Why it’s better to have residual income and not solely depend on paycheck income? Residual income by definition is income earned by an individual that are generally coming from his assets at hand. It allows a person not to worry anymore spending 8 hours a day in the office working as his personal assets are now earning money for him.

The current practice for people in earning a living is by getting a job and work either on an hour or annual basis. They have salaries or paychecks that they receive usually on a monthly basis and this allows them to buy the things they want, travel to places they want to travel or simply buy anything that their paychecks allows them to buy but the happy story ends where the money has been spent already and people have to continuously report back for work and continue on with their current jobs again and again. Their paychecks do arrive again and again but so does the effort for them to continue working for that hard-earned money.

People can aspire for higher salaries by getting promoted in their current companies or they can opt to aspire for higher paying salaries with other companies. They can get a higher education, maybe an MBA degree and be assigned to higher management positions like a supervisor or a manager in a company. Their salaries become higher and their lifestyles can become higher too. Still, at the end of the day, they still have to report for work the next day, get more worries and pressure from work as they still have to continuously work their way on a daily basis in order for them continuously enjoy the paychecks they are receiving that will allow them enjoy and sustain the lifestyle that they want to enjoy.

This is technically the rat race and it’s a cycle in most people’s lives that goes on and on. The cycle of coming to work doesn’t end. This is because people will always have obligations to pay the bills, to put the food on the table and to simply enjoy a good weekend doesn’t end too.

So how will it be possible for anybody to get out of the rat race of working 8 hours a day? How will it be possible to simply just have the money that can sustain the lifestyle one would like to have and go on with life with the expectations of still being able to receive continuous income in the bank?

The answer basically lies with being able to create wealth for oneself not solely on the basis of becoming an employee and receive a paycheck continuously but simply by being able to have income coming in the bank without necessarily working for it on an hourly basis.

This is what we call residual income. Residual income, also what we call passive income generates income for a person thru his assets. These assets can be in a form of real-estate properties that returns rental income. Shares of stock in a blue chip company that consistently returns back dividends is also a way to earn residual income. This is also true for mutual fund shares that consistently return earnings to the fund owners from the funds’ investments.

The process of switching from a lifestyle funded by earned income from a job to a lifestyle funded by residual income generated from a person’s established assets will be the challenge for anybody who’s currently tied up in the rat race cycle. Being able to save enough money or capitalize on a person’s talents and skills in order to bring in income consistently without him returning back to work for good is the process towards financial independence.

People who have capitalized on their talents and skills and have settled down towards financial independence are those who have maximized their residual income potential. Songwriters for example may only need to write just a few songs that will make it big on the MTV or Billboard charts that will consistently sell out record sales for a lifetime will have residual income by earning royalties for every song they wrote that is played in the radio or sold in record stores.

Entrepreneurs or successful businessmen that started their business and capitalized on their business ideas that have taken off towards success can expect consistent profits from their businesses. They’ll just need to hire effective managers and people that will continue to run their businesses for them and they can just expect their businesses to grow and receive profits from their business operations.

Why residual income is better than all sources of income? Its because it allows anybody who has initially capitalized on his efforts to plant his seeds on business ideas, artistic talents, or investment strategies regardless of his family background, education, age, or even career background. Residual income allows financial stability and freedom without the need to be back at the office the next working day again and simply enjoy the free time to devote it on their love ones or on the things that they’ve always wanted to do in life.

About the Author

Daegan Smith is the leader of the fastest growing team of successful home business enterpernuers on the net. Find out how we’re creating financial freedom all across the globe and how to get in on the action FREE at http://www.comlev.net

There are so many great and unique baby shower gifts out there that it is easy to find something that is popular and will be a lot of fun for the mother to be or the baby. Don’t go with a simple store bought mass produced boring baby shower gift. Instead follow the advice and ideas below and have a wonderful unique baby shower gift that will be cherished for years to come. Below you will find some of the most popular ideas for unique baby shower gifts for 2006. Any of them would make a great gift and can easily be purchased in many stores or online.

