Small Business Websites – Why A Small Business Website Does Not Produce Results

When a small business decides to take their business online there are usually several mistakes that they do. This is partially due to lack of experience and often lack of knowledge. There seems to be a trend that small businesses think of their website as an online business card instead of a marketing tool. That is where the majority of them go wrong. So let’s take a look at some of the most common mistakes done when a small business takes their business online.1. Order of linksSo many times you visit a small business website and they proudly flag the “about us” link as their first link. This is called the pride link because they often think that telling people about the company is the most important thing. The links should be in order of importance. Not in the order of the business owners EGO! If you use a website designer and he does consult you on the order of links, chances are you should be using someone else or at least make sure you educate yourself about online marketing because your website designer sure hasn’t!2. No focusMost small business websites lack focus. When you enter you are not sure where to go next which makes it hard for the user to understand exactly what he is supposed to do. The website should flow and the user should be able to make sense of the site within a few seconds of opening it up.3. No sale / No lead setupMany small businesses do not use their website to increase sales directly or capture leads. It is nothing more than an online brochure or business card. Sometimes the information is more confusing than it is helpful. If you competitors site is easier to navigate and captures either the sale or lead, you just lost a client. A small business websites needs to be even more on top of catching leads than a corporate website because every client lost counts more!4. No analyticsMost small business websites have no clue what people do when they enter their site. No clue what users are really looking at and where they are losing their potential sale or lead. If customers just walked in and out of their place of work eyebrows would be raised and something would be done. Shouldn’t the same thought process apply to the site? You need to know what is going on with your small business website and what users are doing.5. No marketing purposeThis is the biggest “Whammy” of them all. Small business websites tend to fail seeing the potential of using the website as a complete marketing tool. The fundamental reason to take a business online would be to do marketing. The lack of marketing vision explains the mistakes from above. If just this single piece was in place when a small business builds their website, many of the other things would be solved because they would educate themselves about what it means to have a marketing tool!6. No results!This is no surprise considering everything above. If there is no purpose, no focus, no vision and no marketing thought behind the site then there are probably no results from the site either. What is even worse is that most small business websites do not even measure results or understand how to measure results from their site. Once again it is a lack of understanding more than anything!So what can a small business do when they are ready to take their business online and setup their small business website? The most important thing is to educate themselves in a few areas. The most important ones being, what you need to consider before building or having someone build your website. How to use the website as a marketing tool and it would be extremely beneficial to you if you at least had some understanding of what SEO is and how it works. What is the difference between a website designer, website developer and an online marketing company? All of them do different things and have a different understanding of how to use the internet; the question is what purpose is your website supposed to serve? For most it should be a marketing tool, because the internet is the most effective marketing tool available!

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Bad Credit Credit Cards Are Not Bad At All

Bad credit history may greatly affect your future credit card applications, at least for the next seven years down the road. We know that bad credit does not just target the lazy person, it holds no discrimination as to whom it will target and it will not. Plus, many of us understand bad credit can sometimes feel like the end of the world, but it does not have to be. With bad credit, getting approved for a standard credit card can be difficult, if not impossible, and it is tough to get any type of unsecured credit card with bad credit. If you have bad credit, you may be under the impression that you are not able to apply for a credit card. However, today we have bad credit credit cards available to help us.If you have bad credit, there are still credit card opportunities for you to apply to and even receive instant approval. That is one of the reasons bad credit credit cards are a highly searched item on the Internet. Bad credit credit cards are some of the most misunderstood financial tools of all time. They are intended to make it easier for many to obtain credit. That is because bad credit credit cards allow people with less than perfect credit, or no credit history to get on the right track and begin building or rebuilding their credit.Bad credit cards approval is possible with many bad credit card applications, though bad credit cards approval may imply additional requirements, for the applicant. Bad credit charge cards are regular credit cards, except that the interest rates and fees may be a little higher, and they are specifically designed for those with no credit history, or adverse credit history. In many cases they are the best option for anyone who has a lot of debt and bad credit, also. As you can see, bad credit credit cards are unique cards geared towards people who have had trouble getting approved for a standard unsecured credit card. Once acquired and used correctly, bad credit credit cards help greatly to fix credit scores. Using a bad credit card the right way rebuilds your bad credit history, so, if your credit score needs improvement, do not hesitate, compare credit card offers and select a bad credit credit card to start rebuilding your credit score at once. After all, a bad credit credit card can be just the thing that saves your credit.Bad credit credit cards can be a good way for consumers with poor, or no credit history to establish and build a solid credit history. They are offered by many banks as financial tools to help people establish or re-establish their good credit rating. Still, it is true that bad credit credit cards must be used responsibly, or your situation will just worsen. For all practical purposes, bad credit credit cards are just like regular credit cards, but they are specifically for high risk cardholders.Bad credit credit cards charge various fees and offer various features and they are unlikely to be no annual fee credit cards, but you can search for the best low interest credit cards for poor credit. Bad credit usually attracts high APR on credit cards, plus bad credit credit cards often charge annual fees of up to $50 or more. In spite of the additional fees bad credit credit cards are an excellent method for the people with bad or no credit, to improve their credit rating and to enjoy the benefits of credit cards.Bad credit credit cards are offered by many banks as financial tools to help people establish or re-establish their good credit rating. Though some consumers have a negative view of bad credit credit cards, they should not. Bad credit credit cards are primarily intended to make it easier to obtain and re-build credit, which is good for consumers and merchants as well.

