyday?  Why would someone pay a million dollars of a picture of some celebrity’s baby? We are in a recession, so spending that type of money on a picture seems nonsensical to the laymen, but the reality is that, we as people live for the sensationalism of it all. 

Are we trying to live through them because we are bored with our lives, or is it because we look at their success as a blueprint for us?    What is the real reason that we are so fascinated with celebrities, because what is so important and intricate to remember is that they are only famous because of us –the supporters, the consumers, the fans.  You are the reason that they have been labeled a ‘celebrity,’ so, in essence, you are famous, too.

And yet, how productive and rewarding our lives could be if we conquered this mental malady. How much less stress would we carry if we did not allow ourselves to be emotionally and mentally weighed down  with unfinished tasks hanging over us.

There are various reasons for procrastinating from negative self talk, “I can’t do this right ,” to being unclear about the task or not seeing the relevance of the task, to finding the task boring – especially true with repetitive tasks, to poor time management.

Whatever the cause, or excuse, procrastination is rooted in our mind, in the way we think, and with the right mind training  we can learn to rise to the occasion “mentally,” and get it done. Boring and repetitive tasks are often the most difficult to find motivation for.

In the business world, procrastination drains massive amounts of profit .  With procrastinators, it can be the corridor meeting, surfing the net, or the coffee pot – they all work against inertia . And yet, just creating movement is quite often all that is needed to change the inertia.  Motion encourages more motion. 

Procrastination isn’t just something that afflicts employees, it also affects business owners – especially when things aren’t going well.  To fix procrastination in the workplace, the perfect place to start  is with the owner or manager of the business.  You can’t expect your team to show a quality that you won’t or can’t demonstrate yourself.

If you find that you constantly find that you never seem to complete your tasks  on a personal level, or if you own a business and you have employees who have difficulty reaching deadlines, it might be a worthwhile idea to secure the services of a  business coach who is adept at teaching people to overcome procrastination. Business owners and employees both enjoy the workplace much more when they have learned to self start and overcome procrastination.

 If you would like to learn a little more  about business coaching, check out Perth’s No.1 Business Coach.

The law itself has been widely seen to be contrived towards copyright owners, particularly since the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Record labels’ lawsuits against illegal music downloaders have created an aura of criminalization about copyright. And yet the continually evolving culture of the Internet, which favors collaboration and the use of collaborative works, is still a step ahead of the law   Given the prevalence of the pervasive media landscape, educators are worried about their ability to teach about popular culture without violating copyright by using necessary examples from popular culture in their classes. One argument is that educators have greater freedom under the fair use doctrine than they or the general education community believes. 

What is fair use? It is the right to use copyrighted material without asking or payment under some circumstances – especially when the cultural or social benefits of the use are predominant .   It would appear then that fair use a broadly applicable standard for education. In fact, there are specific exemptions for teachers in Sections 110(1) and (2) of the Copyright Act (for “face-to-face” in the classroom and equivalent  practices in distance education. However, most school districts and teachers pass under what some experts see as limited interpretations of fair use that in turn constrain the range of materials used in the classroom.   The best litmus test to see if your use of materials fall under fair use is to consider your use of classroom materials from the point-of-view of the four factors a judge would consider:

1.The purpose and character of your use;
2.The nature of the copyrighted work;
3.The amount and substantiality of the portion taken, and
4.The effect of the use upon the potential market.

When considering purpose, fair use is more probable when the copyrighted work is “transformed” into something new or of new usefulness, such as quotations integrated into a paper, and perhaps pieces of a work intermingled into a multimedia product for your own teaching needs or included in commentary or criticism of the original.  

When considering nature, or the characteristics of the work, courts prefer the fair use of nonfiction, rather than fiction. Commercial audiovisual works generally receive less fair use than do printed works. A consumable workbook will most certainly be subject to less fair use than would a printed social science text.  

Amount is measured both quantitatively and qualitatively. No exact measures of allowable quantity exist in the law. Quantity must be evaluated relative to the length of the entire original and in light of the amount needed to serve a proper aim. One may also reproduce only a small portion of any work, say the key scenes of a film, but still take “the heart of the work.” This concept is a qualitative measure that may weigh against fair use.

