Like with many other things in the world of printing, laser printers have come a long way in the past few years. They have gone from being found almost exclusively in offices to being offered at $100 for a home user. Although they are better for a lot of people, some have a hard time imagining themselves buying a laser printer for their home. A lot of people have the idea that laser printers are just the big clunky machines in their offices where the toner cartridges cost a fortune. However, if you are someone who prints out a large amount of documents and is tired of always having to buy new black inkjet cartridges, laser printers can be the solution. Once you get past the initial sticker shock of buying laser toner cartridges, you will realize the numbers for an entry level laser printer versus an inkjet printer look something like this:

Typical toner cartridge - $50-$60
Page yield - 2,000-3,000 pages
Average cost per page - 2-2.5 cents per page

Typical inkjet cartridge - $20-$30
Page yield - 400-500 pages
Average cost per page - 4-6 cents per page

Although these are just averages and may not seem all that different, in general if you are printing documents, it will probably cost you twice as much to run an inkjet printer than a laser printer. It is better to think of things in the long term when it comes to laser printers, because only then will you truly appreciate their value. If you buy a laser printer and then a backup toner cartridge at the same time, by the time you will have finished that second cartridge, you would have gone through roughly 10 inkjet cartridges.

So if you aren’t into printing color, then you are probably better off going with a laser printer over a standard inkjet printer. You will appreciate the speed and low maintenance of a laser printer, while also saving money on printer ink in the long run.

Karl Smith devotes all his time to ink, so therefore he is probably the world’s foremost authority on the world of printing. He writes a blog at www.pacificink.com/blog.

1. Trim the guest list. This is difficult but sometimes necessary if the cost per guest is going to break your budget. Cross off names on the list of guests who might feel obligated to come to the wedding if they are invited but would not have their feelings hurt if they are not asked to attend. Think of inviting only relatives with whom you have a close relationship instead of everyone related to you. Invite only the people who are important to you and your parents rather than everyone you know.

2. If your wedding ceremony and/or reception will be held at a hotel, ask for discounts when your family and friends are staying at same hotel. Reserve a block of rooms for your guests several months before the wedding for the best rates. Speak with the appropriate manager when asking for discounts and reserving rooms.

3. When planning your ceremony and reception at a hotel, ask to speak to a manager who is in charge of these services. A manager should be in a position to offer the best rates for the hotel’s services. Ask the manager to throw in extras. Use hotel house linens instead of renting others. Hotels and catering halls have their own “props” and centerpieces that they are happy to loan. Always ask for at least 10% off stated rates.

4. On your wedding day stick to your schedule for your ceremony and reception. Musicians will charge more if asked to perform beyond the time stated in their contract. You will also incur additional limo charges if your event runs longer than planned.

5. To simplify things and save you money, have your ceremony and reception in the same location. There will be no need for limos to take you to the second location. Many houses of worship have halls that are equipped to handle wedding receptions at reasonable fees-especially if you are a member.

6. Ask friend to lend their talents in lieu of a gift such as invitations or flowers. Ask a friend will pretty penmanship to address your invitations instead of hiring a calligrapher. If you simplify your flowers and arrangements, perhaps a friend can assemble fresh or silk flowers which will save you hundreds of dollars.

7. Consider having your wedding any day but Saturday. Fridays are also popular wedding days but may cost a lot less than a Saturday event. For even greater savings, choose a weekday evening for your wedding. Schedule the wedding to allow guests time to arrive at the ceremony after the work day has ended. Many guests enjoy weekday weddings as this frees up their weekends for other activities. Choose a date between November and April to avoid higher peak season rates in many areas.

Roanna Rose has owned a full service bridal shop for more than 20 years. In 1997, the business was extended to the internet when the web site http://www.tjformal.com was created showcasing prom dresses, wedding gowns, bridesmaid dresses & more.

Since its appearance in August 2006 the Motorola KRZR K1 has been a very popular Flip style mobile handset. With the KRZR K1 Motorola have produced a handset which is basic but functional for a entry level handset. The styling of this phone is average but practical.

