Obtaining Business Cover Is Definitely Key to the Triumph of Your Firm

There is no denying the fact that the triumph of a company in the end is attributed to the work carried out by the team, however one disaster can easily wipe out all your plans & shrink the revenue to dust. In order to steer clear of such a case, you should insure your business, whether it is a small organisation or a big corporation. Nevertheless, please take into account that smaller organisations are a great deal more probable to need business insurance in today’s hard world. This is mainly because smaller organisation owners will have placed their whole lives & pay straight into the company.

One or two of the items commonly protected by the majority of business insurance covers include: natural tragedies, avalanches, machine or apparatus stoppage that closes down the firm, loss of revenue because of employee neglect and legal action brought against the business.

There are hundreds insurance firms, which offer policies that include both protection for all major property and legal risks in one complete package. You can also select a separate policy covers. Such a coverage is called a business owners’ policy (BOP). Larger companies might acquire a commercial policy cover.

BOPs integrate office insurance for buildings and gear belonging to the organisation. If there is any loss of earnings due to disruption of systems & commerce because of catastrophes like avalanches, it can be covered under the Business Interruption Insurance.

There are a mixture of policies, which insure the company’s legal blame for the harm it could cause to others. It is the result your organisation’s failure to do the business operations. It can also be the bodily injury or property damage caused because of flawed goods, faulty fittings and slips in services offered. Acquire public liability insurance from a Financial Services Authority approved company today. Visit the site here.

Nevertheless, BOPs don’t protect against professional liability, car insurance, workers’ compensation or health and disability cover. Separate insurance policies are crucial for professional services, commercial vehicles & staff. By and large, floods, earthquakes and terrorist attacks are not protected in the business cover. Always check before you buy a policy!

Integrating Microsoft Great Plains Accounting/ERP: RMS, CRM, eCommerce, Lotus Domino – overview

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains has substantial market share among horizontal and vertical clientele in the USA, Canada (including French version for Quebec/Montreal), UK, Australia, New Zealand, Spanish speaking Latin and Central America, South Africa and Middle East. Nowadays ERP can not stay as it is off-the-shelf product – it requires integration with Legacy or newly implemented systems, such as CRM, Retail Management applications, custom in-house made business systems (transportation/cargo tracking, etc). The tendency is that if company uses Microsoft-driven computer park (Windows domain, SQL Servers, MS Exchange) the rest of the ERP/CRM applications are Windows-oriented. However you can have successful bridge between non-Microsoft ERP and Great Plains: Oracle, IBM Lotus Notes/Domino, DB2 or others), usually it involves Java/CORBA/EJB/JSP type of expertise.

• Microsoft RMS-Great Plains integration. There are few options – first one is to use standard integration, coming with MS RMS. It has Dexterity interface in Great Plains, does integration to single company at the time. Doesn’t integration on SOP/AR level, however. Second option is to use integration, maintained by Alba Spectrum Technologies – it integrates unlimited number of stores, SOP/AR/POP, posts through Bank Reconciliation module and so allows to track Check Books/Credit Card balances. This integration also has Dexterity interface for Stores-GP Companies mapping and could work as nightly or real time SQL Server routine

• Microsoft CRM-Great Plains integration. This integration is maintained by Microsoft Business Solutions and allows you to synchronize SOP and Customers in Great Plains with Microsoft CRM Quotes and Orders. Microsoft CRM has open Microsoft CRM SDK and so you can customize and integrate Microsoft CRM at will, having C# or VB.Net in-house expertise. The above mentioned integration could be altered and tuned by programming MS BizTalk server (it can use either BizTalk runtime or regular license)

• Microsoft Great Plains as Back office for eCommerce web-site. Here we need to mention interesting thing, The product, created and dedicated to eCommerce developers – Great Plains eConnect is often considered as a bit expensive and licensing-restricting solution. If your company is ISV and implements eCommerce product, integrating to Great Plains – you would rather prefer set of open and simple stored procedures, moving data to and retrieving from Microsoft Great Plains Sales Order Processing (SOP) module