Effect on the market is perhaps even more complicated than the other three factors. This factor means fundamentally that if you make a use for which a purchase of an original theoretically should have occurred—regardless of your personal willingness or ability to pay for such purchase—then this factor may weigh against fair use. Occasional quotations or photocopies may have no disadvantageous market effects, but reproductions of software and videotapes can make direct inroads on the potential markets for those works.

The Internet and the traditional library are both essential tools for today’s teachers and students. Yet the use of materials found in person or on line may be covered by the fair use doctrine or qualify as copyright infringement. Copyright law undergoes constant change and no court can keep up with today’s pace of technological change. Use the four factors cited above when in doubt about your use of copyright material.

So, if you’d like to collect some of those bad debts you’ve got stashed away in a special
file at the back of your file drawer, the first thing you should do is set up a regular routine
for dealing with these debtors and follow through on a collection plan. You should
definitely investigate each new debtor’s credit rating before you advance him any credit. Tell him of your credit terms verbally, and print them on your bills, and also state

the debtors are liable for reasonable collection fees. If you make it a practice to bill your debtor promptly, you’ll find that your debtors are more apt to pay promptly. Onthe other hand, if you neglect your business , you’ll find your debtors will neglect their debts to you.

If it’s a real estate debt, always re-read the terms of the note and know your state’s laws
about notifications of default and time limits. It is important to “ take action ” immediately
when you do not receive a payment on time. Otherwise you are missing out on money!

Should a debtor fall behind in his payments, you should start with a mild past-due
letter to remind him that he has forgotten the due date of his
payment. With this letter, you should definitely include a duplicate invoice stamped, past
due. Give him the exact amount he owes, including late fee(s), and the admonition that if he does not
pay immediately that you will have no choice but to proceed with foreclosure (or a collection
agency, if a non-real estate note).

If you do not receive payment within a few days, send a second letter, this one more
strongly-worded than the first, but at the same time in a dignified and courteous tone.
The important thing here is to demand some sort of communicating from him about this matter.

Your state laws will fix the form and timing of subsequent notices. If this is a consumer
debt, send a third letter, this one very firm but still polite, giving him a date at which you will turn his account over to a collection agency. If you have not received payment by that date, do it.

No one likes to be on a collection agency’s list, and once your debtor find out that you
will indeed, turn their accounts over to an exterior agency for collection, they’ll quickly
accept the fact that you’re running a “tight ship”, and not try to use you for a soft touch.
Be consistent in your collection procedures, and don’t allow special favors. Set up a
regular routine for collecting from past due accounts, and then stick with that procedure.

Something else worth mentioning is the fact that unless you have supporting grounds to
show that you have attempted to collect your bad consumer debts, the IRS will disallow you to write
them off as a business loss.

Some of the things to keep in mind… Your collection letters should contain the date,
name/address of the debtor, a description of the product involved or the services
rendered, and the amount due. It’s also a very good idea to include a self-addressed reply
envelope in order to make it easy for him to mail his check.

Something else to realize is the use of imprinted envelopes with the phrase Address Correction
Requested so the post office will provide you with a forwarding address in case he has moved.

In almost all cases, you should address your letter to a specific person, not to either the
purchasing department or the company in general. In other words, it should be your
endeavor to try to continue your relationship with the person who signed authorization for
the buy in the first place. Your letters should be firm but reasonable, and should
leave the debtor an opportunity to set up a schedule of payments or an honorable way out
of his financial problems.

Telephone calls work very well in that they usually catch the “slow payer” off guard, and
can result in his promising to pay by or on a certain date. The thing is though, before you
start calling on bad debts, be sure that you’re thoroughly familiar with his account, and
that you have his file in front of you when you make your call.

You or one of your agents might make a personal visit to see him and discuss the reasons
why he hasn’t paid, but if he doesn’t want to talk to you and orders you off his property,
you must not argue or attempt to reason with him. The only thing you can do in such a
situation is to leave without further words.

When you do visit the debtor and he offers a partial payment, by all means accept it. Start
by demanding the whole amount, but be ready to accept whatever he offers, and work out
some sort of payment schedule from there. If you can’t collect the money, try bartering -
in other words, trade the terms of your bill for something he has that you can either use,
sell or trade. Only as a last resort should you attempt to take back the merchandise you
sold him.

