There is no such thing as time management. We all have the same amount of time available each day. Event involvement requires that we block out an allotted amount of time for its completion. Therefore, instead of time management, let us consider event management to be a more reasonable approach to scheduling.

For each of us, time is valuable. For young people it passes slowly and for the more mature it passes way too fast. Time is priceless. Think for a moment about the last 2 minutes of a football game. For the coach whose team is behind by 1 point, time is that precious commodity that if used correctly, contributes to the win. For the horse that runs second in the Kentucky Derby, .02 seconds is the difference between $500,000 and $50,000 in prize money. If you lose your money, you can earn more. But, if you lose a week, you cannot purchase another no matter how much money you have. There is no substitute for time; it is irreplaceable.

Charles Spezzano in What to Do Between Birth and Death says, “You don’t really pay for things with money. You pay for them with time.” In summary he explains that exchanging time for money is the basic definition of a job. People trade their time for money and then they use their money to pay for their lifestyle. Everything in life can be traced back to an investment of time.

As a leader, event (or time) management is one of our greatest responsibilities. Maximizing each minute should be an ongoing goal. Even though we may never successfully reach total event management, we can use time wisely by following these guidelines.

#1. Focus on your talents. Recognize and understand your talents. Spend time each week improving your talent skill levels. Do not be tempted to work on your less talented skill sets thinking improvement will increase your leadership effectiveness. As John Maxwell once described; if on a scale of 1 to 10, your skill level is a 2, do not waste substantial time trying to improve since you will likely never grow beyond level 4. However, if you are a 7 in a specific area, sharpen that skill, because when you become a 9, you will have reached a rare level of expertise.

Look inwardly and identify four areas of strength. If you cannot complete this task on your own, ask a close friend or family member to help. You might consider areas like creativity, communication, teaching, writing, relationships, networking, and public speaking. These then become your focus points. Do not allow yourself to get caught up in those areas that are outside your four talent areas. You will get the greatest return on your time investment by narrowing your focus and improving your strengths.

#2. Identify your overall purpose in life. Most people hate this topic because they have no clue where they want their life to go or what their purpose in living might be. Each of us can remember and celebrate our own birthday, but how many of us can actually state with clarity why we were born? Identifying purpose in life is personal and private making most people uncomfortable when called upon to discuss or reveal it. Event management requires that leaders spend time on activities that advance their life purpose.

It is impossible to reach peak performance without a clear understanding of purpose. Increasing the horsepower of a racing engine means nothing without first understanding that speed is the overall purpose of increased horsepower. By identifying purpose, a leader gives birth to passion, effort, understanding, knowledge, accomplishment, and ultimately achievement. By harnessing events, daily, weekly, and monthly, leaders can continue to lead their organization forward avoiding stagnation or failure.

Most experts suggest that in order to identify your purpose in life, find a quiet place and meditate on what you feel is important. You will, with time and effort, arrive at an answer. But this answer may be incomplete. In order to arrive at a deeper and more meaningful purpose in life, answer the following questions and then bring all of these ideas together to create a full picture.

1. What is it you do or do not do that you hope no one finds out?
2. What current events seem to irritate you?
3. What faults do you most often see in others?

3. Organize according to core values. The driving forces behind your overall purpose in life are your internal core values. They are the beginning points of inspiration for all you attempt. Your core values direct your thought patterns and those thoughts guide your actions. Without solid, well grounded core values life becomes monotonous and instead of striving for excellence in all you do the daily objective becomes only existence.

Without objectives, a person seems to drift through life attempting to survive with whatever cards they are dealt. With objectives, a person becomes the dealer and therefore dictates the game. Without guiding core values, ups become mountains and downs are bottomless pits. Much like a lighthouse guides ships in dangerous waters; core values guide leaders through the twists and turns of life.

Organize your month, your week, and your day not according to what’s urgent or pressing but in accordance with your core values. Then, your day to day activities will have meaning and each day will end with a sense of accomplishment and personal fulfilment. The greater your sense of fulfilment, the more you will accomplish.

