Failure is a Better Teacher than Success

"Failure refers to the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, and may be viewed as the opposite of success."  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Failure)

For all our efforts and our best intentions, we all fail on occasion.  Sometimes we fail miserably, and other times, not so much.

But failure is not necessarily a bad thing.  Failure is vital to the learning process, a way of filtering out what does and does not work.  For instance, you may try a new marketing technique for your business that is a total failure. You spent money on it, and it produced no new business.  So, you learned to never use that marketing technique again.  The failure was a lesson.

In business, we should explore new ideas and ways to work our businesses.  Experiment with different marketing concepts.  The experiment will either succeed or fail.  Then we move on to the next experiment, having learned from previous trials.

http://catalystmlm.com/wp-content/gallery/love-failure/love-mlm-failure-010.jpg

Using this pattern of exploring, experimenting and either succeeding or failing is a skill we need to hone.  When experimenting, if an idea is bringing no results, discontinue the trial.  As soon as you discover that what you are trying is not working, stop it immediately.  Do not keep wasting your time (and money).  

When you try something that is not successful, take time to analyze it.  Don’t just move on.  Look at what you did and why it failed.  In this way, you can examine all the components.  Perhaps part of the experiment is workable, worth using in your next trial.

I’d like to conclude with a few quotes about failure from some well known people.

“My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.”

Abraham Lincoln

"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm."

Winston Churchill

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."

Winston Churchill

"I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying."

Michael Jordan

"Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out."

Benjamin Franklin

"Success is often achieved by those who don't know that failure is inevitable."

Coco Chanel

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For Xpress Healthcare® business opportunity info, visit http://joinxpresshealthcare.com. 

For affordable discount plans to reduce your Health and Dental expenses AND reduce costs on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and even more, visit: http://ibourl.net/XpressSavings (NOT insurance). 

I invite you to visit my Facebook Page at http://ibourl.net/XpressFacebook 

Hands Up or I'll Laugh!

It seems that nearly every day we hear about someone killing a police officer or police misconduct.  I would like to “lighten up” the police stories, so here are some transcripts of recorded funny police quotes from around the country. 

"Relax; the handcuffs are tight because they're new. They'll stretch out after you wear them awhile."

"Take your hands off the car, and I'll make your birth certificate a worthless document."

"If you run, you'll only go to jail tired."

"Can you run faster than 1,200 feet per second? In case you didn't know, that is the average speed of a 9mm bullet fired from my gun."

"So you don't know how fast you were going. I guess that means I can write anything I want on the ticket, huh?"

"Yes, Sir, you can talk to the shift supervisor, but I don't think it will help. Oh ... did I mention that I am the shift supervisor?"

"Warning! You want a warning? O.K., I'm warning you not to do that again or I'll give you another ticket."

"The answer to this last question will determine whether you are drunk or not. Was Mickey Mouse a cat or a dog?"

"Fair? You want me to be fair? Listen, fair is a place where you go to ride on rides, eat cotton candy, and step in monkey do-do."

"Yeah, we have a quota. Two more tickets and my wife will get a toaster oven."

"In God we trust, all others we run through NCIC."

"Just how big were those two beers?"

"No sir we don't have quotas anymore. We used to have quotas but now we're allowed to write as many tickets as we want."

"I'm glad to hear the Chief of Police is a good personal friend of yours. At least you know someone who can post your bail."

"You didn't think we give pretty women tickets? You're right, we don't.”

http://www.sellingsalesmanship.com/police.html 

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For Xpress Healthcare® business opportunity info, visit http://joinxpresshealthcare.com. 

For affordable discount plans to reduce your Health and Dental expenses AND reduce costs on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and even more, visit: http://ibourl.net/XpressSavings (NOT insurance). 

I invite you to visit my Facebook Page at http://ibourl.net/XpressFacebook 

My Point is…

To most Westerners, acupuncture is mysterious, and many people are skeptical that it can actually do anything to relieve pain or treat health issues.  The Chinese have been using acupuncture effectively for thousands of years.

