When I go out and talk to business people, I hear them talking about all the things they do from day to day. They talk about the problems they have and their frustrations with a whole variety of things they do. Invariably I find myself thinking: why do they do these things in the first place. As an extreme example, if you had your hand in a flame and it was burning, you would move it wouldn’t you? So why not do something about the things that cause you stress and frustrate you?

What do you actually do for a living? How do you or your organization actually make money? What are you core skills? These are questions all of us should be asking ourselves all the time. I’d like to make a friendly bet with you. I’d like you to stop right now and make a quick list of your core skills. Now make a second list of the ways you actually make money or gain benefit. Please just take a quick 5 minutes and do this. When you are done, take a few more minutes and make a list of the things you actually do during your working day. Now comes the bet. I bet if you compare the lists you will easily find several things you do regularly that have nothing to do with your core skills.

Did I win the bet?

The point to this exercise is to make you aware that you do a lot of things every day that you are not well suited to and that don’t actually earn you money. Just about now you are probably saying “yes but these things need to be done”. That is probably true. I say probably because I’m pretty sure you will find something on your list that really isn’t all that important. Something you keep doing out of habit that you have just stopped thinking about it.

There are so many things we spend time on that are neither enjoyable, necessary or revenue generating! You will be amazed when you stop and analyze your activities, at how much of your time and energy is spent on these tasks. Now is probably a good time to break these tasks down into categories. Look back at your list and sort them into things that don’t need to be done, things that are questionable and finally, jobs that need to be done but are not your core skills. Interesting exercise isn’t it?

Half the battle is just being aware of the things you do. When you are aware of them you have a fighting chance of eliminating or reorganizing the real time wasters. The other half is figuring out the best way to get the other tasks done. The ones that you are not suited to, the jobs that frustrate you, the jobs you dislike and that depress you and cause stress.

Let me ask you to do another little exercise. How much money do you want to earn? Now, how much is that by the hour? Finally, let’s have a look at our lists and think about whether someone would pay you your hourly rate to do these jobs for them. Sort out the list again into jobs that are worth your hourly rate and ones that are not. You should be starting to see which things are at least financially sensible for you to do yourself and which ones are obviously not.

Life is not all about money. Now that you have a reasonable idea about which of your frustrating little jobs are worth your hourly rate, let’s look at it from another perspective. There are some things that cause us so much stress that they are generally counter productive. You hate doing those jobs and they foul up your day. They ruin your mood and frustrate you. Does this sound like a good space to be in? Do you think you are operating at your best when you feel like this? Unless you have a lot more discipline than the average person, the answer is pretty likely to be no.

A friend of mine that I talk things through with occasionally frequently straightens me out with one simple approach. When he catches me complaining about something I hate doing, he asks me if I feel good. Of course I say no. Then he says to me that it’s okay to carry on if I like feeling bad but if I don’t like feeling bad I might consider stopping. At this point I usually laugh and stop complaining or I feel pretty stupid. I mean, he’s right isn’t he? All I have to do to improve my mood and perhaps even my life is stop doing the things that upset me.

It’s amazing how simple it is. We just have to be aware of what we do and make some conscious decisions about whether it makes us happy or is sensible for us to do. I think most of us are such creatures of habit that we forget that we actually have the ability to change the things that bother and frustrate us.

Here is a specific example I’m going to use because it is such an important issue. One of the big things people take on that tends to be really time consuming, frustrating and potentially devastating, is looking after their own computer equipment, software and all the related jobs it entails. It also happens to be one of the jobs that almost none of us are properly trained for and consequently we are just not good enough at it. Computer technology has become incredibly complex. Increasingly these days, technology is so important to our method of earning a living that we simply must get it right to succeed. So you really should be asking yourself if it makes any sense to be doing it yourself, shouldn’t you? Why would you want to take on something so important to your success when it is pretty likely not on your list of core competences? This happens to be an example where the fact that it costs you more than your own hourly rate to get it done, might not even matter

So let’s summarize. There are many things we do that have such a negative effect on us that they are simply not worth doing. There are even some things that we should not be doing simply because they are just too important to us and we are not really competent to do them. If we get someone better suited to the job, to do it for us, we will probably discover that we are enjoying what we do to make a living again and perhaps even improve our lives in general. We may even find out what we have been missing!

One last thing I’d like to cover is the mental arguments that inevitably arise whenever this subject is raised. Here are a few examples;

“I can’t afford to get someone else to do it”,

“I know I hate doing it but I don’t trust anyone else to look after this”,

“I’ve always done it this way”.