The available ring-tones enabled on the KRZR K1 are Polyphonic, MP3 along with a vibrating tone . The KRZR K1 supports 2G GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 . The KRZR K1 has an integrated 2 MP, 1600×1200 pixels, video(CIF) camera. If you use the Internet on the move, you will be pleased to know a WAP 2.0/xHTML compatible browser is included. In terms of battery cell usage the Motorola KRZR K1 has 6:00 talk time and 300 hrs reserve charge. The battery shipped with the KRZR K1 is a Standard battery, Li-Ion 700 mAh (BC50),. The Motorola KRZR K1 is has bluetooth, so it is compatible with a range of mobile devices like hands free sets. In terms of size the Motorola KRZR K1 is very small. If colour is something you are interested in you may like to know that the KRZR K1 is available in, Cosmic Blue and Silver Sail. The mobile phone is pretty light weighing in at 102 g,. The display is a TFT, 256K colors. The KRZR K1 also has , MP3/AAC/AAC+ player, Voice memo, Calculator, Organizer, Built-in handsfree and Java MIDP 2.0.

This is now quite an old mobile phone, but still does a great job. If you are offered one, in end of line clearance you may get yourself a fabulous bargain.

Because of the web it has never been more convenient or more cost effective to purchase a mobile. You will find it much easier to find a good deal on a Motorola KRZR K1 try using a site that allows you to compare mobile phones to compare mobile phone prices .

Running a Think Tank is not an easy job, as in such a group are many brilliant people who are all somewhat hard headed, even if they get together and a rather pleasant during meetings. One of the most common problems I am finding is that brilliance comes with baggage.

For instance scientists study everything to death. Engineers will try to consider every possible flaw or possible structural failures in advance. Then the entrepreneurial innovators go off half-cocked and just go try it and learn thru trial and error, often throwing caution to the wind and flying by the seat of their pants relying on intuition.

You see I myself am an entrepreneur, and I have found success in doing. Just do it. All the scientific discussion and theory is not worth just building it and start testing in 20-30 days. Engineers say they can do with 1 Lb of material what anyone else would take 10 lbs. I say “So what” are we short of materials or something?

As an entrepreneurial innovator, I live in a nation of abundance? And who has 6-months to wait? Besides in six months of using it you will learn more than the nay saying scientists still arguing over, who thought of it, if it will work and whose math to use. Meanwhile the Engineers are so busy designing it, that we already built it and flew it over their heads while they are busy telling us it will not fly? Whatever. So consider all this in 2006.

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

Snow-capped Kilimanjaro, floating above the clouds is no doubt one of the most beautiful and impressive sights of the natural world. Even hard-boiled non-believers, in their unguarded moments, empathise with the Maasai who call it the “House of God”. The mountain is one of the Seven Top Summits of the world – it has the highest point on the African continent. Though there are higher mountains, they form part of mountain ranges, Everest for example. But Kili, as it is popularly known, is the highest freestanding mountain in the world. It rises gently from 3,000 feet, reaches for the heavens and only halts after a 16,000 feet ascent. The diameter at the base is an amazing 64 kilometres.

Kilimanjaro is located to the northeast of Tanzania, on the border with Kenya. There is a popular myth of how the mountain came to be part of Tanzania, which was at one time part of the German Empire. Queen Victoria is supposed to have granted the mountain to her German grandson Wilhelm (later Kaiser Wilhelm II) as a birthday gift. It is also said that the Germans had been grumbling at the blatant unfairness of missing a snowcapped mountain within their empire while the Queen had two – the second being Mount Kenya.

Though historians have discredited the myth, it has refused to die and it is still a source of amusement for many. Unwilling to allow the truth to stand in the way, some anti-colonial historians fume with indignation, citing how the boundaries of Eastern Africa were arbitrarily decided in the capitals of the imperial powers. To most people in the west, Kilimanjaro has long been associated with Ernest Hemingway on account of his 1936 short story “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”. In 1952, Hollywood fascinated by the magic of Kili the book evokes, turned it into a movie with Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner in leading roles.

Kilimanjaro is young as far as mountains go, and geologists allow it only 750,000 years. The mountain is made up of three dormant volcanoes -Kibo (19,340 feet), Shira (13,000 feet) and Mawenzi (16,896 feet). Kibo occasionally belches some steam and sulfur. The highest point on Kibo is Uhuru Peak, where you see some awesome glaciers and fantastic views of the country below. Though Kili is only three degrees south of the equator, the peaks of Kibo and Mawenzi are covered in ice and snow year round. Many learned people in Europe hotly disputed that a snow-capped mountain could be found at the equator when the German missionary Johann Rebmann reported it in 1849.

