The Wealth Curve

"Profits are Better than Wages"… Jim Rohn

Why Does The Tech Industry Produce So Many Young Tycoons?

When Steve Jobs And Bill Gates Got Rich

Please leave a comment, I would love to hear your thoughts!

It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.

“Profits are better than wages”… Jim Rohn

Hank Jennings

C.E.O., H&H Diversified Solutions LLC.

If interested in International or Domestic business opportunities please contact me @ facebook.com/hank.jennings or call 24 hours a day @ 404-935-0395

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Aphrodisiacs Can Liven Up Your Love Life Eat Your Way To A Spicier Sex Life

Eat Your Way to a Spicier Sex Life

These reputed aphrodisiacs may liven up your love life.

By Elizabeth M. Ward, MS, RD

Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD

Your love life is lacking, and you’re tempted to try certain foods to reignite the spark. Edible aphrodisiacs can turn up the heat in more ways than one.

“For centuries, the smell, taste, and appearance of food has been touted as passion-producing,” says Sari Greaves, RD, spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association and co-author of the Cardiac Recovery Cookbook.

Some foods are reputed to strip away inhibitions. Others claim to put you in the mood for lovemaking, and still others boast of improving blood flow to your genitals, enhancing performance and pleasure.

There’s more folklore than scientific proof to substantiate the link between food and passionate sex. But that’s no reason why you and your partner should shy away from these so-called natural love potions.

It’s a win-win situation. The most notorious food aphrodisiacs are a treasure trove of nutrients necessary for sexual prowess and good health.

Sexually Suggestive Fruits and Vegetables

Some people find produce erotic. Bananas, asparagus, cucumbers and carrots speak for themselves on that score.

Avocados, Greaves says, were prized by the Aztecs, who called them “testicle trees” because they grow in pairs. Ancient Greeks and Romans feasted on figs to promote potency.  And let’s not forget pomegranates, also known as “love apples.”

Those ancient civilizations were on to something. Fruits and vegetables are loaded with vitamins and minerals required to produce sex hormones necessary for sexual arousal and pleasure.

Honey

Ever wonder where the term “honeymoon” came from?

Centuries ago, newlyweds in Europe drank honey wine during the first month of marriage to improve their sexual stamina. As a bonus, the long-ago lovebirds also got small amounts of beneficial vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants from honey.

Chocolate

The Aztec emperor Montezuma’s chocolate consumption is legendary. Rumor has it that he drank 50 glasses of honey-sweetened chocolate a day in the name of virility.

Perhaps Montezuma valued chocolate for its feel-good qualities, too.  Cocoa beans contain phenylethamine, a compound that triggers the release of endorphins, compounds associated with pleasure.

Nowadays, cocoa powder processed without alkaline provides the biggest bang for the buck. It contains the highest levels of the antioxidants associated with lower blood cholesterol levels, reduced inflammation in blood vessels, and maximum blood flow. Darker chocolate contains more cocoa powder.

Oysters

Oysters are dripping with dopamine, a compound that stirs feelings of sexual desire, and pleasure. These mollusks are also bursting with zinc, a mineral that fosters the production of testosterone, necessary for arousal and pleasure in men and women.

You may need to resist the temptation to ply your paramour with raw oysters – your romantic interlude could end with a severe case of food poisoning. Most raw oysters in the U.S. carry a bacterium called Vibrio vulnificus.  Healthy people are unlikely to have adverse affects from eating raw oysters, but those with diabetes, liver disease, immune systems disorders, AIDS, and other chronic diseases can end up with a severe infection that may be fatal.

Salmon

You can’t get down when you’re uptight. Eating salmon can help brighten your disposition.

“Salmon harbors an abundance of omega-3 fats, which qualifies it as a natural mood booster,” says Susan Kleiner, PhD, RD, author of The Good Mood Diet: Feel Great While You Lose Weight.

Salmon also supplies large amounts of vitamin D.  Researchers at the University of Toronto have found that vitamin D appears to work in the brain like many antidepressantmedications do: by raising levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that induces feelings of calm and banishes bad moods.

Garlic

Rich in antioxidants that protect against cell damage, garlic is said to stir sexual desire and increase blood flow, says Greaves.

Just be sure to eat as much as your bed partner, as the effects of garlic can linger on your breath for hours.

Alcohol

Nothing says seduction like popping the cork on the best bottle of bubbly money can buy, if that’s what you enjoy.

A drink a day may help reduce the risk of heart disease in healthy people, but more than that may turn your tryst into a snooze fest.

Alcohol is a central nervous system downer.  Chronic drinking is linked to erectile dysfunction, which will put a damper on lovemaking.

The Couple that Eats Together, Sleeps Together?

If you enjoy foods with a reputation for making you hot to trot, you may be thinking about whipping up meals that will knock your socks off, and your partner’s.

“A delicious meal can be a prelude to sex,” Kleiner says.

The act of cooking together can be a form of foreplay, and the smell of food can ignite intimacy, too.

According to Greaves, research has shown that the aroma of pumpkin pie, cheese pizza, and buttered popcorn induced blood flow to the penis, and the combination of pumpkin pie and lavender did the best job.  Women, on the other hand, responded to a combination of Good & Plenty and cucumber.

