The style of casinos is associated with sleekness, elegance and of course, glamour. In Vegas, the flashier the outfits and the jewelry, the better it is. The same ideal does not transfer over to poker tournaments. Dominated by male players, a sense of fashion is pretty much non-existent. One of the most popular outfits consists or a ragged T-shirt, baseball cap and jeans- not much for creativity.

Journalist CarmenSinCity recently wrote a rather controversial article about women’s fashion at the World Series of Poker Ladies Event. In her article Carmen suggests that one of the poker players put a little make-up on her face and find an outfit that matches. That player was wearing a t-shirt and a baseball cap, which is perfectly suitable for men but apparently not women. Yet another player who tied up a button up shirt to expose her entire midsection adorned with a belly-button ring Carmen refers to as her new fashion hero. She was also impressed that another player was wearing a jacket while still managing to have her cleavage popping. Her fashion critique shows some peculiar standards for female style. Newsflash Carmen, women are perfectly capable of looking good and getting positive attention, no need for exposure!

Does Tax Season get you down?

Here are 4 simple steps that any small business owner can
take to lower your tax bill this year.

STEP #1: Understand How Serious Your Tax Problem Is

Are you aware of just how much in taxes you are paying?

Here’s how much the average family spends on various
consumer categories — as a percentage of income.

You must realize that it’s not how much you spend on taxes
that is important, it’s how much you spend on taxes as
compared to all other major categories of spending.

Consumer Spending:
How Do You Spend Your Hard-Earned Dollars?

Taxes ———————- 32.0%

Housing ——————– 16.7%

Medical Care ————— 11.5%

Food ———————– 8.2%

Transportation ————- 7.9%

Recreation —————– 5.7%

Clothing ——————- 4.1%

Savings ——————– 1.4%

Other Miscellaneous ——– 12.5%

TOTAL ——————— 100.0%

So, if you think you are being “nailed” by the government,
you are absolutely right. You spend more on taxes than any
other category of consumer spending.

In fact, you spend more on taxes than on food, clothing, and
housing combined.

And it’s not just federal income taxes we’re talking about
here. There’s also state and local income tax, payroll tax
(Social Security and Medicare), sales tax, excise tax and
property tax.

Maybe you already knew “intuitively” that your tax bill is
outrageously high. If not, the picture I’ve just painted
should thoroughly convince you that you pay too much tax,
period.

STEP #2: Get The Right Attitude About Your Taxes

What do I mean by this? Well, you simply must have a
certain “mental attitude” toward this whole idea of paying
taxes. I’ll get right to the point — you must have an
attitude about taxes that says, “Enough is enough. I’m
paying way too much tax and I don’t like it. And it’s about
time I did something about it — TODAY!”

After reading those numbers above, how do you feel? Doesn’t
that just make you furious? If so, great, then you are on
your way to solving this problem. The old cliche is true:
“You can’t solve a problem until you admit you have one.”)

If you saw those numbers above and said, “Big deal. So I
pay 32% in taxes. So what? So does everybody else in this
country” — well, I’m sorry, but you might as well just stop
reading this article right now. You will continue to pay
too much tax because you really don’t care about it.

To reduce your taxes, you must be committed to the idea
of paying less taxes.

Before today is over, go get last year’s personal income tax
return (Form 1040) and look at how much tax you paid.

When you have Form 1040 in front of you, do you realize
where the most important number is on this form?

No, it’s not Line 71 — the refund amount.

No, it’s not Line 74 — the balance due amount.

The most important number on Form 1040 is Line 62.

It says: This is your TOTAL TAX. That is how much federal
income tax you paid for all of last year. When it comes to
reducing your taxes, it doesn’t matter whether you got a
refund or whether you had a balance due.

What matters most is: What was your total tax liability
for the
year. That’s the “magic number” that should just make your
blood boil and your heart beat so fast that you can hardly
stand it.

Now that I’ve got you all “riled up” about paying so much
tax, let’s move on to Step #3.

STEP #3: Realize That Reducing Taxes Is The Easiest Path
Possible To Creating Wealth

Consider this simple fact: Reducing your taxes by just
$4,000 per year is the easiest way possible to becoming a
millionaire.

Let me elaborate.

Let’s say you implement some new tax-saving strategies that
reduce your taxes by $4,000 each year. Now, if you take
that $4,000 per year in tax savings and invest it over the
next 30 years, assuming you earn 11.5% on your investment,
you end up with $1,048,745.98 at the end of the 30 years.

And here’s the best part about this scenario: Where did you
get the $4,000/year to invest? Well, you got it from money
that would have gone to Uncle Sam. It’s money that you
used to spend on taxes, part of the 32% of your income
that goes
to taxes each year.