• Microsoft Great Plains integration with Oracle. Well – you can do it either from Oracle or from MS SQL Server side – in both cases you have linking tools and heterogeneous queries mechanisms

• Microsoft Great Plains integration with Lotus Notes/Domino. – If you want Great Plains documents lookup from Lotus – you typically use ODBC connection to MS SQL Server. You need to know Great Plains tables structure (Tools->Resource Description->Tables in Great Plains)
Good luck in upgrading and if you have issues or concerns – we are here to help! If you want us to do the job – give us a call 1-866-528-0577, 1-630-961-5918! help@albaspectrum.com

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies – USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, serving clients in Chicago, California, Texas, Florida, New York, Georgia, Arizona, Minnesota, UK, Australia and having locations in multiple states and internationally ( http://www.albaspectrum.com ), he is CMA, Great Plains Certified Master, Dexterity, SQL, C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK developer. You can contact Andrew: andrewk@albaspectrum.com

Hooking Up on the Internet

No, I’m not talking about THAT kind of hooking up…this is a business article, for goodness sakes! I’m talking about building mutually beneficial relationships with other online business owners. That’s the kind of hooking up that will propel your business to long-term success.

Many people get online and think that the mo
re people they meet online, the bigger customer base they can get. To some degree that is true, but in this marketing mama’s humble opinion, it’s not where you should focus your efforts.

Nearly, four years ago, I started my online business. I was just a mom who desperately didn’t want to return to work after maternity leave. I had NO CLUE what I was doing. None at all, but one thing I did do is meet people, but I didn’t try to make these people my customers.

What, you may ask? Didn’t I want to get any customers?

Sure I did, but I realized something much more valuable. The other online business owners that I met online weren’t necessarily my target market and they had something much more valuable to offer me than a few dollars in my pocket from an Internet sale. They had knowledge, experience and ideas…and I had my own to share too. So, this is what I did…

I made friends and now I run a 6-figure per year business.

Yup, good old-fashioned friends with a common interest in online business. I share my experience and knowledge and they shared theirs. We discovered where we could collaborate on projects and build lifetime partnerships together. In other words, I gained a lifetime of value from these friends…not just another “Notification of Payment Received” email from PayPal.

Through these relationships, I have found:

- A number of partners on numerous profitable projects that we continue to produce and promote.

- Marketing advice from:

- A copywriter who has written million-dollar sales copy for numerous clients

- A guy who works from Florida and makes millions yearly from his online business ventures; and a bunch more. These are people that have made VITAL differences to the future of my online business.

- Someone who has orchestrated 6 and 7-figure product launches for his friends and clients.

- And a bunch of others too numerous to mention, but I am so grateful for every day of my life.

- Indispensable and trustworthy assistants that keep me inline when my mind wanders or I just can’t get all the little things done in my business.

…and a whole bunch more. It doesn’t really matter, what I gained. It’s time to ask yourself what you want to gain…and if you’re in it for the long haul. If you decide you are indeed in it for the long haul, it’s time to start building those relationships.

How to Attract The Right People to Your Network

If you are already networking online, through message boards or other means, you’re already on the way. Here’s some tips on how to make the right kind of friends through your network.

- Scrutinize your networking list. If you belong to a bunch of email groups and even more message boards, it’s time to start cutting out the fat. Your time is valuable, so choose just a few quality groups and boards where people are serious about online business. Forget about the ones where people are out to get rich quick or where you simply post for “Ad Mondays”.

- Don’t be too eager. Don’t start out by telling the world, you want to “partner” on a project or anything like that. Take it slow, get to know people and give your input where you can. I emphasize the “where you can” because if you don’t have any experience on a subject, just keep quiet. But don’t worry, if you feel you really don’t have a lot of experience, you can still be a valuable community member by giving support and encouragement to your fellow online business owners. The experience will come with time.

- Share your experiences. Expanding on the previous point, do share on the subjects in which you have some experience. The more freely you share your information, the more willing people will be to share with you. We all have our own experience and expertise. We can cut our learning curves tremendously by learning from others.