One other thing, if he claims to have mailed you a check more than a few days ago –
long enough for the check to have reached you – demand that he stop payment on it and
issue a new check. Above all else, keep cool and don’t argue or become sullen
towards him.

To get results, collection letters should be distinctive. Some companies use a special
letterhead printed in red ink which attracts the eye better than any other color and gets
maximum attention. At the same time, a great many of the collection agencies say that
smaller than standard sized paper, plus the use of paper that feels and looks expensive,
always gets getter results.

Never use humor in a collection letter. If you do, your recipient won’t take your collection
efforts seriously. Maintain a good sense of urgency, but don’t imply that you’re angry – serious,
yes – but angry, no. The psychology behind the tone of your collection letters is simply
that the recipients tend to duplicate it.

You should send out your letters over planned intervals – about once every 10 days or two
weeks. This will work in your favor because when several creditors are on a debtor’s
heels, he generally responds the fastest to whoever is the most insistent.
Be sure you don’t ever defame a debtor in writing. To do so will give him a chance to
“hang you” for libel. To always make sure you’re within your legal rights when trying to
collect a bad debt, keep these rules in mind!

Address yourself only to the person responsible for the bill that’s owed.
Send your collection letters in sealed envelopes to ensure that other people don’t see them.
When phoning him or her, don’t discuss the nature of the call with anyone else. Don’t
attack him or her personally, even is what you say about them is true.
It’s okay to disclose the next step in your collection efforts – you’re going to turn his
account over to a collection agency, or foreclose – but don’t describe what will
happen to him if he doesn’t pay.

And finally, always make it as easy as possible for a bad debtor to pay up.
Thousands, even millions of “bad debts” can be collected – but, it takes a planned
collection procedure and the tenacity to last them out.

The next category of factors that causes job stress is too much pressure. Too often, employers give too much responsibility to their workers and give them unrealistic time frames. In an effort to appease their employers, workers try their hardest to accomplish their boss’s demands. The need to impress or to accomplish these demands puts tremendous pressure on them and thus becomes another of the causes of job stress. This is increased  if there is confusion due to a conflict of demands from different superiors. Causes of job stress can also be due to harassment or bullying. Some fellow employees may tease, insult or even threaten others due to their sex, religious belief or race.

Some insensitive employees may even spread malicious gossip in order to destroy another’s good name. insulting bosses may harass employees to show them his superiority. Acts like these produce vast stress for employees who are simultaneously trying to protect themselves and do their jobs. Aside from stress, harassment and bullying can cause the victim to lose his self confidence, his esteem and his respect towards himself.

Work place strain is one of the main causes of job stress, for instance noisy, contaminated, messy areas can all contribute towards job stress. It is therefore a good idea to keep the work areas clean and tidy to have a healthy, at ease and stress free careers.

The causes of job stress can be very different but how we handle them should not only depend on the indiviual but the employers should set rules to annihilate as much stress as possible. So that all employees can enjoy their jobs and not worry about the causes of job stress.

“When a member of the House moves over to the Senate, he raises the IQ of both bodies.“ Everett Dirksen, US Senator 1950-1969. It was he who also made the infamous statement that “A billion here, a billion there – pretty soon you’re talking about real money!”

WHAT DOES $1 one million million million DOLLARS  LOOK LIKE – A slide show available at www.cnbc.com, (A slide presentation that more than likely has the good Senator from Illinois spinning in his grave faster than a Republican PR firm spins Sarah Palin) is definitely worth your taking a moment to view. 

”This stack of cash (A trillion dollars) – in $1 bills would measure 67,866 miles, and stretch approximately 2.72 times around the Earth’s equator. If denominated in $100 bills, $1 trillion would be adequate”to fill 4.5 Olympic-sized swimming pools, with a total volume of 398,000 cubic feet. For comparison, there is only about $625 billion worth of $100 bills presently in circulation, according to the US Treasury bulletin. The mounting US National debt, growing by billions every day, has lately topped the $11 trillion mark.”

Okay, so here’s the deal! According to one of the slides, our budget (such as it is) has gone to the moon and back – Question is, will the administration keep at it until our deficit gets to Mars before astronauts do?

