--------------------- Welcome to *CATLINES* the MEWsletter! For cat-loving Home Business PURRSons: home business workers desiring to share what they know --------------------- Brand new! another newsletter for you! Especially for your friends who are not as into cats as we are! Home Business Tips/BIZLINES:   http://www.bizofchoice.com (our new sister publication) -------------------- Remember to Help the feline population by adopting or fostering stray, hungry, frightened cats! @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Happy Father's Day! Just For Dad   http://www.mamarocks.com/just_for_dad.htm ******* Happy Flag Day! Grand Old Flag   http://www.mamarocks.com/grand_old_flag.htm @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ New entries on our website; come check them out! Something there just for you!   http://www.catliness.com @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ ******* ANNOUNCING: Animal Lovers' Jewelry!  Coming very soon! Wear kitty jewelry to honor current feline family members. Wear kitty jewelry to honor those who have gone on to Rainbow Bridge. Wear kitty jewelry if you're six months old or sixty-six or one-hundred-six years old. Wear kitty jewelry just because you want to. Wear kitty jewelry to remind others to remember the kitties of the world and to protect them. Custom made, special order; we'll let you know when we're ready for you.   http://www.animalloversjewelry.com ******* @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Proud Members: This ezine is listed at Ezine Publishers Association Inc. (EPAI) Join Free At:   http://www.EzinePublisher.org ********************** >^..^< >^..^< >^..^< *CATLINES* vol. 2, Issue 4, June 15, 2003 Published monthly by   http://www.catliness.com (in nine lives of progress) WINNER OF THE GOLDEN WHISKERS AWARD   http://www.meowhoo.com hosted by Katherine Cook at:   http://www.katstorm.com ===================== Editor: Lauren Merryfield =======>^..^<===== If you are receiving this newsletter, either you subscribed recently or received a copy from a friend. Thank you for joining and accepting our catly ezine, ads and other notices from catliness.com! ******* Subscribing and unsubscribing has been made a CATzillion times easier at:   http://www.catliness.com --------------------- >^..^< >^..^< >^..^< (3 kitty heads, representing Jaspur, Mikey and Gabrielle, suPURRvisors and helPURRs in these adventures into catliness.) ===================== >^..^< >^..^< >^..^< And now! ... 3cats present... * CATLINES * ===================== Table of contents: 1: Kibble Nibble: mewsings from the food bowl (editorial) 2: Kitten Kabootle's Kubbyhole (catly writings) (in loving memory of Kitten Kabootle, now living at Rainbow Bridge) 3: biz-catskills (home-business, motivational or general biz articles) 4: look what the cats dragged in (jokes, quotes, very brief verse) 5: from Outside the catbox (questions, comments from readers) 6: subscription info and other strays --------------------- BE SURE TO TELL YOUR FRIENDS TO SUBSCRIBE TO CATLINES! SEND THEM TO Our newly revised:   http://www.catliness.com --------------------- ===================== ===================== 1: Kibble Nibble: mewsings from the food bowl (editorial) Hi, Cat-loving Home-Business PURRSons, When one lives in the NorthWest, one sometimes experiences months with rather unusual names such as: Maypril, Junuary, Augtober and the like.  Well, last week we broke records around here with a heat wave.  Being a Midwest transplant, I reveled in the fact that finally my fingers were not freezing.  I didn't have to change clothes several times a day or throw a beach towel over myself when the frigid zone erupted again and again.  The only problem was that out here, we dont own an air-conditioner.  By the time we really need one, the cold of night prevails. At any rate, I am really glad we had a taste of summer so that now my system really knows that, yes, it is summertime and yes, baseball season!  Go Mariners! We did attend that haven of catliness, the Cat Collectors' Convention in Denver.  You'll read my rhyming account further along in this issue. We're changing by leopard leaps and bounds here at CATLINES.  Not only are we on the brink of opening our kitty jewelry store, and we've added a new ezine for less catly-minded folks, we've also switched over to a new ezine-handling system with autoresponders and more.  We discovered this over at PushButton Publishing:   http://www.pushbuttonpublishing.com/affiliates/t.php?rid=6046 If you get some strange emails related to CATLINES, please be patient since we are moving from a manual system, with many glitches, to an automated system, which, hopefully, will correct itself as our knowledge base increases, lol. Okay!  Happy summer! and happy reading! ....... Welcome to all of our new subscribers.  