I’m sure there are plenty more you can add to this list. It is essential that you address these thoughts and not just accept them. Otherwise nothing will change. The things that are having a negative effect on you will keep on holding you back.

This article is all about being aware. I am not trying to tell you to re-create your whole new universe with a big bang. I am however, suggesting that you can get great results by occasionally reviewing the things you do.

Ron Hughes is CEO of Adapt Information Technology, one of the longest standing Internet businesses in the world. He is also a public speaker and frequent contributor of articles on a variety of subjects. Ron welcomes your comments at ron@wowgroups.com.

Visit http://www.wowdesk.com for information on how to have your own secure, personal office on the Internet.

The Hughes Boys - http://www.getexperts.com

The Istanbul real estate market have seen many changes over the last decade and have created a very happy group investors who are willing to bet more on the future of the city. The initial focus of developers now is the commercial real estate industry where they can develop more projects to provide office space for local and international companies entering the market.

Because many developers have focused on residential projects and shopping centers in the recent past, this resulted in a shortage of quality office space in Istanbul. Quick profits made in the city have international corporations in other industries turn their heads to this market as well. With increasing demand for quality office space in different sizes have boosted the commercial rent prices as well. Serviced offices and class A office buildings are now in increasing demand from both local and international companies entering the Turkish market with intentions of securing a piece of the pie.

There are only a few companies offering serviced offices in Istanbul and this number is also expected to increase immensely in the near future. While the number of companies offering this type of services in each city of Europe can reach thousands, this is fairly a new industry in Turkey. According to research reports conducted by leading commercial real estate companies in Istanbul, serviced office industry will quadruple its size in 2009 and is expected to quadruple again in the following 18 months.

Windsor Castle is considered to be the largest inhabited castles around at present and the oldest in continuous inhabitation (about 900 years). It is 1 of the Queen’s 3 sanctioned residences, and is regularly understood to be her most liked home. The Royal colours soars over the Round Tower of Windsor Castle when Queen Elizabeth 2nd is in palace - yet, at alternative periods, the Union Jack banner soars in its place.

Samuel Pepys once stated the Castle to be “the most adored castle in the world.” That was said in sixteen-sixty-six and the equivalent has been said today.

Windsor Castle Remarkable History:

The launch of Windsor can be found lying in the seventh century Saxon hamlet of Windlesora, where the contemporary day village of Old Windsor is located. The settlement of Windsor is accurately branded as “New Windsor” - the actual phrase “new” being referenced in a loose way!

Windsor Castle to begin with was erected by the renowned William the Conqueror, as a result of his invasion of England in ten sixty six. The original frame was built from timber with sol fortifications. Palace held an obvious strategic position on a tall hill above the River Thames, and was a fraction of a ring of strongholds around London, with the Tower of London, one whole days journey away, at its heart. Visit Windsor Castle, Queen Elizabeth’s magnificent residence.

The Palace was remade in rock, & increased in magnitude over the years. Later on Henry the 2nd constructed the Round Tower and the original stone outer wall. Following the English Civil War, the structure’s principal role became that of a royal home. The Castle has stayed almost totally unbothered since the beginning of the 19th century, apart from the reconstruction work straight after the awful fire.

While secured loans are the obvious choice for homeowners, there exists an option for non-homeowners too. The option is that of unsecured loans. As is apparent from its name, an unsecured loan is a form of credit that is not backed by collateral. In other words, an unsecured loan doesn’t demand any security from you.

This loan is usually availed by tenants who do not own a home and hence cannot offer collateral. Even homeowners who do not wish to put their homes at risk can take this loan. There are various facets to unsecured loans that make them a favourable proposition. The chief among them is the fact that unsecured loans get approved a lot faster than secured loans. This is because unlike secured loans; you do not have to get your property valued, as is the case of unsecured loans. This not only saves time but also eliminates the need for paperwork, which is so integral to secured loan processing.

An unsecured loan may be used in any way you want, be it for debt consolidation, holiday, home improvements, or to buy a car or even to finance your wedding.

Just as every coin has two sides to it, unsecured loans also have some limitations. Since, unsecured loans do not demand security, therefore they are considered as high-risk ventures by lenders. Unlike secured loans, if you fail to pay back the loan, the lender will not be able to stake any claim on your property. This is why unsecured loans carry a huge rate of interest.

The advent of Internet has made it a lot simpler for borrowers to avail loans, especially unsecured loans. You no longer have to go knocking at each and every lender’s door for a loan. You can easily surf the net for the available choices on unsecured loans. This gives you the added benefit of comparing several offers and then selecting the most befitting deal for yourself. What’s more you can do all this from the convenience of your home or office.