Going up the mountain, you move from tropical to artic conditions. There are five distinct climatic zones, with each zone taking approximately 3,300 feet. The zones are- the lower slopes, then forest, then moorland, alpine desert and the summit. The lower slopes are cultivated and agriculture flourishes. The forest region is dry in the north and wet towards the southern slopes. The forest carries many tree species including podocarpus, camphor, fig and olive trees and bamboo. The only animals to be found here are blue and Colobus monkeys and a variety of birds including hornbill and turaco. In the moorland region, you find the giant groundsels and lobelias common in the high altitude mountain regions of eastern Africa. Further up, vegetation and animal life are sparse.

Kili is the worlds’ most accessible summit. Any reasonably strong and ambitious person, without using any special mountaineering equipment can conquer this giant. It is however hard work. Altitude and the resulting thin air will be the main challenge and not your failing strength. To avoid succumbing to high altitude sickness, you guides will constantly advise, you take the mountain slowly, slowly or “pole pole” as they say in Swahili. You should therefore avoid a quick ascent and take time to acclimatise to the mountains’ oxygen challenged air. By ignoring such good advice many young males fail to reach the summit, when older more deliberate climbers make it.

To enjoy the natural beauty and majesty of Kili, you do not even have to climb it. By using a four-wheel drive vehicle, you can ascend to the Shira Plateau, which is perched at 12,000 feet. The first person recorded to have reached the summit is the German climber Hans Meyer in 1889. Unlike today’s climber, he did not have the benefit a route map and he only made it on the second attempt. Having been taught a lesson in humility, for the second try, he brought along an Alpine expert and a local guide. Meyer named the summit after the Kaiser Wilhelm II, but this was years later revised to Uhuru or freedom in Swahili. Since the days of Meyer, the icecap has receded and scientists worry that it will vanish altogether in 20 to 50 years. So, hurry up and climb Kili while it is still such a pretty sight.

Today, few climbers use the difficult route pioneered by Meyer. The climb normally takes five to six days and involves four to five overnight stay in comfortable mountain huts. The Marangu route, which was established way back in 1909 is the easiest and most popular and is used by over 90% of climbers. Experienced climbers prefer the more scenic and difficult Machame route. Climbers are not entirely without a sense of humour and they refer to Marangu as the coca cola route, and Machame as the whiskey route. Other routes are Shira, Mweka and Umbwe.

Shira is a scenic route that takes you through the Shira Plateau, which you reach by four-wheel drive vehicle. The route gives you great views of the Rift valley and Mount Meru. Using Mweka, you reach the summit and return to base in 4 days. But as you may suspect, it is quite steep and therefore not easy at all. The Umbwe route is even steeper and quicker and you take only three days up and down. The route is spectacular, but it is for the fit and experienced and not casual climbers. In addition, there are technical routes such as the Western Breach and Lemosho routes.

Regardless of the route you pick, all Kili climbs start at Marangu Gate. This is where you get your permit and pay entry fees. On the typical Marangu route climb, you spend four nights up the mountain. The route is clearly marked right to the summit. You start by trekking through the forest zone to Mandara Hut (9,000 ft) for the first night. Onward through moorland, you halt for a second night at Horombo Hut (12,450 ft). Then through the alpine desert, your third night finds you at Kibo Hut (15,450 ft). But you really do not sleep there as you go for the summit just after midnight. You then descend back to Horombo Hut for your last night after an overall trek of about 77 kilometres. If you want to spend more time up high to acclimatise, you can overnight twice at Horombo Hut.

On the Machame route, you spend one night more on the mountain. You overnight at Machame Hut, Shira Hut and Barranco Hut. You connect to the Mweka route and continue to Barafu Hut. After tackling the summit, you descend for your last night at Mweka Hut. On the next day, you rejoin other mortals at the base of the mountain. You are advised to pick the route that best fits your experience. Most aspire to reach Uhuru Peak - the highest point on Kibo -and indeed all Kili. Others are satisfied with Gillman’s Point, the slightly lower peak on Kibo. But Mawenzi, actually lower than the Kibo peaks, is more jagged and requires mountaineering experience. Many climbers find scaling Kili, whatever height they reach, a very satisfying experience.