We hope that in the variety of writings found in each issue, you will not only find something of particular interest to you, but will find something you just *have to* show a friend.  Thanks for the word-of- mouth/email that CATLINES is here, just for you! ******* For those you know who are not into catliness to the extent that we are, and/or if you'd like another home-business-oriented ezine to PURRuse, check out:   http://www.bizofchoice.com ******* Please remember the free ad board for placement of your ads--read below.  Here's a major hint for advertising in CATLINES.  One's ad is much more likely to place in CATLINES if it is composed so as to keep with our catly theme.  Thanks. (Don't you just *love* people who don't practice what they preach?)  lol.  I'm thinking on this one!  One snag is that some companies want us to use their ads and our catly creativity could be frowned upon in a not-at-all aMEWSing way. Lauren Merryfield, (see bio elsewhere in this issue) ********************* Association For Pet Loss And Bereavement:   http://www.aplb.org ******* Cat Collectors' Site:   http://www.catcollectors.com ******* ===================== I am not an ad-writing guru, but this is so important, I hope you don't mind the everyday way I am saying this.  I have joined quite a few programs that claim to bring more traffic to my website, especially, if I buy this and buy that.  I just joined Traffic Swarm, and not only can I bring more traffic to my site, it is aMEWSing to check the six opportunities listed on my brand new startpage, and to click on to any of them to receive more credits. Being a curious PURRSon, I am not only curious about which companies will be advertised at a given time, I am curious as to how many credits I will receive.  If none of the six offerings interests me, I can click "next" for more examples.  So, not only do I get more traffic to my own site, but I am enjoying getting credits for visiting other peoples' sites.  All of this is free! Important:  the more credits I have, the more often my site of choice will be seen by someone else!  If you want to do this, too, paw on over to:   http://www.trafficswarm.com/go.cgi?140683 Thanks. LM ===================== How can you save on gas, time and effort, yet have all the health and beauty products you need? Have them shipped right to your door. I'm talking about everyday items: toothpaste, deodorant, beauty items, safe cleaning products, nutritional supplements that taste good!, lip balm (the best) and so much more! Just shop at *our* store; items shipped to your door!   http://safe4u.toxicfreehomes.com "Household cleansers are the major source of home toxins. Approximately 500,000 tons of liquid cleaners are washed down U.S. drains annually. Most of these products rely on petroleum- based surfactants, solvents and other chemicals, some of which are known to be acutely toxic in large doses. Others have been linked to reproductive illnesses and cancer. Most of these chemicals have not been tested for their impact on human health." - Judy Morgan, Environmentalist ----------------- Ezine Broadcasting; Join today! WITH OUR AFFILIATE PROGRAM . You can check your statistics 24/7 through Clickbank. . You will have your very own eZineBroadCast web site! . Your Clickbank I.D. and PayPal email installs your order links- -automatically!! . Potential clients are tracked for 365 days instead of 90 days! . Clients pay you directly through PayPal--instantly!! . Never lose a Clickbank sale, your Clickbank ID is integrated on the order link!! . You are instantly notified when you make a sale. . eZineBroadcast memberships sell at an astonishing 2:1 ratio. . Clickbank commissions are sent every two weeks! . Sign-up is free and easy through a one-step process. . We provide you with thousands of dollars in free advertising! . You can begin earning $15 dollars per sale--50%--right NOW!!   http://www.ezinebroadcast.com/main.cgi?catly --------------------- (Editor's note: for the very best litter, food and help with scratching, check out the following:   http://www.worldsbestcatlitter.com   http://www.stickypaws.com ) ===================== 2: Kitten Kabootle's Kubbyhole (catly writings) Cat Collectors' Convention, 2003 by Lauren Merryfield (note: I began writing an article on my first visit to the Cat Collectors' Convention, but I kept rhyming things, so here's how it came out.  Oh well.  