In effect, it’s free money. It’s money that was always
there — you just didn’t realize it.

Is this a good deal or what? By simply reducing your taxes,
the government will finance your million-dollar retirement.

And let’s say your tax situation is such that you save
$2,000/year instead of $4,000/year. Same assumptions: you
invest the $2,000 each year at 11.5% for 30 years. End
result: $524,372.99. Not too shabby, eh?

So all you have to do is come up with the tax-saving
strategies that will put $2,000 or $4,000 in your pocket
each and every year. Which brings us to Step #4.

STEP #4: Get Hold Of The Tax-Saving Strategies That Will
Make You A Millionaire

You know, it doesn’t really take much information to save a
bundle in taxes. It is true: just a little bit of tax
knowledge goes a very long way.

Useful tax information is freely available. On the Internet,
at your local library, and through your local tax
professional.

The question is: Are you willing to spend some time this
year learning about effective tax strategies that can save
you literally thousands of dollars?

Here’s a simple goal to set for yourself: Over the next 10
weeks, set aside just an hour a week to read up on tax-
reduction strategies. That’s all, just 10 hours.

Chances are you’ll find 2 or 3 strategies that reduce your
tax bill by $1,000 this year.

So you spend 10 hours and, in effect, pay yourself an extra
$1,000 for your time. Not a bad hourly rate, eh?

Many times, that’s all it takes to pay less tax.

Wayne M. Davies is author of 3 tax-slashing eBooks for small
business owners and the self-employed. For a free copy of
Wayne’s 25-page report, “How To Instantly Double Your
Deductions” visit http://www.YouSaveOnTaxes.com

A more unusual way to get a cheap cellular phone is by using a free line rental deal. The fact only a few people are aware of them is what keeps them the cheapest mobile packages being sold at time of writing.

By far the best place to purchase a free line rental phone contract is on the WWW. As free line rental packages are somewhat specialised promotion you would be well advised to use a cell phone comparison site to see the most cost effective packages at the time.

In practice a free line rental contract should not cost a dime to operate. That assumes the person in question is rigorous in making their request for for one hundred percent cashback. Often this is not as easy as customers are lead to think because sellers stipulate a few sneaky pitfalls with the terms and conditions of free line rental deals so as to keep down the volume of successful claimants.

12 month free line rental products are in reality one hundred perecent cashback by redemption offers where the value paid by cashback redemption is equal to the value paid over the period of the mobile contract. With this kind of deal you pay the mobile phone bill just like normal for the initial months. At a later point in time in the deal you need to to claim all of your money of the cell phone back from the retailer which initially sold you the cell phone.

The most significant pitfall of free line rental deals is that in the event that the vendor go under you have now way to get your cashback. 12 month free line rental is innevitably a trade off, because they are only available with older types of cell phone.

In spite of the complexities of free line rental deals they are legitimate and shoppers can still find a completely cost free mobile for 12 months.

“A true Master is not the one with the most students, but one who creates the most Masters. A true leader is not the one with the most followers, but one who creates the most leaders.” Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations With God: An Uncommon Dialogue

I was doing fairly well in grades one to three – especially in reading. Then I hit a terrible teacher in grade four. She made school so unhappy and unappealing, she almost caused me to drop out of course I would have waited another few years to make it official. However, in grades five and six I came under the nurturing of Mrs. Westman. I vividly remember her saying after I’d read a composition to the class; “someday I won’t be surprised to see your name on a book.” Her encouraging words simmered in my subconscious for years and helped me to see new possibilities for myself. Twenty years later my first book, The VIP Strategy: Leadership Skills for Exceptional Performance, was published. It was a real pleasure to present her with one of the very first copies inscribed with a warm thank you message. Her family and the local paper ensured that she got the recognition she so richly deserved.

Most people see others as they are, a leader sees them as they could be. Leaders like Mrs. Westman see beyond the current problems and limitations to help others see their own possibilities. It’s a key part of our own growth and development. We continue to grow when we help others grow and develop. That’s the second half of the two part growing and developing circle. The first part is our own growth and development. We can’t develop others if our own growth is stunted. The two parts of the growing and developing circle depend upon and support each other. We develop ourselves while we’re developing others. By developing others, we develop ourselves further. This allows us to develop others still further the growth circle spirals ever upward. The reverse is also true. By failing to develop myself and others, my growth and development circle spins downward.