- Make personal connections. If you have something you’d like to discuss privately with a member, contact them. It may be to discuss a particular idea you have for their business or you may want to interview them for your newsletter. When you do make these connections, always keep in mind what value it has for your networking partner. If you have nothing of value to offer them, save your personal contact for later.

- View your competitors as partners. There’s nothing worse than the sometimes catty world of online business where people see competitors as the enemy. The Internet marketplace is so vast, there truly is room for everybody. People who reach the same target market are your potential partners for products, free ebooks, co-promotion and more. Don’t limit yourself.

Bottom Line is…

Stop thinking about yourself. Think about how you can help other people and it truly comes back to you.

Alice Seba is a solo online entrepreneur who has increased her profits and reduced her working hours by working with virtual assistants. For more Internet marketing tips to help you earn more while working less, sign up for her Internet Marketing Prescriptions mailing list at http://www.AliceSeba.com

Don’t Wait For All of Life’s Traffic Lights to Turn Green

Can you imagine getting into your motor vehicle, reversing out of your driveway, selecting a forward gear then just sitting there waiting for every traffic light between your home and your destination to turn green?”

That would be absurd. Yet on another journey, the journey of life, that is exactly what many of us do. We refuse to make a start because the conditions are not perfect.

Let me tell you something:

The conditions will NEVER be perfect!

If you procrastinate over minor details or the hurdles that will inevitably be put in your way you will be bound never to fulfill your life dreams.

The hardest part of doing anything is making a start. Ask any trades-person and they will all tell you that. The work is the easy part. Planning, assembling the correct tools and selecting the raw materials is the difficult bit.

It’s much easier to proceed if you have a plan. So, let me ask you – do you have a plan? Do you write things down or do you just muddle your way through things, making it up as you stumble along?

Any task, no matter what it is, can be made so much easier if we have a list of clear instructions.

Have you ever tried to assemble one of those pre-packed items that comes with dozens of nuts and bolts and washers? Ever thought “heh, this will be a breeze!” and tossed away the instruction sheet after just a cursory glance? I have. You know what happens, don’t you? You end up with a few bits and pieces left over and a construction that doesn’t look anything like the picture on the side of the box. Then you start looking for that darn instruction sheet.

So, how do you make a plan for your project? Easy. You have a starting point (where you are now) and an end point (where you want to be). All you have to do is fill in the bits in between. It’s much like driving from position A to destination D. Along the way you have check points B and C.

Make a plan. Write out your plan in as much detail as you need or would like. There is a certain kind of magic in mapping out your path. Somehow it makes it all look possible, real. Add some key points and completion dates to your plan. The more detailed it is the more real it will become in your mind.

Just don’t wait until all the traffic lights turn to green before you commence. You wouldn’t think of doing that when you make a journey in your motor vehicle. So, why should you even consider doing such a thing in the journey called life?

Start now. Create something. Keep working at it and in what will seem like no time at all you will be well on your way to success. Try it. It’s a whole lot better than sitting in your vehicle just idling and getting nowhere.

[If you like this article and would like to use it on your own website or ezine you may do so ONLY if the article is not changed in any way and the final paragraph: "About the author", with all links intact, is included.]

About the author: Gary Simpson is the author of eight books covering a diverse range of subjects such as self esteem, affirmations, self defense, finance and much more. His articles appear all over the web. Gary’s email address is budo@iinet.net.au. Click here to go to his Motivation & Self Esteem for Success website where you can receive his “Zenspirational Thoughts” plus an immediate FREE copy of his highly acclaimed, life-changing e-book “The Power of Choice.”

Academic Gowns Regalia

Graduation Gowns

Graduation Regalia

Honor Cords

There are many types of honor cords, some classified according to the specific task they are required for. They include the graduation honor cord, premium honor cord, single honor cord, promotional honor cord, rayon honor cord and the double honor cord. Honor cords are tokens consisting of twisted cords that have tassels on either end. They are an award to members of honor societies or for different academic as well as non-academic achievements, honors or awards. The honor cords are made in pairs that are held together by a knot in the middle. The cords are to be worn in academic functions and ceremonies.