Dr. Seuss may be gone, but I'm not, lol.) "Come join us now, come one and all." I heard the skies of Denver call. The Cat Collectors' there to dwell In Denver, at a fine hotel. Would there be many; there be few? How many of us, no one knew, But lookers-on began to fear That there were way too many here. The catly clothes, the fun meows, The bags and boxes--holy cows! Oh, back to cats, how could there be So many different kinds to see? Small cats on bracelets and as pins; Some trimmed with lace; some cats in tins. A catly quilt, it took the prize As highest bid, donation-wise! The money raised for Denver's cats The real, live ones, oh, and that's the best part of the weekend there; To pet the dear ones at Cat Care. The wind-chime cats rang out so clear, while antique cats brought on a cheer. A flag with black cat there to buy; Some prices low, and some quite high. The home-made cats of wood and wire; The artist in us did inspire. Some cats cross-country, came from store and many spawned a tale of lore... A cat with rick-rack and a bow Brought mem'ries back of long ago. A wooden sign said "Purrfect Friends" With cats cut in the letters' bends. But most of all, how could it be That there were catly ones like me who loved the real ones oh, the best, but held creations to their chest in awe of artist's time and care to fashion cats so very rare... Or find a match to one they own; a purse, a pin, of fabric sewn. Our money went, oh, way too fast; Collectors' dreams soon spent at last, to end as one and all we drew Back to the airport and their crew. But one thing changed from start to end-- We cat collectors found a friend or two or more among the throng; a feeling that we now belong to that sweet purrfect catly bond of caring friends we now feel fond of which will bring the laughs and tears; We'll meet again in just two years! @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ The Big Cat by Sue Kendrick Talking of excitement I must tell you about the big cat, (as in escaped panther like creature, not barnyard moggy), I saw on Easter Sunday.  We were walking the Ivanhoe Way, prompted by guilt I have to say as I'm currently bogged down in Scott's Waverly and this new footpath passes almost by my door. The scenario was perfect for an encounter of the furred kind! Just imagine, huge skies the colour of old floor cloths, four lonely souls straining against the teeth of a wind straight from the Artic, empty fields and woods dressed in spring inbetween greens, me privately wondering what insanity had processed us to choose the most miserable day of the holiday to go walking when with a hair raising thrill of shock we saw it! Weaving its way through the rocks of a craggy escarpment, dipping and rising below and above the skyline, a sleek, cat like creature, black as the mouth of hell and as big as a small goat! Unable to believe my eyes I set off in hot pursuit, camera in hand and the scoop of the year writing itself in my head which just goes to prove that you shouldn't count your chickens before they hatch as, on closer inspection the "big cat" turned out to be a fat Labrador from a nearby farm!  Waaaaaaaaaaaah. ------- Sue is the editor of WriteLink.  Though I have yet to place, I have really enjoyed the weekender writing challenges Sue presents. Discover more at:   http://www.writelink.co.uk @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Adopting a Cat from a Shelter By Kari Winters Adopting a new feline companion from a shelter is an extremely rewarding and caring thing to do.  As with adoption of any animal, though, it doesn't come without risks.  Being in a shelter situation is stressful and stress decreases the ability of the immune system to fight off disease.  Since the shelter environment also can expose animals to disease, this can mean illness for your new family member.   This may not be evident immediately, so it is extremely important to isolate your new cat if you already have another cat in your home.   Isolation should continue for 2 weeks in order to ensure the safety of your other animals.  I can't emphasize this point enough.   Although isolating an animal for that long may seem cruel to some people, it's extremely important not to cut corners on the time.  It's the old thing of "better safe than sorry."   This is also true for cats adopted from rescue organizations.  This is not to say that most rescue organizations don't take extremely good care of the cats they rescue.  I volunteer with a rescue organization (CA. Siamese Rescue), have had a lot of contact with other rescues, and am a strong supporter of them.  I know, though, that cats can still be very stressed even when rescues foster them in homes.  Sometimes even just the ride from the rescue to the cat's new home can be stressful. Remember, the cat doesn't know that this is its new "forever" home.  The cat just knows that it's someplace new where all the smells and sights are different.  Even if the cat is used to being in a home (as opposed to a cage) the situation will feel different to them.  After all, the cat is now surrounded with new people, new smells, and new rules (i.e. some people let cats jump on counters and other people forbid this behavior). Certain diseases are more prevalent in shelters.  Many animals get Upper Respiratory Infections (URIs), which are similar to what we call a "cold" in humans.  