The art of developing others is the art of assisting their self-discovery. The 15th century Italian physicist and astronomer, Galileo put it this way, “you cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him to find it within himself.” This leads us to the developing-without-teaching paradox. The ancient Chinese philosopher, Lao-Tzu, described it like this; “superior leaders get things done with very little motion. They impart instruction not through many words, but through a few deeds. They keep informed about everything but interfere hardly at all. They are catalysts, and though things would not get done as well if they weren’t there, when they succeed they take no credit. And because they take no credit, credit never leaves them.”

Growing and developing others is one of management’s key responsibilities. The traditional view of management is getting work done through people, but strong leaders develop people through work. As managers, team leaders, or team members, we can’t be much help in developing others if we don’t really know where they’re trying to go. Once we understand that, we can work to align their development goals with those of the team or organization. They don’t always match, but generally it’s not too difficult to bring them together.

A similar approach applies to our parental leadership role with teenagers. The deepest love we can show our sons and daughters is to help them discover their unique purpose and uncover their special talents. That can be especially tough if it doesn’t match the dreams we may have for them. Our leadership task is to help them be all that they can be, not what we would like to be if we were in their place.

Excerpted from Jim’s fourth bestseller, Growing the Distance: Timeless Principles for Personal, Career, and Family Success. View the book’s unique format and content, Introduction and Chapter One, and feedback showing why nearly 100,000 copies are now in print at http://www.growingthedistance.com. Jim’s new companion book to Growing the Distance is The Leader’s Digest: Timeless Principles for Team and Organization Success. Jim Clemmer is an internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, workshop/retreat leader, and management team developer on leadership, change, customer focus, culture, teams, and personal growth. His web site is http://www.clemmer.net/articles.

Camp War Eagle is a Christian summer camp for boys and girls ages 7 to 17 in northwest Arkansas. The camp is located on the shores of Beaver Lake and offers a whirlwind of activities, including swimming, archery, basketball, volleyball, horsemanship, skateboarding, hip-hop dance, cheerleading, pottery, wakeboarding, sailing, water slides, stained glass, riflery, nature study and conservation, woodworking, candle making, ropes course, rock climbing and more.

Camp War Eagle is a faith-based camp that enables children of all backgrounds to enjoy a positive summer experience. At Camp War Eagle, children have the time of their lives and develop a greater appreciation of God, themselves, and others. Children who attend Camp War Eagle return home with vigor and health to positively affect their families and communities. The positive outlook obtained at Camp War Eagle does not end after two weeks of summer are over, as Camp War Eagle continues to conduct regular meetings throughout the school year for all campers.

Camp War Eagle is sponsored by Alice Walton and The Walton Foundation. Alice Walton and the Walton Foundation support Camp War Eagle by providing scholarships for children without means to attend Camp War Eagle for free. Children are selected for Alice Walton’s sponsorship program through performance in school and service to the community. Thanks to Alice Walton’s generosity, these children are able to attend Camp War Eagle for free!

When faced with big life decisions, it is so easy to embrace ambiguity and wait for guidance. The ever-so-tempting “if it’s meant to be, it’ll happen” attitude is certainly easily embraced. It is comforting to think that we can just float along in the river of life, and the current will certainly take us where it’s best for us to go.

Unfortunately, sometimes the current takes us to a little stagnant pool of water where we then sit, undecided about which current to pick for the next leg of our journey! We look at the river rushing by, and there seem to be so many different options. And so we sit a little longer in our pool. After a while we may even move in a television, put up some window treatments and get really, really comfortable. The longer we stay, the harder it is to make a choice, a decision that will move us forward. After all, shouldn’t a stray current simply come in and whisk us away, if it’s “meant to be?”

The Universe always moves according to our intentions. Unless we intend it, no current will come sweeping into our lives to take us down some predetermined path. We must make choices and decisions about what we want so that the Universe can manifest for us accordingly. What keeps us stuck in stagnation is fear. We are afraid of making the “wrong” choice, a “bad” decision. What if the current sweeps us downstream and we are suddenly battered against rocks, or have to navigate a waterfall?

When faced with such a fear, it is important to remember that the process of making choices and decisions is ongoing. Our current life circumstances are a snapshot of what we created with our choices – conscious or unconscious – in the past. If we don’t like where our path has taken us, we can simply make a brand-new set of choices. We set our intentions once again, perhaps into a slightly different direction. Along the way, we’ve learned a lot.

Course correction is a constant part of navigating the river of life. We always have the option to choose something else, to ride along a different current. What truly disempowers us, however, is making no choices at all. There is no growth or evolution that takes place in our comfortable, but stagnant little pool. So make a choice, any choice at all. Jump into the river!