According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), the term “acupuncture” describes a family of procedures involving the stimulation of anatomical points on the body using a variety of techniques. The acupuncture technique that has been most often studied scientifically involves penetrating the skin with thin, solid, metallic needles that are manipulated by the hands or by electrical stimulation.

I have received acupuncture many times over the past 15 years or so.  I have severe osteoarthritis that affects virtually every join in my body.  A couple months ago, I had a bad fall, landing on my knees and ending up with bruises from head to two.  As a result, I have had debilitating back pain and both my knees hurt so bad that I walk with a limp.  

Having recently moved to California, I searched for and found an acupuncturist nearby.  I have received several treatments over the past three weeks or so.  It turned out that my back pain was due to inflammation of my sacroiliac joints.  My knees, particularly my right knee, may be beyond help (without surgery).

With each acupuncture treatment I had very thin, sterile needles inserted on several spots on my sacroiliac joint,  back and my right knee; I had moist heat applied, using an  hydroculator (a sort of quilted device filled with a clay-like substance used for pain management); and the acupuncturist massaged a liniment to all the sore areas. 

My back/sacroiliac joint hurts only if I do too many physical activities.  My knees now hurt much less, and the pain is no longer constant.

Scientific studies have proven that acupuncture can be used to treat a wide variety of ailments and pain.  Some doctors even use acupuncture to relieve pain during surgical procedures. Acupuncture cannot cure cancer, however, it can help to relieve the pain it causes and ease the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation.  Acupuncture can be used to treat skin diseases, psychiatric and mental disturbances, relieving angina pectoris, and a variety of heart problems. 

I am not suggesting that acupuncture is a cure-all.  Not at all.  For serious health conditions, acupuncture can be used in conjunction with traditional medical treatment, not necessarily instead of.

Many people believe it will not work, and thus think it cannot work for them.  However, believing it will work has no effect on whether or not it will be effective.  I know a veterinarian who treats horses with arthritis with acupuncture and has seen remarkable results.  The horses do not believe or disbelieve it will work.  It simply does.  

Some people are also afraid that acupuncture may be painful.  I will not tell you there is never any discomfort; however, the needles used are extremely fine, so you likely will not even feel it being inserted. The only distress I have felt is from what the needles are meant to do… activate the body’s meridian paths where qi (pronounced Chi - vital energy) and blood pool – in the same way that water might pool. This pooling can cause pain and other health issues.

If you are suffering from pain, in particular, you may want to seek an acupuncturist.  Do your homework though.  Don’t go to a chiropractor that took a six-week course in acupuncture.  Look at the provider’s background and training.  Many have four-year degrees in Oriental Medicine.

To learn more about acupuncture, you may want to check it out online.

(My company, Xpress Healthcare, offers acupuncture discounts as part of one of our discount plans, however, at this time providers are available only in major cities.)

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For Xpress Healthcare® business opportunity info, visit http://joinxpresshealthcare.com. 

For affordable discount plans to reduce your Health and Dental expenses AND reduce costs on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and even more, visit: http://ibourl.net/XpressSavings (NOT insurance). 

I invite you to visit my Facebook Page at http://ibourl.net/XpressFacebook 

Are You Popping Pills?

The price of prescription drugs continues to increase.  Some studies show that drug prices are the fastest growing chunk of consumers' healthcare expenses.

There are numerous ways to reduce your prescription drug costs.  I’ll show you a few here. 

Whenever possible avoid name brands.  Generic drugs can cut the price of a medication by as much as 70%.  When your doctor prescribes a brand name drug, ask whether there is a generic equivalent.  When the safety and effectiveness of prescription medications were examined by Best Buy Drugs (whose parent company is Consumer Reports), they found that generics are as safe and effective as brand names.

Can the medication be cut in half?  If you take prescription drugs in pill form to treat a chronic illness, you can ask your doctor to prescribe a higher dose, twice what you normally take, and split the pills in half.  Pharmacies normally charge approximately the same amount for particular medications no matter what the dose may be. 