The smell of vanilla is particularly alluring.  “Add vanilla extract to whole grain French toast or drop a vanilla bean into your champagne,” she recommends.

If you’re not interested in any of the foods with a reputation for enhancing your love life, are you doomed to a lust-free existence? Not at all.

What matters most is that you and your partner dine on meals that include foods that you both enjoy, as long as you don’t overeat or drink yourself into a stupor, Kleiner says. She puts it this way: “What you eat on a daily basis is far more important to overall sexual satisfaction that a single meal.”
Good Health, the Ultimate Aphrodisiac

In the long run, peak physical and emotional well-being is key to a satisfying sex life.

“If you want better sex, take care of your health,” advises Judith Reichman, MD, author of I’m Not In the Mood: What Every Woman Should Know About Improving Her Libido.
Good Health, the Ultimate Aphrodisiac continued…

You don’t need to be model-thin to have a wonderful sex life, but if you’re uncomfortable with your weight, you may not be at your best in the bedroom for a few reasons.

“Being overweight may deflate your libido, especially if you don’t feel attractive,” says Kleiner.

Extra body fat raises the specter of elevated blood glucose levels that can damage the blood vessels and nerves that allow for arousal and sexual pleasure.  It also increases the risk for high blood pressure and clogged arteries.

Clear, flexible arteries allow maximum blood flow to all the right places during sex, enhancing your pleasure.

A balanced diet rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and other lean protein foods helps to control your blood pressure, blood cholesterol levels, and your weight.

But don’t cut too many calories.

According to Reichman, upon menopause, women lose 90% of their circulating estrogen, which may result in less blood flowing to the genitals and diminished capacity for arousal.  Body fat offers some protection, because, like your ovaries, it produces estrogen.

Whatever your weight, exercise may help to ignite your love life by improving circulation, managing blood pressure, increasing energy levels, and helping you to look better, which can have a positive effect on your sex life.

Please leave a comment, I would love to hear your thoughts!

It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.

“Profits are better than wages”… Jim Rohn

Hank Jennings

C.E.O., H&H Diversified Solutions LLC.

If interested in International or Domestic business opportunities please contact me @ facebook.com/hank.jennings or call 24 hours a day @ 404-935-0395

Buy Video Phone Now <- Buy One Now, click here!!!!

The Hottest International Blog The WealthCurve

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Many Employers Don’t See It As Their Responsibility To Make Sure Their Workers Are On Track To A Secure Retirement.

Reality sinks in for 401(k) investors — and providers

by Penelope Wang

It’s taken a few years, but Americans are finally giving up on the dream of an early retirement. A new poll by the Gallup organization found that for the first time more Americans say they will work longer than age 65, rather than call it quits in their 50s or early 60s.

The change is dramatic. More than a third of those surveyed said they would retire after 65, compared with just 12% in 1995, which was the first year Gallup began asking that question. Some 29% still intend to retire before age 65, but that percentage has dwindled from a high of 50% in 1996. Another 27% said they would retire at age 65.

Clearly, the financial setbacks from the market crash and  recession are forcing Americans to realize they need to work longer. Also playing a role: the higher age limit for claiming full Social Security benefits — at least 66 for those born between 1943 and 1954, rising to 67 for those born in 1960 or later. Still, as another Gallup poll found, more Americans are counting on Social Security as their main source of income than before — some 34% vs. 27% in 2007.

Given the modest level of income that Social Security provides, however, the majority of workers continue to rely on their employer plans for retirement security. Some 45% of those surveyed expect their 401(k) plan or IRAs to be their biggest source of income when they call it a career — but that’s down from 52% in 2007.

As critics have long pointed out, 401(k) plans, whose returns depend largely on the whims of the stock market, need major reforms to make them effective for retirement savings. That’s something even 401(k) providers are beginning to acknowledge. A newly released study by Wells Fargo found that employers have been slow to take full responsibility in helping their workers achieve a financial secure retirement.

Only 45% of employers surveyed by Wells Fargo said that the “primary” goal of offering a retirement plan is to “provide employees with the means to achieve a financially sound retirement.” Instead, the majority (51%) say the main reason for offering the plan is “provide competitive benefits to attract and retain employees.”

When asked about “the greatest challenge and concern” facing their plans, only 19% of employers answered “providing employees with the financial ability to retire.” By contrast, some 26% cited market volatility’s effect on account balances.

The people at Wells Fargo see retirement as a shared responsibility between individuals, employers and the government. And they think that all parties can do more to ensure its success.

“Many employers don’t see it as their responsibility to make sure their workers are on track to a secure retirement,” said Laurie Nordquist, director of Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust, in a recent interview. “And many also are concerned about legal gray areas in what they can offer in terms of advice and guidance.”

Nordquist, along with fellow Wells Fargo director Joe Ready, say that Washington could make a few key reforms that would motivate employers to improve their plans. Among them: offering clear rules permitting advice in 401(k) plans (proposals for permitting advice have been bottled up in Washington), encouraging guaranteed income options at retirement, and providing a tax break for employers on matching contributions.