Add to this, most of these online lenders offer a lower rate of interest than traditional lenders. The reason behind this is that these online lenders operate via the net and not via a physical building and so have reduced overheads making it easy for them to offer you low rates of interest.

If you are worried about giving your information on the net, then you can take heart in the fact that most of these sites have a well-defined encryption system in place that makes sure that the information you give remains protected.

So, what are you waiting for? Start your search right away. Good Luck!

Seek.uk
Nidhi
http://www.seek.uk.com

Have you ever wondered what successful people have that makes them successful?

Ever wonder how those champion recruiters in your company manage, month after month, to get the most new recruits, the biggest bonuses, the largest paychecks?

Well let me tell you a secret. No one starts out as a Champion. Most of them started out like you and me.

So what is it that makes a Champion different from the rest?

Champions have an attitude, a mindset that sets them apart from the rest. But most of these qualities are not exceptional.

Indeed each and every one of us possesses these qualities when we start out in life. But somewhere along the way we tend to lose them and diminish our own potential.

To be a Champion, you must first become a Child! Let me explain:

1. Champions are Willing to Learn.

Children come into this world with an innate desire to learn, to understand the world around them.

They are like sponges observing and absorbing every fact, every reaction. Because they know that their very survival depends on it.

One of the most important, and oft-repeated, qualities we need to succeed in business is a willingness to learn - to be teachable.

To become a champion, you must be willing to educate yourself or be educated, to read about, learn and absorb all the things you need to know, even if they are completely new to you.

If you don’t, you are doomed to failure from the start.

2. Champions are Willing to Act

Have you notice how children completely geared towards action? As soon as they learn a new skill, they want to put it into action.

Champions are the same. They put their newly learned skills to use, taking concrete steps to improve their performance, so they can take their business to the next level.

They know that they must act on what they have learned, even if they haven’t perfected it. Which brings me to their next quality.

3. Champions are Not Afraid to Fail

Just as a child picks itself up again and again, every time it falls while taking its first steps, champions are not afraid to fall down or fail.

They know that failure is the best teacher. They learn from their mistakes and keep fine-tuning their methods till they succeed.

Champions have the courage to fall down and not be discouraged. They pick themselves up and keep trying.

4. Champions are Willing to Adapt

Darwin got it wrong.

Survival does not happen to the Fittest, but to the Most Adaptable.

As children, we adapt to long-term change relatively easily. We are more willing to accept situations and adapt our behaviour accordingly.

Unfortunately, as we grow older, we become more rigid in our thinking, unwilling to accept that there may be better ways of doing things.

In a changing business scenario, resistance to change makes us obsolete. We end up losing out to players with a better understanding of changing trends.

Champions are those who can adapt themselves and their business to changing trends.

5. Champions are Willing to Innovate

Children are extremely inventive beings. They come into this world with no preconceived notions of doing things. In their minds there are no limits to what they can do or how they can do it.

Champions apply these very principles to take their business to the top.

They not only learn from what has been done before. They find ways of doing it more efficiently, more cheaply, more successfully.

As Shiv Khera, motivation coach and author of “You Can Win” puts it, “Winners don’t do different things. They do things differently.”

You don’t have to be like a child in all respects to succeed. It’s probably not even desirable.

But if your pre-conceived notions, fears and hesitation are preventing you from reaching your goals, try looking at the world through a child’s eyes.

At best you will improve your chances of success, at worst you’ll remain young at heart.

Copyright © 2003 Priya Shah

Priya Shah is a partner in the search engine optimization firm, SEO & More and writes an online marketing blog

The power of the mind draws certain events, circumstances and people into our lives and repels others. In this respect, it resembles a magnet. Just look at the people around you. Some pass through certain events and circumstances, while others pass through different experiences. Some accomplish certain things easily, and others accomplish these same things with great difficulty or not at all.

Your mind is composed of the thoughts you think. These thoughts are like magnetic currents. If you think positively about some event or action, you get positive results. If you harbor negative thoughts, this negativity is drawn into your life.

You attract into your life what you think about frequently. It does not mean that every thought gets materialized. Most of the thoughts are weak and are not repeated long enough to gain sufficient strength. Weak thoughts, like a weak magnet, hardly have any attractive power.

You have seen how a magnet draws metal objects. A strong and big magnet draws bigger objects than a small and weak one. Magnets have another peculiar characteristic. One side of the magnet draws, and the other side repels.

The power of attraction is a neutral power. The magnet draws to itself everything made of iron, no matter whether it is a useful object or junk. The mind acts in the same way. It attracts into your life positive and negative situations and events, according to the thoughts that you think.