Name a Train - These are a lot of fun! They are an alphabet train containing the letters of the baby’s name. They are typically brightly colored and come with magnets to connect them together. They make wonderful items to display in the babies room when they are first born and something that can be a lot of fun to play with as they get older.

Personalized Blanket - You can easily purchase a blanket with the babies name or photographer (if the baby is already born) on it. What a wonderful way to provide a very useful and unique item.

Announcement Plates - These are plates that can be personalized with the babies information such as birth date, name and even a picture of the newborn. If the baby has not been born yet purchase a gift certificate that can be redeemed for a personalized baby announcement plate. These can even be eaten off of although they make much better display items.

Music CD - this is not to say the most recent hottest band that maybe the dad likes but instead some type of soothing classical or natural music. It is a proven fact that babies respond very well to music. It can increase their intelligence, creativity and make them more rested and peaceful. So why not find some beautiful soothing music that can be listened to by baby and mother alike.

Piggy Bank - This is a fun idea that can also be personalized with the babies name written on the outside. A piggy bank is a very caring and useful gift that encourages both parents and children to save money early. If you save only a dollar a day for the first thirty years of their lives they would be millionaires by 30. What a wonderful thought! Encourage good money management habits early by giving a piggy bank. Plus little kids love them!

Personalized Name Frames - These can be another fun item that can be personalized if the baby’s name is already known or purchased and giving using a gift certificate if the name is unknown. This is a beautiful picture frame with a poem or little writing about the significance of the baby’s name historically.

There are so many choices for unique baby shower gifts and these are just a few of the more popular ideas. You will notice that many of the popular ideas include some amount of personalization and or customization. These are two themes that are very popular throughout our culture right now and anything that can be changed, personalized or customized has become incredibly popular. So this is just something to think about as you are out shopping for your own unique baby shower gift.

About the Author

Sam Smith is the webmaster ofBaby Shower Guides.  A great resource for: Unique Baby Shower Gifts

I think it’s time to set the record straight on an important misconception about biorhythms. Just over thirty years of experience with biorhythms has taught me that using biorhythms alone to predict compatibility is impossible.

In my experience, biorhythms don’t measure compatibility. They measure energy patterns and energy dynamics in relationships. The more compatible a couple’s biorhythms, the more dynamic their relationship is likely to be… either good or bad.

Let’s use a mind problem to illustrate this point. Every woman who was born on the same day as Stalin would have the same biorhythms as him. And therefore all the biorhythm programs would score their compatibility as 100%. Without going into a lot of detail, I think reasonable people would agree that not all of the women in the world born on 12/21/1879 would be able to “live happily ever after” in a romantic relationship with the guy. And by the same token, not all of the men in the world who were born on the same day as Mother Theresa would be able to find marital bliss with her (had she wanted to marry)… not even all of the good guys and certainly very few of the really bad ones.

What biorhythmic compatibility does accurately measure is the energetic potential of the relationship. It’s like biorhythms can predict the dynamic volume range of the music two people make in their relationship. But biorhythmic compatibility can not and does not predict the choice of songs the couple will choose to sing or the quality of their music.

So in addition to consulting biorhythms, any valid determination of relationship compatibility must also include personality compatibility, compatibility of major life goals, compatible and/or similar interests and favorite activities, etc.

In fact, it is these “other” factors that determine compatibility… biorhythms only predict the energetic amplitude at which the relationship plays itself out. Returning to Stalin as an example, let’s assume that Stalin was a “bad” guy. Let’s also use our imagination to hypothesize that 100 “good” women somehow got tricked into marrying him. Because he is bad and all of them are good, we know that all the relationships would fail… but at different rates. Those women who had 0% biorhythmic compatibility with this man might take two weeks to kill him in his sleep. Those with 100% biorhythmic compatibility would finish him off in two days (smile).

More compatible biorhythms, in effect, turn up the volume on relationships… they push the accelerator further toward the floor… they get the relationship to where it is already destined to go faster and with more intensity.