I divide human into two complete different categories: “commoner” and “philosopher.” Why philosopher retains the highest social status? And not commoner? Why some commoners never want to be philosophers? This article would serve as an introduction to philosophical studies.

There is only one element that makes anyone a philosopher or a commoner. This element is that “the commoner never wants to reach the goal”, but “philosopher’s vision is the goal.”

Why commoner never wants to reach the goal? Imagine you are eating very delicious food in a posh restaurant. The goal of eating is to be full, but you never want to reach this goal, right? As you eat, you always want to retain your appetite and be hungrier, so you can carry on eating and enjoying yourself in that restaurant.

The second example is “sexual intercourse.” As you are having sex, you never want to reach the goal. I know that this example seems disgusting to some of you, but to make you deeply understand, I have to pick a very practical example.

According to the above-addressed two examples, commoner values daily funds: eating, having sex, comfort and other worldly cares and always want to remain the status quo. But they do not know or want to reach the goals of those worldly cares. “Indulging with daily, worldly cares make us commoner.” Philosopher does walk on a very different path: reaching the goal as the result from what they are devoting for.

Philosopher always wants to reach the goal. Martin Luther King strives for equal opportunities and civil rights for Black Americans was not daily comforts or worldly cares for him. What he desires for is not to keep on doing this everyday, but he just wants to reach the goal: equal rights and opportunities for Black Americans.

Second example is that reading Law is not the goal or that a Law student wants to keep on reading, but successfully defense dissertation and consequently eligible for Doctoral degree is the only goal. To say the truth, Law student never wants to read, but the commoner always want to be hungry for food or sex and never wants to reach the goal which is to be full and the last stage of having sex. For philosopher, having attained the truth and Doctoral degree is the gold.

To wrap up, philosopher and commoner are the two different kinds of people. The commoner always want to do the worldly cares (eating, drinking, sleeping, and having sex) and never want to reach the goals of these worldly cares. Philosopher, on the other hands, never enjoy worldly cares (reading, research or dissertation-defense), but what he/she desires for the most is “the goal.”

So decide what category you want to stand to; philosopher or commoner? Take philosophical approaches if you want to be a philosopher and take commoner’s approach if you want to be a commoner.

Lay Vicheka is a translator for the most celebrated translation agency in the Kingdom of Cambodia, Pyramid Translation Co.Ltd.. He is now hoding other two professions: freelance writer for Search Newspaper; focusing on social issues and students’ issues and Media Liaison Officer for Asia’s first free on-line IELTS consultation website. Lay Vicheka is the expert author for ezine and prolific article contributor to other websites around the world such as articlecity, 365articles, spiderden, talesofasia, etc (Just google him). He is also a volunteer Cambodian-newspapers columnist (Rasmey Kampuchea and Kampuchea Thmey). Lay Vicheka has great experience in law and politics, as he used to be legal and English-language assistant to a Cambodian member of parliament, migration experience (home-based business) and in writing. He is also member of a New York-based research company. Posting address: 221H Street 93, Tuol Sangke quarter, Russey Keo district, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Tel: 855 11 268 445, vichekalay@yahoo.com

If you are expecting your first child, or if you care for a young child, you should know that reading to them is one of the best gifts that you can give to them. Reading is the key that will open the door to knowledge and education for them for the rest of their lives. How early should you start to read to your baby? Although some try to read to their baby before they are born, if you start right after they are born, they will be given a head start on reading success and life.

What do you read to a baby? Although babies cannot see or focus very well for a few months after birth, they can see basic outlines, shapes and bright colors. There are many books designed specifically for reading to babies that have these features. The book does not even have to have any words. You can supply those as you look at the pictures and point to objects.

Where should you read to a baby? Reading should be a comforting, bonding moment for you and your baby. Put them right in your lap. This is not only good because you can both see the pictures, but the baby will feel close and secure.

How should you read to a baby? Reading should be much like speaking to a baby. Research has shown that babies respond best to “baby talk”-that high, sing-song voice that many people just use naturally when they are talking to a baby. Be animated and do not use a harsh, loud or monotone voice.

As you read, point to objects in the book and name them. You will find that soon the baby will also be able to point and name objects. Reading begins just like this. Let the baby turn the pages and handle the book. This is one reason that the books you buy or check out from the library for your baby are sturdy board books or cloth books.

To really encourage your baby to read you should make sure that you have books in a place where the baby can easily reach them and use them. It may frustrate you to see them pounding on them and eating them, but really this is the beginning of a love of books. Keep the “nice” books out of reach, but make sure there are selections that are never off limits. Your baby will thank you.

