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Imprinted Basketballs

Imprinted basketballs are a great idea for promos, fund raising, and corporate events. They are popular as souvenirs and mementos, and even customized gifts.

Imprinted basketballs are retailed by many websites. Imprinted basketballs are almost always available in bulk, since corporate and promotional companies order them for distribution at various events. Extra-Mile.com, for example, retails imprinted synthetic leather and rubber basketballs, which can be purchased wholesale. In fact, purchasing wholesale custom imprinted basketballs is very cost effective. For example, at ArmuProducts.com, you can purchase a single ball for $9, but on purchasing minimum 50 mini basketballs, the price for each ball comes down to $2 each. The imprinting charges are extra, and vary depending on the logo or design imprinted, and the number of colors used in imprinting. At ArmuProducts, imprinting costs $40 per color (for a set of balls). The colors are orange, red, blue, white, green and yellow. Of these, only two colors may be selected. Ink color matching costs more. Also, back and white, or color artwork imprinting service is available, and charges vary depending on the complexity of the design.

ArmuProducts.com is one of the best firms retailing imprinted basketballs, since it deals almost exclusively in imprinting and customizing sports goods. You can choose from materials like rubber and foam, which are inexpensive at $5 each for 100 balls, or leather basketballs at $15 each for 50 balls. Mini basketballs which glow in the dark are available for $8.50 each.

Another website retailing unconventional basketball souvenirs is AceNovelty.com. At AceNovelty.com, a 14 inch inflatable basketball is imprinted at a cost of $3 each for 50 basketballs.

Imprinting basketballs adds a special touch to the ball, and they make great gifts for basketball fans. They are distributed to participants at events and gatherings as mementos, and they boost the sales of a product when handed out at promotional events. And the cost effectiveness of imprinting makes customized basketballs a very viable option for these purposes.

posted by g80961 @ 10:31 PM 0 comments

Orchestrating Attitude: Getting the Best from Yourself and Others

How do you measure success? Is it by financial security, career growth, community involvement, quality of relationships, spiritual centeredness or the legacy you leave? Whichever measure you choose, your attitude is the single most important factor in achieving success.

The topic of attitude can be conceptual and confusing. In fact, as we go through life we often hear phrases like: keep your chin up, look on the bright side or you need a winning attitude. Unfortunately, we seldom know how to convert these soft sayings into hard results.

This book translates the incomprehensible into the actionable. It is intended to provide you with inspiration and application so you can orchestrate your attitude.. and your success.

The great news is that even in the worst situations a victim of a natural disaster, prisoner of war, target of abuse or when hit by a string of unfortunate circumstances - your attitude is something you can always control!

When we control our attitude we influence how our body responds and performs. Where our thoughts and attitudes go, our bodies follow. For example, blushing is a physical reaction to a mere thought. If we have this kind of reaction to a thought, is it such a leap of faith to believe that we can orchestrate our attitudes to affect our bodies in beneficial ways?

In fact, a positive attitude can buffer us against some adverse health effects and depression. Researchers who studied 839 patients over a 30-year period found a link between optimism and lower risk of early death. Specifically, optimism early in life predicts good health later in life.

Additionally, a landmark study shed light on the ultimate benefit of a positive attitude. In this particular study, participants who were more positive lived an average of 10 years longer than the other participants. Considering that smoking has been shown to reduce life expectancy by 5.5 years for men and 7 years for women, your attitude might be a health risk factor worth paying real attention to.

The choice of attitude is yours. Tomorrow you will become what you choose today.

Attitude: Concept or Concrete?

Have you ever thought about what makes you say things like: that guy has a great attitude, or boy, her attitude is really killing the team? How do you know if someones attitude is great or crummy? When most of us hear the word attitude we think of a fuzzy concept that somehow makes us happy, sad, content or frustrated.

It is difficult to measure and manage a concept. However, its easier to manage and measure behavior. Thats why I will use a broad definition of attitude: a relatively stable and enduring way to behave. This definition and the following explanation are designed to help you get your mind around the concept of attitude. If we can translate a concept like attitude into concrete behaviors, then we can more easily manage and measure - orchestrate - our attitudes.