URIs are not passed from one species to another, so you can't get this from your cat and your cat can't give it to your dog.  Symptoms include a discharge from the nose and/or eyes, sneezing, and congestion.  Although URIs are viral infections, many times they progress to a bacterial infection, in which case your veterinarian will prescribe antibiotics.  If your new cat gets a URI, ask your veterinarian how long you should isolate it, as the recommended time may be longer than the usual 2 weeks.  URIs can be more problematic for cats than for dogs or humans.  When animals are congested and can't smell the food, they often refuse to eat.  Although a dog or human will lose weight if it doesn't eat, a cat can develop a disease call Feline Hepatic Lipidosis, sometimes referred to as "fatty liver disease". Although treatable, this disease can be fatal if not diagnosed and treated quickly.  According to Dr. James R. Richards of Cornell University's Feline Health Center, the most important treatment is aggressive nutritional support, which may even include having your veterinarian place a tube through the nose into the cat's stomach in order to provide adequate nutrition. It's also recommended that you take a fecal specimen to your veterinarian to be tested and this is definitely the case if the animal has diarrhea.  A fecal specimen can be tested for many types of worms as well as for diseases such as giardia (what we humans often call "Montezuma's Revenge" when we go to Mexico) or coccidiosis.  All of these are treatable with medication you can get from your veterinarian. Ringworm is another disease, which is common in shelters. Ringworm isn't a worm at all, but a skin condition, which causes the cat to lose fur in some areas.  Ringworm is different from many of the other diseases because it can be spread between species.  Very strict isolation is needed for this disease, including having separate sets of clothes to wear when with the animal who has the disease and having a bleach bath to step in when leaving the room.  A bleach bath is made by placing a towel in a shallow container and wetting it with water and a small amount of bleach.  Ringworm is highly contagious and the spores can live in the environment for a long period of time.  Bleach is the only thing that kills the spores.  If your cat develops ringworm, your veterinarian is your best source of advice and information. Of course, there are many more serious diseases that cats can get in shelters, but these are extremely rare.  Most of them are diseases that we now have vaccinations for, such as rabies or distemper.  There are other diseases, such as FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis) in cats, which are fatal. Symptoms of FIP may have a sudden or slow onset.  These symptoms include fever and, in the "wet" form, also show an accumulation of fluid in the abdomen.  In the "dry" form.  FIP is always fatal, although the length of the illness is variable. None of this information is meant to frighten you away from adopting an animal from a shelter.  Many of the diseases that have been described here are also prevalent in cats that come from pet stores or breeders (despite what pet store employees might tell you!  It's important to know the diseases to be aware of so you can give your new furry family member the best care possible care. Whenever you adopt a cat or kitten, it is important to consult with your veterinarian. Nothing in this article is meant to take the place of veterinary advice.  All rights are reserved by the author.  Kari Winters is a member of Cat Writers' Association.  She is the winner of the 2002 CWA CATalyst award.  She is a volunteer with CA. Siamese Rescue Association (CASR www.siameserescue.org) and consults to other rescue organizations regarding cat behavior and health issues. She can be reached at through her website at   http://www.shelterpetsink.com. @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ My latest "adoptee." He came to us in the dead of winter, when he was about 7 weeks old, and a "dump-off" of some mean-hearted individual. I called him "Piccolo," which means "tiny one" in Italian. Now that he is older, healthier, and into mischief...I sometimes call him "Picaro"...which is Spanish for mischief maker. Either way, we love him, and he loves us. I think he's here to stay...if I can tame him enough to have him neutered! Anna Marie   http://www.bookstotreasure.net/   http://clix.to/GAP   http://www.authorsden.com/annamariefritz "Anna-Versery" "The Dream Garden" "Crazy Pen" "Fredi" "Wishigan Magazine" @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ HUMOR: Teens and Cats -- GHi,  I thought you might like this. Hello, Here's a great comparison of teenagers and cats. I had a teenager, I live with four cats. The comparison looks pretty good to me. Have a great day. May your teenagers turn into adults. As for the cats, may they find plenty of rats and snakes to keep them occupied. Jj --- Teens and Cats Some may not have made the connection, but there are many similarities between teenagers and cats.  