Eriani Doyel writes articles about Home and Family. For more information about reading visit readingrhino.com

It is becoming more common for employers to require employees to use their personnel motor vehicles for business use. Reimbursement for business use is commonly by way of a kilometre/mileage allowance or a general motor vehicle allowance for the year.

Did you know that you can be found vicariously liable for the acts and omissions of your employees driving while driving a motor vehicle for work related business?

Even an innocuous journey to pick up the daily mail can be fraught with risk!

I this day and age employees cannot always be relied upon to exercise discretion and common sense. It is therefore important that you take some human resource risk strategies to ensure that any risk is mitigated or at least as much as possible.

Normally a business motor vehicle policy should set the boundaries of employee use such as;

• Is the employee required to use their personal motor vehicle, when and under what circumstances,

• Does the employee have comprehensive and replacement insurance for their and any third party damage,

• How is the employee to be reimbursed,

• Is the reimbursement subject to state or federal taxes,

• Does the employee warrant that they hold a valid drivers license for driving a motor vehicle,

• What is your company policy for an employees’ loss of drivers’ license. This may be due to potential substance abuse, driving under the influence of alcohol or another offence.

• Does the employee loosing their license mean termination of employment as driving the motor vehicle is part of their tools of trade?

• Is the employee required to advise you of any license restriction and demerit points accrued?

• Do you have a company policy that states that no parking fine, infringement, traffic violation or any other impost federal, state or local will be paid by the company?

By taking time to develop key human resource policies and procedures and by inducting and training your employees you can reduce the potential business and financial risk to your company.

For more helpful articles visit www.biz-momentum.com Subscribe to our free monthly newsletter and receive a free template job description or employee performance review.

Philip Lye is the Director of Biz Momentum providing strategic human resource management to help your business grow. Philip is also a qualified accountant. Biz Momentum assist small to medium businesses. Visit http://www.biz-momentum.com for other helpful articles and to subscribe to Biz Momentum’s free monthly newsletter and receive a free Employee Performance Appraisal.

There are two main schools of thought:

Both positions have merit. In the end, it comes down to what you as a parent choose is right for your family.

The truth is that kids don’t always tell their parents what they need to know. Sometimes kids don’t know when they’re being led down a risky pathway. It’s easy for a kid to get caught up in a situation and not know how to get out of it or how to tell their parents about it. In reality, parents are responsible for their child’s actions and are the first to be held responsible when a child does something unethical. You might hear, “Where were the parents when all this was going on?” or “Why didn’t they do something before it got to this point?” Where does a parent draw the line between wanting to safeguard, help and educate their child and respecting the child’s wish for privacy?

When a parent suspects that the teen is dabbling in drugs, that parent needs to first talk about the issue with their child, expressing concerns and the desire to help. This technique will keep the focal point on the issue of drug use and convey to the child that rather than being judged or punished, the parent will lend a helping hand.

There are exceptions to this open communication. Privacy and parenting is a complicated issue. Trust between a teen and a parent is really, really essential. Work to preserve that trust whenever possible, except when the teen might be a danger to himself or to someone else. The reasons young people take drugs are often comparable to the reasons adults drink and smoke. They’re associated with relaxing with friends, listening to music or watching a video. In addition, teenagers like to experiment: some will try drugs just because they are curious and want to find out what the effects are.

They may experiment with a range of drugs for a short time and then stop. They haven’t become ‘addicted’ or dependent, nor have they suffered any lasting effects. The pressure of peers is enormous, so it may be easier for teenagers to have a go than to say no and look uncool. Teenagers like to rebel and kick out against parents’ rules.

Independence is part of growing up. Others want the excitement risk-taking brings. Teenagers like to have a good time and may get pleasure from the effects that drugs bring. Many illegal drugs are as cheap as or cheaper than alcohol. Random drug testing has not been confirmed to discourage drug use. Urine testing, the most general and inexpensive form of drug testing, is invasive and alienating.

The collection of a specimen is an embarrassing infringement of privacy, especially uncomfortable for an adolescent. Testing is inefficient when it comes to detecting drug problems. Testing detects only a small fraction of users and misses too many who might be in trouble. The vast majority of drug tests do not test for alcohol.

The concept that students need drug testing to help them say “no,” is questionable.

Listen to drug-abuse professionals who know that recognition of problems requires careful attention to signs such as absence from school, inconsistent behavior and falling grades. Study the many alternatives, pitfalls and repercussions to random drug testing.

There simply is no “silver bullet.”

DORE E. FRANCES
Child Right’s Advocate
Educational Consultant
Expert Witness in the Circuit Court for the State of Oregon
President, Horizon Family Solutions, LLC, Bend, Oregon
http://www.guidingteens.com