Graduation Information On The Internet

Graduation information is available all over the internet. You’ll find multiple links which can assist you in your research. Gordon International offers a lot of information which can be useful to anyone ordering graduation regalia but if you’re looking for specific history please see the link provided below.
The Following Site Offers Great Information About Graduation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_dress wikipedia provides the searcher with a great information source for any type of search. You can go to their search wiki and place an random search in the engine and you’ll come across a few useful sources & articles.

Updated Notes and Concerns Regarding Windows Update

Although in my previous article I may have made mention to the disadvantages of using Windows Update, lately I have noticed other things about the software that give it both merit and further thought.

Recently I worked on my Dad’s new PC after he tried to switch the ram in his old one while it was on and wound up frying the mainboard, and I noticed a couple things about Windows Update. His girlfriend made sure that his copy of Windows XP home was completely up to date; installing just about every update that existed.

While I tried to explain to her that this was a somewhat paranoid way of protecting his PC, I noticed that without SP2 certain functions of his PC would be disabled, or not work as well as they should. You may notice this as well. For example, if you have a ATI Radeon card and would like the newest drivers – the manufacturer website recommends having SP2 installed as they work best with that platform.

Recently I was also working on a friend of the family’s PC. It was a IBM Thinkcenter PC; and his USB, audio, and VGA drivers were not working properly. This could be fixed easily with a motherboard system disk, but he didn’t have that. I visited the IBM website to get the right drivers, and it mentioned that the USB drivers were in SP2. As he had a pirated version of XP and could not download SP2, I had to install a stock version of SP2 I had with me.

After that, his USB port worked fine. So, to re-iterate: Windows Update is nessecary, most definetly, for updating to new service packs. Also, windows update is also very useful for finding drivers you might need for legacy devices and onboard devices. For more information related to finding drivers for legacy/onboard devices, refer to my guide on that topic.

Other then that – security updates – not all of them are completely nessecary. I will be writing an article on security updates shortly, so check back soon.

I am a young, aspiring computer engineer into Internet Marketing, hardware, software, web design, SEO and just about anything related to computers. Please come check out my growing PC forum at http://www.markspcforum.com

The True Price of Success

Standing in the gale-force winds, the kid was looking queasy. We could all see the storm was growing more intense.

The rain had already plastered his hair to his forehead and his new black suit was starting to cling to him in ways Mr. Armani never intended.

A typhoon was coming — the seventh this summer to hit Japan — and the kid’s job, as newest employee, was to stand in front of a TV camera while the weather buffeted him about for the nation to watch. Sort of a talking weather vane.

I take my exercise along that stretch of beach every day, and today one of the most powerful typhoons on record would soon be upon us. I knew I couldn’t stay too long, or I’d be caught in the wind and the torrential downpour. I’d make my walk extra-brief this day.

But the television crew had a different assignment.

They, and many other crews like them, are dispatched in satellite equipped trucks to many well-known sites all over Japan. These crews provide live reports on the progress of the storms as they rip their way up the Japanese archipelago.

And the kid in the black suit was their sacrificial lamb today. It was his job to get out there, once the storm reached its peak, and do a show and tell. That’s what the people huddled at home want to see, and sponsors will pay well to bring them exactly what they expect.

If you’ve watched a lot of news over the years, you’ll know that the greater the devastation, the higher the viewer ratings. That’s the way it works — more destruction means more interest.

In fact, you may recall that Dan Rather got his big break into national news by doing exactly what this kid was doing — standing stubbornly in a raging hurricane and giving moment-by-moment reports to the viewers at home.

The networks find it’s profitable programming to report on all the destruction, disruption and deaths.

But before we get off on an “Ain’t-It-Awful” tangent, let me say right here that this scene I’ve just described carries one of the richest lessons you’ll ever gain.

Typhoons and hurricanes cause huge disruptions. Your humanitarian heart empathizes with those caught up in the tragedies; aches for them; wants to reach out with succor and aid.

And I do applaud that urge to give comfort and help to those that life dumps on. The feelings are normal and proper.

But I suggest that sympathy alone, no matter how heartfelt, is a one-dimensional (even a poverty-ridden) way to respond to the world.

