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Back to Basics…Invention & Innovation Can Save Your Job abd Save America!

October 23, 2012 in Our World

America was built on the backs of people who freely invented and innovated their way to success. People like Franklin, Edison, Ford, Gates to name a few, plus thousands more who have been the role models and inspiration to millions of people worldwide This incredible process has been a magnet to millions of people who immigrated to the U.S. with dreams of one day experiencing their own success stories.


Over the past two centuries, America has led the world in the creation of new technologies and life altering tools. Yet, if one would look at the country today, it could be easy to reach a different conclusion as to what has made us successful. Actions such as massive government financial bailouts of businesses that are 'too big to fail' or government officials becoming the heads of industries in automotive, banking and finance create a different picture. In our quick look, we are seeing a 'snapshot' that is far different from the history that preceded it. What happened? Did we miss something? Has small business lost its ability to create jobs and opportunities for economic growth? Has the entrepreneurial spirit so alive and vibrant for hundreds of years grown weary and stale? Has something else taken its place that is better and more effective?


According to U.S. Department of Commerce statistics, the U.S. economy is comprised of 99.7% small business that is defined generally with having less than 100 employees. Yet, this category called 'small business' is responsible for almost 78% of all job creation. Yes, that is worth repeating…78% of all new jobs, that's eight out of ten new jobs are created by small businesses in the United States!


If you knew this fact and wanted to create economic growth quickly, what would you do? If you are a government decision maker tasked with turning our economy away from the brink of depression, what would you do? Based on this fact, one would believe that in an economic crisis government would do whatever is possible to keep small business going and growing. This only makes sense…common sense. Yet, the opposite is happening. Small businesses all across the United States are drying up and dying due to a lack of credit and financial support from banks, financial institutions and government agencies. Even the Small Business Administration (SBA) historically a key ally of small business is totally ineffective and unable to provide support because of the financial system meltdowns. Government is discussing how to tax small business more instead of how to help small business generate more income. Does this make any sense? Does saying "Stove give me heat and I'll put the wood in" make any sense? So, what does all this mean? What can be done?


Here's a suggestion. The United States Congress must go back to work. Instead of political game playing and an atmosphere of 'she said, he said' playground squabbling, it needs to focus on what has historically made this country's economic engine go. It is not government giveaways. It is not government handouts to big business and it is not massive spending on programs that will take years to implement. The answer is much simpler. It requires the immediate loosening of credit and the funding of small businesses that are started and managed by energetic, risk taking and hard working entrepreneurs.


Look, when all else fails, go back to the basics. Vince Lombardi, the great professional football coach for the Green Bay Packers knew that it was following the basics that created success. Regardless of the team's experience level standing before him, when the Packer pre-season training camp opened, he would always start off by holding up a football and saying…'Gentlemen, this is a football!'


Now, to every person in our state governments, to the United States Congress and to our President, we respectfully must say…"Gentlemen and ladies, this is small business!"

TAKING ACTION TODAY!

October 23, 2012 in Preparing for a Depression

I am not waiting for the government to bail out Wall Street or to save the insurance industry. I am making moves today to review all my outgoing expenses and overhead. This includes all essential expenses like phone, electrical, cable, water, sewer, garbage, etc. which happen every month as well all non-essential expenses like eating out, car gas, subscriptions, protection services, travel costs, etc. that are more discretionary to life.

After categorizing each expense, I am looking at whether it is important to my life or not. If important, can I reduce its cost or must I leave it the same. If not important, can I cancel it without penalty. In other words, is there anything that I can reduce or eliminate that will not negatively affect my life.

I would like to know what other people are doing.