There is another important factor in determining the potential for success of a relationship… simple energetic preference. There are many people in the world who want something completely different from the rest of us in a relationship. Some people just don’t want fireworks and magic in their relationships. Some people want a relationship that feels like they married their brother, sister or best friend. Some people want safety, predictability and even a little boredom in their relationships.

Personally, I can’t fathom that. I’m still looking for the 98% biorhythmic ‘compatible’ relationship. But I have to wish for even more than that match. I have to hope that the 98% person I find will be an intensity freak like me. Otherwise the relationship will blow up in our faces because it is too intense for them. It could be the best relationship of either of our lives, but if the energy and intensity exceed either partner’s energetic capacity, they will begin to feel they are out of control and run like the wind away from the relationship… no matter how good. Actually, some relationships are too good for some people. And as crazy as that sounds some or even many people are more comfortable with boredom or even conflict than they are with the heights of happiness and passion.

So what are biorhythms best used for? …to help you learn about your own energy patterns and preferences, and what you are looking for energetically in a partner. You won’t know if you want a relationship with a 100% biorhythm-compatible partner until you actually meet someone close to that and see how you actually like that level of energy in the relationship. Once you know at what ‘volume’ you like your relationships played, you can then begin looking for that intensity level in a person whose personality, interests and life goals are also compatible with your own. And may you live happily ever after!

Other useful articles about biorhythms may be found on www.whitestranger.com

About the Author

Vern Goldsmith Goldsmith Communications Company

Source: White Stranger Group

Natural Biorhythms is a powerful, easy-to-use application ideal for making personal forecasts. Knowing your biorhythms, you can be sure about what to expect from each day in order to succeed at sports, dating, business, negotiations, exams, or job interviews. http://www.whitestranger.com - Natural Biorhythms Calculator

The maturation of multi-channel commerce

More and more retailers are realizing the benefits of multi-channel retailing. Leveraging brand equity in multiple touchpoints has been proven to drive loyalty and interaction among consumers. With trends clearly showing the Internet as the core component to pre-purchase research, brick and mortar brands can ill-afford to take a wait and see approach as it relates to core multi-channel offerings.

Three core enhancements must be executed flawlessly to have true multi-channel integration:

* In-store associate kiosks

Leveraging the eCommerce store within an in-store environment solves fundamental out of stock situations, provides a new channel for up/cross selling, and maximizes profitability per square foot.

* In-store pickup

Incorporating buy online and pickup in-store functionality eliminates the barrier of shipping in the online sales equation. With shipping costs being the number one driver to why shoppers choose to not purchase online - this initiative help reduce key customer based purchase inhibitors while drive incremental sales in-store traffic. The solution also provides added convenience and satisfaction to the consumer, as they no longer have to wait to receive their merchandise.

* In-store returns

Returning products that were bought online, in-store, can bring many back-end technology bottlenecks to the radar screen. Forward thinking retailers must accurately map their order processing and inventory data to empower service associates with the data they need to reconcile and close the transaction efficiently at the POS.

Slow processing and a poor return experience will virtually erode a consumer relationship that was costly to start and maintain.

Getting your organization on board with change

Convincing company executives that these initiatives deliver ROI may be challenging, but that challenge pales in comparison to what is faced in your store network. The perspective change within the rank and file employees in your organization will prove to be your most daunting task as it relates to these initiatives.

Within all three of the solutions above, the web transaction integrates with the physical store. The store is the final piece of the puzzle in all three scenarios, making it the most crucial element to deliver a proper transaction. If your employees do not execute properly on this level, the result will be an un-utilized solution, or even worse, a customer perspective that your employees are incompetent.

The key is getting your employees aligned with multi-channel change. This happens by driving two key operational strategies in conjunction with a multi-channel technology solution.

* Training

Store managers must take the lead in understanding multi-channel solutions, while leading efforts to replicate this knowledge among customer-facing employees.

Prior to solution launch, be sure to communicate the internal and external value among the manager base, create a solution handbook for employee questions, and bring managers in to the home office for a ? day workshop to become experts right before the solution goes live.

* Incentives

Employees must feel that the web-generated order still has some benefit to them. To drive accountability, some type of carrot must be given to ensure that employees have reason to treat the web-driven transaction seriously.