Sympathy can be a good thing, but often it’s only a cheap imitation of caring. If it doesn’t lead to action, it’s basically worthless for anything but show.

However, it’s possible to add a second layer of responses, a layer that involves going out and interacting with that world you’re so empathic with.

Furthermore, since you’ve been seeking some way to gain wealth, let me say this. You’ve just found it.

It’s called action.

Action — appropriate action in response to the problems and tragedies you see around you can make you not only a better person, but a very rich one as well. It can allow you to provide far greater aid to those in need than you could ever accomplish with an aching heart alone.

And the profits from your actions will help you stay in business long-term so you can continue helping your fellowman.

Now, you may already be running a business. If so, you’re providing people with some kind of solution to their problems. Are you being well paid for your solutions?

If so, that’s good.

But if you’re not being well rewarded for your efforts, there are only three possible reasons.

1. You’re not telling enough people about yourself.

2. You’re not very convincing because you don’t believe you’re very good at what you do.

3. You may not be solving problems that are big or urgent enough. This is probably the most common limit.

The biggest need today is for people who will do what you and I can’t (or won’t) do for ourselves. This includes people who make us feel better.

Consider the relative public value of a heart surgeon versus a sales clerk. A captivating entertainer or sports figure versus an office cleaner. A brilliant attorney versus a typist.

It’s not my intention to demean anybody who is fulfilling any useful role in society. But the smaller paydays almost always go to the person who is more easily replaced. If nearly anybody can be quickly trained to do the job, there’s lots of competition for that slot, and so the price goes down.

And the high-profile jobs like brain surgeon, trial lawyer, pro ball player, or CEO of a multinational — well, most people won’t ever try for those spots, meaning there’s less competition. So the people who do try for these jobs can charge whatever the traffic will bear.

This is basic economics, right? We already know all of this. But if we already know it, why do we so seldom apply it to our own life? Why aren’t we qualifying ourselves for the absolute top spot in our respective industries?

In many cases, it’s because we unthinkingly shy away from “responsibility.” We’re scared of a bigger role… a higher profile. We keep ourselves small because… well… we just do, that’s all. For example, can you tell me exactly why you’re not the top authority in your industry? Can I tell why I’m not?

We do know the answer to that, though, don’t we?

It’s basically cowardice. We’re scared spitless of making ourselves uncomfortable through doing things that we’re not sure we can do perfectly. If we tried something big and super-ambitious, oh my goodness, what if we didn’t do it very well?

We don’t like to take chances. Don’t enjoy big measures of ambiguity in the things we do. So instead, we plod along like cows coming in from the pasture at evening, regular as clockwork, utterly predictable — and dependant upon whomever feeds us at the end of the day.

Cows don’t take big chances. Neither do sheep. They stay close to the same territory day after day, year after year, clustered together, acting just alike, grazing placidly, never having any grand adventures. There are few opportunities in the fenced-in pasture. Just eat and sleep and grow old.

Ah, but the venturing soul slips through the fence, goes into unknown territory, and seeks out new things to do. Among us humans, we admire most the men and women who push past the barriers to new territory. Record-setting athletes. Inventive new artists and writers. Bold leaders who set new directions and escort the rest of us into new fields. Explorers in medicine, literature, flight, business, sports.

People who go out seeking new places to find, new levels to achieve, new problems to solve.

If you want your income and your life to expand, you’re going to have to explore. Go out there past the edge of what you already know, past the comfortable, to a place where you’re unsure what your outcome is going to be.

You, in a very real sense, become a gambler. But you will be gambling on the only thing in the universe that’s worth the action — yourself.

It has been said that the real reason for becoming rich and successful is not the money or the fame. It’s the joy of being the person you have to become in order to achieve those goals of yours.

Know this: You’ll never achieve those goals as you are now.

You really must become a whole different person. A bigger person. A stronger, more capable person.

And how do you do that? You stretch yourself. You make yourself uncomfortable, and you stay that way until you grow into it.

That’s the true (and only) price of success.