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by Big Jim

Top Ten Ways to Proper Strength Train Anywhere, Anytime without any Special Equipment

October 23, 2012 in Strength Training

By Jim Flanagan

Proper Strength Training is the most important form exercise that will keep your muscles strong and flexible. With a healthy diet and two or three 30 minute sessions a week of proper strength training, you can actually build muscle and increase your strength.Some of these exercises are more effective with a 'buddy' or training partner and always be ready to create, improvise, and adjust your routines in order to produce meaning results. If you do not have a set of barbells and dumbbells, you can fill a pint or quart plastic milk container with a handle with sand to use as hand weights which will provide greater resistance. Resistance produces a force which will stimulate a muscle to work and ultimately grow. Start with as many repetitions you can do until you 'fail' and cannot complete any more reps. Try to increase the number of reps in each session and keep accurate records.

1.Body weight squats (performed with back against wall for stability)

2.Body weight push-ups or add manual resistance with training partner.

3.Body weight lunges or add Barbells, dumbbells, or homemade hand weights for greater resistance

4.Body weight sit-upsor add manual resistance with training partner

5.Seated towel pulls (manual resistance with training partner seated opposite)

6.Shrugs with added Barbells, dumbbells, or homemade hand weights for greater resistance

7.Seated Dips using sturdy chair

8.Manual Neck Exercises using heel of your hand for resistance

9.Heel Raises on stairs or on stable 2 X 6 or 2 X 8

10.Triceps Extension with added Barbells, Dumbbells, or homemade hand weights for greater resistance


Contributor

October 23, 2012 in Uncategorized

So I can only manage this page...

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by ryan

Okay… first post

October 23, 2012 in Uncategorized

this is my first post as an Author.

To Resume or Not to Resume – That is the Question.

October 22, 2012 in Our World

By Bob Brewster

Yesterday I met an old friend for coffee. He had taken early retirement at age fifty six and is now sixty two. He told me the past six years were very good for him and his family but now he needed to start working again. There were several reasons given for this and they were not all financial. It seems that he still had a real need to feel productive and liked the idea of contributing toward helping a new idea or business become successful. The money was also important because he found that he still wanted to do things with his family that required more money than what he could afford to take from his retirement savings.

Our conversation jumped around on various ideas for what he could do to get back into the workforce. One subject was his resume. It seems that there is a lot of opinion today regarding whether a person with a lot of experience really needs to complete resume or just a brief summary. One expert,Jill Konrath, has found resumes to be detrimental and after reading her book "Get Back to Work Faster", I had to agree with her in advising my friend. However, even though my friend agreed that his resume needed to be a lot shorter, he could not come to the conclusion that he did not need one at all. So we compromised and agreed that he would create a 'summary' in lieu of a resume.

Here are some rules we decided to follow for his resume "summary".

Updating your resume or creating a Resume Summary

As an older experienced worker, you have a lot to share from your background. The problem is that even though this is very important to you, it is probably not important, at least not at first, to an employer or business owner. The challenge is how to select what in your background you need to take out and what to leave in.

Since a resume is a reflection of you, it is also your chance to make an impression in a few short seconds that you will be allowed. Yes, that's correct. Even with all your experience and education, you will have maybe 10-15 seconds to make an impact statement about yourself before your resume hits the proverbial "circular file." This is a big challenge and if not carefully handled, it will result in a lot of frustration for you.

This 'screening' process is unfair at best but that is the way things are handled today. Unless you can personally hand your resume to the hiring decision maker while looking them in the eye as you state your reasons why they need to hire you, you are just a another name flashing before the screener's eyes.

Your resume summary by choice needs to be short, to the point and well written. It must be carefully proofread for even the slightest error in grammar or spelling will destroy its effectiveness. Additionally, you may need to create several versions of your resume summary with each version geared specifically toward the industry, job or employer you are approaching. Having a "one size fits all" resume is no longer an option for it requires too much reading and digging from the screener.

Additional tips for the Resume Summary

1. Have your name, address and telephone number at the top of the page. Include your e-mail address if you have one.

2. Do not include career objectives. They can be given in your cover letter or an email where your resume is attached. Always use a cover letter of some type that is very brief about your professional history and accomplishments.