4. Choose to smile. It is a fact that when you smile at someone, they smile in return. Happiness is a choice, not a state of being; it is an inside job. No one else can make you happy. You must decide to be happy and only then will you experience its joy. At its most basic level, happiness can be found to always include relationships and friendships. Valuing relationships seems simple, yet most leaders downplay them and instead try to prove their own significance or validate their worth. In pursuing importance and power, most leaders allow relationships and friendships to dwindle away leaving only a hollow achievement with a feeling of emptiness.

Exercise wisdom here. Cultivate friendships and solidify relationships at every opportunity. In doing so, you will find peace and joy. Surround yourself with loyal friends and family. Prioritize your time for them and their needs. By creating healthy relationships, you will experience fulfilment and ultimately the happiness you deserve.

5. Duplication is the key. One person properly managing daily events can accomplish enough of the basics to be successful. Hundreds properly managing daily events can create a dynasty. Equipping others to do what you do compounds your efforts and your results. If you are the only one that can do what you do, then when you stop doing it, the income it creates ends. If you can teach others how to do what you do, then not only can you compound your results, you can eventually stop and the income continues.

Real leaders recognize that dynasties are created by people, not events or accomplishments. A leader will invest all of themselves in others only when and if they understand the power of duplication. By pouring themselves into the lives of others, duplication must occur just like the ripples seen when a rock is thrown into a pond. Schedule mentoring time and you will find that duplication takes over creating a team with impact and power based on relationships and commitment, not obligation.

No matter how hard you try, you cannot manufacture time. Time travel is not yet possible. You must learn to invest time rather than spend it. In order to manage life events; learn to focus on your talents, identify your life purpose, organize according to core values, smile, and practice duplication.

Bill Bergfeld Companies focuses on leadership development through Internet and Network Marketing. Professional Entrepreneurship is their current focus. More information can be found at http://www.billbergfeld.com

We are starting to see re-runs on our late night talk shows and the excuse is that the Hollywood Writers are on strike. The networks tell us they are out of scripts, apparently, the scripts are done usually the same day or within the week, as they cover current events in the news and society. Yet, should the American Public accept this?

In fact, the American Public should not accept this – we should turn off our TVs at night, if these shows cannot run in real-time without scripts. Most of these late night talk show celebrities have been in the industry for 20 years or more, so why do they need to read a script written by some writer in order to know what to say and what is funny?

The New York Times stated that Jay Leno, The Late Show and David Letterman were all in re-runs; why? What happened to the thought that the show must go on? It is despicable that these folks cannot do their own show ad lib or off the cuff? Surely, if they are the funniest humans amongst the masses of population, they can write and recite their own stuff or even do it on the fly? If they can’t I must ask why?

Personally, if the late night talk shows will not do live shows with no-scripts during the writer’s strike, then it just shows how utterly fake they are. Additionally, if the writer’s go on strike and will not write to keep these shows going, then they should be fired permanently, because the American People deserve more.

“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is a guest writer for Our Spokane Magazine in Spokane, Washington

Blogging is hard. But keeping a regularly updated blog that always relates to your book in some way makes blogging a great way to continue expanding your audience. It’s also a means of passing on information that is useful to your readers and provides them with something of value.

For me, the best way to do this is taking a 12-month calendar and finding topics for each month that relate to issues/themes discussed in the novel. I call this the “Blogging Calendar”. Once you have brainstormed an initial calendar, start researching various possibilities on the Internet. The research process can also be the spark for additional topics you may not have considered.

Some of the themes in Shades of Darkness, Shades of Grace were: alcoholism and chemical dependency, politics and voter awareness, divorce and child custody issues, health concerns, particularly ovarian cancer, Minnesota history and tourism, and writing and publishing trends. Some months are going to be easier to fill than others, but here are examples of how I started plotting out my blogging schedule.