Who knows? Maybe those finicky felines can help you understand the teen in your life -- so read on. . . 1.  Neither teenagers nor cats turn their heads when you call them by name. 2.  No matter what you do for them, it is not enough.  Indeed, all humane efforts are barely adequate to compensate for the privilege of waiting on them hand and foot. 3.  You rarely see a cat walking outside of the house with an adult human being, and it can be safely said that no teenager in his or her right mind wants to be seen in public with his or her parents. 4 . Even if you tell jokes as well as Jay Leno, neither your cat nor your teen will ever crack a smile. 5.  No cat nor teenager shares your taste in music. 6.  Cats and teenagers can lie on the living room sofa for hours on end without moving, barely breathing. 7.  Cats have nine lives.  Teenagers carry on as if they did. 8.  Cats and teenagers yawn in exactly the same manner, communicating that ultimate human ecstasy--a sense of complete and utter boredom. 9.  Cats and teenagers do not improve anyone's furniture. 10.  Cats that are free to roam outside sometimes have been known to return in the middle of the night to deposit a dead animal in your bedroom.  Teenagers are not necessarily above that sort of behavior. Thus, if you must raise teenagers, the best sources of advice are not other parents, but veterinarians.  It is also a good idea to keep a guidebook on cats on hand at all times. And remember, bove all else, put out the food and do not make any sudden moves in their direction.  When they make up their minds, they will finally come to you for some affection and comfort and it will be a triumphant moment for all concerned. -- This humor is shared with you by Jj Johnson of Lake Village, Ark. --Contributed by Ray Foret, my barefoot friend! @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Subject: FW: Animal Rescue Site It only takes a second, and hopefully it helps! Please Help.... Please tell ten friends to tell ten today! The Animal Rescue Site is having trouble getting enough people to click on it daily to meet their quota of getting free food donated every day to abused and neglected animals. It takes less than a minute to go to their site and click on "feed an animal in need" for free. This doesn't cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors / advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate food to abandoned/neglected animals in exchange for advertising. Here's the web site! Pass it along to people you know.   http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com (Editor's note:  They have catly jewelry there, too, proceeds going to help animals) @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ (One cat leads to another!) @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Hi, Received this on cat-writers: Lauren Subject: Petition To Stop Killing Cats In Singapore Hi all, This was sent to me and I'm forwarding it for anyone who wants to sign this. Thanks, Niki Hi, the cat lovers in Singapore are in a panic as our town councils and AVA are culling cats whether sterlised or not. They are removing cats from hawker centres and coffeshops and neighbourhood. Pls help us with our petition. pls visit   http://www.petitiononline.com/cwsasdhr/petition.html Niki Behrikis Shanahan Author: "There Is Eternal Life For Animals" ISBN:  0-9720301-0-7 Pete Publishing,   http://www.eternalanimals.com Available at:   http://www.amazon.com @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Here's a tidbit from Wellpet website pertaining to cats and oils. I think this subject will be my next area of learning and research! LOL! Cynthia "It is very simple. Essential oils should not be used on cats- never, ever, never, ever. No ifs ands or buts! This is for several reasons. The main one is that cats are far more sensitive than dogs, horses or humans ( 3 species who highly benefit from aromatherapy and tolerate and metabolize the oils well). Cats cannot efficiently metabolize the oils, and they build up in their bodies, and can eventually lead to toxic levels causing death, or symptoms of toxicity. Cats also have thinner skin that has fewer layers than dogs so they are at much higher risk for fast absorption of the oils into their bodies. Any product for cats that uses the word "herbal oil", "plant oil" or "essential oil" SHOULD NOT BE USED! There are a plethora of products out there for cats which use essential oils. I have been warned of several instances recently of certain companies recommending essential oils for cats. This is of great concern to me. One of these companies, Young Living Essential Oils (a megalithic MLM which sells essential oils) has been traveling all over the country and attending every holistic animal expo that they can. They recommend the use of essential oils UNDILUTED on both cats and dogs.  