3. Your resume summary must be positive and to the point. Use as few words as possible and never exceed one page. You are not writing a book or novel. This is not an autobiography about your self. Do use the word 'I' and keep all paragraphs short.

4. Leave out all personal information such as height, weight, medical condition, marital status, date of birth, hobbies, etc. These are irrelevant to the screening process and may even cause you to get "kicked" out.

5. Only use experience from your past 10-15 years or 3-4 employers. Avoid using dates. These again will be used against you in the screening process and are not necessary at this point.

6. List educational institutions in reverse chronological order. It is not necessary to list date of attendance or graduation.

7Your resume summary does not need a list references or even the statement "References Available Upon Request."

8. Leave out any statement for leaving past positions or statements that could have a negative inference.

9. Leave out salary history or requirements. Your cover letter can address this by stating that you would be glad to discuss it at an interview.

10.Proofread your resume for spelling or grammatical errors. Ask someone else to proofread to too. Most mistakes are not obvious to the writer and usually stick out like a huge 'smudge mark' on the paper to an employer.


Making you Resume Summary one page in length is extremely important. Using bullet paragraphs will help you accomplish this. Also, you can break your summary into parts. Here are four parts as a suggestion -

1. Heading - Your name and contact information and a brief statement of what you want to accomplish, if hired.

2. Industries - A bullet list of industries or company names where you gained your experience. (This is a list not a paragraph on each, only a line.)

3. Professional Skills- You bullet list what you do best and what special skills you have as assets to accomplish them. (Writing, speaking, computer programs, presentation, leadership, CDL driver, RN, MD, etc.) Thinks about those things that are assets in any employment position.

4. Past Significant Accomplishments
- You bullet list your education, past positions where you had significant accomplishment, like "helped take program from $10 million to over $100 million in five years", or 'helped launch new division that successfully resulted in 100 new employees and profitability' or any recognition you may have received from industry, community or civic organizations. Do you hold a record for something? Received a special award? Remember, these are bullet lines so you must hit your target each time without "fluff" or extra words.


That's it!

In summary, the days of resumes with your entire life condensed to several pages of tiny hard to read print are over. Today's employment seeker must be brief, to the point and able to communicate in only a few words the benefit he or she is bringing to the employer or business. Do not worry about the rest of details. They will come out as you progress through the screening process. Good luck!

World Talent Opts to Leave USA

October 22, 2012 in Our World

The title above is the front page headline in the September 21, 2009 USA Today newspaper. The article goes on to state that "more skilled immigrants are giving up their American dreams to pursue careers back home, raising concerns that the U.S. may lose its competitive edge in science, technology and other fields." This process is being called "reverse immigration."

The article also states that "what was a trickle has become a flood" and that "in the next five years 100,000 immigrants will go back to India and 100,000 to China…for the first time in America history, we (U.S.) are experiencing the brain drain that other countries experience."

What does this news mean to you, if you are one of those older workers wanting to stay active in the work force or if you are someone who may have retired early but now needs to return to work? It is another strong indicator that there is a growing opportunity for you to still use your skills, talents and abilities. It means that your experience and education still has application to helping the country's economy recover and grow.

This also means that the opportunity to launch your own business becomes a stronger option. Tough economic times always drive the entrepreneurial instincts. Whether it is a franchise with established systems and support or it is something brand new and perhaps revolutionary, your opportunity is always better when economic times are more challenging.

When looking out the window at the world around you, it may be easier to see the faults and negatives of high employment, business failures and reduced opportunity versus the hints of opportunity. The above fact that we are losing talented people to reverse immigration is one of those negatives. But, when you put this fact in its proper perspective, it is really an indicator of opportunities.

In summary, do not look for opportunities where there is already a crowd. Use your age, experience and education as assets to help a company or business grow, This can also separate you from lesser experienced people. Look for indicators in less obvious places where there are fewer people, where people are leaving and where your experience and education could be more appreciated and needed. If working for someone else or going out on your own, focus on finding creative ways to fill a need by offering to be innovative and open to new ideas. Then as people leave positions or move out of the country, you will still have many options for continued income.