But do not be too disappointed if you do not reach the summit. Different estimates indicate that only 15-30% of climbers get to the top. Climbing Kilimanjaro is for those who are physically fit and mentally prepared. It is your ability to muster that extra dose of determination that will count when the going gets tough. In terms of physical preparation, start by taking hikes uphill with a pack strapped on your back. This rehearses the climb, minus the altitude of course. Think also of putting in some aerobic training at the gym and by jogging. If you are having heart or lung problems, better not risk the climb. In all cases, it is a good idea to talk to your personal physician to ensure that you do not bite more than you can chew.

It is best you buy a Kilimanjaro climbing tour package to take advantage of those with local knowledge. The typical package will bundle together: return transfers - Moshi or Arusha to Marangu Gate, park and rescue fees, services of guides, porters and cooks, accommodation in mountain huts and all meals on the mountain. In addition, you need to hire locally or bring along equipment and sleeping bags. Some useful stuff to gather include - waterproof hiking boots, rain suit, flashlights, sunglasses, prophylactics for high-altitude sickness, hand gloves and night shoes. You need a daypack to carry a few essentials, as the porters carrying your equipment will usually hike their own way. Some items to carry on your back include bottled water, extra clothes, camera and sunscreen.

You can climb Kili, any time throughout the year. But it is obviously less fun during the March to June period when it rains the most. The second and lighter rains come from late October to early December. The best time is when it is warm and dry - January, February and September. July, August, November and December also good, though cooler. Due to the variation of conditions along the route- from tropic to arctic - it is convenient to dress in layers you can either shed or add on. Generally, in the northern Tanzania region, you can expect temperatures to average from 15C in May to August and 22C over December to March. At the mountain, temperatures drop by roughly 1 degree Celsius for every 650 feet ascended.

Many climbing enthusiasts want Christmas and the New Year to find them up the mountain, and unless you book early, it is difficult to get a slot. The best way to relax after the trek is by taking a Tanzania safari in the unrivalled wildlife sanctuaries in the north of the country or by heading for the beaches of Zanzibar. I have also written short features on these attractions.

Kilimanjaro is 475 km to the northwest of Dar es Salaam. The base for climbing Kili are the northern Tanzania towns of Moshi or Arusha. Kilimanjaro International Airport services the region. But it is usually cheaper to disembark at Nairobi in Kenya and then to take a shuttle bus to Arusha.

Copyright © Africa Point

Andrew Muigai is the editor of AfricaPoint Insider online newsletter. It is part of AfricaPoint.com- the Africa travel website that has helped thousands of travelers discover Africa. You can view more info on Tanzania safari and tours at the website.

You may have read my articles about the size limitations for both UPS and the USPS. What are you to do when these limits are exceeded? Your local The UPS Store location is one option for obtaining a freight quote.

If your package exceeds 165″ in length + girth (girth = (width x 2) + (height x 2)), or it exceeds 150 pounds, you will need to ship the item via a freight carrier. The Post Office has even lower limits (70 pounds and 108″ in length + girth).

Shippers, such as The UPS Store, have access to several freight vendors. If you call a freight vendor directly, their first question will likely be, “How many rooms of furniture will you be moving”? If you are interested in sending a single item, they will likely refer you to a shipper such as The UPS Store. The reason is that with nearly 5,000 retail outlets throughout the country, a freight carrier can pick up one item at one shipping outlet, one item from another store close by, and another piece at another nearby location. By the time they pack a couple of rooms for someone and then stop at some local shipping outlets, their truck will be full. Therefore, these shipping outlets can achieve a good pricing structure for you to move single objects via a freight carrier, without having to worry about filling the truck like a consumer would face.

Whether it is one piece or multiple pieces, visit your local shipping outlet for advice and a quote on the best method of packaging and shipping your oversize items.

Money. For any business, the ultimate goal for having a website is to make money.
Your site is not a status symbol, it’s a tool, designed to make more money for your
business.

However, money’s not enough. Ask yourself: Beyond the ultimate goal of earning
more money, is your website designed to gather leads, service customers, enhance
your image, produce direct sales, or something else? It’s important to choose.
Because, without a primary objective, you have no way of deciding what should go
in your website or how it should be structured, let alone evaluate whether it’s
working or not.

The next big question is: Do I have the time and the inclination to design and
manage the website myself? If yes, there are plenty of inexpensive, user-friendly
web creation software packages available, for all platforms. You might also consider
having it professionally designed, but managing it yourself.