For example, let’s use a once-a-day drug that cost you $100 for a month's supply whether you get a 100 mg or 50 mg dose. If your doctor prescribes the 50-mg pill, you will pay $100.  However, if your doctor will prescribe the 100-mg pill and instructs you to cut it in half, that same $100 bill will get you two months of your medication.  You can find pill splitters at any drug store or anywhere prescriptions are sold, and they are very inexpensive. It's crucial that you consult your doctor about pill splitting, as not all medicines can be safely divided.

Discount Prescription Cards.  There are several companies that now sell or give away free Rx cards.  My own company, Xpress Healthcare, offers Rx cards free, and they are included as part of three of our four discount benefit plans. I use my own Rx card all the time.  I take several medications, and I have “full coverage” health insurance.  A few months ago, I went to pay for one of my prescriptions with my insurance, and I was told my co-pay was $250.02 – for 1 prescription!  When I got over the shock, I asked how much it would cost using my Xpress Healthcare discount card, and the price went down to $167.85 – a savings of $82.17!  That was comparing it to my cost with insurance, so I can only imagine what a full-cash price might have been!

Store-Sponsored Prescription Programs.  Many discount stores and drug stores now offer discount drug programs.  I looked into such a program at Walgreens, and although it provided discounts, they were not as high a discount as my discount Rx card provided.  These programs may be worth taking a look at though as another option.

90-Day Prescription.  Ask your doctor to prescribe a 90-day supply on prescriptions you use for chronic conditions.  My own experience has been that I am charged for only two months when I fill a 90-day prescription, although the prescription will last three months.  This also saves you trips to the pharmacy having to go every three months instead of monthly.

Ask for Help.  Some pharmaceutical companies also provide free and low-cost medications to people who cannot afford to pay for medications. 

If you're having trouble paying for medication, let your doctor know.  He/she can provide you with options, such as financial help through patient-assistance programs for which you may qualify.

Rx Savings for Seniors.  Seniors are often on a fixed income, and they are among the biggest consumers of prescription drugs, representing about 1/3 of the prescriptions filled in the U.S. I won’t go into the various conditions that Medicare applies in regard to how they pay prescriptions for seniors.  Suffice it to say, that it is a major problem for many seniors.
The government recently provided some relief to seniors to reduce their prescription costs.

I am on Medicare myself, and in my particular situation, I find that using a discount Rx card saves me the most money on my prescriptions.  Your situation may differ, so I cannot advise you in this regard.

Simply know that if you use prescription medications, there are a variety of ways to reduce the cost, and one or more of them may be beneficial to you.

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For Xpress Healthcare® business opportunity info, visit http://joinxpresshealthcare.com. 

For affordable discount plans to reduce your Health and Dental expenses AND reduce costs on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and even more, visit: http://ibourl.net/XpressSavings (NOT insurance). 

I invite you to visit my Facebook Page at http://ibourl.net/XpressFacebook 

Who was David H. McConnell?

There may be a few of you who know his name, but I was not among them until I looked it up today.  I likely knew about him at one time, since I worked with his company many years ago.  I gleaned most of the information for this post from:  http://www.avoncompany.com/aboutavon/history/mcconnell.html.

In the 1886, it was extremely unusual for a woman to have an opportunity to become financially independent.  It was at that time, however, that David H. McConnell made it possible for women to earn money and operate their own business.

http://www.avoncompany.com/images/aboutavon/history/tn_mcconnell.jpghome

The few jobs women had in the 19^th century were usually in the area of agriculture, domestic service and manufacturing.  Women were paid only a fraction of what men could earn.  McConnell was able to improve that situation greatly for many women.

David H. McConnell was the founder of Avon, originally named the California Perfume Company.  I was an “Avon Lady” many years ago, and I have a collector’s item that says California Perfume Company on it.  