Aging, Mirrors and Failure

October 22, 2012 in Our World

I recently had the privilege of hearing John C. Maxwell speak. He is the author of a book that I recommend to everyone titled "Failing Forward: Turning Mistakes into Stepping Stones for Success". Mr. Maxwell is a former minister turned author and public speaker. His book is a must reading for anyone suffering any type of failure in life and puts into very understandable language why we need failure to succeed.

Many of us hitting our sixties in these trying times may be thinking about past events that did not go right in our life. For that matter, a person at any age may feel like a failure for many reasons but it seems to be easier to do as we age. This is especially true if we are part of the two thirds of the working population that has little to no retirement savings and are staring at social security plus (hopefully) a limited pension as our only income sources to live.

In looking at my personal situation, I for one could look back and fix blame on many different events and decisions that I experienced over the years for not achieving certain goals. I could find it very easy to feel sorry for myself on things I do not have or failed to achieve because of them. In reality, as I have aged, I have found it more difficult to rebound from a failure or mistake and easier to blame circumstances on things out of my control. I know this is wrong. This is where books like 'Falling Forward' bring me back to a more positive mindset. Consequently, now when I feel this way, it is for only a few minutes, not days, weeks or months. It's a choice and I choose to make it this way.

At one time or another, we are all victims of feeling sorry for ourselves because we do not have what we think we should have. We feel like a failure. The truth is, there are so many ways of measuring success in life, it is very difficult to determine what success is or what failure is. This makes measuring success and failure an unreliable science at best. For example, is having money in the bank but poor personal relationships a success or failure? Is having a great family and plenty of friends but no money a success or failure? Is having a good steady job and income doing something you really do not like to do a success or failure? Or, is doing something you love to do but not making a good income a success or failure? The scenarios for what could be a success or a failure are unlimited.

Here's the message I want to share with you. I have learned that feeling sorry for myself gains nothing. I have also learned that every time I think I have failed, it was only another door opening for me to step through. The choice has always been mine alone not somebody else's. Whether I step forward and go on to the next opportunity is an attitude and mindset that I choose. Dwelling on the reasons why I was in a particular negative situation, always seemed like such a waste of time to me. It was like having a flat tire on my car and looking around for someone to blame. Fix the tire and get going!

As we age, we put pressure on ourselves for what we have or do not have. This pressure is usually blaming ourselves or someone else. The fact that we may feel older or look older only compounds this feeling of blame. Looking in the mirror doesn't help when someone with wrinkles and thinning hair stares back. The only thing that really works is the understanding and acceptance that everything goes in cycles and that it is up to us to make sure that the down cycle is much shorter than the up cycle.

In summary, we can choose how we live life. If you are in your forties and fifties, do not look back in regret that you have left your youth behind and your better days are gone. Look forward and use the lessons of your past to establish the foundation for your future. If you are in your sixties, seventies or even older, the same rule applies. Do not look at yourself and feel that you have no time left to achieve or accomplish something. Instead look at all your assets that include education, experiences, contacts, friends and family. And above all else, do not focus on financial condition alone. Sure, money is an obvious requirement if you want to do anything you want but it is only a portion of what makes life rewarding. If you want to stay working, stay productive and remain a contributor helping someone else or some business to be successful, look at all your assets, your skills, talents and abilities. They are very valuable to somebody else. I have learned that regardless of what it is, if you have something to sell, there is somebody looking to buy. (This is where you can use the "Over60Exchange Skills Bank" to highlight personal skills, talents and abilities)

Remember, life is full of choices. You can choose to look at your failures as lessons or your lack of success as 'stepping stones'. It is up to you.

Age, Stress and Your Money

October 22, 2012 in Our World

By Bob Brewster


In 1998, I published a book titled "Income Surfing" which provided a formula for developing income over a broad base of different sources.