Like the magnet the mind not only attracts, but also repels. If you do not believe you can get or accomplish something, then you repel it. Thoughts of incompetence, weakness, fear and inferiority create a repellent force. It is as if you are creating a wind that blows away and prevents certain things to reach you.

There are several ways to charge your mind and thoughts with magnetic power. Strong desire, concentration and faith are some of the important ingredients for infusing power into thoughts.

Many activate the magnetic power of their mind unconsciously, without knowing what they are doing. When you know the rules, you become able to activate the magnetic power of your mind consciously, positively and effectively.

Visualizing and thinking with concentration, desire and faith, and repeating these thoughts often, unleashes powerful energy. Your thoughts get radiated and broadcasted, influencing the minds of other people, and attracting to you people who think along the same lines as you do and who can help you with your plans. This process also heightens your awareness and perceptiveness of any opportunity connected with your thoughts that comes your way, and fills you with the inner power and initiative to utilize it.

Why not become conscious of your thoughts, choose to think the ones that are beneficial for you, and consciously and advantageously utilize the power of attraction? You can attract people, circumstances, events, possessions or a life style with the magnetic power of attraction of your mind.

Remember, what you think about intently, with attention and feeling is attracted to you. It can be material and it can be spiritual. The power of attraction is a universal power and manifests everywhere and in everything. It is the power that holds the Universe together. Without it there would not be any world.

© Copyright Remez Sasson

Remez Sasson writes and teaches about self-improvement, positive thinking, creative visualization, success, mind power, spiritual growth and meditation. He is the author of several books, and the publisher of the biweekly ezine, “Consciousness and Success”.

Visit his website: http://www.SuccessConsciousness.com and find articles, quotes and ebooks.

Problem personal debt levels, especially for people under 25, in the UK have risen since last year according to the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS). In a report released this week they revealed that the average client aged under 25 coming for counselling in 2005 owes £15,000. The report also states that “More young people are getting themselves into situations where they find themselves unable to meet their unsecured credit commitments.”

CCCS chairman Malcolm Hurlston said, “The growing trend for young people to get into these amounts of problem debt is a concern. Bankruptcy figures are soaring, and this rise may be accounted for by the young who are without assets and who have overspent on credit cards and personal loans These trends are a natural consequence of the desensitization of borrowing - credit cards have blurred the distinction between borrowing and spending and for many young people, student loans have made borrowing normal..”

Financial comparison site Moneynet believes that, students face a potentially ‘calamitous’ problem with their credit histories on graduation thanks to the now inevitable prospect of leaving college or university with high debt levels. Moneynet CEO Richard Brown said “The majority of graduates are looking at servicing a minimum debt of £15,000 until their mid-thirties.”

University debts are now seriously starting to cause problems for the younger generation. The debts generated at college have for many combined with the spiraling house prices forcing them to stretch themselves financially. Those affected include both those prospective first-time buyers trying to get on the housing ladder and parents trying to help out their children with cash or by being a mortgage guarantor.

Another problem area, although banking organization APACS is keen to emphasize that it only affects a minority of people, is that of credit card debt. Jennifer Brumby from the Newcastle branch of the CCS said, “People are now taking out credit to pay off their credit. But when you get that far into debt, you are really on a slippery slope. People will take out a loan to pay off their credit card and then find they haven’t got enough money to survive on so they start running up their credit card bill again and the whole cycle starts over.”

Following accusations by the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), it seems that the situation does not appear to be greatly helped by the use of payment protection insurance (PPI), which is specifically designed to help those potentially liable to fall into debt by repaying personal loans or credit card debt if they fall ill or lose their jobs and are therefore no longer able to meet their financial commitments. The charity found that PPI is failing many of those who need it most, adding to their debts instead of protecting them against hard times. The CAB said that, “in many cases it is more about providing an additional source of profit for the financial industry than about protecting consumers”. The premiums for policies when added to the full amount being borrowed can increase the cost of borrowing on some credit cards by up to 9% per year. The CAB has lodged a “super complaint” on behalf of their clients, to get the Office of Fair Trading to launch an investigation into the issue.

The CAB stated several different problems with the policies including:
- common difficulties such as bad backs or mental health issues which often lead to claims, are being excluded to prevent payouts
- self employed or contract workers are frequently excluded from claiming
- time limited payout periods reduce the length of time that claims will be paid out for
- low payment amounts being paid for successful claims, usually only covering only the possible minimum payments on a loan
- delays in payments being made following the initial claim and leading to increased financial difficulties for the claimant

CAB has said that 85% of its clients who had tried to claim on their PPI policies had been turned down, however the industry is claiming that only 15% of claims are rejected.