Mr. McConnell was a bookseller who sold books door-to-door.  While working in this capacity, he observed that his female customers were not especially interested in his books, but they were interested in the free perfume samples he offered to get him in the door.  He created his own perfume fragrances, which in itself was unusual.  Most of the women he encountered while selling his books were struggling financially.  From these observations, this man became a man with a dream that enabled women a chance to own their own business through an unusual method of selling that later became known as “direct selling.” 

His very first representative he recruited for his new company was Mrs. P.F.E. Albee.  From the beginning, he set the tone for his company to be family-oriented.  His positive spirit, guidance, motivational and incentive programs helped to grow the number of Avon representatives to 5,000 in only 13 years?

Today there are many companies that produce great products and help their representatives to gain financial freedom, but David H. McConnell was among the first.  Today’s Avon reps should be proud of their founder’s vision and what his company has become.

“If we stop and look over the past and then into the future, we can see that the possibilities are growing greater and greater every day; that we have scarcely begun to reach the proper results from the field we have before us.”  David H. McConnell, Avon's Founder 

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For Xpress Healthcare® business opportunity info, visit http://joinxpresshealthcare.com. 

For affordable discount plans to reduce your Health and Dental expenses AND reduce costs on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and even more, visit: http://ibourl.net/XpressSavings (NOT insurance). 

I invite you to visit my Facebook Page at http://ibourl.net/XpressFacebook 

Are You Truly Striving for Success?

Since you are reading this post, you already know that online marketing is powerful.  If you are consistently using online marketing for your business, after you have been doing it a while, you will begin generating leads who contact you! 

Attraction or Relationship Marketing is vital to generating leads.  Among the many ways to generate leads online, I find blogging to be the most effective for growing an online presence.  Each blog posted remains online forever.  It costs us nothing but time to write and post a blog.   

Here are a few other tips about home businesses and online relationship marketing.

·        Don’t “Hype” your products or opportunity or include your business in everything you post online.  When you go into “selling mode,” it is natural for people to tune you out or resist.  Let your posts tell readers about you, not only your business. 

·        Demonstrate your knowledge by including value in your posts.  Value in your posts is important because people buy from those they know, like and trust.  Prospects should see you as a leader.  If you are seeking team members, you want them to appreciate that you know what you are doing and have a vision for success.

·        Understand that most people will not join or buy your products.  Build your relationship with them anyway. You never know who they know who may be interested in our opportunity. 

·        Don’t ever give up! Entrepreneurs face challenges whatever business they are in. You may have periods when you are earning no money. It happens. As an entrepreneur, you are stepping out of the average person’s lifestyle of working 40 hours a week for 40 years.  You are working to build a better life.  Don’t procrastinate; work your business every day – even if only for 10 minutes; and never quit! 

·        Persistence is crucial.  To succeed with any business, you must be persistent, consistent and patient. It may take months or even years.  Will you resist the urge to give up after a short time because your business isn’t growing as quickly as you want?  Are you convinced that you will succeed, whether it is next week, next month or next year? 

·        Do you have an overall strategy for achieving your long term goals?  The big picture includes putting a plan into action to achieve a successful result.

·        If you are working your business only “when you have time,” you likely are not working it very much at all.  Even if you have an outside job and/or children at home, create a work schedule that establishes when you will work your business. Building a successful business takes sacrifice.  If you have to give up your favorite TV show to work your business, isn’t it worth it to reach your goals? 

We have all read blogs about building a home business, but each one has a slightly different perspective and presents them differently.  I hope that at least a couple of these tips will be useful to each of you. 

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For Xpress Healthcare® business opportunity info, visit http://joinxpresshealthcare.com. 

 

For affordable discount plans to reduce your Health and Dental expenses AND reduce costs on Hearing, Vision, Prescriptions, Roadside Assistance, Lifelock™ and even more, visit: http://ibourl.net/XpressSavings (NOT insurance).  