March

Women’s History Month

April

Alcohol Awareness Month

September

Labor Day

Ovarian Cancer Awareness

October

Ministry Appreciation Month

Domestic Violence Awareness

Grandparents Day

November

U.S. Presidential Election

Finding topics relevant to your book at least gives authors a starting point. In my case I also keep abreast of current events in the realms of politics and the writing/publishing industry. For example, I posted a blog on the Twin Cities hosting the GOP Convention and tied it together with the Pierson family’s political activism. I’ve also done a number of blog articles on the writing and publishing industry, and I post whenever something of interest to authors happens, such as Amazon’s new policy on Print On Demand (POD) publishing.

Blogging does take work (especially if you have several blogs to keep updated) but think of it this way – you’re not only promoting your book(s), you’re providing reader benefits, and writing regularly, all of which helps you as an author to constantly improve.

Catherine Johnson is the author of the novel, Shades of Darkness, Shades of Grace. Visit her web site at CatherineJohnsonNovels.com or contact her via e-mail at: catherinejohns58@yahoo.com

Catherine Johnson is the author of Shades of Darkness, Shades of Grace. To find out more about the novel and download an excerpt, visit: http://www.CatherineJohnsonNovels.com

Sports autograph signings are an excellent an interesting way to begin, add to a sports autograph collection. The signings are usually held along with sports collectible shows so a collector or fan can find a collectible and have the athlete sign it as well. Some of the better known sports figures charge a small fee for their signatures but some do not.

Of course, the better known the sports personality, there is a larger potential that the autograph or the signed item will be of more value as the years pass. But if the personality has been involved in a controversy such as cheating, illegal activities, etc their potential value will decrease. The best way to view such items and collections is an investment; and like all investments there is up trends and down trends. In the collectible market, there is also real world forces at work. If there is a large number of signed items the figure’s item worth will be less than if there was a fewer amount on the market.

But most sports fans are not interested in the value of an items worth when they visit Sports autograph signings. The fans just want to meet the figure that they have enjoyed watching their favorite sport and to have their autograph. The thrill of meeting a well known sports figure is the primary draw to sports collectible signings and promoters that organize the shows try to bring sports celebrities that are well known to the area or may have played for a local sports team. Promoters in larger cities especially ones with one or more sports teams, try to organize events to reflect the particular sport season and attract sports personalities for that sport. Sports autograph signings also create a revenue boost for the host city. Visitors spend money on concessions, lodging, parking, and other taxable items during their visit. Sports autograph signings can be a welcome and beneficial events to the host city and of course, to the visitors to the event and to the city if the visitors are from out of town.

Sports fans and collectors enjoy sports autograph signings for the opportunity to meet a sports celebrity and to also trade collectibles with other sports fans. The sale and trade of the collectibles is usually the passion of adult sports fans who try and build an impressive display of their favorite sports figure or team But the younger sports fans enjoy seeing their favorite sports figure in a setting outside the stadium, playing field or the television. Sports autograph signing organizers attempt to make the function as family oriented as possible so all members of a family can enjoy the event and everything that it offers.

Katie Appleby is an accomplished niche website developer and author. To learn more about sports autographs please visit My Pro Sports for current articles and discussions.

Celebrities are big spenders in the fashion industry, motor industry and real estate as well. It is not always a success for all of them. Some have created their wealth and have maintained it for a good period, while others have shot to fame and lost the wealth that comes with it within a very short period.

Celebrities and their homes

Zillow, a company that performs rankings on real estate for celebrities, stated that Windermere listed a home in a neighborhood called Leschi for sale. It is to be sold for slightly over one million U.S dollars. Jimi Hendrix is said to have lived in this house.

Katherine Heigl, a star in the Grey’s Anatomy series, plans to sell her home which is in Los Angeles for a total sum of about 1.7 million U.S dollars. She had bought this lavish house in the year 2006 for about 1.5 million U.S dollars.

Oprah Winfrey estimated her condo in Fisher Island, Florida, to be two million U.S dollars. Her condominium is not as lavish as would be expected of a house that costs that much, though location also counts when determining its worth.