Charles Burke is the author of Command More Luck, the book that shows you why all those things keep happening to you. Learn why “luck” doesn’t work the way you’ve always been told. Not even close. The bad news — There’s no such thing as luck. The good news — There’s something even better. Learn how it works at www.moreluck.com

Is Your Computer Sick?

Viruses and spyware usually show up on your computer one of two ways.

Either they invade your system with a frontal assault like the Huns attacking the Romans, or they sneak in a back door like a cat burglar.

Either way, once a virus or piece of spyware gets on your system, getting it off can rate harder than curing a severe case of trench foot!

Viruses, malicious programs designed to disrupt normal computing, and spyware, programs intended to literally “spy” on your activities, can enter your computer a number of ways.

Most commonly they enter your system through an email attachment, by sharing files with an infected computer by disk, as a “ride along” with a 3rd party program you install, or through a “back door” port in your computer.

Regardless of how they get on your system, once in place, they cause no end of headaches and frustration.

The following represent typical signs you may suffer from infection by a virus or piece of spyware.

Your computer starts acting oddly by doing things it never did previously.

Your modem starts trying to dial out to the Internet without you initiating a surfing session.

You notice that files start disappearing, the system stalls, runs slowly, or even crashes frequently.

Your computer takes progressively longer to boot up every time you start it or you notice that your available hard drive space has disappeared. Strange popup windows appear, even when you’re not surfing the web, or you delete a program and it “magically” reappears next time you boot the system.

If you suspect you a virus or a piece of spyware has invaded your computer, follow these steps to first identify and then delete the offending code:

Step 1 – Back up your important files, but remember to scan these files for viruses before reinstalling to avoid accidentally re-infecting your system.

Step 2 – Update your anti-virus definitions and perform a scan of your hard drive.

If you don’t carry virus protection, or you suspect your anti-virus software got corrupted somehow, then log on to www.pandasoftware.com and use the free Panda Active Scan service to check your hard drive for viruses.

Follow the instructions for quarantining and removing the offending files.

Step 3 – Scan your hard drive with an adware, scumware, or spyware detection and removal tool like Adaware www.lavasoft.de/support/download/ or Spybot http://spybot.safer-networking.de/.

Step 4 – In many cases, when the virus or spyware program gets installed with a free utility or game you download from the Web, you must usually uninstall the utility or game to finally get rid of the problem once and for all.

Step 5 – Avoid re-infection by keeping your anti-virus and firewall up-to-date at all times.

As a last resort, if you run into a program you simply can’t get rid of, but can figure out the offending file’s name, do a search for the file name on Google.com. Often you will find you’re not the first victim and may get valuable advice for cleaning up your system.

However, be very careful of the information you find and think twice before modifying any system files.

About The Author

Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how to use fr^e articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website or affiliate links…

Need MORE TRAFFIC to your website or affiliate links? “Turn Words Into Traffic” reveals the secrets for driving Thousands of NEW visitors to your website or affiliate links… without spending a dime on advertising! Click Here> http://www.turnwordsintotraffic.com

Nothing To Lose

I stormed out of the office and headed for the patio area in front of my office building. It was October 2003, and everybody knew what happened. Ever since our division consolidated in February 2002, there had been more “closed door” conversations than ever, and when they involved me, I usually came out angry. This time I was madder than ever. I was sick of the office politics, sick of the cliques, sick of people sneaking around the rules – and you can only take all of that being sick so long before you explode. After complaining to my supervisor for the umpteenth time about the state of affairs, we both cracked. I told her I was disappointed at the lack of morals and integrity, and she told me that I needed to just shut up and get professional help for depression if that’s what it took to quit complaining. Here is the ironic part: I have a degree in psychology.

I stared down the tree-lined street wondering how it came to this. When I was hired 1998, things went well. I worked for a wonderful person that trained me well and had faith in my ability to learn and grow. After a year and a half, I was promoted to another job that required me to move to a different office. This too went fairly well, until we consolidated three years later. Then everything changed. It went from a small, easy-going office to a large formal setting where cliques were common and conformity was prized above all else. A tense atmosphere where politics ruled the roost and pressure to make the “right” people happy replaced the laid-back demeanor of our office. If you didn’t conform to the system, you were shunned.