How Do Attitudes Develop?

Our attitudes develop from repeatedly thinking, speaking and acting the same way, over and over, until it becomes a stable and enduring way we behave a habit. Although we can hear and see our attitudes in the words and actions we choose, attitudes start developing with our thoughts.

Our minds are our ultimate personal computers! What we program into them determines how they will function. The most powerful computer ever made, programmed with the wrong software or with bad data, will never function to its capacity. For instance, just as we have viruses (bad data) in todays cyber world that cause computer malfunctions, our mental computers are also susceptible to the data we put into them. If we choose to load them with bad data, it will limit how effective or successful we will be.

Our attitude is our personal boomerang to the world whatever we throw out will come back to us. Express enthusiasm and it comes back. Offer a smile and it is returned. Start to gossip and thats what we will hear. Get frustrated about a team member and thats what we will see. Help a colleague and we will find a helping hand. This boomerang effect holds true for our thoughts about money, relationships, self-worth, a performance goal, team building, a problem colleague or customer, a new project or career.

So, once we develop a habit of choosing a positive or negative attitude, that is exactly what we will send to and receive from the world.

Choice: Reaction or Response?

The power of choice is one of the greatest gifts we are given. In fact, it is so important that the privilege of choice is removed from prison inmates as a form of punishment. Although we make many choices every hour of the day, we rarely make neutral choices. Each choice has a positive or negative consequence for us at some level.

Our attitude toward life is the most important choice we make! Lets look at why such a simple choice embracing a positive or negative attitude is more challenging than it appears for many people. The bottom line is that we often forget that we have the power to choose. We relinquish it subconsciously, because we make thousands of decisions daily - about 95% of them are subconscious.

Just think of the last time you were in deep thought about your plans for the evening while driving home from work. As you pull into your driveway you wonder to yourself, How did I get home? The car seemed to practically drive itself home. Driving is a relatively complex task, requiring many choices along the way turn right, turn left, slow down, stop and change lanes. Still, driving home can be successfully performed almost subconsciously. So, consider the multitude of much smaller choices we make each day that we dont really think about: waking up, brushing our teeth, saying good morning to a colleague, eating our lunch, performing a repetitive job duty and so on. Subconscious actions are useful most of the time, but we must also consciously choose our attitude in order to control our results.

Our ability to choose is a gift, but it is also a huge responsibility. No matter what todays its not my fault culture encourages, we are all ultimately responsible for our own choices. In fact, I like to write the word responsibility as response ability. As humans, we have the unique ability to respond. It is a choice we make, although many times an instantaneous or subconscious choice.

Heres a scenario repeated daily. Family dinners are important at the Smith house. Jim and Jane Smith and their two children (Jonnie, age 3 and Janie, age 4) have just seated themselves at the table. Before the first bite of dinner is enjoyed, Jonnie spills his milk and it goes everywhere.

A reaction to this event: Not again, Jonnie! Every time we eat, this happens. Think, son, think! Do you want to eat in your room from now on?

A response to this event: Uh Oh, Jonnie. Lets get a sponge and clean this up so you can eat your dinner.

When you react, you make a purely emotional and subconscious decision. Often, because of how your experiences and prior choices have programmed your subconscious mind, your reactions do not help you achieve the best results.

On the other hand, when you respond to a situation, you make a constructive and conscious decision. That's why there are Emergency Response Teams not Emergency Reaction Teams:

- When you simply react, your emotional instinct is in control, with little thought of the long-range consequences.

- When you respond, your brain is fully engaged and your self-awareness is high. You have the long-term consequences in mind.

We all experience plenty of negative situations and people. The key is to be prepared to consciously respond to these negative inputs. Choosing to respond instead of react helps us to positively orchestrate our attitudes.and our lives.

A Script for Orchestrating Attitude

There are three aspects of the script that work in concert: thoughts, words and actions. By orchestrating each aspect with conscious responses, we positively influence our beliefs, commitments and results.