If you are going to get professional help, take the time to clearly understand what
you want a website developer to deliver, and what you must provide for a successful
site. Approach designers with your goals and objectives, and a budget in hand.
Don’t’ expect, or allow, a designer to tell you what to spend. It’s not their money,
and not their future. It’s yours, take command.

Evaluate these professionals on how clearly they can respond to your budget and
goals. Can they explain why you should have the basic elements they’re suggesting?
Can they clarify why they do not have certain things in their proposal that others
might have included? If all they say is “For $xxxxx you get 14 pages,” look further.
These people are providing a cookie cutter approach to web design.

Additionally, don’t be mislead by a flashy portfolio of sites they’ve designed. Try to
analyse any sites they show you from the eye of the company that needed the site.
Ask them what the goal of each site was, and try to determine if the site delivers on
the goal.

With your objective in mind (and possibly a professional at your side), it’s now time
to develop the tactics you’ll use to succeed. I assume you are developing a website
for marketing and selling purposes, not just image.

Keeping your focus on the objective of your website, put your primary emphasis in
developing content and the necessary tools to communicate with prospects.
Attractive graphics and design are vital to success, but forget the animations, the
streaming video and all the other bells and whistles. (Unless, of course, these bells
and whistles are what you’re selling.).

Bells and whistles tend to slow sites down, some are annoying and some (Java,
audio, video, etc.) are not supported by all browsers. (Some designers/programmers
will tell you that 80% of the browsers support X, Y or Z special effect. In theory, yes.
However, I’ve found that most regular surfers don’t have their browsers configured
properly to take advantage of all the features it’s capable of using.) Remember, it’s
about communications.

One of the best tactics of generating prospect communication is by gaining your
visitor’s e-mail address. It’s just like getting a prospect’s address and phone
number. With these, you can begin a dialogue. What people are now calling
“Permission Marketing”.

I’ve found that at most websites, capturing prospect contact information isn’t a very
high priority. Usually, the concentration is on products and services. Keep in mind,
research has shown most people don’t buy the very first time they hear about, or
see, a product or service. The rule of thumb in advertising is, a prospect needs
seven exposures before they will take any kind of action. This holds true for the
Internet. If prospects visit your website, have look, leave and never come back;
you’ve failed. Either your site must be so compelling, that they keep coming back.
Or you need to gather their contact info, so that you can continue to bring your
marketing message to them again and again.

Gathering E-Mail Addresses

What might induce a visitor to give you their e-mail address? How about a free
subscription to your electronic newsletter? Or a free report on a subject of interest
to them? (Related to your field, of course.) Or, announcements on special offers in
the area of their interest? Show them the benefits and many of them will sign on!

Don’t simply ask prospects for their contact information. People are very wary of
handing out personal information. They want to know what’s in it for them, before
they’ll give you such valuable information.

Once you have their e-mail address, immediately contact the prospect. This can be
done by sending each contact a personal e-mail, or by using a listserver/
autoresponder. Immediately send your prospect information about the benefits of
doing business with you. (How hard or soft an approach you take is up to you and
your style. And to some extent, the style of your industry.)

A listserver is software which stores e-mail addresses, and can automatically e-mail
information to your entire prospect list. This allows you to send special
announcements, tips, industry information, etc. to your prospects on a regular
basis, at next to no cost. You can even set the listserver to send a final batch of
information if a prospect asks to be unsubscribed from your list. It’s one last chance
to impress them with the value of your product/service.

Keith Thirgood, Creative Director

Capstone Communications Group

Helping businesses get more business through innovative marketing

http://www.capstonecomm.com/

Markham, Ontario, Canada
905-472-2330

Subscribe to Thrive-on-line
http://list.capstonecomm.com/mail.cgi?f=list&l=thrive_on_line

Lotus Elise is a good looking and high performance sports car developed by the Lotus Company. When the first Lotus Elise was released, it received a lot of attention for its remarkably low weight and striking design. The first Lotus Elise hit the marked in September 1995. Today, there are two main types Lotus Elise available for the car enthusiast: Lotus Elise Series 1 cars and Lotus Elise series 2 cars.

The creator of the first Lotus Elise was named Max David and worked from London. The founder of the Lotus Company, Colin Chapman, had always dreamed about a car that combined extremely light weight with superb performance, and Max David took these dreams to heart. The remarkably low weight of the Lotus Elise is what makes fantastic performance possible even with a modest engine. The shape of the Lotus Elise has been created with dynamics and driving purity in focus.

