How to Write an Article and Earn Money With Online Writing Activities

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There has been a wave of new writers joining the existing army of internet entrepreneurs. Article writing is one of the easiest tasks that a complete newbie can get involved in. What some budding internet barons do not fully realise is that there is a right way and a wrong way to write a good article. There is more involved in how to write an article than you would think and if you plan to earn money with online writing activities then you might as well do it well from the start.

Writing articles online means that you have to know what people are searching for. You may have a great article about flying across the Atlantic in a hang glider but if no one is searching for this topic it will never get a click and never earn you money. So before you start writing articles online take some time to do some quality research into keywords. You can use the Google external keyword tool to find out what people are looking for in your field.

Once you have decided on the theme of your article there are some other easy tips on article writing worth taking note of. The first thing is to use your main keyword in the headline and the first and last paragraphs. Secondly you can use closely related keywords throughout the article. The most important of my easy tips on article writing is to write good value content. You must have good information that relates to what the online searcher is looking for.

Along with these tips on article writing you need to look at ways to earn money with your writing. I will mention the easiest way to start earning money almost immediately is to offer your services as an article writer. There are websites that offer work online – the biggest of these is called elance.com. You can also find potential customers on internet forums. This is how I made my first money online. I also got some great feedback to help me become an even better writer. There are many more tips on article writing on these forums and most people on them will always help a new person out.

One last thing to point out is that it isn’t all about how to write an article. You also need to take action and actually put your fingers on the keyboard and get writing. You must create a regular output of good quality articles if you are going to make money from your online writing activities.

Going Online For Training Employees

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Companies and business establishments need to develop and train their workers regularly since it helps them improve their productivity, skills, and work attitude. Through training sessions and programs, employees are able to enhance their potentials and discover new skills that are necessary to their workplace, especially in this ever-changing era of technology and information. Training will also help employees adapt to new approaches, techniques, and skills in handling people, organizing work, and dealing with new work challenges. Training will also help managers achieve company goals ultimately. However, this has always been the problem of many managers before. Both budget and time are limited and constricted. In fact, training consumes so much time that companies feel that they just cannot afford to send their employees to training sessions and programs. A big thanks to the Internet for training employees online is a now a big advantage.

Online training for the employees entails many advantages. One of this is the convenience of not having to shell out huge amounts of financial investments. It is a great option for companies who cannot meet the expense of sending their workers away for a long time. Through online training, a certain team or group of employees can be trained with comparative ease and at the least wastage of energy and time as well. Workers can gain knowledge about a certain field right on the job just for a few hours a day, during whatever convenient schedule they have available. A worker can even join a training program straight from his own workstation without supervision. In other words, they do not even need to leave their workplace just to attend a regular training session, as most common programs practice nowadays.

This gives the company an edge economically, especially when it pertains to delivering custom tailored training materials for their own workers. It is not a one-time investment then. The tools that the company uses today can even be usable for future sessions.

As a starter, the company may choose to avail of pre-made training modules available in a service provider’s website. These modules are rich in content and are specifically fit to meet the needs of the workers, depending on their nature of work. The company will just distribute these courseware or program modules internally, which makes it easier and less time-consuming.

The program modules vary in topic and they can range from leadership modules, human resource modules, accounting modules, productivity, engineering, data management, computing, technology, work etiquette, and more.

At the end of each online training module, respondents should be made to answer evaluation questionnaires that check how well trainees absorb the program’s content. The questionnaires are both objective and subjective, thereby improving the quality of the employee’s work output. When there is a need for an on-site evaluation, the employee may just simply use his existing workplace to practice what he has learned.

Mammoth corporations that operate with satellite offices around the globe also prefer this online training scheme. Due to the nature of their company’s geographical and organizational structure, online training gives their employees consistency in quality, wherever continent they may be.

Training employees online has indeed surfaced as the new option in improving and developing the potential of a company’s human resource.

Do I Send the Kids to Boarding School?

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As my eldest daughter completes her final year at boarding school and my younger children move into senior school, I thought it relevant to reflect on the experiences and benefits of my children and myself over the past five years. I live in a small rural town about two hours from the nearest city, Perth in WA. While there is a near by local high school the standard of education and lacking morals my husband and I did not feel as though this would be at all beneficial in providing our children with every possible opportunity for their futures.

Should I be sending my kids to boarding school? A question that will probably have crossed your mind once or twice if your living in a rural area with no close available secondary education centers. However if you are living in a rural area there are many pros and cons as to boarding school for your child/children.