All of this “budget” commentary I read each day seems to miss one vey important fact: Don’t you genuinely have to have some semblance of a financial plan along with some income in order to create a budget? Or is the government getting it’s “financial” advice from my “ex” whose concept of frugality was to show me how much she saved by buying crap she didn’t need because it was on cut-rate sale

Hey, I’m just sayin’ – of course I could be wrong!

If you use part of your home regularly and exclusively for business  use, you may be able to deduct a part of the operating expenses and depreciation of your home. You can deduct certain expenses for the business use of a part of your home only if you use that part regularly and exclusively as:

1. Your principal place of business for an any trade or business in which you engage, or
2. A place to meet or deal with your patients, clients, or customers in the normal course of your trade or business

You can also deduct certain expenses for a  building not attached to your home if you use it regularly and exclusively for your trade or business. The regular and exclusive business must be for the convenience of your employer and not just appropriate and helpful for your job.

Starting in 1999, a home office will be considered a principal place of business if you perform administrative or management activities (such as billing) there and there is no other fixed location of that trade or business where you can conduct substantial administrative or management  duties of that trade or business. This change in the law resulted from a 1993 Supreme Court decision in which an anesthesiologist who handled his bookkeeping and business correspondence at home and treated his patients in hospitals was denied a home office deduction. In the wake of this decision, Congress changed the law to allow taxpayers a home office deduction in such circumstances.

Tip:  Don’t forget to take pictures of your home office to substantiate the deduction in the case of audits. 

Note: When you do not have a profit from your business, you are not able to take the home office deduction, but you can carry the deduction forward to future years.

Tip: The percentage of deductible home office expenses is normally based on the percentage of square footage the  business use in comparison to total square footage, but consider this method also: Calculate the amount of utilizes prior to conversion to a home office in comparison to the amount of utilities after conversion. For example the electric bill alone may go up substantially since you are now  using the home office . Business use can also be based on the number of rooms used for business, if all rooms are of approximately the same size.

 Home based business  deductions may include: utilities, gas, electric, sewage, trash, water, internet access, cable TV, repairs and maintenance, insurance, property tax, mortgage interest, household supplies, association dues, security expense.

Note: If you are eligible for the home-office deduction you will run into certain complications when you sell your home. Any depreciation you were allowed must be ‚recaptured. This means that you add up all the depreciation you were eligible for during the all the years you had a home office – whether you took the depreciation of not! – and pay tax on that depreciation when you sell your house.

Home  based business tax deduction examples:
Example 1:  Jimmy is a self-employed  electrician . Most of his time is spent at customer’s homes and offices installing and repairing items. He has a small office in his home that he uses exclusively and regularly for the administrative or management activities of his business, such as phoning customers, ordering supplies, and keeping his books.

He writes up estimates and records completed at his customers’ premises. He does not conduct any substantial administrative or management activities at any fixed location other than his home office. He not do his own billing. He uses a local bookkeeping service to bill his customers.

His  in house business office qualifies as his  main place of business for deducting expenses for its use. He uses the home office for administrative and managerial activities of his business and he no other fixed location where he conducts these administrative or managerial activities. His choice to have his billing done by another company does not disqualify his home office from being his principal place of business. He meets all the qualifications, including principal place of business so he can deduct expenses (to the extent of the income deduction limit) for the business use of his home.

Example 2: Paul is a self-employed anesthesiologist. He spends the majority of his time administering anesthesia and postoperative care in three local hospitals. One of the hospitals provides with a small shared office where he could conduct administrative or management activities.
Paul very rarely uses the office the hospital provides. He uses a room in his home that he has converted to an office. He uses the room exclusively and regularly to conduct all the following activities.

• Contacting patients, surgeons, and hospitals regarding scheduling
• Preparing for treatments and presentations
• Maintaining billing records and patient logs
• Satisfying continuing medical education requirements
• Reading medical journals and books

Paul’s home office qualifies as his principal place of business for deducting expenses for its use. He conducts administrative or management activities for this business as an anesthesiologist there and he has not other fixed location where he conducts substantial administrative or management activities for this business. His choice to use his home office instead of the one provided by the hospital does not disqualify his home office from being his principal place of business. His performance of substantial nonadministrative or nonmanagement activities at fixed locations outside his home also does not disqualify his home office form being his principal place of business. He meet all the qualifications, including principal place of business, so he can deduct expenses (to the extent of the deduction limit) for the business use of his home.