Kiefer Sutherland’s Silver Lake house cost him 4.895 million U.S dollars. He transformed the warehouse and made it his home. His taste and superiority in the Real Estate industry clearly indicates his status in society. Kiefer does his recording in his high quality studio from the comfort of his home.

Sylvester Stallone, a Beverly Hills inhabitant, purchased two mansions in an area called Thousand Oaks. One was estimated at 5.5 million U.S dollars while the other was projected to be 1.7 million U.S dollars.

Cary Grant’s Daughter, Jennifer Grant, has her home estimated at 2.195 million U.S dollars. Another celebrity, Angela Bassett put up her French home for sale at a price of 3.8 million U.S dollars. By the time of the sale, the house had depreciated by 1.1 million. Chris O’Donnell, an actor, had his home sold for about 5.3 million U.S dollars. Rachel Zoe also had her house sold for 2.5 million U.S dollars. It was a two-bed roomed apartment situated in the Hollywood Hills.

There are quite a number of celebrities in the entertainment industry who made it big at some point in their lives but ended up bankrupt. Gary Coleman is such an example. This leads to demonstrate the importance of managing ones finances however small or large the income.

Julia Vakulenko is a licensed broker associate with Tampa4U.com Realty. She has one of the hardest working Tampa Real Estate team in Florida specializing in Tampa Condos and also in2Va Team for Northern Virginia Real Estate

Property Facts

More and more property investors are adding UK investment property to their portfolios and it’s changing the way we think about financial planning. You are probably aware that in recent years, interest rates and stock market returns have been low. Many investors have started to notice that their home is their highest performing asset. The Property Investment Professionals Property developer is a new level of straight-talking professionalism to property investment. Our goal is simple to help our members to build personal property portfolios with minimal risk and maximum returns.

Buy to let property investment tips:

Here are some hot tips for a successful long term. Buy to let property investment to set you on the path to potential profits!

1. Research the market
2. Choose a location
3. Crunch some numbers
4. Shop around
5. Target your tenant
6. Don’t be over ambitious
7. Consider looking further a field
8. Negotiate
9. Know the pitfalls
10. Consider how hands-on you want to be
11. Make Sure Your Plans Are Profitable
12. Never Assume Anything
13. Take advice from an Expert When in Doubt
14. Set A Realistic Budget and Stick To It

Spend some time considering every single area where a cost will be incurred and also get the details of every likely payment that will have to be made and you will arm yourself with a bullet proof budget and do all you can to ensure you encounter no nasty surprises along the way.

A perfect way to buy cheap houses

Never buy a home without inspection! Even if you are buying an empty plot of land, you must view it and check out the surroundings properly first. Before you embark on Property investment information search, you should have a fairly good idea of where you want to buy. We have thousands of houses for sale, estate agents across the UK. Buying a house is a lengthy and complicated business, which while exciting is often fraught with stress and worry. But luckily there is a lot of good advice around helping you to make your home-buying experience as easy and problem-free as possible.

Stay focused

UK property developers have helped people to provide property investment information from all over the world from Europe to the Far East. Estate gents look at the areas which are politically stable that aims for good capital growth, good rental income or a mixture between the two. A well developed infrastructure with an inward investment is encouraged is needed when property investors are looking for buy to let properties.

Advantages of Properties investments

Investment properties are probably the biggest financial decision and commitment any individual is likely to undertake in their lifetime. Property investment has the ability to set a number of aspects of an investor’s life in order. The gains that can be made are so large that an effective property investment can overcome almost any financial insecurity an individual investor may have! Properties investment is a part of the wider economic climate.

JAY PARMAR works to help all those who want information about the Property investment information,advice, properties investment,houses for sale for Real State regarding category. To know more about Property investment Advice,Buy to let,Estate agents,Property developer,investment properties Property Investment Information,advice visit: http://www.ukpropertyplan.co.uk