Now, here it is eleven years later. I am bringing up this fact because in the book we referenced a chart called the "Social Adjustment Rating Scale." This chart was the result of research conducted in 1967 by two psychiatrists Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe who examined the medical records of over 5,000 medical patients as a way to determine whether stressful events might cause illnesses. In 1970, Rahe carried out another study on 2,500 sailors to verify the first stress study as a predictor of illness. This second study confirmed that the stress table was indeed correct and it is still just as true today.


Why is this important to you?


In today's changing times, we are all experiencing pressures from a multitude of directions. The source of these pressures creates stress in our lives. Our actions or reactions to this stress will determine how we react in our relationships with other people.


As we age, stress affects us differently because of how we feel about ourselves. Our ability to overcome stress changes with our perception of our age. A major part of how we "feel" involves our health. Our health is our most precious resource. It needs to be protected to avoid creating a negative affect on the rest of our life. In this time where health care is at the forefront of the news, the best way to save money, now and tomorrow, is to not spend money on avoidable health care problems.


I have recreated the Social Adjustment Rating Scale Chart so that all of you can see exactly where you need to place emphasis for handling this stress and also what decisions you can make that will help you live a better and more controlled life. This is important because life moves in cycles. Sometimes things are perfect and sometimes things are falling apart. How we handle these cycles determines our ability to shorten the bad times and lengthen the good times.


To give you an example of how important your understanding needs to be for how stress affects your life, here's a little test. On a separate piece of paper answer the following questions (The answers will be found when you click on the chart link.)


(1) Are financial problems less or more stressful than a divorce?

(2) Is a home foreclosure less or more stressful than retiring from a job?

(3) Is getting fired or laid off from a job less or more stressful than being arrested for a minor violation of the law?


(4)Is bankruptcy more or less stressful than getting married?


(5) Is having an illness less or more stressful than a spouse that loses his or her job?


Social Adjustment Rating Scale Chart

Many of you will be startled at the answers, as well as where the other stress factors fall in the chart scale. I hope this helps you during these challenging times.

Is Government Deciding When Life Will End?

October 22, 2012 in Our World

First, let me explain something so that there is no misunderstanding. The Over60Exchange is APOLITICAL. That means we are not ideologues on the right or left. We are on the ground of common sense and what is good for America. We are not for political correctness but we are for fairness and truth. If you disagree with our viewpoint, please feel free to respond with yours.

At this writing, I am very disturbed at the news coming out of Washington . Since January 2009 , there has been nothing but bad news upon bad news and it is not the kind of bad news you might expect.

We are so wrapped up in the economy and fighting two wars that we have completely ignored the signs of a "cancer" within our nationally elected representatives. For a lack of a better term, I will continue the use of the word "cancer" because I cannot think of anything better to describe something that can kill you, if ignored, yet if treated early; it can be stopped or dramatically slowed down.

The cancer I am referring to is how our government has overnight implemented or started the implementation of controlling what we think, do or say. None of this I might add is either constitutional or in the best interest of our country.

After the presidential election, I recognized that there were serious weaknesses in our political system with much of this weakness due to unlimited terms of our elected representatives on the federal level and a tax system so unfair that the overwhelming majority of our country's costs are borne by a small minority.

It has been difficult to not speak out. I have wanted to be quiet in deference to the process but today's news has forced me to take action. What news, you ask? Let me tell you. It is the details starting to be revealed about the Healthcare bill presently being forced through congress for passage. It is the news about the over 1,000 pages of massive changes that very few people have read or truly understand. Fortunately, we have people in this country that have taken the time to read the entire 1,000 pages and now the news is seeping out. Just like a sewer pipe with a small leak. We can smell the leak but we cannot pinpoint where it is. This is what's happening with this healthcare bill.

This bill is not only a massive revision in the United States healthcare system; it is also a manifesto for the control and determination of how long people will be allowed to live. This is Hollywood fiction come to life or worse, this is history repeating itself under the premise that this is good for everyone and it must be done to save our way of life. My friends, these are lies!