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What Is Personal Finance and Why Is It Necessary?

Amidst the economic slowdown we are experiencing, personal income and salary continue to provide us with financial power to purchase basic goods and services. In lieu of the fact that the national economy is actually not doing well, the need to apply principles of finance in managing our monetary resources has tremendously increased. Personal financing pertains to the strategic planning and management of earning, saving, spending, and budgeting the financial aspect of a person or a family taking into consideration the aggregate expenses deducted from the income and the needed savings to adequately address future events that require spending. Inflation, jobs, and the entire economy are still unstable resulting to unpredictability of increases in the prices of basic commodities, available jobs, and household income. With these in mind, it is a matter of great necessity that every person strategically plans and manages one’s financial gain and expenditure in providing a better lifestyle and in preparing for future risks and spending.Market fluctuations seem to be a trend in the world economy nowadays. No one can really have a guarantee that his or her present earnings will still be enough in the future. In a country under financial distress, one is not guaranteed that he or she remains employed in the next days or months. Worst is, if some unfortunate event happens and it would require huge spending to see it through, it would probably deplete everything the person or family has. To be secured financially, personal finance must be had to address current monetary obligations such as debts and prepare the future. Personal finance involves long term planning. Other than ensuring that the current bills are paid and that the present lifestyle is maintained, personal finance also prepares for the future such as when one has to retire from work. Upon retirement, the person’s monthly income will be reduced unless he or she has made financial planning prior to the retirement age and ensured that there is enough to spend according to the chosen lifestyle after retirement. It is never an easy task to make sure that whatever aggregate income the household obtains in a month remains sufficient to cover for the expenses necessary to live decently at present and in the future without threat of sinking in deep debts and losing properties due to foreclosures. Personal finance helps people acquire necessary information, tools, and strategies to use and apply to ensure that his or her income remains enough to cover the payment of debts, bills, and other vital purchases based on one’s overall present financial condition.To live through the day is never enough. One has to consider the future in living the present without sacrificing the current necessities. Personal finance combines principles and tools in finance that assists the person or household pay off debts and bills while at the same time ensures that the future is financially prepared such as through savings. The best personal finance provides the person a decent and happy living with sufficient financial security for the future. Best and quality personal finance plans and guides are available and accessible from credit and financial companies to help their clients make good use of their money.

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Best Web Site Promotion – 5 Tested Methods to Best Web Site Promotion

To increase targeted traffic to your site, it is always useful to employ the best web site promotion techniques. Web site promotion is very critical for your online business. Just like in product promotion, web site promotion is a pro-active way of generating income and profit from your web sites. Successful web based companies invest heavily in their website promotions and advertising. There are many effective methods in promoting a website and the best 5 ways are outlined here:1. Submit your web site to major search engines. Indexing may take up to three months and you better use those months optimizing your pages and linking your site to other established web site. Some search engines rank a site based on the number of useful links your web pages contain. It would be an advantage to your site if you link it to higher ranked websites and vice versa.2. Keywords are crucial in increasing the page rank of your web site. So be sure to choose the right keywords for your site and insert it in the contents and title of your website.3. Take advantage of the Pay per Click programs of search engines. Bid for keywords so that your site can be included in the sponsored links and pages of search engines. This is probably the best way to promote your website and drive highly targeted traffic to your site.4. Offer something for your customers that they can get for free or you can give discounted product prices and bargain sales. These are good promotional gimmicks and can drive huge traffic to your website.5. If you offer something for free, make sure you require clients to register in your site so you can get their email addresses. You can use these addresses for your future promotions and for constantly getting in touch with your customer base.