Are you planning to retire later than age 65? And what changes in your 401(k) might help you retire sooner? Let us know in the comments section below.

Please leave a comment, I would love to hear your thoughts!

It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.

“Profits are better than wages”… Jim Rohn

Hank Jennings

C.E.O., H&H Diversified Solutions LLC.

If interested in International or Domestic business opportunities please contact me @ facebook.com/hank.jennings or call 24 hours a day @ 404-935-0395

Buy Video Phone Now <- Buy One Now, click here!!!!

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One in Eight To Cut Cable and Satellite TV in 2010… It’s Going To Become Harder To Sell Pay TV To Anyone Under 30

One in eight to cut cable and satellite TV in 2010

By David Goldman

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Despite rising cable and satellite TV prices and easy access to streaming TV and movies on the Internet, few consumers have cut the cord. But that looks like it’s about to change.

One in eight consumers will eliminate or scale back their cable, satellite or other pay-TV service this year, according to a new study released this week by Yankee Group.

The study, which was the result of a survey of pay-TV operators and more than 6,000 U.S. consumers, found that many will choose to drop premium channels or cut their service down to a basic package, while others will choose to cut off their service completely.

A cutting-the-cord trend has been the subject of speculation for some time, as networks have increasingly made television programming available for free on the Internet. But a combination of other factors, including a growing number of battles between cable companies and networks, soaring Internet video viewings and an increase in connected TVs and devices, suggest the trend is finally upon us.

“Admittedly, this is a small phenomenon now, but a number or recent transactions and new items point to a shift in consumer thinking,” said Vince Vittore, analyst at Yankee Group and author of the study.

Going without cable or satellite is unthinkable to many Americans — just over 90% of U.S. households subscribe to some form of pay TV. But just as mobile phones have replaced many customers’ land-line service, Vittore said on-demand Internet video will soon whittle that 90% figure down.

The biggest reason why customers will cut the cord, according to the study, is the growing cost of pay-TV service. Cable and satellite viewers pay an average of $71 per month, and they receive an average annual price hike of 5%, according to research firm Centris.

That annual price jump could be even higher if battles between pay-TV operators and networks continue.

Broadcasters like ABC, CBS (CBS, Fortune 500), Fox and NBC have traditionally cost cable and satellite providers nothing to retransmit, since they are offered for free over the air anyway. But lately, broadcast television networks have demanded — and have received — fees for their programming comparable to what cable networks like TBS, E!, MTV and Comedy Central have been charging.

Recently, Time Warner Cable (TWC) and the Fox Network, Cablevision and Disney (DIS, Fortune 500), and Sunflower Broadband and Hearst-Argyle Television have had high-profile spats, which have all resulted in significantly higher fees.

Ultimately, those fees get passed onto subscribers.

Vittore said that higher costs will ultimately drive more consumers to cut their pay-TV service — especially for non-sports fans.

Though more live sports are becoming available over the Internet, namely CBS’s coverage of the NCAA basketball tournament, ESPN3.com and packages like MLB TV, most sports are still watched on television. And since sports programming makes up as much as 50% of a pay-TV provider’s costs, customers who are not sports fans are essentially paying half of their cable or satellite bill on channels in which they have no interest.

Meanwhile, free or cheap alternatives to pay-TV subscriptions are growing wildly popular. More than 180 million U.S. viewers watched 31 billion videos on the Internet last month, according to online data tracker comScore. That’s more than double the 15 billion Internet videos that were watched at the same time last year.

Hulu, which is jointly owned by and shows programming from NBC, Disney and Fox, has more than quadrupled its viewership in the past year. U.S. viewers watched more than 1 billion free TV programs or movies on Hulu in March, up from about 250 million a year earlier, comScore said. That’s nearly 27 videos per viewer, up from under 15 videos last year.

What’s more telling is how much Hulu people watch. Viewers tuned into Hulu for an average of 2.6 hours in March, up a full hour from a year earlier.

Netflix’s streaming service is rapidly gaining ground as well. The company said last week that 55% of its users watched at least 15 minutes of streaming video in the first quarter. Netflix (NFLX) has grown its customer base by 35% over the past year, and recently raised its 2010 subscriber forecasts by 1 million customers.

Until recently, people had been watching Hulu and Netflix almost exclusively on their computers — not the most desirable replacement for pay-TV service. But more devices are coming pre-installed with Netflix or Internet connections, so people can stream videos right onto their televisions.

Netflix is now available on a handful of TVs, just about any Blu-ray player, and all three major video game devices — the Nintendo Wii, the Sony (SNE) PlayStation, and the Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) Xbox — which appear in 43% of U.S. households. A growing number of new HDTVs are also Internet ready, and according to a study released this week by Nielsen, TV purchases are up by their largest amount since 2006.

Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) and Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500) are also expected to launch streaming video devices this year.

“This is the key part of the equation,” said Vittore. “Not just are these devices connected to the Internet, but they’re coming prepackaged with the capability to connect to rich video sources. That really becomes a competitor to pay TV service.”

Since the easiest devices to connect to the Internet tend to be video game consoles, and they tend to be owned by 18-34 year olds, Yankee Group expects that will be the group to cut their cords first.