And they also say that "cats and dogs are less sensitive to certain essential oil constituents which humans are sensitive to, therefore they can handle very powerful oils with no problems at all." Beware of these types of teachings. In actuality, dogs are more sensitive to EOs than HUMAN BABIES are! Dogs require approx. 25% the dose that humans do. It is no wonder, as they metabolize things differently and have that awesome sense of smell-millions more olfactory receptors than humans have. We must be careful with scented products on dogs" Kristen Leigh Bell, PIA-Certified Aromatherapist, Member National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy Featuring Aromaleigh natural products, remedies and grooming products for canines, felines and humans based on essential oils and Aromatherapy:   http://www.aromaleigh.com Never mass-manufactured...only safe, natural, botanical ingredients   http://www.majordomo.net/wellpet/naturalhealing/what-essential- oils.htm @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Lauren Merryfield is the editor/publisher of CATLINES.  She and her husband, Jim, live in Washington with their three feline "kids," Jaspur, Mikey and Gabrielle. Lauren is a member of the Cat Writers' Association:   http://www.catwriters.org and co-owner of   http://www.catliness.com where one can join CATLINES. She is now a member of the APLB--Association For Pet-Loss And Bereavement   http://www.aplb.org and, Heaven forbid, says Jim, the Cat Collectors' Club:   http://www.catcollectors.org She is enjoying spreading her catliness around! --------------------- (It is quite possible that many of the "author unknown" catly writings appearing in CATLINES are those of Mark Mason at:   http://www.catdiary.com ) ===================== Attention advertisers: The Free Ad Board I promised you is now here for your convenience at CATLINES. Submit your ads at:   http://www.freeadboard.com/?pro=470 ===================== Bring unheard of amounts of traffic to your site with 95% less effort! Come visit us for the real "down & dirty" about traffic generation and why you are missing out on the easiest system on the web to generate insane floods of traffic for the life of your site! Stop trying to generate steams of traffic! You can discover how to generate rivers, floods, and waterfalls of traffic that run for a lifetime in this report!   http://www.power-linking-profits.com/swres/catly.html ===================== The Cat's Meow   http://www.cafeshops.com/poofcat ===================== 3: BizCat Skills What have you always dreamed of doing, or becoming, or creating, or achieving? Without question, it is possible for you right now. The things you see as limitations may be very real indeed, yet they do not have to be your limitations. When the desire is strong enough, and the dream is meaningful and genuine enough, there is a way to reach it. Your limitations may prevent you from achieving someone else's idea of success. Yet they cannot prevent you from achieving that which you most truly and deeply desire. You could not have the genuine and driving desire without also having the ability to reach it. Whatever it is, it can be done. There is a real and accessible path from where you are right now to where you want to be. Decide to find it, decide to travel it, decide to do whatever it takes, and the journey to the best of your possibilities has already begun. Warm regards, Robert Short 562.209.1582   http://we.educate4wealth.com "The weakest living creature, by concentrating his powers on a single object, can accomplish something; whereas the strongest, by dispersing his over many, may fail to accomplish anything." -- Thomas Carlyle "Determine what specific goal you want to achieve.  Then dedicate yourself to its attainment with unswerving singleness of purpose, the trenchant zeal of a crusader." -- Paul J. Meyer @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ THE 10 COMMANDMENTS OF EMAIL Thou shalt include a clear and specific subject line. Thou shalt edit any quoted text down to the minimum thou needest. Thou shalt not include others email addresses in your emails. Thou shalt read thine own message thrice before thou sendest it. Thou shalt ponder how thy recipient might react to thy message. Thou shalt check thy spelling and thy grammar. Thou shalt not curse, flame, spam or USE ALL CAPS. Thou shalt not forward any chain letter. Thou shalt not use e-mail for any illegal or unethical purpose. Thou shalt not rely on the privacy of e-mail, especially from work. When in doubt, save thy message overnight and reread it in the light of the dawn. And, here's the "Golden Rule" of E-Mail: That which thou findest hateful to receive, sendest thou not unto others. --Contributed by Linda Lee @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Baseball And Business Hey! it's baseball season!  