Orchestrate your THOUGHTS to nfluence BELIEFS.....

Orchestrate your WORDS to influence your COMMITMENTS

Orchestrate your ACTIONS to influence your RESULTS

The script plays out like this:

- Thoughts, the way we choose to interpret our world, directly influence our beliefs.

- Beliefs directly influence the words we choose to peak to others, and more importantly, to ourselves.

- Words reflect our commitments to ourselves and others.

- Commitments influence our choice of actions.

- Finally, our actions directly influence the results we achieve.

This script is self-reinforcing, for better or for worse. The results we achieve reinforce our thoughts and the same script is played out again. So, it all starts with our thoughts. Our thoughts today influence our results tomorrow.

The left side of the script is the side of choice. Each of us chooses our thoughts, words and actions either consciously or subconsciously. Therefore, we influence the right side of the script the side of responsibility. We must take responsibility for our beliefs, commitments and results. We are each responsible for the choices we make and the results we ultimately achieve. The ultimate choice is ours - victim or victor?

To illustrate how this script plays out, lets say I am given a new project to lead. I am confident that the prospects for this project are positive. Therefore, I start thinking about how to ensure its success and how I can measure the benefits of the project deliverables. I also think about my talented project team, knowing they will need to go above and beyond to achieve success on this project. My kick-off e-mail contains words like excited, opportunity, talented team, creative solutions and positive impact. My team members speak and react in kind, boomeranging my winning attitude back to me. Meetings are crisp, roles are clearly defined and decisions are made collaboratively, yet quickly.

The expected challenges, even the seemingly big ones, are handled professionally and swiftly because the team knows that failure is not an option, and there are many pathways to success. My thoughts and words have already predisposed the team to acting in alignment with my expectation of success. And our eventual success predisposes me to the same thoughts, words and actions on the next project. This is when the powerful, self-reinforcing script will be played again.

Orchestrating attitude creates a beautiful human symphony. The result is a person of integrity who gets the best from himself and others!

posted by g80961 @ 7:11 PM 0 comments

A Guide to Gumball Vending Machines

Gumball vending machines are among the oldest surviving types of vending machines. (An interesting side fact is that the first vending machine was a water dispenser in Egypt circa 100 B.C.) The first gumball machines were penny machines. You can still get those antiques, although they are more for novelty use than a way for you to make a profit. Who wants to carry around five dollars worth of pennies?

Most gumball vending machines today are quarter-operated. The great thing about gumball vending machines is that they do not require any electricity for keeping cool or for accepting coins and dollars. Anyone can afford to buy a gumball machine. They start at $50, and even the most elaborate ones are usually not more than a few hundred. The exception is if you choose to go with a huge vending machine kiosk that includes gumballs but also candy, stickers, toys, and other quick impulse items. Those are widely available as well.

Simple gumball vending machines can either be counter-mounted or freestanding. The freestanding models require a stand that you can buy from the manufacturer of the machine. These stands are often available in a range of styles to fit any setting. They can be customized to hold one, two, three, or more gumball vending machines. They can be adjusted to face all directions (perfect for central locations) or they can be adjusted to fit into a corner, with all of the machines facing forward. The money containers can either be emptied from the front or the back, depending on the model. Dome models allow you to empty the money containers either way.

Remember that when you buy gumball machines, you have to figure in probable profits. If youre only going to rake in a few dollars a month, consider changing locations or style. If you have a stand with two or more machines, rotate the gumball selection from time to time to keep customers interested.

posted by g80961 @ 3:49 PM 0 comments

Appreciating The Beauty Of Classic Automobiles

I grew up in the muscle car era of the 1960's and early 1970's, where there was enough time to still influence me before the gas crisis of $1 per gallon gas. These teen years left a lasting impression from that point on where a car must have big V8, loud rumbling exhaust, and big tires, otherwise it did not get a second glance. It was the power hungry performance cars from Detroit's Big Three. The Mustang, the Camaro, the Firebird as well as the Chevelles, and Chargers to just name a few that you could hear coming a mile before they arrived. They got my attention! Over the years as I've traveled around to car shows my appreciation for the automobile expanded. The common thread that intrigued me about all of the car owners was, the pride they took in their vehicle, but what was I missing? Many of these cars did not meet my criteria of a big V8, loud rumbling exhaust, and big tires, so what's the big deal? The intent of this article is to open your mind and recognize the elegance, grace, and styling of cars before you were born, to the present.