“Just like with telephone land lines, it’s going to become hard to sell pay TV to anyone under 30,” Vittore said. 

Please leave a comment, I would love to hear your thoughts!

It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.

“Profits are better than wages”… Jim Rohn

Hank Jennings

C.E.O., H&H Diversified Solutions LLC.

If interested in International or Domestic business opportunities please contact me @ facebook.com/hank.jennings or call 24 hours a day @ 404-935-0395

Buy Video Phone Now <- Buy One Now, click here!!!!

The Hottest International Blog The WealthCurve

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How We Became White People. By Christian Lander author of the book “Stuff White People Like” …a very funny book

How We Became White People

By Christian Lander

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

* Christian Lander checked the “white” box on the 2010 census form, but says it’s complicated
* He’s an immigrant (Canada), but has access to historical advantages of “white” box
* Popular myth of U.S. immigration doesn’t include discrimination against non-whites, he says
* Lander: Census should remind us that America is moving away from a “white” box majority

Editor’s note: America’s 300 million-plus people are declaring their identity in the 2010 census. This piece is part of a special series on CNN.com in which people describe how they see their own identity. Christian Lander is a writer living in Los Angeles. His book “Stuff White People Like” is published by Random House.

(CNN) — I am white. I know that’s a terribly big surprise, considering that I write a blog called Stuff White People Like, but I mean it, I’m white.

Like really white.

I’m not attempting to assert some sort of superiority through my whiteness; quite the opposite actually. Thanks to my liberal upbringing, I am imbued with the appropriate amount of guilt and shame about my ancestors and their actions in the New World.

Even in my home, I can’t offer a blanket to a nonwhite friend without the fear that they will look at me and say “no smallpox on this right?” A joke, but I still want to apologize.

I’m a white male. I belong to a group that pretty much always been able to own land and to vote. I’m more or less from the kind that grabbed power somewhere after the fall of Rome and never let go. In other words, I’m the kind of white guy that has never experienced any real oppression.

Although I guess my ancestors technically left England because of some religious persecution and in spite of a rough boat ride and a rough first Thanksgiving, it’s safe to say it worked out pretty well. Unless you got one of those aforementioned blankets.

But in addition to being white and having ancestors on the Mayflower, I’m also Canadian. Yes, I know that might actually make me more white than before, but it also technically makes me an immigrant to this country.

Still, I am loath to call myself an immigrant because I don’t want to demean the very real, very difficult challenges faced by immigrants to this country who have had to overcome differences in language, culture and distance from their families. I would say my biggest hardship has been trying to find Ketchup Chips.

But in the eyes of the U.S. government, I am an immigrant, the same as someone from China, Mexico or India. I would not be in this country had I not met my wife in graduate school, and I am thankful every day for her and the opportunity to live in the United States.

So when the census came around, I was absolutely thrilled. I’ve lived in the United States for eight years (four of them as a graduate student), and in that time, I have never been able to vote or access any public services. The census meant I was going to be counted, I was going to be a part of American history. A good part, not that blanket part.

When the form arrived, I scanned the options and quickly checked “white.” I would have checked “Canadian” but that option wasn’t anywhere to be found. There it was, I was a white American, or technically a white American Permanent Resident. But then I started thinking about what it really means to be a white American.

As long as America has been around, I would have been considered white. I would have checked the same box in the 1790 census, had my relatives decided to stay on their land instead of moving to Canada to stay loyal to the King of England. But not everyone who checked that box on the census has always been considered white. Irish, Italian, Jewish, German and Eastern European have all been considered not white. or at the very least “not American.”

All of these groups came to America amid widespread discrimination, and yet through the process of assimilation and Americanization, the status of white was slowly conferred upon them (read “The History of White People” or “How the Irish Became White” for actual, intelligent research on how this happened).

And with this new-found white status also came the status of “ethnically American.” Of course, a lot of people will say that there is no such thing as an ethnic American and that everyone who becomes a citizen is an American. And this is true to the letter of the law, but if we consider the popular perception of immigration and the American dream, to say that white skin has nothing to do with it would be complete folly.

In the popular myth, immigrants arrive as huddled masses yearning to be free and most of the women wear scarves around their head. They move to the Lower East Side or some other suitably “ethnic” community, they change a last name, they learn English and within one generation they are welcomed into the country as ethnic Americans and granted that wonderful privilege of checking the white box on the census.

The reality is that America has a long history of welcoming immigrants who will never be able to check that white box on the census, and unfortunately that means America also has a long history of discrimination against those people regardless of their status in the country. Just one example would be the treatment of Japanese-Americans during World War II contrasted against the treatment of German-Americans.

But all of that was in the past right? Well, ask yourself this: Who is more likely to get pulled over and forced to show his papers in Arizona today? A first generation Canadian immigrant, or a 10th generation Mexican-American?

What I hope this census will force the country to deal with is the fact that white immigrants like me will never again make up the majority of people that come to this country. America is not getting whiter, it will never get whiter. Well, unless we start handing those blankets out again.

Stuff White People Like –> http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Christian Lander.