This excerpt was written by Joe D. Moughon, CPA. Joe is a CPA in Houston, Texas. He has written many publications in regards to taxes and the small business owner including: Small Business Tax Deductions.  If you found the information in the article above, please visit his web site for more in-depth information about Small Business Taxes.

Don’t forget, “It’s not what you earn that matters, it is what you get to keep that counts.”

I propose we implement a strategy of changing many straightforward things in our lives, right now, as an alternative to getting only one goal for adjustment.  Imagine if changing in just one tactic isn’t enough? Since we tend to formulate decisions to change, yet in little ways, we obtain momentum along with assurance in our capability to create helpful lifestyle improvements regarding some of the more difficult things like working out on a regular basis and finally losing that extra weight.  So let’s begin building with the intention of gaining confidence!

I see two simple yet significant ways I know how to modify our planet and myself.  To begin with, I’ll make use of eco friendly reusable or recycled grocery bags rather then plastic one use bags as well as paper bags whenever I go to the grocery store.  Secondly, I’ll keep in mind to make use of stainless steel water bottles. You could be shocked by what a helpful effect these two easy practices will surely have to the world.

These practices are straightforward, painless and reasonably priced.  Additionally, in spite of popular perception, plastic containers and bags are not addictive(we promise, no withdrawals or cravings)!  Countless aren’t mindful of how our consumption of these products have an effect on our planet’s health.  Once upon a time not way back, we weren’t mindful of the harmful effects of cigarettes.  We accepted cigarette smoke for the status quo.  Some of us still smoke or live in places where smoking is permissible inside public spaces.  Utilizing reusable shopping bags and reusable water bottles can be brand new healthy routines and so easy compared to something similar to quitting caffeine, high fructose corn syrup or removing fast food from our diet programs.  Store a reserve of eco bags in the vehicle or your pack.  Make a minimal investment in a stainless steel reusable water bottle and bring it with you everywhere you go.  You won’t only reduce the harmful influences of disposable bag and disposable bottle rubbish in the environment, additionally you will inspire the rest to build these effortless lifestyle improvements in their lives as well. The greatest outcome is how you will feel about yourself whenever you appreciate you’re now a part of the solution, as opposed to the issue.  Take a look at the stats as well as the facts:

Disposable bag usage:
Plastic bag waste pollutes our land, forests, creeks, rivers, lakes, along with oceans.Just since the year started(as of March 1st, 2010), it is estimated that over 82 Billion plastic bags are consumed inside of the USA.
According to the EPA this contributes towards the deaths of countless 1000s of aquatic mammals (who ingest and subsequently strangle or die of hunger as a result). In California alone, an estimated nineteen billion plastic bags finish up in landfills every year. Although there is debate regarding which one (plastic vs. paper) is worse for the environment, there is no arguments that the widespread adoption of eco reusable shopping bags is by far the top elucidation for this important environmental problem.

Plastic bottle usage:
According to the Container Recycling Institute (CRI), more than 21 billion beverage cans and bottles have been land-filled, littered and burned so far this year (yes just since 2010 started). CRI also reports that Americans buy an estimated 34.6 billion single serve plastic bottles every year and hundreds of millions end up in the same places that disposable bags end up.

We all dream of a day when we finally break loose of our bad habits:  quitting smoking, eliminating fast food in our diet, or just getting off the couch and working out!  You know you are able to do it!  Settle on what you’ll be able to simply modify right away, and act on it.  So formulate an easy change within your desire today: Adopt a reusable shopping bag and reusable water bottles habit and begin building momentum intended for greater changes that are beginning with your path now!

But is there or is there no such thing as the GO0D way to deal with scams, and with the once that concocted these? Well, we are about to find that out. To “let it be”, and do nothing is not really an option for me. And why not? Because I dislike people that are taking every chance to moan and cry, or talk only but without ever taking any action, or do something. I do believe that there are ways to Search And Destroy the scams, and the abominations (far too low to be called humans) behind these. The once that steal your hard earned money, and dreams, and trust in the honesty of people. This is why I am declaring war to all scum bags out there and am asking that you come to join me in this fight.

Thank you