My experiences personally during my time involved in my children’s schooling were always positive. I found the staff members in the boarding house to be kind and deeply committed to the girls, the teachers were dedicated and inspirational. The soul purpose of a private, boarding school is to educate and inspire, to push the students in their specialized areas, academics, community service, sporting, and arts. I witnessed my children strive and be supported when they fell. But this is only my opinion on the topic.

So how do you make the decision? Generally the pros are going to out way the cons in this sort of situation, but if you can’t quite get your head around the idea of moving your kids out of home at only twelve or thirteen and any other daunting cons, then let me show you how the pros do actually out weigh the cons.

The negatives.
– Your child may get homesick, and tell you they hate school, you, and generally everything.
– Your not going to know absolutely everything that goes on 24/7 as your children are living hours away.
– Generally the costs of boarding school are very high.

The positives.
– Your child learns independence and many life long skills.
– Your child will form friendships and relationships with peers and staff at a very close level.
– There are many opportunities and experiences that your child can be involved in, which are unimaginable at any other school
– You and your children will meet people from all over the state
– The education received at a private school is of an extremely high standard.
– Other areas of community service, the arts, and sports are supported.

The decision is entirely yours when it comes down to it, but if education, opportunities and ever lasting memories and important aspects of life that you want to give your child then the question “Should I be sending my kids to boarding school?” should be a big yes.

As the mother of three children in boarding school, I have never regretted the decision to send my kids to boarding school. They independence, fun, maturation and academic achievement they contain make the price of the education irrelevant.

It almost seems that the choice we made many years ago to send our children away resulted in quite the good life, for myself, my husband and my children.

Distance Learning – An Option to Disappointing School Districts

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Accountability has become a buzzword around most U.S. school districts. Across the country, schools and school districts are having to deal with increased scrutiny from a variety of government agencies. For many parents, this situation has turned into a tremendous source of anxiety and stress as more and more districts are proving to be less than up to par with the academic requirements established by their individual governing agencies. With competition for college admission increasing every year, parents are beginning to look for alternative academic options for the education of their children, especially as their local school districts continue to fail them.

For most parents, the preferred option to enrolling their children in an underachieving or underperforming school is to enroll them in a distance learning school. A distance learning school often does not have to deal with the many factors that a traditional school may be faced that can keep it from meeting the expectations of a governing agency or even the expectations of a parent.

Overcrowded classrooms, improper or insufficient materials (both academic and non-academic), non-qualified teachers in the classroom, lack of support staff to supplement classroom instruction, no supplemental resources, poor campus security, and access to extracurricular programs such as tutoring or mentoring programs are just a few of the factors that can contribute to creating a school district with schools that underachieve and do not perform to established expectations.

At a distance learning school, many of these problems are avoided by nothing more than the unique approach they take to educating their students. In doing so, they are able to focus on the education of their students. For starters, a distance learning school, especially one that is accredited, will always be able to provide its students with teachers who are fully credentialed and highly qualified, and a curriculum that is in line with local and state standards. In addition, because distance learning programs are tailored to the individual student, they are able to provide their students with additional help and resources beyond those of a standard classroom. One additional factor that makes parents prefer distance learning schools over traditional schools is the fact that many of the safety and environmental issues that are a normal part of a traditional school are not present in the world of distance learning.

As districts across the country continue to struggle with issues of staffing, funding, and accountability, more and more parents will continue to explore the available options for the education of their children. In most cases, the preferred option will continue to be enrollment in a distance learning program. Besides being able to provide students with individually-tailored instruction and highly-qualified credentialed teachers, distance learning schools are also able to avoid many of the problems that typically plague traditional schools, such as violence and lack of safety. While school districts fail to provide adequate instruction, distance learning schools are flourishing in their roles as alternative educators.

Are You Male and Over 40? This Article Could Save Your Life

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Have you had a prostate exam? The latest statistics show that one in four American males, forty or older are at high risk for prostate related problems. Almost ½ of men in their sixties and eighty percent of men over eighty years of age will likely get Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, or BPH as its commonly called. This is especially dangerous in that it could lead the way towards prostate cancer. The most disturbing fact is that these numbers are actually increasing.

There could not be a better time to take action, with these dire warnings in place that US males are showing increased risk as well as the fact that prostate cancer is the #1 cancer killer among American males.

The Prostate, What is it?

The prostate is a tiny organ about the size of an pecan shell. It rests just beneath the bladder, and makes up a portion of the male reproductive system. The prostate is responsible for the production of semen. At infancy the prostate gland is roughly the size of a peanut. It doubles in size at puberty and after forty it begins to enlarge due to a decrease in testosterone.