The 25 Top-Earning Hedge Fund Managers Made a Record $25.3 billion in 2009

I am in the wrong business!

Hedge fund manager paycheck: $4 billion

By Ben Rooney

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — After plunging during the financial crisis, the income of top hedge fund managers surged in 2009 to a record high as financial markets recovered from historic lows, according to a new survey published.

Altogether, the 25 top-earning hedge fund managers made a record $25.3 billion last year, according to rankings in AR: Absolute Return+Alpha, a magazine dedicated to the hedge fund industry.

The highest paid manager on the list was David Tepper of Appaloosa Management, who made $4 billion last year on investments in the financial sector.

“There was a lot of investing in bank stocks last year,” said Michelle Celarier, editor of Absolute Return+Alpha, adding that Tepper braved the sector at a time when most investors were rattled by fears of a financial collapse.

George Soros, a Hungarian-born investor who made his name in the currency market, had the second largest annual income at $3.3 billion.

The top earner in last year’s list, James Simons of Renaissance Technologies, came in third with a $2.5 billion payday.

John Paulson of John Paulson & Co., who made billions in 2007 betting against the housing market, took home $2.3 billion.

All told, last year was the best year since 2007, when the top managers brought in $22.3 billion, which was the previous all-time high in the nine year history of the survey.

The performance also marked a dramatic comeback from the beating managers took during the financial crisis. In 2008, top managers pay fell nearly 50% to $11.6 billion as global financial markets erupted in turmoil and credit evaporated.

After bottoming a 12-year low in March, however, the stock market staged a powerful rally in 2009 as investors bet the economy was poised to emerge from one of the worst recessions on record.

“The hedge funds that survived 2008 were able to capture the gains on the way up in 2009,” said Nadia Papagiannis, a hedge fund analyst at Morningstar. Hedge fund returns rose 19.6% last year, she said, compared with a loss of 22% in 2008.

In addition to market gains, many of the top earners ran funds that avoided major losses during the crisis, she said. Those funds that stayed above the “high water mark” between profits and losses were able to charge fees of up to 20%, while funds that fell below could only charge 2% last year.

However, the outlook for the hedge fund industry is mixed, with many investors moving to the sidelines to await more confirmation that the economy has fully recovered.

As of February, hedge fund returns tracked by Morningstar were down 1%.

“This year is not going to be as lucrative as last year,” Papagiannis said. “There’s not enough of room for another rally as big as we saw in ’09.”

Please leave a comment, I would love to hear your thoughts!

It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.

“Profits are better than wages”… Jim Rohn

Hank Jennings

C.E.O., H&H Diversified Solutions LLC.

If interested in International or Domestic business opportunities please contact me @ facebook.com/hank.jennings or call 24 hours a day @ 404-935-0395

Buy Video Phone Now <- Buy One Now, click here!!!!

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Coming Across As The Old Guy (or Girl) At Work Can Cost You When It Comes To Raises, Promotions, and Layoffs.

How to age-proof your career

By Dan Kadlec

For work purposes, Marcia Noyes, 49, a marketing and public relations manager at tech company Healthagen, recently got an iPod Touch.

(Money Magazine) — At a company golf outing a few years ago, Michael Levine tried to rattle his 24-year-old colleague as he was about to putt by stealing a line from the 1980 movie “Caddyshack:” “Noonan!” he yelled, just as the caddies in the film did to disrupt a character on the green.

The joke fell flat — painfully flat. The young man had never seen the movie; heck, he’d barely heard of it. “He looked at me like I was nuts,” says Levine, who’s now 44 and works as a private investor. “We started talking about movies, and I couldn’t believe that he hadn’t seen “Star Wars “or “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” I felt ancient.”

Coming across as the old guy (or gal) at work can cost you when it comes to raises, promotions, and layoffs. These three show how to anti-age yourself in the workplace.

There’s no upside to appearing stale — much less ancient — in today’s workforce, where job security is as elusive as the gophers Bill Murray stalked in “Caddyshack.” Even if there’s no risk of losing your job, looking like a fuddy-duddy could sabotage your chances of getting a raise or promotion.

Sure, many companies value older workers for their institutional knowledge, industry expertise, and mentoring capacity. But you can’t rest on those laurels in a rapidly changing workplace.
0:00 /4:00Surviving a long-term job search

Far more than pop culture is at play here. Young people are putting their stamp on the office with new technologies and work styles, and the changes are every bit as intractable as when boomers popularized career women and casual Fridays.

“If you can be flexible, it’s going to help,” says Robin Ryan, career coach and author of “Over 40 and You’re Hired!” Embrace more youthful ways and you’ll show you’ve still got game.

Not that it’s easy. Who’s not threatened by the facility with technology shown by younger colleagues? Who doesn’t occasionally think that previous ways of doing things were better? Who doesn’t sometimes hope to muddle through till retirement?

It’s okay to think these things — you just don’t want to be projecting them in the way you talk, dress, or do business. Watch for these signs that you’re adding to your work age.

You look old if: you think only birds tweet

When Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathan Schwartz resigned in February, he announced it not with a press release but via a “tweet.” You missed it, right? Well, you’re missing a lot more if you haven’t yet figured out Twitter; same for Facebook and LinkedIn.