Wouldn't you love to be out at the game rather than slaving away at your job?  Take heart; there's a lesson to learn from baseball, especially if you've been feeling like you've been striking out too many times lately.  LM ........ from Josh Hines, Journey of Inspiration: Striking out does not equal failure - There's one thing that holds true no matter what goals we hold for ourselves. At some point we're going to be faced with disappointing results. I could get into a whole discussion here on the importance that persistence will play in our reaching our goals. Instead I'll give you some baseball statistics to illustrate my point. Baseball statistics you say? Trust me it'll all make sense soon enough. The name's you'll see listed are all in their own right quite amazing players. What's ironic about them is that they all are in top 10 listed under the category of "All-Time Leaders - Strikeouts". Even more ironic is that had I not done the research I never would have known this. You see these folks are not remembered for their failures. People only remember their achievements. Life works that way. So the next time you're pondering a missed opportunity keep in mind that doubling your number of strikes might just lead to your ultimate success. Now on with the list :-) 1 REGGIE JACKSON 2,597 2 WILLIE STARGELL 1,936 3 MIKE SCHMIDT 1,883 4 TONY PEREZ 1,867 5 DAVE KINGMAN 1,816 6 BOBBY BONDS 1,757 7 DALE MURPHY 1,748 8 LOU BROCK 1,730 9 MICKEY MANTLE 1,710 10 HARMON KILLEBREW 1,699 Quite an impressive list don't you agree? The moral of the story I guess would be persistence pays. @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ "The Worst Job on Earth?!" by Bryan Winters I used to absolutely dread going to work. I was a factory worker at a well known window manufacturing company. My job consisted of pulling pieces of wood off of a chute, checking them for knots and other defects, sorting them accordingly, and then piling them about 5 feet high on pallets. That's what I did. All day long. Can you say, "brain dead"? The factory was too noisy to listen to headphones. We all had our separate chutes to work at (yeehaw), and the work was fast paced, so talking with other co-workers was difficult. At the end of each day I'd have to pick wood splinters out of my hands (working with gloves was an option, but it made handling and sorting the wood much more difficult). We had rotating shifts so one month I'd be working the day shift, and the next I'd be working from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m.! Growing up, I never imagined I'd be stuck in such a horrible job. But you know what? I'm actually very GLAD I had the experience of working in a factory! Why?? ...Simply because it *motivated* me to get off my lazy butt and do something better with my life! Like most people, I'd always had the dream of starting my own business and making piles of money (not wood) as a result. But I learned (the hard way) that dreams aren't worth JACK unless you take steps to achieve them. Very few people become wealthy and successful in life, simply because very few people take action to achieve their dreams! ...People are scared that they'll fail. They lack faith that their efforts will pay off. They're afraid to risk their time and money. Or they're just plain lazy like I was! Trust me, I know how you feel. It's like you're facing a mountain. At the top of the mountain is everything you ever wanted. But in order to get there, you have to CLIMB the mountain, and conquer the pitfalls along the way. I finally decided that I didn't want to face that proverbial mountain my whole life... I knew for a FACT that my *dream* was awaiting me at the top. I could let that dream go to waste...Or I could take one step after the other up the mountain and ACHIEVE THE LIFESTYLE I'D ALWAYS WANTED! You see, there are no "ifs, ands, or buts" when it comes to achieving your dreams. You simply CHOOSE success. And then you take the steps to achieve that success. As long as you have the DESIRE (your "fuel" for achieving success) and a PLAN (your "vehicle" for achieving success) you WILL succeed... There is no question about it. No looking back. No wondering IF you'll succeed. Success truly IS a CHOICE, and I'm living proof!... Today I make well over six figures per year (in PROFIT) as an Internet marketer. I can literally run my entire business in just 2-3 hours per day. I work when I want, where I want. No alarm clock to wake up to. Nowhere to be at a certain time. I take lunch "breaks" when I want, where I want... Or all day long =) I'm