Understanding the Problem

As a man ages, what is actually happening is that the testosterone is being converted into another, even more potent male hormone, dihydrotestosterone or DHT for short. DHT plays a role in encouraging the splitting of prostate cells, thereby increasing their count and number. What’s more, the DHT levels of men with enlarged prostate are often five times higher than in men with normal sized prostates. Interestingly, if the transformation of testosterone to DHT is stopped or significantly impeded, Prostatic Hyperplasia may not present and may even be reversed once it has developed with proper treatment.

Various Options

Men facing BPH and prostate problems have three primary treatment options at their disposal: Treatment with Drugs, Surgery, or Nutritional Supplements.

Since treatment with drugs and surgery are often less than desirable options, many men have turned to nutritional supplements.

Beta-sitosterol is perhaps the most popular nutritional supplement used for the treatment and prevention of BPH. It contains a nutrient found in the plant cells of foods such as rice bran, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, soybeans, corn oil and wheat germ.

Beta-sitosterol acts to inhibit the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase. It does this by halting the transformation of testosterone into DHT. This has the affect of decreasing the amount of DHT, thus leading to the development of a normal sized prostate.

In conclusion, there have been countless clinical studies trumpeting the inhibiting effects of beta-sitosterol on abnormal growth of the prostate gland as well as the positive benefits in reduction or elimination of the symptoms of benign prostate hypertrophy or BPH. If you are male and over the age of 40, you owe it to yourself and your family to get a prostate exam now. Ask your doctor about beta prostate as an effective agent in the prevention and treatment of BPH.

Diversifying Your Education: What Online University Fits You Best?

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Accredited online universities are quickly becoming the go-to education of choice for busy professionals, working moms, or those who don’t live within close proximity to a more traditional university. If you are interested in joining the growing number of students enrolled in an accredited online university, you may be asking yourself how to choose the program that best fits your needs.

The most obvious place to start when looking at colleges and universities is location; however, that doesn’t become a factor when choosing an online university since you will going to school remotely. So what other factors should you consider when choosing a university?

Things to Consider

Accreditation – Of utmost importance is to find an accredited online university – not a diploma mill. Motivated by making a profit, diploma mills are non-accredited organizations that award degrees with poor or no academic study. They are more interested in taking your money than they are in providing you with a legitimate education or a degree that will help to further your career. Avoid these at all costs! While the thought of getting an online degree without any of the work at just a fraction of the cost may sound appealing, it’s just not worth the risk. People found using fake degrees can be denied employment, terminated, or in some cases actually face criminal charges.

Degree – Determine the type of degree that you are looking to receive. Whether it’s a bachelor’s degree, associate’s degree, master’s degree or PhD, different accredited online universities will offer different degree programs. You should choose a type of degree based on your personal interests and on the types of classes you would be interested in taking, as well as your educational background.

Major – What do you want your major to be? Not all accredited online universities offer a full range of programs. If you are certain that you want to focus on a specific field like nursing, engineering, politics, or accounting, it is important to know which schools offer these courses. Once you find a school that offers your major, check to see what resources they have for students enrolled in those classes. Look for things like the background and experience of your professors, and if the university offers career placement help after graduation.

Time – Consider the time commitment that you are willing to make for school. Certain degrees and majors will require a heavier course load than others, while some accredited online universities will only allow you to take one or two classes per session. If you are looking to go to school full-time or to complete your degree in a short period, these programs may not be the best choice for you. Determine the amount of time you will have after all of your outside obligations are met, including a job, family and other activities to help clarify your best option.

Cost – While many accredited online universities cost less than a traditional school, receiving your education online is still a big financial commitment. Having a clear understanding of what you can afford will help you to determine the best school for you. Take a look at each online university’s information page for tuition to find out how they charge; it may be by credit hour, course or semester. Each school may break down their tuition costs differently, so you may need to do a little math to compare them correctly. Also take into consideration any scholarships and grants or financial aid that you may be able to receive as this will ultimately drive down the total out-of-pocket expenses for you.

Reputation – Find out about the school’s overall reputation. A great place to start your search is through online university reviews. Through these websites, students are able to post their own personal experiences with the universities that they have attended. You can read about how the students liked the programs, the professors, the grading system and more. Just as you’d read consumer reviews prior to buying a new television or car, you should do the same when you’re looking to further your education.

Your choice of an accredited online university is the most important one you will make when it comes to the next steps in your education. Find out as much information as you can about an online university before making a decision. And never hesitate to contact the school directly if you have unanswered questions.

