After much coaxing from my beloved wife Leanne, I have promised her to write a blog by the end of the day, so here it is. Not sure what I’ll write about yet but I’m sure I’ll get inspiration as I go along.

iLifestyleClub - The early days

First of all, I want to address the progress of iLifestyleClub over the last few months. Thank you, Leanne, Allan, Tehillah and Josh for the Blogs you have contributed since we launched in July. With such diverse topics as photography, cooking, investment etc, we certainly are covering a wide range of lifestyle issues in our Blogs, to complement the in-depth resources available to subscribers from the iLifestyleClub “library” through the website.

Thanks also to our subscribers for supporting us in supplying the wealth creation,
personal development health and lifestyle resources you are currently enjoying.

iLifestyleClub - Where are we heading?

As we enter the 3rd month of iLifestyleClub, it is appropriate that we ask the question, where are we heading, in other words what are we aiming to achieve with iLifestyleClub?

I can’t answer for all our subscribers, but I CAN put out there, some ideas, aims and
objectives that I have myself, and hopefully some of these will resonate with some of
you too.

First of all, lifestyle for me is about quality of life. Sometimes you have to sit back
and evaluate where you have been in life, and I can say for myself that over the years,
although I have not had a rough life, the quality has not always been there.

I am not talking about material values, but purpose of life. How many of us, as we get
older and look back on our lives, will be proud of the number of hours of overtime we
did, or the number of sales pegged up as we worked away, cogs in the machine of the
economy, which we all, let’s be honest, have to do our time in as we go through life.

No, the things that will bring us contentment are based more on spiritual values, like how our lives impacted those around us, family, friends, church, and the world out there, which we all know has a lot of issues, people hurting, mostly from poverty
- material and spiritual. Making a difference in the world requires resources - again
some material and some spiritual. Giving into other people’s lives and addressing
these issues is paramount to maintaining a sense of purpose as we go through life.

So what does all this have to do with iLifestyleClub? Well, to me, iLifestyleClub
represents an opportunity to tap into resources that we can use in life as we strive to give into the lives of others around us, and beyond us, in the wider community and the world outside our national borders. There are financial opportunities, strategies which, if implemented correctly, will free up our time to enable us to give more effectively, materially and spiritually, into the lives of others. That is what I mean by quality of life, making a difference.

And as a man said a couple of millennia back, give and it will be given to you,
pressed down, shaken together and running over. That idea in itself is a spiritual
value which if it permeates communities, has been proven to change lives profoundly
where it has been put into practice. Some call it abundance thinking, others call it
generosity, goodwill, or charity. Whatever you care to call it, we all know it works.

Today’s success tip comes from Ari Galper.

Thousands of salespeople around the world have adopted Ari’s Unlock The Game program and are generating significantly better results. Ari has also created Unlock The Internet Game which uses live chat to help online businesses.

What tips do you have for salespeople to help eliminate the pressures and pain of selling?

Rejection can only happen if you’re focused on your own agenda - rejection happens when you go for the ‘yes’ instead of the truth. If you focus on your prospect’s issues and problems and whether your solution might be a fit for them, rejection is no longer a possibility. After all, how can rejection result from a conversation that has no hidden agendas?

Take a few minutes to debrief yourself after each call or selling encounter - don’t just make your calls and forget about them; every call can be an important learning experience. As soon as you can, reflect on and evaluate your call - did it go well? How do you determine ‘well’? Do you remember feeling a moment of awkwardness after saying something? Perhaps that was because you slipped back into some subtle form of pushing or exerting pressure? Did you sense any withdrawal or pulling back? Debriefing is a useful way to keep track of how your new Unlock The Game habits are developing.

Don’t think sales script, think conversation and dialogue - I talk every day with people who say that their scripts make them feel uncomfortable and robotic. While scripts may give you a feeling of control, this is an illusion. Conversation and dialogue can be scary because it means you have to give up some form of control. But remember, you’re dealing with another human being. How does trying to control them build trust? I promise you that selling can be a positive and productive experience if you are open to shifting to a new mind-set.