my own boss! Nobody looking over my shoulder. No pressure. No fear of making a mistake. No worries of being "let go". But for me, the ULTIMATE benefit of this dream "job" of mine is that on Sundays, I no longer have to dread going into work Monday morning! ...You see, I'm a huge sports fan. One of my favorite past times on earth is watching Minnesota Vikings games on Sundays. Yet for YEARS (this dates back to my school days) these games were somehow "tainted" because I always had that unavoidable thought in the back of my mind - the knowledge that I had to go to work (or school) the next day. Know what I mean? Now, at last, I'm free! I can sit back and watch the game without having to worry about work the next day. Or about getting up early. Or about whether my boss will be in a good mood or not. I can finally enjoy life! (Now if only the Vikings could have a decent playoff run.) But seriously, I've climbed the mountain, and I ain't comin' down! Listen up, now, because there's a moral to this true story: ******************************** The moral, as I've implied, is that YOU *will* achieve your dreams just as I have simply by CHOOSING to take action. Come up with a plan, kick it into action with passion and desire, and PERSIST until you have succeeded. ******************************** That "mountain" that I spoke of earlier, really isn't a mountain at all now that I'm "up here" looking down. It took me about 9 months investing a couple hours per day to go from scratch, to making a full time income online. (And it was actually a lot of FUN along the way!) ...Obviously success didn't come overnight. But that 9 months flew by faster than you would believe! (You know how fast the holidays seem to roll around each year? Well imagine -changing your life- in less than the span of one Christmas to the next?!) Clearly your dream may not be the same as mine. In a way I had a more modest dream than many. Although I could now afford to own a $600,000+ home and a new Lexus or Mercedes, that was never my foremost goal. My dream, quite simply, was financial freedom. And the freedom to spend time with my wife and three girls. I chose to succeed, I came up with a plan, I took action, I followed through, and success became mine. Now it's YOUR turn to achieve success, IF you're ready to make the choice! ...And I'm here to help you along the way! I can't give you the desire. But I -can- give you all the tools and coaching you need to run a successful online business of your own. As a member of my "flagship" site at:   http://www.pushbuttonpublishing.com/affiliates/t.php?rid=6046 ...You'll have instant access to virtually everything you need to make a fortune online. (You get access to the very same resources I use to make a six-figure profit each year from the comfort of home. There is no limit to how much money YOU can make.) If you've done your homework, you -already- know that in order to run a web-site, you need a top quality web hosting service. And you know that starting a mailing list (usually in the form of an online newsletter) and building an opt~in list of subscribers is VITAL to online success. And that in order to start an run your mailing list you need a premium "autoresponder" service. Further, you know that a professional ad tracking service is needed so that you can track the results of your online advertising. You get ALL of the above as a PBP member:   http://www.pushbuttonpublishing.com/affiliates/t.php?rid=6046 Of course, every resource in the world won't do you a bit of good unless you know how to make use of them. That's exactly why I've also set up a private member forum through which you'll receive personal coaching from yours truly! When you have a question or need guidance, simply email me OR post your question to the message board and I'll make sure you're taken care of. But that's not all. I've also spent a full week writing what I've dubbed the "master tutorial"...Through the tutorial I've laid out a complete, comprehensive blueprint to online success. ...You'll discover the very same steps I've taken to go from disgruntled factory worker to "online success story". If your dream involves making money online, becoming a member of Push-Button Publishing can serve as your First and Last step to achieving that dream. As a member you get *everything* I've mentioned above and much, much more! Click here to join today:   http://www.pushbuttonpublishing.com/affiliates/t.php?rid=6046 If you have any questions or concerns just let me know! Here for Your Success, Bryan Winters P.S. In addition to receiving premium (ad fr~e, non-reseller) web hosting, unlimited autoresponders (to run mailing lists and automated visitor follow up messages), ad tracking (to track your online ads), and personal coaching through the private forum... 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