The first Lotus Elise weighed no more than 1500 lb (680 kg). Driving this car is amazing, due to its remarkable ability to accelerate, brake and corner. The weight of the first Lotus Elise can be compared to the Porsche Boxter, which is considered a low-weight sports car and still weigh almost as much as two Lotus Elise cars - 2756 lb (1250 kg). This means that while the 1997 Porsche Boxter requires and engine output of 201 bhp (149 kW), the Lotus Elise works brilliant with only 120 bhp (89 kW).

As mentioned above, the first Lotus Elise was released in September 1995. The year after the Lotus Company released an even lighter Lotus Elise that weighed an astonishingly low 1488 lb (675 kg). This car was followed by the Lotus Elise 111S three years later. The Lotus Elise 111S is faster than the preceding Lotus Elise cars and is fitted with a Variable Valve Control (VVC) engine. This engine has been developed from the Rover K series and equipped with Variable valve timing (VVT). You will also find more comfortable seats in the Lotus Elise 111S, since some customers found the first two Elise versions uncomfortable. The new seats are filled with more padding.

The next step for the Lotus Elise developers was the roofless Lotus Elise 340R. This cabriolet version of the Elise car was released in a limited edition in 2000 and was equipped with a 177 bhp (131 kW) engine. The name 340R was derived from the first prototype; it had a 340 bhp/ton power to weight ratio. The prototype had a 170 bhp engine, and weighed no more than 500 kg. In accordance with this, the limited edition consisted of exactly 340 cars. Later in the year 2000, the Lotus Company released the Exige. The Exige was similar to the Lotus Elise 340R, but had a hardtop. The engine was exactly the same; 177 bhp (131 kW).

The next step for the Lotus Company was to embark on the construction of the Series 2 Lotus Elise car. The first of the Series 2 Lotus Elise cars was actually announced the same year as the Lotus Elise 340R and the Exige was released. The car from the Series 2 was designed directly on the computer, which was a totally new way of working for the Lotus Company.

Read more about Lotus Elise and the new 2006 Lotus Elise

Did you know that business executives spend about half their time sitting in meetings? In fact, 40 to 50 percent of their working hours are consumed by meetings, according to a study by the Annenberg School of Communications at UCLA and the University of Minnesota’s Training & Development Research Center.

Meetings are inevitable - whether you’re a business executive or member of a volunteer, social, or civic organization. But meetings can be a very effective and efficient way to communicate, if properly planned and conducted. To help you pull off successful meetings, below are some key strategies to follow. You may only need to address a few of them, if you’re conducting an informal meeting. For a meeting with major consequences, you should give all or most of these areas careful consideration.

Prior to the Meeting

First, you’ll need to define the purpose of the meeting and develop an agenda with the cooperation of the key participants. Then distribute the agenda and circulate background material, lengthy documents or articles ahead of time. This will make participants feel prepared, involved and up-to-date, so they can be ready to make valuable contributions to the meeting.

Next, choose an appropriate time for everyone to assemble. It’s also important to set a time limit and stick to it, as much as possible. Participants have other commitments and will be more likely to attend meetings if you make them as productive, predictable and short as possible.

If possible, set up the room so attendees can face each other in a circle, semi-circle - or U-shaped rows for large groups. The location you choose should comfortably suit your group’s size. Rooms that are too small can get stuffy and create tension; a larger room is more comfortable and encourages individual expression.

During the Meeting

Greet attendees and make them feel welcome, even latecomers when appropriate. If possible, serve light refreshments to help break the ice and make everyone feel comfortable.

Begin the meeting on time, so you can end on time. Start by reviewing the agenda and setting priorities for the meeting. Stick closely to the agenda, but also encourage group discussion to collect all points of view. Keep the conversation focused on the topic, and don’t hesitate to ask for only constructive and original comments.

Tactfully end discussions when they’re going nowhere or become too touchy. As a leader, set a good example by listening attentively and showing appreciation for participants’ input.

Keep minutes of the meeting for future reference in case a question or problem arises. Summarize any agreements reached and end the meeting on a positive note. For example, have participants volunteer to share their views on what good ideas or positive developments they feel resulted from the meeting. And before everyone leaves, don’t forget to set a date, time and place for the next meeting.