Because in-store employees receive bonuses for comp sales, create some type of awards program for efficiency as it relates to in-store multi-channel solutions. Or provide a piece of all web sales, distributed on a regional basis.

Understand the dynamics of your employees - how they work and what motivates them. By closing the gaps in training and incentives, multi-channel success becomes much closer to being reality.

About the Author

Craig Smith is the founder and managing director of Trinity Insight LLC. Trinity is a consultancy that helps online retailers sell more products within the eCommerce marketplace. http://www.trinityinsight.com

Do you want to be even more successful? Learn to love learning and growth. The more effort you put into improving your skills, the bigger the payoff you will get. Realize that things will be hard at first, but the rewards will be worth it.

Many of us have to be reminded that almost everything worthwhile in our lives is hard at first. Learning to walk was hard at first, but gradually we learned and now it is effortless. The same holds true for our more advanced skills such as, sports, music, art, etc. We forget these past struggles to learn and take them for granted now.

When most people begin to try something for the first time, it usually doesn?t turn out particularly well. It doesn?t mean we are bad, or stupid, or anything like that, it just means that most things of any complexity take awhile to learn.

Given this, the surprising thing is how most people react when they begin to learn a new skill and it does not go well. Most people at that point feel such things as surprise, anger, frustration, and so on. We forget that the expression ?beginners luck? means that doing something well at first is a fluke. We forget it isn?t supposed to be easy; it is almost against the laws of nature for something to be good at first.

So what is a more positive way to handle the difficulties we will encounter when we are learning something new? We should take the attitude that we are supposed to fail at first, that is the way the system works. We should look for a way to find fascination with the process, and build enjoyment of the ups and downs into the process. We need to recognize the difficulties we will face and build them into the time and effort we plan on expending on the project. This is one place in your life where a healthy dose of pessimism will pay off. Just planning for difficulty will take much of the negative emotions we feel in these situations away.

Lets look at another situation where we encounter difficulty at first. Almost anything involving change is very hard for us to incorporate into our lives at first. One of my favorite expressions regarding change is ?the only kind of change we like, is the change in our pocket.? Making the decision to change is easy, it is just a decision. Staying changed is hard. We want to fall back to our old ways; we are discouraged, uncomfortable and so on. One again we are learning something new and it helps to build this into our plan for change.

In addition to learning to enjoy the process as above, we can add another element to help us through learning something new or the change process. We can keep reviewing the goal we are seeking, the payoff, etc. and continually tell ourselves that the pain is temporary, but the payoff is permanent. We need to take the pain and frustration and deal with it minute by minute, telling ourselves to hang on, hang on, we can make it. Life is a series of minutes we can make it through.

Many people use visualization techniques to help them learn a new skill or deal with change. They ?daydream? or use guided imagery to see themselves going through the process of learning or change and attaining the goal. A person on a diet can see himself f becoming thinner and thinner, easing the pain and giving them the sense they can do it. The same with a new skill such as golf. They see themselves hitting the ball, in just the right way, and they see the golf ball going right where they want it. A word of caution regarding using visualization to learn a new skill. The technique is very, very powerful and you will tend to perform exactly like you visualized it, so if you visualize the wrong technique, chances are you will actually perform the wrong technique. So be very sure of the proper technique before you used visualization to help you master it.

One last point. I have stressed the need to recognize that new things will be hard to learn at first. While this ?negative? view is helpful, it must be balanced with a positive outlook for the whole project. Plan and expect problems at first, but also plan and expect that you will eventually master the situation. Planning for a positive outcome will help give you the willpower to see the situation through and enable things that are needed to move you ahead to appear when they are needed. Remember if we expect good things, we tend to get good things.

About the Author:

Edward W. Smith is the author of Sixty Seconds To Success, he produces and hosts the Bright Moment cable TV and internet radio show, is president of the Bright Moment Seminars, is a motivational speaker, and publishes the free, daily, email of the One Minute Motivator (quick peak performance tip). His website is http://www.brightmoment.com and his email is edsmith@brightmoment.com.