It seems that many automotive enthusiasts have at one time encountered a similar dilemma. There are the Mustang specific clubs, the Ford Model A clubs, even the Orange Colored Car club. Everyone has they primary interests, but if you look beyond this, you can see the elegance, style, and beauty that was finely crafted by the automotive artists. Imagine looking through the viewfinder on a camera as you focus on composing the perfect image. With your naked eye, many of the details may not initially jump out. However, when you see the image as the camera does, you notice the shadows, the lighting, and the elements of the vehicle that appear to be magnified and stand out. This focusing forces you to not only look complete vehicle, but down to the individual details that make it up. These details are the core elements of that the artist creates. Like each stroke of the brush, each curve in the chrome makes up the masterpiece.

You do not have to look far to see what I am talking about. Look at a 1958 Chevrolet Belair with its massive grille, large amounts of chrome and the intricacy of the trim accent pieces all flowing together like a sculpture. Unless you pay attention to even the most minuet areas you will not see the entire masterpiece. A person once told me that when he didn't win people choice awards, his wife would say, "Did A Red Car Win?" This statement has some truth. I have seen that if there were two almost identical cars, the red or brightly colored one usually faired better even if it was not in as good of condition. The point I am trying to make is first impression is exactly that, first impression. Whereas, a seasoned judge, goes to the next level looking at the quality of the paint, and in concours judging down to the finish on the bolts. Within this spectrum is where the real artistic nature is.

I recently did some photography and show board work on a 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 that I initially seen at a local car show. When I first seen this car what stood out was its massive size, and the glistening shine of the perfect black paint. This was my first impression as it caught my attention. After talking with the owner, Joe, and learning more about his car, the real beauty of this classic vehicle was evident. You could almost see the air flowing along the sleek and graceful body lines as the 30 spokes of each wheel reflected like mirrors. It was obvious that he was focused on a perfect display, ensuring that there was a blinding shine on the chrome and paint, and every component, even the underside was perfect. One could only imagine the many hours and years spent getting to this level of perfection.

The next time you see one of these classics driving down the road, or at a car show try to vision what the automobile artists has in mind. To get a jump start on seeing these classics there is a nice selection of pictures showing exactly what I have talked about at www.PalmieriConcepts.com. The information and pictures on this site will give you many examples of these classics as well as alternative ways of composing your pictures into works of art. Palmieri Concepts focuses on transforming your everyday pictures into custom art, and as a result, attention to detail is key.

posted by g80961 @ 1:45 AM 0 comments

Swim With the Current

Youve probably heard me say over and over that 80% of your return on your portfolio comes from the market and the sector. But what the heck does that really mean?

In June 1998, Investors Business Daily summarized two studies on the causes of stock- price movement in two books: The New Science of Investing, by Dr. Robert Hagen and The Latent Statistical Structure of Securities Price Changes, by Benjamin King.

Those studies found that 31% of a company's stock-price action was tied to the market as a whole. Industry group action explained 37%, while broad sector action accounted for 12% of the price movement.

Both studies concluded that only 20% of the price action in a stock was determined by company fundamentals!

Unfortunately, most people were taught backwards. Most think gains and losses are only determined by picking the stock with the right fundamentals! Fundamentals are things like P/E ratio, good management, growth rates, new products, market share, etc. I'd venture a guess and say that most people spend 80% of their time (and sometimes 100% of their time!) trying to find the stock with the best set of fundamentals.

Yikes!

So what happens when a company "with great fundamentals" happens to be in a sector thats on defense? Or what if the whole market is on defense? The company could see their stock price get slammed (yes, even with great fundamentals!).