David Harker, CAB chief executive, said “We badly need an official investigation of how this market is operating, leading to effective regulation that ensures a fair deal for all consumers, and which also protects the most vulnerable”.

More of the nation’s young adults are coming out of university and starting their working life with greater debts. Many first-time buyers are finding the cost of housing beyond their finances. More emphasis is being placed on individuals providing for their own long-term future privately. Now the financial safety nets are being shown to contain so many holes that more people are falling through than being caught. The financial future of a generation of young Britons is looking bleak. As more financial choice is being made available to people, less automatic help is becoming accessible from the government and more responsibility is also being required of consumers themselves. Debt may for most people, have become a generally accepted part of modern UK life, and should no longer be seen as something to be scared of, but discovering how to control it and not let it take over control of your life is an important lesson which is best learned as early as possible.

Useful Resources:

Citizens Advice Bureau - CAB

Financial comparisons - Moneynet

Richard lives in Edinburgh, occasionally writing for the personal finance blog Cashzilla, and knows where his towel is.

If you are considering purchasing a business you should take the
time to define your “must have” and, to a lesser extent,
“ideal” business purchase criteria before you take your first
step to find a company to buy.

It is important to define what your absolute business purchase
criteria are and what attributes of a company are just “nice to
have”. Having these clearly defined and written will add a
significant amount of efficiency to the entire business
sourcing, definition, qualification and eventual purchase
process. If you choose to utilize a business acquisition
intermediary to assist you in finding your ideal acquisition
candidate, having this fundamental information clearly defined
will help them best serve your business purchase needs.

Business purchase criteria can be divided into two fundamental
categories, “practical” and “subjective”. Practical business
purchase criteria is best defined as purchase benchmarks that
make sense to use no matter what business purchase transaction
is made, these terms simply make practical sense. Subjective
purchase criteria, like the term suggests, are business
attribute measures and conditions that correlate with your own
personal purchase criteria or preferences, business
experiences, knowledge and risk/ reward tolerance levels.

Practical Business Purchase Criteria:

The potential list of business purchase criteria, terms and
conditions can be long. The best way to start the process of
defining your specific practical purchase criteria is to first
list the general practical criteria categories when seeking a
business to buy. These are categorically listed below, you may
want to consider customizing them for your own use:

Business type:
Service provider, manufacturer, distributor, wholesaler,
retailer, software or E commerce based, or any combination
thereof

Type of products or Services:
Proprietary or generic, industrial or consumer, technical or
non-technical, patent protected or not, software based or not,
regional or international demand

Business Existence Phase:
Start-up, early stage, emerging growth, established or
turnaround

Primary Market Focus:
Refer to the established Standard Industrial Classification
(S.I.C.) code list: Construction, Mining, Transportation,
communications, to name a few

Sales revenue and associated profit levels:
Common criteria to define company “size” thresholds, minimum
levels mostly, results defined for stipulated time frames,
audited or not

Business headquarter location:
Domestic only or international, regional or local

Type of business purchase transaction sought:
Complete buyout, recapitalization, bankruptcy revival,
investment only

Subjective Business Purchase Criteria

Defining subjective business purchase criteria, terms and
conditions is often an ongoing process, difficult to do in one
sitting because it truly is a “learn and accumulate as you go”
process. Listed below is a good start at defining some of the
most significant subjective criteria categories you might also
want to consider and edit for your own requirements:

* Voting control
* Availability of future business
buyers

* Owner reasons for sale

* Seller willingness to stay post
sale

* 5 year growth potential

* Quality of existing management

* Brand names

* % of total sales from
international

* Customer purchase loyalty

* Industry leadership position

* Real Estate issues

* Customer revenue concentration/
mix

* Pending litigation

* Existing binding contracts

* Company affiliations

* Level of technology protection

* Internet presence

* Image of the industry

* Cleanliness issues

* Success dependency on # of
employees

* Industry macro trends

* Labor force organization

* Non-compete terms

* Quality of board of directors

* $ level of assets

* Level of owner financing

* Earn out financing terms

* New products in the pipeline

* Seller integrity

* Seller personality

* Relocation requirements

* Level and terms of debt

* Purchase price calculation

* Ease of due diligence required

* Financials audited or not

* Location(s) of satellite
operations

* Status of computer systems

* Condition of manufacturing
equipment

* Level of competition

* Personal interest in their
markets

* “Fit” with existing business

* Liability of the products/
services

* Length Product life cycles

* Breadth and depth of offerings

* Hazardous waste issues

* Pending legislation

* Corporate culture issues

* Level of government intervention

* Seasonality of revenues

* Availability of critical raw
materials

* Representation/ Distribution

* Acquisition candidates in the
space

* Cash flow

* Capital required to grow the
business

* Customer support required

* Financial status of key
customers

* Current level of market share

* Customer churn rates

When you think about it and actually get involved in pursuing a
company purchase, you quickly realize that your success rate of
finding your “ideal” company to purchase is a direct result of
your ability to effectively locate viable potential acquisition
candidates and cost effectively DIS-qualify them via your own,
“well honed” business purchase criteria checklist.