It didn’t take me (and everybody else) long to find out something vital about my character in the time that followed: I’m a non-conformist. Although I tried blending in and making people happy, I eventually grew frustrated with putting on an act. I was raised in a strong Christian home where faith and integrity are the highest values, and the new politics were in direct conflict with everything I believed. It finally spoke up, only to be ridiculed for my ethics and labeled a radical that needs to be put back in my place. Then they would turn around and tell me not to take it personally, and that if I thought they didn’t like me, I was paranoid. The nerve of them to question my mental state after all of that flip-flopping! I was the only consistent person in the office whose actions matched their words! For a strong individual like me, the entire time was downward spiral into hell.

As I stood outside trying to calm myself, I realized what the true problem was. I had placed my fate in their hands. For years, I had worked hard for these people, hoping they would eventually reward me with promotions. Now I could see that my faith had been misplaced. Moving up through this organization is more in who you know and how much they like you than your credentials. I clearly realized that my career with these people was over. I wouldn’t play the game, and because of that they were going to stop at nothing to try to drive me out, or at least drive me crazy. I was a fool to place my future in the hands of people whose only interest was in how I could keep the work flowing and improve the bottom line.

Since I had no friends at work, I turned to writing to work through the frustration caused by the clash between my values and work environment. It has been a lifelong hobby of mine, but since my husband and I bought a computer used it to work through personal issues of faith. I eventually found enough courage to submit a few of my short stories for publication, and had been fortunate to win a writing contest and get several other stories published on the Internet and in small publications throughout 2003. I also spent three years writing a manuscript for an inspirational self-help book, and it was my dream to get it published. I actually did submit it to some publishers in 2002, only to get rejected. Actually, 30 publishers rejected it, many on the premises that I was an unknown writer. I decided to focus on getting short stories published so I could build my credentials.

I knew my supervisor’s insult to my mental state was meant to make me doubt myself, but it did the opposite. All of the harsh treatment I endured from these people made my own reality crystal clear: My career had stalled, while my writing had been slowly building up. I knew deep in my heart that it was time to get that manuscript off my hard drive and into print, despite my fear of failure. It was time to take my future back and follow my heart to true progress. In a sense, I had everything to gain and nothing to lose. That day, I felt my chances of making some unknown publisher happy were much greater than making any of those miserable people in that building happy!

I walked back in the building with a renewed sense of purpose. I’m sure that many people expected me to quit, but I didn’t because jobs were scarce, and I was devoting my time and energy into getting my manuscript ready to submit. My colleagues’ reaction to my few writing successes was cool at best, and since they wouldn’t speak to me I didn’t tell them about my new quest. I simply did what I had to do, kept to myself, and didn’t talk to anybody unless it was strictly business.

Editing my manuscript was a challenge. Since I work full-time, I had to work on it at night or on weekends, and this isn’t easy when you come home tired from a full day of work. I was pretty stressed out, and after my final blowout with my supervisor; my body succumbed to all of the pressure. I got sick, and didn’t fully recover for three months. Once I got rid of one thing, I would be well for about a week before I was down with something else. Sinus infections, viruses, various relapses of these ailments, and finally a kidney infection had me struggling through every day. I propped myself up in bed with my notebooks, worked in my pajamas late at night, and spent entire weekends in front of the computer. In January 2004, I was ready to send my dream into the big, bad world again.

Although it had been rejected before, I felt more confident about submitting it this time. I rewrote the entire manuscript, and fully believed it had the potential to speak to people and help them find the faith and courage to improve their lives. Despite the fact that I was regarded as the “office freak,” I knew there were others just like me that needed encouragement, and believed a publisher somewhere out there would find inspiration and potential in it.

This was a hard time for me personally. I am blessed to have a wonderful husband and family, and working on my manuscript did bring me a sense of joy and purpose. In fact, writing has always made me feel happy and peaceful. It also helped me cope with my work situation. Although I worked in an office with 60 people, I was isolated. The only time people talked to me was to ask a question or give orders, and I never talked to anybody unless I had to. This was a lonely time, and I did suffer from doubts about standing my ground.