Say you bought at a stock a few months ago at $40. Today it is $20. The company may still be growing like crazy, but the market or the sector dragged it down. If the story didnt change, then didn't the fundamentals just get even better? It has to be a better value at this price, right? If you invest by using only the fundamentals, you lose.

Again, most of the returns you're going to get will depend on whether the market (and the sector the stock belongs to) is on offense or defense.

Look, everyone knows that if you're swimming with the current, it's an easier ride. There are times when the market is on offense (and you're moving with the current). Hey, it IS possible to make money when the current is against you. But the odds are stacked against you! So, try to swim with the current...swimming against the current is NOT recommended!

Offense? Defense? Huh?
When were on offense, we run offensive plays from our playbook. Meaning, well look to put money into the market to build our wealth. Were not going to buy everything in sight; we want to focus ONLY on the sectors that are also on offense.

When were on defense, well run plays designed to protect our assets. Defense doesnt mean run out and sell everything! Whats the goal when the defense comes on the field in a football game?

To prevent the other team (the market) from scoring against you!

When the market is on defense, well only call plays from our defensive playbook. Running a defensive strategy helps prevent us from making really stupid mistakes in our account and taking big losses. Defense can mean taking steps like buying protective puts against your holdings. Or possibly shave back a large investment in a stock or mutual fund.

Avoiding big losses alone will improve the performance for most people in the market.

How do we know whether to be on offense or defense? We use a tool that is an excellent indicator of the level of risk in the market. Fifty years ago, a technical analyst named A.W. Cohen came up with this tool he dubbed the bullish percent index. Cohen was looking for a way to tell when to be cautious near market tops and also aggressively optimistic near market bottoms.

If you think about it, isnt that what we all want? Something thatll tell us when the risk in the market is high...and when the risk in the market (or a sector) is low! And its been around for fifty years, ignored by many in the market!

The bullish percent index is the percentage of all the stocks in a universe that are currently on buy signals. Now, that universe may be all the stocks in the semiconductor or the financial sector. Or even all the stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Knowing when the risk is high in a particular area will go a long way toward improving your investment results!

When to take action
Weve discussed the bullish percent is all the stocks in your group that are currently on buy signals. We feel its the single best risk level indicator we have found. But how do you know when to take action?

If 90 out of 100 stocks in a given sector are currently on buy signals, the bullish percent index is said to be at 90% for that group. If only 30 of 100 are on buy signals, the bullish percent is 30%.

Now, if 90% of all stocks in a sector are already on buy signals, that means only 10% of the names in that group are NOT on buy signals.

Wed want to be cautious with that kind of high reading!

Hey, no one likes being the last guy to show up at a party, but thats what happens to a lot of individual investors. They get in near the top and get creamed when the sector or market takes a dive.

Now, what were measuring here is supply and demand. When there is demand, prices rise. When a sector reaches 90%, theres not much more that can move a group higher.

But thats NOT the time to sell.

See, stocks can hang around lofty levels for a LONG time. Its only when we see more and more companies in a sector (or market) start to give sell signals, we know that supply is overtaking demand. When that happens, lower prices are on the way.

Now, say last week we noticed that a sector had a bullish percent reading of 30% and this week its now at 38%. This is a group wed want to pay attention to! Not only are the readings going up, they are going up from low levels!

This is precisely the stuff we zoom in on when telling you where to put money to work!

Predictions

If we need to get out of something, wed sure like to know it NOW, not later!

Hindsight IS 20/20. But it wont help you avoid losses in your account. Weve given up predicting what the market will do because we use tools that tell us accurately what IS happening right now in the marketplace. The point and figure charts we use and the bullish percent index are tools that tell us whats happening today. These charts tell us what is in demand and what is in supply.

There are too many folks trying to complicate the investing process. Keep it simple. Just remember that anything with too much supply will see their prices fall. Anything in demand will see their prices rise. And we have a method of measuring exactly which stocks and mutual funds are in demand and which are in supply.

posted by g80961 @ 12:30 AM 0 comments