Take the time and put in the effort required to finalize your
business purchase criteria early on in your business purchase
methodology. The old adage, “If you don’t know where you are
going, you are certain not to get there” applies in this
process. Finding a company to purchase that meets your EXACT
purchase criteria rarely happens, but as you learned here, it
all depends on the depth and breadth of your practical and
subjective business purchase criteria.

About the Author:

Mark Smock is President of http://www.business-buyer-directory.com, the
FIRST international business buyer directory of its kind.
Business Buyer Directory provides a non-traditional means for
proactive business buyers to locate businesses for sale
worldwide that meet their exact registered purchase criteria.

Any attempt to describe a human mind in physical terms is bound to be symbolic. Yet there are certain symbols used in both military and marketing operations that seem to be especially appropriate.

In a military war, hills or mountains are usually considered strong positions, especially useful for defense. In a marketing war, management people often refer to strong positions as “high ground.” So it seems appropriate to use the mountain as a key concept in marketing warfare.

But in warfare, a mountain can be either occupied or unoccupied. Tissue Mountain, for example, is occupied by the brand Kleenex. Ketchup Mountain is owned by Heinz. Computer Mountain by IBM.

Some mountains are being strongly contested. Cola Mountain is partially occupied by Coca-Cola, but is under heavy attack by Pepsi-Cola.

When a customer uses a brand name in place of a generic, you know the mountain in their mind is strongly held. When someone points to a box of Scott tissues and says, “Hand me a Kleenex,” you know who owns the Tissue Mountain in that person’s mind.

Who owns the automobile mountain in the United States? Many years ago Ford did. But Ford got torn apart by the segmentation strategy of general Motors.

So today Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Buick each own different segment of the automotive mountain, with perhaps Cadillac in the strongest position as the owner of the high-priced luxury segment. (Today people will use the name Cadillac as a synonym for a high-quality product.”) As a result of its five strong independent positions, General Motors owns the dominant share of the U.S. automotive market.

Monolithic Mountain are being fought over and cut up into segments, each owned by a different warlord. This long-term trend is likely to continue well into the twenty -first century.

The original owner has a choice: extend or contract. Faced with an enemy that attempts to segment the market, a company can extend its forces to try to control the entire territory, or shrink them to protect home base.

The owner’s instincts are usually wrong. Greed encourages a brand leader to extend its forces to try to control all segments. Too often everything is lost in an effort to protect a small portion of the mountain. As Frederick the Great once said, “He who attempts to defend everywhere defends nothing.”

Is there no defense against a competitor who attempts to segment your mountain? Fortunately for the big companies of this world, there is. More on this strategy in the chapter on defensive warfare.

This article may be re-printed as long as following resource box is included as it is with out any alteration.

This Marketing Idea is published by http://www.nuttymarketer.com. Visit us to find more of cheeky gorilla Ideas.

As human beings, we’re good (or bad) about remembering important dates. Whether it’s an anniversary, a birthday, Bastille Day, Boxer Day, we seem to always find a reason or an excuse for having a party, celebrating a victory or commemorating another special occasion.

Even sad ones.

We Christians are no different. On Christmas, we remember the birth of our Lord Jesus. On Good Friday, millions and millions remember His horrible crucifixion. On Easter, we remember the glorious resurrection of our Lord.

THE FORGIVENESS TAPE

Many years ago, I was given a wonderful cassette tape on forgiveness. After listening to this tape, I was compelled to begin a list of all of those people - as far back as I could recall - who had hurt me, even in the most seemingly insignificant ways. Now, most of us are inclined to say, “Oh, that was no big deal” whenever we are offended throughout our daily routines. The thing we’re forgetting by reacting this way is that we are all receptacles and, therefore, will retain every good AND bad thing that happens to us in our lives. To respond by saying “no big thing” is to deny ourselves the opportunity to grow spiritually.