Social media isn’t a flash trend, it’s part of a tech-tonic cultural shift. Increasingly such tools are being used to do business — and even to generate revenue, “so boomers need to get comfortable with them,” says workplace researcher Bruce Tulgan, co-author of Managing the Generation Mix.

“Not learning social networking is like being the aging person who never turned on the TV.” Yet while 75% of Gen Y workers have profiles on social-media sites, only 30% of boomers do, a recent Pew Research Center survey found.

The age-proofer: Become part of the Twitterati: Go to twitter.com, and sign up for an account. The point of this real-time microblogging site — which caps posts at 140 characters — is to “follow” people to see what’s making news in their worlds.

From a career POV, you want to follow thought leaders in your field. An easy way to do that is to identify a few people you really respect in your profession and see who they’re following. By reading them you’ll stay current, and by repeating — or retweeting — what you learn, your newfound edge will show.

Once you’re ready, you can post interesting things you’re doing or links to articles that got you thinking.

If you haven’t already done it, create profiles on both Facebook and LinkedIn and add “connections.”

These sites are changing the way people think of community. Spend an hour or so a week exploring the features, which are always changing. “Tell yourself that time spent being sucked into the vortex of Facebook is career development,” says Tulgan.

You look old if: you love the big meeting

Boomers came of age at a time when bosses frequently gathered staff for updates and marching orders. For a generation that logged long hours and blurred the line between work and life, those meetings also served as a pseudosocial outlet.

Younger folks aren’t biting. Their philosophy: Get the job done — and get a life. “Boomers need to understand that this is a high-tech, high-flex workforce,” says historian Neil Howe, co-author of “Millennials Rising.” Gens X and Y have eagerly engaged new tools to help them work more efficiently. (Remember, the youngest have never known life without computers or cellphones.) They embrace texting, webinars, e-mail, and wikis, all of which can supplant physical gatherings. To be in on their discussions, you’d better get in on the new communications channels.

The age-proofer: If you’re in a position to call meetings, do so judiciously. “We still have them,” says John Babinchak, 51, managing director at CBR Public Relations in Maitland, Fla. “But there aren’t as many, and they aren’t the old style, where everyone sits down with a long agenda.”

Keep ‘em short, and rely on e-mail and instant messaging to plug any gaps — young people use these methods of communication even if they’re sitting a few clicks away from one another.

Since more people are embracing flexible schedules, set up videochat — via Skype or iChat — to replace traditional gatherings. And next time you need to collaborate on a project, consider using a wiki — such as those at docs.google.com — which allows multiple parties to enter and edit text.

Becoming familiar with these technologies will pay off for you down the line. Intimidated? “You don’t have to learn any of this on your own,” says Lisa Haneberg, author of “Hip and Sage: Staying Smart, Cool and Competitive in the Workplace.” “Young people know it cold, and they’re eager to help.”

One downside to the new meeting-lite office is that digital communication lines — e-mail and text messaging — are always open. To keep up, trade your clamshell cell for a smartphone with a data plan. Their familiar QWERTY keyboards make it easier to adapt to texting and mobile e-mail.

For work purposes, Marcia Noyes, 49, a marketing and public relations manager at tech company Healthagen, recently got an iPod Touch. She now reads books, searches the web, and maintains contacts on it, and says it’s been a gateway device for her: “My next cell will be an Android smartphone,” she says.

You look old if: you called the project an “epic fail”

It sounds natural when a young person uses a trendy term. But when said by someone middle-aged, warns New York corporate recruiter Kimberly Bishop, it comes off sounding pathetic or just plain silly — especially if you misuse a term or toss it off after its moment has passed (example: “bling bling”). You’ll just remind people of your age rather than encourage them to forget. “Even as you try to stay relevant,” says Bishop, “it’s important to maintain your authenticity.”

The age-proofer: Know what the latest phrases mean — so you’re not insulted when a young colleague calls your work “sick.” But as for using them … don’t, says New York communications coach Meg Armstrong. She also advises eradicating 1980s and ’90s corporatespeak from your repertoire. A tortured buzzword like “impactful” is every bit as deadly (and dated) as calling someone “phat.”

You look old if: you’re always referencing the glory days

Among the deadliest phrases in the workplace is this one: “Let me tell you how we used to do it.” Malva Reid, 57, an HR senior director in Washington, D.C., recalls a moment recently when she regaled younger colleagues with pre-PC tales of crashing mainframe computers. “Their blank stares told me they could care less,” she says.

The consequences can be worse than putting people to sleep, however. “There is a tremendous risk for experienced workers to see everything from a dated context,” says Duncan Mathison, co-author of “Unlock the Hidden Job Market.” He says that by championing — or even mentioning — old ways, you could be seen as out of touch and intransigent.

The age-proofer: Your employer wants to see that you’re focused not on the past, but the future. Do this by showing you have a handle on emerging issues in your field — a perspective older workers often lose, Mathison says.

You can broaden your knowledge by attending industry events, taking classes, and reading trade journals, sure. But in between, ask young colleagues for the blogs they like most, and use Google Reader to track them all in one place.