After the Meeting

Be sure to transcribe and distribute minutes of the meeting within three or four days. This will help reinforce the importance of the meeting and give participants a clear and accurate record of what took place. Follow up on any delegation decisions and ensure that all participants understand and carry out their responsibilities. Give recognition and appreciation to excellent and timely progress. And put any unfinished business on the agenda for the next meeting.

You should also periodically evaluate meetings and work on any areas that need improving. Remember, meetings that are effectively planned - from start to finish - can leave participants with a sense of accomplishment and enhance your organization’s overall success.

About The Author

Copyright © 2004

Kate Smalley
Connecticut Secretary
Freelance Secretarial and Transcription Services

http://www.connecticutsecretary.com

mailto:kms@connecticutsecretary.com

You, like many others, may have come to this article because you want more from life. In this sense, you and I may be alike because we’re searching for greater happiness and a stronger sense of fulfillment.

If you are someone in your thirties or older, and perhaps western, then you, like me, may have read enough adventure stories or seen enough Walt Disney to have been heartened by the stories of ugly guys, like the beast in Beauty and the Beast, winning the beauty, Belle. I don’t know about you, but that story gave me hope!

And maybe you relate to the heroics of Robin Hood who stood no nonsense, not even from the baddies in charge while King Richard crusaded. And Robin, in between robbing the rich and dishing it out to the poor, still had time to get his work-life balance right. In between robbing the rich and dishing it out to the poor he still had the time to party with his mates and date the fairest maiden in the land. The old rogue!

Maybe you loved the never-grow-old attitude of Pan, willed Hercules to conquer all and craved the day that you could leave school and set off through the forest of life, whistling and singing as merrily as one of the Seven Dwarfs, as you headed your way to a job that made your heart sing with joy!

And maybe, like me, now you’ve grown up, you realise that the world is not quite the way you imagined it in your youth: Cinderella has not pulled up outside your home in her pumpkin carriage, nor is Snow White cooking dinner for you when you get home from the office after a day working for a guy who would find himself in steaming hot water if he had a nose like Pinocchio.

Well I don’t know about you, but I felt a little disgruntled and let down with the way life turned out after such a romantic, adventurous childhood heavily laden with dreams.

Disgruntled by the time I hit my mid-twenties? More like disconnected: divorce, obesity, financial troubles and abuse had all gone on in my life by then and I suppose in a way I did feel like a couple of the dwarfs - grumpy and sleepy! Maybe your experience is similar, maybe a little different, slightly better or worse, but I’m sure we can empathise with each other and maybe even share a little feeling of disillusionment with life in general.

But this word “disillusionment”… it makes me wonder… It makes me wonder how I came to be disillusioned. Because to come to a place of “disillusionment” must mean I had an “illusion” in the first place. And I guess that this illusion might have been shaped by the wonders of Disney and the hopes of romance and magic in a future and the values set by the society of the time: work hard for a living and marry for life - in other words grow up, be a hero and marry a princess.

But what are your illusions, my new friend? What did you hope to have found in life before you stumbled on my article? Who did you hope to be? Who did you hope to love? And where did it all go wrong?

But I have some other questions for you before you go: what if all that experience has come to you for your greater good? What if you could understand it? What if you could use it? What if you could rise above it? What if you could now become that hero you always dreamed you would be and reconnect with that world of romance, adventure and wonder?

What if everything in your life had a purpose? What if you have a life purpose? What if that life purpose were to set out with an illusion, find the opposite of that illusion - disillusionment - and then rediscover the original illusion so you could ultimately experience the true magic and wonder of life and live happily ever after?

Perhaps all the difficulty is worthwhile. Perhaps all our troubles have true meaning, my friend and perhaps we are now ready to experience the magic this world has to offer. I guess we must also remember that even Walt Disney himself had his challenges: I understand he slept rough in his office because he couldn’t afford accommodation and even had no shoes left to wear when he finally got invited to a meeting that changed his life, and all of ours.

About The Author

What will you do improve in your life?

Novelist and personal development writer, Neil Millar wants you to join his free newsletter at Unstoppable Life, get his free e-book Greater Steps to Happiness and explore the Discover your Life Purpose programme he co-authored. The programme is already helping people discover who they really are and what they want to do with their life. Check it out:

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© Copyright 2004 Neil Millar Unstoppable Life