So, there I was, having just finished listening to this incredible tape on forgiveness, and I knew I needed a plan of action. So, I began by praying, asking that the Holy Spirit would bring to my memory every situation, every individual who had EVER hurt me.

What transpired was a glorious exercise that I have entitled “Building a Monument to the Moment.” In other words, as these images were unearthed like some sort of an archeological find, being brought to light after, in many cases, decades without seeing the light of day - or the light of truth - I took the opportunity to pray. It went something like this: “Dear Lord, I bring to your remembrance Coach So-n-So. Father, forgive Him. He didn’t know what he was doing when he embarrassed and humiliated me in front of so many people on that cool, autumn day when I was 16. Father, right now, in the name of Jesus, I release him from the bondage of unforgiveness and I release myself as well. I bless that man, his life, his health, his family. And if he hasn’t taken the time to establish a relationship with you throughout the many years since that occurrence, I pray that he will come to know you in the deepest, most intimate way. And I pray that he, too, would discover the joy of forgiving and blessing those who have trespassed against him. I pray these things and I thank you for the release that this moment has given me, in the mighty Name of Jesus. Amen!”

How many people did I do this with? Over 300. I listed them and faithfully prayed for each and every one of them. Some of these sins were greater than others and brought great shame and humiliation to me on a very grand scale. “Grand” in my mind, at least. In those instances, I made an even larger “Monument” by doing something that I felt would help me to remember - should the enemy ever try and REMIND me of my past - the very instant that I forgave and released and blessed that individual. For example, I’d write the situation or person’s name on a slip of paper and pray over it and bury it, burn it or flush it down the commode.

I remember teaching this from the pulpit of a Baptist Church when, after the sermon, a young lady sat staring at me with a confused look upon her face. Her friend, a young lady I had known several years, introduced us. We’ll call her “Christa.” With tears in her eyes, “Christa” told me, “For starters, I’m NOT a Christian. But how can we be expected to forgive somebody who has REALLY hurt us bad? How can I forgive my brother? He doesn’t deserve it!” She went on to describe the details of the terrible sins of her younger brother.

I reminded her of the extreme purity of God and how ANY sin - from a bad thought to brutal murder - separates us from Him. I explained that God chose to send Jesus as the perfect sacrifice and that the shedding of His blood paid the price for ALL of our sins. All we had to do was believe. “None of us,” I told her “deserves the forgiveness of God.” In a few minutes, she began sobbing and fell into my arms as her girl friends laid hands upon her and silently prayed. In time, Christa DID become a Christian, attending my Coffee House Bible studies regularly and, more importantly, exhibiting the fruit of a lover of Jesus throughout her daily life at the nearby college. The forgiveness she found in Christ she began, with difficulty, to express to her family. In time, however, several key members also turned to Christ to do what they alone could not do; forgive a young man who didn’t know what he was doing and how badly it hurt those who loved him most.

HOW SCRIPTURAL IS THIS “MONUMENT” STUFF?

It’s wise to ask how Scriptural it is whenever a seemingly new concept is being taught. But the Building of a Monument to the Moment is really not new at all.

The Old Testament refers to at least two types of monuments: an altar of sacrifice and a monument of remembrance. The altar of sacrifice was established by God’s command when Abraham was told by God to worship Him by the sacrifice of the promised child, Isaac.

The other type of monument was a monument of remembrance.

This monument was built as a reminder of God’s goodness and providence. Jacob’s altar at Bethel was a monument of remembrance of the vision he had of the ladder between heaven and earth with angels ascending and descending. In the morning Jacob took his stone pillow and used it as a pillar, a reminder that God had met with him. God said to Jacob, “I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me” (Genesis 28:11-22; 31:13).

The Israelites built a monument of remembrance after they crossed the Jordan into the promised land of Canaan. The Lord told Joshua to have twelve men take twelve stones from the Jordan, where the priests were standing upon dry ground, and to make a monument with those stones from the middle of the riverbed. Joshua took these stones and pitched them in Gilgal. He then spoke to the children of Israel and told them, “When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones? Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over: That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever,” (Joshua 4:21-23).

Another monument of remembrance was erected on the opposite side of the Jordan. The Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh were the only people not to possess the Promised Land but instead they took the land on the opposite side of the Jordan by Moses’ blessings. Upon their return to the opposite side of the Jordan, the two and one-half tribes built an altar so that they might say to their future generations, “Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it [this altar] is a witness between us and you,” (Joshua 22:28).

The last monument of remembrance was not one built upon a commandment of God or built out of a desire to remember the goodness of God. No, this monument was used to strike fear into the heart of Israel. This monument was first used to detain Israel and limit them from advancing into the land of the Philistines. This monument was that of a tool of execution. You might ask, “What is this monument?” The answer is simple: “It is the sword of Goliath.”