Also, type your industry into Google and add “.ppt” to get a list of PowerPoint presentations — some are likely to cover hot topics in the field. Liberally drop what you learn into conversations with superiors and colleagues.

Finally, make your years of experience a plus rather than a minus; chances are good that a thorny problem vexing your younger colleagues is similar to one you’ve seen and solved a dozen times before.

So offer to help — skip the “in the good old days” wind-up and instead impress them with the logic of your position and the confidence with which you deliver it. You’ll be viewed as an asset with current value vs. an artifact.

You look old if: you don’t have coffee machine conversation

Past a certain age, it’s almost cool to not care about, say, what’s on TV or the radio. It’s all garbage anyway, right? Well, you didn’t think so in the mid-1970s when you were doubled over watching “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” or shakin’ your groove to K.C. & the Sunshine Band. Younger people don’t think so today.

“Understanding pop culture is key,” says Stephen Viscusi, author of “Bulletproof Your Job.” ” If you don’t know what’s going on, you’re dating yourself.” You’re also missing chances to build relationships. Didn’t see Snooki get snookered on “Jersey Shore?” Think Lady Gaga is a brand of baby food? You’ve got no cultural capital — a lesson Michael Levine learned the hard way when he made that “Caddyshack” joke.

The age-proofer: Knowing what younger co-workers are interested in gives you entrée to their conversations. But be strategic: Listen to what they’re talking about and DVR one or two shows. (You are granted dispensation to avoid ‘Jersey Shore.”) Alternatively, catch “The Soup” on E! on Friday night for a recap of the week’s big TV moments or read Entertainment Weekly. As for music, you may not have far to come. Howe notes that boomers and Gen Xers have a 30% overlap in iPod libraries — “and young people are learning to play Zeppelin on Guitar Hero.”

You look old if: Your fashion sense is straight out of 1989

You may have ditched the power suit years ago, but if you’re still sporting a white starched shirt, a briefcase, or a tie, you’re showing your age. At most offices, every day is casual Friday.

And while you may think your more formal choices are dapper, they don’t read that way, says communications coach Armstrong: “In the first five seconds people form 80% of their judgment of you.” If you dress like a stiff — in an office where that’s not the norm — you may be perceived as being rigid. That’s never a good rep for an older worker to have.

The age-proofer: Find the right balance. There’s nothing worse than a 50-year-old man wearing an Abercrombie shirt. But in a workplace of 20- and 30-year-olds, PR pro John Babinchak ditched his tie because it made him feel older. There’s a simple rule to follow: Look at what your boss is wearing on most days and take his or her lead. In this case, it’s better to act above your pay grade.

Please leave a comment, I would love to hear your thoughts!

It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.

“Profits are better than wages”… Jim Rohn

Hank Jennings

C.E.O., H&H Diversified Solutions LLC.

If interested in International or Domestic business opportunities please contact me @ facebook.com/hank.jennings or call 24 hours a day @ 404-935-0395

Buy Video Phone Now <- Buy One Now, click here!!!!

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Learn Why Metro Atlanta is a Fairly Affordable Home Ownership Market… www.househuntatlanta.com

Who Do You Know Interested In Buying or Selling Either Residential or Commercial Real Estate!

www.househuntatlanta.com

Atlanta housing relatively affordable
by  the Atlanta Business Chronicle

Metro Atlanta is a fairly affordable home ownership market, but it’s also a more pricey rental market, according to a new study from the Center for Housing Policy.

In 2009, Atlanta was the 104th-most expensive home ownership market out of 210 markets studied and had a median home price of $150,000. In 2008, the area was ranked 115th with a median price of $153,000.

The markets with highest median home prices were San Francisco ($625,000); San Jose, Calif. ($465,000); Honolulu ($450,000); Santa Ana, Calif. ($435,000); and Santa Cruz, Calif. ($431,000).

Click here to see the complete CHP study.

As far as the rental market, Atlanta was ranked 78th out of 210 metros with an average monthly rent of $912 for a two-bedroom unit. In 2008, Atlanta ranked 65th with a average rent of $878.

Rents rose in 89 percent of the markets studied, with only 23 metro areas experiencing a rent decrease. The markets with highest monthly rental rates were San Francisco ($1,760); Honolulu ($1,704); Santa Cruz, Calif. ($1,656); Santa Ana, Calif. ($1,594); and Suffolk County-Nassau, N.Y. ($1,592).

“While the green economy holds substantial promise as a source of higher-paying jobs, there are still many housing markets in which green economy workers cannot afford the costs of buying or renting a home,” said John K. McIlwain, senior resident fellow and the J. Ronald Terwilliger chair for housing at the Urban Land Institute, in a release.

The green economy McIlwain refers to is the one where homes and businesses are becoming more energy efficient to help produce clean and sustainable energy, a growing sector in today’s economy.

“We must develop the common sense, cost-effective policy solutions at the state and local levels that will help ensure long-term affordability for green economy workers and others,” McIlwain said. Otherwise, our work force will face longer commutes and higher transportation costs, leading to increased traffic congestions and adverse environmental impacts.”

Please leave a comment, I would love to hear your thoughts!

It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.