My decision proved to be right in February 2004, when an E-mail confirmed that taking my life back was the right thing to do. I got an offer from a publisher on my manuscript. It seemed too good to be true, but in fact, I had a lawyer look over the book contract and confirm that it was legal and legitimate. I joyfully signed it, made copies for my files, and practically skipped to the post office to mail out my passport to the future.
A funny thing happened the day I mailed the contract. When I returned from the post office, my supervisor informed me that our division was consolidating with the main office and moving in late June. For the first time in two years, I smiled in that building. They had no way of knowing that my entire life turned around in two hours. I mailed out a signed contract to make a lifelong dream come true, and now I was going to have an opportunity to work with new people!

Getting a book ready for publication is a lot of work, but I was happy to fulfill my obligations. What is interesting is how that success gave me the confidence to take control of other things in my life. When talks about the work move people began, I spoke with the Accounting Division and convinced them to let me move in with them. I finally changed my work hours to an earlier shift so I could work the same hours as my husband. I cut my waist-long hair to my shoulders, which is the shortest it’s been since middle school. I found the confidence to be myself and made some great new friends at work after the move, one of which taught me how to cross-stitch. I overcame my fear of needles and gave blood, worked with my husband to create a web site, and braved the kitchen to make Christmas-Eve dinner, complete with my grandmother’s bread dressing recipe that I made by myself for the first time.

Through this situation, I learned you can make your life better if you have the confidence to pursue what makes you happy, in matters both great and small. Faith is the most powerful force in the universe, and with it you can accomplish great things. You have everything you need inside of you to be the person you were meant to be, and nobody can take that away from you.
I am so thankful I decided to take my life back. It’s been slow progress, but well worth it. My book, Battleground Earth – Living by Faith in a Pagan World, is now in print and available all over the world through Internet outlets, and can be ordered at any bookstore. I work with a wonderful new group of people that are faithful, respectful, supportative, and accept me for the unique individual that I am. I’m confident in my decisions and feel I have much to share with the world by being the person I was meant to be. In fact, this is the happiest I have been since I got married. I can finally have joy and happiness, because at last I feel fulfilled in my life. In my own mind, I feel redeemed and rejuvenated.

In the end, I found my true self. And to think, it’s all because somebody questioned my sanity!

Sherri Fulmer Moorer is a freelance Christian/Inspirational writer from Columbia, SC. Her writing focuses on applying faith to everyday living situations, and is based on her own personal experiences and the experiences of those around her. Her goal is to show people that the battles they face in life are shared by others, and how the Lord can use their experiences to build faith. She is the author of Battleground Earth – Living by Faith in a Pagan World (PublishAmerica 2004), which is a book about spiritual warfare and discovering faith in day-to-day living. For additional information, please visit the Battleground Earth web page at http://hometown.aol.com/bgearth/index.html

Globally Glaciers Are Disappearing at an Alarming Pace

Glaciers are retreating at a quicker rate than at any point since records were started, said The Observer. Glaciologists from the World Glacier Monitoring Service, which follows 31 glaciers in 10 mountain areas, reckon that from 1848 to 1972 glaciers receded at a average pace of 29 centimeters per annam. From 1971 to 1999 the amount retreating rose to 60 – 80 centimeters a yr. Since then the median has comprised more than 1 meter per yr. Last season recorded the greatest recedings up til now of 1.3 m.

Across the globe glaciers are withdrawing at any rate as fast as the glaciers in this representative group with potentially disastrous results for nearby residents. In the short run there will be more floods, and in the future, streams could disappear, leading to keen mains water shortfalls.

Chamonix town, has a big count of glaciers, the burdens of global warming and the disappearing of glaciers could be sharply experienced. Possibly this is why lots of companies, such as Ski Europe, and individuals seem to be more knowledgeable of these topics and are essaying to undertake measures to reduce their carbon output. One hopes it isn’t too late to stop the effects of global warming and ensure an environment for our kids.