Here are some examples of what is in the proposed Healthcare Plan - (Excerpts taken from article written byBetsy McCaughey, Betsy McCaughey is founder of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths and a former lieutenant governor of New York. betsy@hospitalinfection.orgHer remarks are after she read the 1,000 page proposal from both the Senate and House). Sentences shown in Italics & underlined are my added clarifications.
#1 And as soon as anything changes in your (existing healthcare plan)contract -- such as a change in copays or deductibles, which many insurers change every year -- you'll have to move into a qualified plan instead (House bill, p. 16-17). This means that you will have no choice, even if you can afford your own insurance, you must buy into the government plan.
#2 - When you file your taxes, if you can't prove to the IRS that you are in a qualified plan, you'll be fined thousands of dollars -- as much as the average cost of a health plan for your family size -- and then automatically enrolled in a randomly selected plan (House bill, p. 167-168).This means that you will be FORCED under government threat to pay for health insurance by joining the government plan, whether you need it or not.
#3 - It's one thing to require that people getting government assistance tolerate managed care, but the legislation limits you to a managed-care plan even if you and your employer are footing the bill (Senate bill, p. 57-58). The goal is to reduce everyone's consumption of health care and to ensure that people have the same health-care experience, regardless of ability to pay. This means that if you have the financial means to pay for operations, procedures or special care on your own, you will not be allowed to do it under the pretense that this will be unfair to others who cannot afford that option.
#4 - Nowhere does the legislation say how much health plans will cost, but a family of four is eligible for some government assistance until their household income reaches $88,000 (House bill, p. 137). If you earn more than that, you'll have to pay the cost no matter how high it goes.This means that the cost, regardless of its level, will be borne by everyone but the more you earn the more you will pay leading to a system of government taxes without any limits or budgetary control.
#5 - The price tag for this legislation is a whopping $1.04 trillion to $1.6 trillion (Congressional Budget Office estimates). Half of the tab comes from tax increases on individuals earning $280,000 or more, and these new taxes will double in 2012 unless savings exceed predicted costs (House bill, p. 199). The rest of the cost is paid for by cutting seniors' health benefits under Medicare. This means that Seniors/Boomers, which are America 's fastest growing population segment, will have their healthcare coverage reduced to whatever level necessary to make up the costs for everyone else. And, this is the part that is beyond conscience, seniors will be counseled every five years or sooner , if sick, on the options for ending life early to avoid unnecessary medicines and treatments.

Even though there is a lot more, I will stop here because quite frankly our elected government officials have collectively lost their moral compass. This is not a Healthcare Plan, this is a massive population control plan. This is not a plan based on people and families taking personal responsibilities for their own well being and expenses, this is a plan that rewards bad personal healthcare decisions and tells people that personal responsibility is no longer a virtue in life.

No war could damage this country as much as the damage that is being done within. Whatever your political persuasion, forget about it. This is not politics. This is not common sense. This isn't even good business. This is about pure unadulterated power with the desire of one small group to gain power over the much larger group. This is more than the redistribution of wealth, this is the destruction of the very moral fiber and soul of America . With the passage of this Healthcare bill will come more controls that will force you to make decisions based on government need and not your own. Do not make the mistake in thinking that this is just Healthcare. It is not! It is much, much more than that.

Cancer can be treated, slowed or even stopped. But, all cancers left alone will grow and destroy the body. There is a cancer growing in Washington . Look, let me make my point even clearer. Have you ever walked down the hall way of an average nursing home? You will see lots of elderly people sitting in wheelchairs, regular chairs or on scooters. Many are there in the same spot day after day. Some cannot speak and some cannot see or hear. Nevertheless they are there and they are somebody's children, mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts or uncles. They are alive. Who in their right mind will advocate going down that hallway and selectively choosing who gets treatment or not? This is what the new government healthcare plan is advocating. If this plan passes and it becomes acceptable on a dictated government level, what's next? Where's the line? Ever hear the term "Final Solution'?

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