Online MCSE Training Courses

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Because of the prevalence of the Microsoft Windows operating system, a Microsoft certification has become a prerequisite to employment or career advancement in many fields. Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) is the most widely recognized professional certification in the Information Technology field. It enables IT professionals to analyze business requirements, and design, build, and implement the infrastructure for business solutions based on the Microsoft Windows platform and server software.

Acquiring an MCSE certification requires candidates to pass a handful of tests dealing with server operating systems, network security, and computer network infrastructure engineering. MCSE is available for two different products — Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003, each having a different set of exams. For Windows 2000, the requirements are one core exam and two elective exams, while for Windows 2003, one of each. Each test costs around $125, takes two or three hours to complete, and consists of fifty to ninety questions.

In order to fine tune your job skills and prepare you for the MCSE exams, you may take online MCSE training courses that are easy and convenient to use. These courses include Exchange 2000 Administration, Microsoft Applications and Architectures, MS Exchange Server, SQL Server, Visual Web Applications, Windows 2000 and NT Server, and many more. These courses will educate you on planning, installation, configuration, and implementation of the Windows Server, managing and monitoring the system, and troubleshooting techniques.

There are proven-effective methods of training available over the Internet twenty-four hours a day, everyday. They include multimedia CD-ROM, expert video instructions, hands-on lab simulations, online instructor support, and testing modules. These methods will guide you with a step-by-step procedure presented in full motion video and audio to allow you to see the steps, hear the instructions, and perform the tasks. There is also an MCSE training package worth approximately $250 that includes more than 260 courses for over 1,000 hours of training, and a twelve-month access to the online MCSE library.

With these MCSE training courses online, you’ll be able to tailor and schedule your education to suit your needs and bring advancement to your career. Make sure to enroll in reputable training providers to give you top-quality training and real-world applicability.

The Competition is Great For College Jobs

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College kids have always needed jobs but never before more than now. With the price of an education still going up every year, a job is a basic necessity for many trying to pay their way through school. Even kids who might not have needed work in years past are now seeking employment just because the price of tuition is so outrageous.

With more and more students needing financial aid, there is naturally an increase of the number of students seeking employment. This year though, it has been an awful year for jobs with so many companies laying off workers instead of hiring them. This has led to an increase in the difficulty of getting a job and an increase in the competition for any job that might be available.

It used to be that most any college student who wanted a job could get one. Between library jobs, cafeteria jobs, and retail jobs around town there were enough so that some type of job could always be found. Now though, students have to hope their job experience and other factors will be enough to get them hired ahead of the next guy. Gone are the days when you could just ask around and find an open job, no matter how little it pays.

College students always have had pressure to get good grades and graduate with a degree. Today’s students are having to deal with that and the added pressure of finding employment that might ultimately be the difference between them continuing or having to drop out. Even if you are a student that is lucky enough to get a loan, you need to have some way to pay your additional expenses and to make payments on the loan.

The added difficulty and pressure of finding a job is not a good thing for today’s college students. A young person’s time in college should be a fun one combined with some serious studying and learning. Many students are now finding that college is a little too close to the real world and they are having to learn about the economy and jobs before their counterparts from previous generations had to.

The Top 10 Reasons to Be a Coach in 2011 and Beyond

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Over the past 10 years coaching of all genres has been growing steadily. There are life, executive, relationship, fitness, business, marketing, sales and more. In fact, if you have an area of expertise of any kind, you can be assured it can be spun into a advisory opportunity.

Does that mean that if you aren’t already in the game, you’ve missed the boat? No!

Coaching as a professional industry is still very new to the North America, and I predict will continue to grow exponentially. Think about this; recent statistics say that there are approximately 10,000 professionals working in North America. As awareness of the benefits of the industry grows and more credibility is given to the profession, the need for quality advisers will grow as well.

50 years ago there were approximately 5,000 real estate agents. In 2011, there are over 500,000 in North America alone. There is no need to worry that the coaching ship has sailed. In fact, the following list is my top ten reasons why it is still a great profession to get into.

1. You get to be part of someone’s personal and/or business growth. Trust me – this is fun!

2. There is no cap of what you can earn – high quality coaches get paid extremely well.

3. You can work from home and never commute again if you don’t want to.

4. You can work from anywhere – technology has opened up so many doors. Telephone sessions, skype sessions etc.

5. As a business model requires almost no overhead and very little start up investment.

6. You can stay independent or grow your business and team as large as you want.

7. It lends itself to multiple revenue streams such as book writing, public speaking, seminar hosting and more.

8. Immersing yourself in your own personal growth and professional development is mandatory, yet extremely beneficial – for both yourself and ultimately your clients.