You can read about this in 2 Samuel 21:1, 3-4, 6, 8-9: “Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest [saying] Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present. And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread. So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread. And David said unto Ahimelech, and is there not here under thine hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me. And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it: for there is no other save that here. And David said, there is none like that; give it me.”

When David was running for his life as King Saul tracked him down, David ran to the only place he could find refreshment, help, and solice, the Tabernacle of the Lord, located in a place called Nob. David knew he could find nourishment at the Tabernacle, for the priesthood operated under the Mosaic law of charity: love thy neighbour as thyself (Leviticus 19:18).

It was at Nob, on the morning of the Sabbath, when David arrived - unarmed, weary, and faint with hunger - before Ahimelech the priest. David needed two things: food and a sword. He asked Ahimelech for five loaves of bread. The priest sorrowfully had no bread to except the hallowed shewbread - the bread, which sat upon the golden table in the sanctuary used as sustenance for the priests and their families. Though it was unlawful for David to eat this bread, Ahimelech gave David five loaves anyway.

The people of Israel did not wear swords constantly, unlike today where a soldier carries a firearm. The priests had no swords, but in the Tabernacle was the sword of Goliath, which was kept behind the ephod wrapped in a cloth. This sword was kept as a monument of the glorious victory David had achieved in the defeat of Goliath. This sword was given to David, and was a reminder to him and Israel of the miraculous victory won by him and the people of Israel through God’s divine intervention. Just seeing the sword must have taken him back to that glorious day when he said to the giant, “Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD” (I Samuel 17:45).

MAKING APPLICATION

Please remember, dear friends, that those terrible things that you feel have happened TO YOU are actually happening FOR YOU and for the advancement of God’s Kingdom on Earth. We can embrace them as such or allow them to destroy us. As the saying goes, “we can get bitter or we can get better.”

Years ago, I was walking with a cane, virtually crippled by a debilitating spinal disease. On two occasions, I almost gave up on asking for prayer and trusting God for a miracle and started filling out government assistance papers. In contrast to those days recently, I carried a small refrigerator up a flight of stairs by myself and I’m currently involved in the remodeling of my house, carrying lumber and swinging a hammer repeatedly from atop a ladder. The cane? I still have it and cannot look at it without remembering how God strengthened me during those dark and miserable hours. Have I made an idol of that monument? No! In 2 Kings 18:4, King Hezekiah not only forbade the people to worship the brazen serpent made by Moses in the wilderness to keep those who looked upon it from being bitten by snakes (Numbers 21:4-9) - a piece that survived for about 825 years - but Hezekiah also broke that brazen serpent into pieces to show the people that it was Nehushtan - nothing more but a piece of brass. Do not allow your monument to become your idol.

God has a lofty goal in mind for each of us, i.e., to conform us to the image of His Son. We MUST be tested and strengthened for Kingdom work. Just as Jesus was, we, too, will be tempted in the wilderness, have our beards plucked, be spit upon and mocked and will feel the sting of betrayal by our friends. If not literally, figuratively. We can pass these tests as they come, or fail and try to pass them later.

Why not begin building YOUR “Monument” today? In each Old Testament example, it was the priests who were responsible for maintaining the memory of the miraculous. As a Christian, YOU are a priest (Yes, all you non-Catholics..you, too!). Not only does God say that “…you shall be unto me a Kingdom of priests, and a holy nation…, (Ex 19:6)” but 1 Peter 2:9 also declares, “that we are “…a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.”

There. It’s settled. We are all priests and, as such, we must never let the memory die of the wonderful things our God has done, not only in our own lives, but in the lives of others, including those between the pages of Scripture.

Now, go!

Start building those monuments!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael’s mission is to bring Discipleship and Encouragement to the Body of Christ. Since 1999, he has broadcast over 300 hundred inspirational articles and a dozen booklets on subjects that will interest the thinking Christian, all designed to accelerate the process of spiritual development in God’s people.

He is the founder of t.e.a.m. ministries (team1min@aol.com). An Author, Pastoral Counselor and Teacher, his eMail broadcasts, known as “Your Town for Jesus” are reaching millions around the globe WEEKLY. Write team1min@aol.com if you’d like to SUBSCRIBE.

A licensed/ordained minister, a Certified Workplace Chaplain, and a Professional Member of NIBIC, he has ministered in Methodist, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Baptist, Disciples of Christ, College and Cowboy churches. He is also a Speaker on the Christian Speaker Network and may be available to speak to your church or Christian group.