“Profits are better than wages”… Jim Rohn

Hank Jennings

C.E.O., H&H Diversified Solutions LLC.

If interested in International or Domestic business opportunities please contact me @ facebook.com/hank.jennings or call 24 hours a day @ 404-935-0395

Buy Video Phone Now <- Buy One Now, click here!!!!

The Hottest International Blog The WealthCurve

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It isn’t Rejection That Determines The Outcome… It’s Your Reaction to It.

Rejections and Reactions by Rubel Shelly

Rejection takes many forms. You didn’t make the team. The college you want to attend turns you down. The woman you asked out said no. You didn’t get the job. You were passed over for a promotion. Your husband left you.

Whatever form it takes, being rejected hurts. It is a blow to your ego and challenges your ability to cope. It makes you question yourself. It makes you angry. In its most extreme and painful forms, it generates self-destructive thoughts and behaviors – ranging from rage to drinking binges to suicide.

The tricky thing about rejection, though, is not to avoid it but to choose a positive way of reacting to it. After all, everybody suffers rejection. That is not meant to minimize anyone’s pain at being let go or turned down; it is simply to say that you aren’t alone. Others have lived through similar – or worse – things. The only way to avoid the risk of rejection is to fail to live, dream, or dare! And that is a far worse thing than being courageous enough to apply for the position, to accept a leadership challenge, or to invest your heart and getting turned down.

In a recent interview reported in the Wall Street Journal, Warren Buffett spoke of his rejection by Harvard Business School at 19. “The truth is, everything that has happened in my life . . . that I thought was a crushing event at the time, has turned out for the better,” he said. With the exception of health problems, he continued, life’s setbacks teach “lessons that carry you along. You learn that a temporary defeat is not a permanent one. In the end it can be an opportunity.”

In Buffett’s case, a second-choice application to Columbia put him under the tutelage of two professor-mentors who taught him the essentials he has used in a successful investment career. More important still, the disappointment he thought his father would feel over his failure turned into a positive expression of “unconditional love” and “unconditional belief in me.”

Rejection is the challenge to find a new way, a better path. Rather than curse the job you didn’t get or the person who didn’t hire you, rethink your skills and find another venue for their use. Instead of hiding from life because a relationship has ended and your heart is broken, learn something about yourself from what has happened and know there is someone who needs what you have to give. Temporary setbacks become permanent defeats only if you allow it.

It isn’t rejection that determines the outcome. It is your reaction to it.

Please leave a comment, I would love to hear your thoughts!

It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.

“Profits are better than wages”… Jim Rohn

Hank Jennings

C.E.O., H&H Diversified Solutions LLC.

If interested in International or Domestic business opportunities please contact me @ facebook.com/hank.jennings or call 24 hours a day @ 404-935-0395

Buy Video Phone Now <- Buy One Now, click here!!!!

The Hottest International Blog The WealthCurve

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Have an iPhone or iPod Touch need Unlimited International Calling? Look No Further Than This APP –> GLOBALINX® Mobile Economy

The GLOBALINX® Mobile application allows you to make inexpensive calls over the carrier class GLOBALINX® network by connecting your device to any Wi-Fi network/hotspot around the world or 3G connection. With unlimited calling plans for as low as $14.95 per month, this application makes staying connected and managing your expenses easier than ever! And this application works well on both the iPhone and iPod Touch.

There are two great unlimited calling plans to choose from:

GLOBALINX® Mobile Economy service includes unlimited calling to the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands – all for just $14.95!
Need more international calling? The GLOBALINX® Mobile Unlimited includes mobile and landline calling to the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands plus landline calling to over 70 additional countries and calling areas including the UK, Ireland, France, China, India, Japan, much of Mexico and many more for FREE! All for just $24.95 per month.

We also offer extremely low international calling rates to destinations around the world.
Application Technical Specifications:

SIP Calls
Speakerphone
Voicemail
Multiple ringtones
G711 is supported
DTMF supported as RFC2833
Use alternative RTP port
Global outbound proxy
Mute and hold call functions
Dial from iPhones contact list
Dial from recent calls
Access to make calls over cellular network from the GLOBALINX® Mobile dialer
Call Transfer
Call forward (forward calls to another number while you are outside of Wi-Fi/hotspot coverage area
Record calls

Notes:

You must sign up for a GLOBALINX® Mobile account in order to use this application.
iPod Touch users must verify that their device supports an external microphone to utilize service.
App will default to Wi-Fi calling before 3G. Call quality is dependent on the quality and available bandwidth to your device.
Use of the 3G network for calling will consume user’s cellular data usage.

http://www.appstorehq.com/globalinx-iphone-192759/app

Please leave a comment, I would love to hear your thoughts!

It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.

“Profits are better than wages”… Jim Rohn

Hank Jennings

C.E.O., H&H Diversified Solutions LLC.

If interested in International or Domestic business opportunities please contact me @ facebook.com/hank.jennings or call 24 hours a day @ 404-935-0395

Buy Video Phone Now <- Buy One Now, click here!!!!

The Hottest International Blog The WealthCurve

Atlanta’s Hottest Real Estate Site

5Linx Overview

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