9. Flexible hours, work when you want to work, and never answer to a ‘boss’ again.

10. There is no shortage of potential clients. People everyday from all around the world are seeking growth, information, expansion, knowledge and help with many different things.

As you can see, this list is just a short sampling of the many opportunities coaching as a career can bring. Over the next 5 to 10 years I expect the industry to grow by leaps and bounds and stay on the upward trend. If you have been considering becoming one or adding it as a service to your existing business in some capacity or simply hiring a coach yourself, now is the time!

My 6 “A-HA’s” in Building a Successful HR Career

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Recently on a hot, late summer afternoon I shared an iced tea and revealing conversation with a fellow senior HR colleague. We reminisced back to the beginning of our careers, asking each other why we originally decided to enter the human resources field several decades ago when it was still known as “personnel management.”

We found as we chatted that our reasons for choosing HR as our vocation were the same: that we were challenged by solving people problems and that we wanted to make a difference in the workplace and the quality of our employees’ lives.

After the meeting, I reflected more about the guiding principles that have served me over the years to excel in the HR field plus upwardly manage my very own career path. Now, I’m sharing with you my 6 “A-HA’s” that can do the same for you.

A-HA #1). You Can’t Be Everybody’s Friend. This is a tough one, particularly for women because we’ve been conditioned to please others as children. Managing HR is a balance between being authentic and caring and acting as a sincere resource for your employees, but also holding a firm line on doing what’s in the Company’s best interest when necessary.

Some people never find this critical balance. Of course, you do build professional relationships with your co-workers, though it’s best to keep most employees at “arm’s length” so you’ll never have to compromise your role in managing HR. For the most part, keep your personal life separate from your work life. It will pay off for you in the long run.

A-HA #2). Do the Right Thing. Particularly in managing employee relations issues that include potential disciplinary action or termination, it’s critical to research all of the pertinent facts before you decide how to proceed. Sometimes even after you have all of the information you need to make an informed decision, it still boils down to what feels like the right thing to do in your gut. After all is said and done, you still have to be able to sleep at night! If you follow this rule, you’ll be able to sleep with a clear conscience. Remember, it’s all about consistently using integrity as a guiding force in making your decisions. This is truly one of the key qualities of exceptional HR professionals.

A-HA #3). Stay Out of Politics. Being a “straight-shooter,” company politics were never of interest to me. In my golf game, I even putt greens with a clear line of sight, not attempting to figure out the elevations and curves! Maybe I am a little naive or just plain dumb about politics, but I never really “got it.” And because I never got politics, NOT having to deal with them anymore is one of the huge perks I now enjoy as an entrepreneur! It takes way too much energy and effort to remember what you said to whom at what time, and then you have to track it all. Just do your job well and you’ll be recognized and rewarded over time.

A-HA #4). Treat Employees the Way That They Want to Be Treated. This is so simple, yet so powerful to your ability to effectively resolve all of those people problems!! Years ago, I thought that I should treat employees in the manner that I would like to be treated. As time went on, it became apparent to me that each individual holds truly unique preferences and priorities. It’s downright arrogant to assume that others have the same values and beliefs that you hold to be true. Don’t assume that you know this information from the beginning. Instead, ask them in your first discussion of the issue, “What do you expect as an outcome from this meeting?” Then you’ll know what you need to do to resolve that employee’s issue (or be able to manage their expectations).

A-HA #5). Be Results Oriented. Nothing drives me crazier than dealing with passive aggressive types who talk a good game, but never produce. Employees come to you to help them solve whatever problems they are experiencing in the workplace. Make a commitment to get back to the employee within a certain timeframe and do your best to honor that timeline. Follow up and communicate with all parties to effectively resolve workplace or employee issues. Communication is paramount to ensuring all involved parties are “on the same page.”

A-HA #6). Continue Learning. You know that I’m a big believer in becoming an expert in your field to distinguish yourself from everyone else. In my 30’s, I got my CCP from World at Work, and in my 40’s I went back to school and got my Master’s degree. You have continually learn to keep on top of your game. Read voraciously and set your own career development path to get where you want to go.

These guiding principles have served me well in my own career development enabling me to advance to senior level human resources jobs with Fortune 500 companies. My intention in sharing these with you is that you’ll incorporate some of my principles into ones you already practice to take you to the next level in managing your own career path.