Until next time,

Allan Poole

Before you are able to take the kind of photos you want to take, it is important to think about the equipment you would like to start out with. Probably the most important decision you will have to make is what kind of camera to buy. There are so many options and brands now that the whole process can seem quite overwhelming.

Shopping for Cameras:

If you are planning to become a serious photographer you should probably buy an SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera. The term single lens reflex comes from the fact that the camera has a view of the subject through a single lens and that view is reflected to the viewfinder so the photographer can see exactly what is going to be in the picture. The Digital SLR’s are getting so advanced that it’s very hard to choose a film camera over a digital. The main advantage of an SLR camera over a point-and-shoot digital camera is the fact that you can change lenses and filters whenever you want to, although new point-and-shoot cameras have increasing optical zoom and similar capabilities. Point-and-shoot cameras are also a great idea if you just want something simple and small that is convenient to carry wherever you go.

What to Look for in Lenses:

Lenses are what your camera uses to focus on the world. All lenses are defined by their focal length and aperture. The focal length tells you what the angle of view is and how far it magnifies. The aperture is the amount of light that the camera is letting into the sensor. Any lens lower than 50 mm focal length is considered wide-angle. Any at 50 mm is considered normal. And any lens above 50 mm is considered a telephoto. But there are also zoom lenses that have a variable focal length. With a zoom lens you can cover a wide range such as 28 mm to 105 mm or 80 mm to 210 mm.

Lenses can be very expensive and very cheap and it is usually the faster lenses or the ones with the wider apertures that are the highest priced. The faster lenses are more appealing primarily because they can produce better pictures in dim light without a tripod. But it is quite possible to find great lenses at low prices. Probably the first lens you buy should be broad range zoom lens such as a 28 mm to 105 mm. The slight drawback of zoom lenses is that they are slower and they don’t quite match the sharpness and contrast of a fixed focal length lens.

Do You Need any Filters?

Another very important item that you should definitely acquire is an ultra-violet filter (UV filter). It is a simple piece of glass that screws on to the end of your lens and protects it from scratches, dust, dirt, moisture and fingerprints while reducing unwanted ultra-violet light.

But when you buy a UV filter you might as well get a polarizer filter as well. A polarizer filter is most commonly used for darkening the sky by cutting through atmospheric haze. This affect can also dramatically improve the results of black and white photography. Polarizer filters are also good for removing reflections from glass or water.

Get a Tripod:

We would also strongly recommend that you buy a tripod of some kind which is vital when there is not enough light to handhold a picture. Some of the best pictures you’ve seen at dusk, night, or just when it’s cloudy have almost certainly been taken using a tripod. Tripods allow you to use your camera’s full range of shutter speed and aperture combinations which can sometimes creating amazing unexpected results.

You should pick a tripod that is plenty sturdy but also convenient enough to carry wherever you might want it. You also might want it tall enough so you can look through your camera at eye level.

Some Memory Card Details:

Memory cards are extremely convenient with digital cameras but you need to make sure you have all the space on them that you want. It is always a good feeling to know that you can take all the pictures that you want when you think you have a good opportunity. Most SLR’s take Compact Flash memory cards, smaller cameras usually either take Secure Digital memory cards or Sony memory sticks.

It is convenient to have only one format of memory card if you have multiple cameras because then you can interchange them even between a big SLR and a small point and shoot camera. The smaller cameras usually use secure digital cards and Sony memory sticks but some very nice ones use compact flash cards. One thing you must always do is remember to format the card after you unload pictures and put it back into the camera or else you won’t have the full capacity of the card.

If you are looking to buy a new digital camera you should consider these things or you might have regrets later.

Richard Schneider is a digital photography enthusiast and founder of http://www.picturecorrect.com/ which offers tips and news about digital photography, digital camera reviews, photoshop tutorials and computer wallpaper.

Until next time,

Allan Poole

Welcome to our Blog.

Today I have included more little gems of wisdom from the “Quote of the Day” from iLifestyleClub over the last 10 days.

Enjoy!

Until next time.

Your Friend in Success

Leanne Annett