I invite you to visit my Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/XpressHealthcareTheWinnersCircle 

A Huge and Growing Problem

I believe that everyone today is aware of identity theft.  It is unfortunate, but many people assume that since they do not use credit or debit cards, they are safe from ID theft.  There are myriad ways that thieves can gain access to your checking or savings account records and your social security number.

One of the more recent areas where thieves are targeting identities is in medical records.  Let’s say you order a copy of your credit file.   When it arrives, you are surprised to discover that there are collection notices against you for several emergency hospital visits, with thousands of dollars unpaid.  Once you begin investigating this entry in your credit report, you find the report states that you were involved in a serious car accident and had your leg amputated after you were air lifted to a hospital for treatment.

Since you have both your legs, and you have not been involved in a traffic accident or been admitted to a hospital, you assume it was a simple error on your report. This is a typical and all-too-common example of medical identity theft.  You may make the discovery from that credit report, or a hospital may start sending you bills for treatment you never had.  You may be contacted by the hospital or police who tell you that they believe you are a potential victim of a fraud they are investigation.   

Medical records are exposed to theft via the internet in ever increasing numbers; therefore, medical fraud is quite simple for a thief to commit.  The fraud may go undetected for months or even years.  More medical records are also being digitalized and shared with health care providers, health insurance companies and consumers, making them more vulnerable to theft.  How about your medical chart? Are the charts in the receptionist’s office within easy reach of anyone?

It’s not just about the health insurance and health service options, but it’s also about ensuring patient medical records are accurate and shared only with authorized people, and that health services and charges are applied to the rightful account owner.

Prescribing the wrong medication to a patient based on fraudulent medical records can cause death in which case the impact of medical identity theft is irreversible.  How can doctors and hospitals reconcile a patient’s past and recorded information with the identity thief’s medical information acquired with a recent blood analysis even after a case of medical identity theft is detected?  As you can see, the impact of the health identity theft is huge to the victim’s life, privacy and financial losses.

In general, consumers have more protection against credit identity theft than medical identity fraud. If a consumer discovers credit identity theft promptly after it is committed, they can notify their banks, credit card companies, the FCC and the police. The victims seldom are responsible to pay more than $50 no matter how much was actually stolen. 

With medical identity theft, the identity theft victim whose social security number appears on the record is responsible for paying the fraud charges.  Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Medical privacy laws in place to protect consumers, there is only limited protection against medical fraud.  Unfortunately, HIPAA also equally protects the identity thief when the personal information of both the thief and the victim are combined.  When the thief receives medical care using your name and medical records, your records are then updated with the thief’s medical information. So, not only can this commingling be detrimental to your life during your future doctor visits, you also may be prohibited from separating your records from those of the thief, because the thief is also protected by HIPAA. 

Medical identity theft is more difficult to track, because only a name and social security is necessary to receive medical care in most cases. It is, therefore, critical for you to monitor your credit report.  If you detect possible medical identity fraud, immediately contact your health insurance company, the health service provider and the credit reporting agencies. In addition, file a police report to document your case, and inform all parties that you are a victim of identity theft. 

With all this information, I hope all readers can now recognize the importance of having an Identity Theft Protection Plan in place to monitor your records for you.  They will detect fraudulent activity before you do.

Do you still believe having no credit or debit cards protects you from ID Theft?  I personally recommend that you join the LifeLock® Identity Theft Protection Plan through Xpress Healthcare® for two reasons: 

     1)     LifeLock®  has years of proven excellent service, and it provides the best monitoring services; and

     2)     Joining LifeLock®  through Xpress Healthcare® costs you less ($20 per month, per FAMILY), and along with LifeLock®  services, at no extra charge, you will also receive a Roadside Assistance program, discounted pet care services and products and discounted legal services (9 of the most common services are free!)      

     3)     To join LifeLock®  through Xpress Healthcare, visit http://ibourl.net/EverydaySavings                                                                                                                                                           

Whether you join LifeLock® through Xpress Healthcare® or join another ID Theft Protection company, don’t wait!  Get the protection you need today!