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His Most Famous Painting (Edge of the Forest, Near the Gorges D’Apremont) – Theodore Rousseau

A French painter of the Barbizon school, Pierre Etienne Theodore Rousseau or simply Theodore Rousseau (April 15, 1812 – December 22, 1867), was born in Paris in a bourgeois family. Although he was trained in business, his aptitude for arts and painting was soon revealed. Rousseau’s areas of interest included the brilliance of the sea and skies, trees, rock formations, and the shifts in weather & light conditions, which he captured beautifully in his creations. Rousseau used to exhibit his paintings at the Salon in the early 1830s. After being rejected in 1836 however, he took an extreme step. The creator of “Edge of the Forest, near the Gorges d’Apremont,” Theodore, moved to settle in the village of Barbizon, the beautiful Fontainebleau region, where he set up the Barbizon School with other contemporary artists, including Jean-François Millet, Jules Dupré, and Charles-François Daubigny.Theodore Rousseau was extremely passionate about nature and for more than thirty years, he painted the rocky terrain and the ancient trees of the Forest of Fontainebleau. He was particularly fond of representing trees on the canvas and regarded trees as nearly human. He referred to his paintings of trees “portraits” and the trees as “beings.” His masterpieces are “La Déscente des vaches,” “The Chestnut Avenue,” “The Marsh in the Landes,” and “Hoar-Frost” among others. Theodore’s most famous painting “Edge of the Forest, near the Gorges d’Apremont” (1866) is one of his last exhibition-scale paintings depicting nature and trees, a subject he loved so dearly.Measuring 31.67″ x 39.58″, the painting is an oil on canvass work. The “Edge of the Forest, near the Gorges d’Apremont” portrays a grazing area on the rocky plateaus around the Gorges d’Apremont, in the Forest of Fontainebleau. The painting depicts a small herd of cows leisurely grazing and resting in a shadowy grove of chestnut trees, while their herder chats with a traveler on a horse. With extremely dramatic effect, Rousseau has been able to bring in the beauty, splendor, and the intricacies of forest life in the picture. One of the most fascinating features of the painting is the striking and beautiful color palette Rousseau used in depicting the scenery. From the colorful mosses and ferns that carpet the forest to the branches of the huge chestnut and oak trees and the white clouds dotting the sky, the colors are eye catching. Rousseau used stark orange tints, along with deep greens throughout the painting, which reflect the artist’s ability to bring the effect of the lively color variations seen in Japanese prints onto his own creations.Most of Theodore Rousseau’s works appear to be extremely grave, reflecting a somewhat melancholic feel, which is quite appealing for those who appreciate landscape art. Those that have been completed have an extremely good finish, but they are few in number. Rousseau left many of his paintings incomplete, with some parts of the painting filled in intricately and the rest only outlined. His famous painting “Edge of the Forest, near the Gorges d’Apremont” first appeared in an auction in 1952. It was in the collection of Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild of Paris and he might have directly acquired it from Rousseau. The beautiful and dramatic depiction of nature in the “Edge of the Forest, near the Gorges d’Apremont” epitomizes Rousseau’s style of painting.

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How to Build a Personal Brand

What is brand? Often even marketing professionals don’t have an answer for this simple question. Some define a brand as a name, sign, or symbol used to identify items or services of the seller to differentiate them from the competition. Others define a brand as a promise or a pledge to deliver satisfaction and quality. A brand has also been defined as a set of assets linked to a name or symbol that adds value to the end user. Confused? Indeed, the word “brand” has many definitions.To me, the best definition of a brand is “a collection of perceptions” that is designed to influence a customer or an end-user. As such, whether you are an executive at a Fortune 500 company, the owner of a small business, an electrician or a recent college graduate, creating a strong personal brand may be the difference between success and failure, between getting that job or not getting that job.No matter where you are in your career, with the surge of social media, you not only have the ability, but you have the need to manage your brand, both online and in real life. Remember, a brand is the emotional and psychological relationship one has with customers, employers, employees, etc. Strong brands elicit opinions, emotions, and physiological responses.Your goal in building your strong personal brand is to develop positive perception associated with your name. Perceptions such as honest, smart, eager, inventive, forward looking, team player, expert, etc.. are all important traits that employers look for in their employees. As you build your brand, think of your strengths and weaknesses, look at the traits in which you not only excel at, but need to elaborate on to enhance your brand.Even when developing a personal brand, logos are an important as they are a representation of the brand. Logos are the “shortcut” to the brand. Clearly logos evoke emotion, when we see the Starbucks circle, we think of freshly brewed coffee, looking at AFLAC, we think of that crazy duck, and so on. Think of a simple logo that you would like people to associate with you and your brand. Logos for personal brands should be simple, clear and understated. Most individuals choose to use either a small geometric figure, their initials or just their name in a particular font as their personal brand logo. A logo makes your card, CV and emails stand apart from the others. Remember, your personal brand is most likely your name, and perhaps a tagline, such as financial executive or marketing expert, and so on.Given brands are not concrete, but are the thoughts, feelings, and psychological relationships between two or more parties, your brand is the foundation of all your marketing activities, determining the position and strength of your entire marketing framework. Just like a house foundation needs to be strong to hold up a building, your marketing foundation must be solid. In other words, your brand must be the truth and it must be about you.Personal branding yields both internal and external benefits. Externally, you create an identity that resonates with employers, potential employers and customers. Your brand needs to form emotional relationships with the people you are trying to reach. This is important because often people don’t buy products or hire individuals based on logic, they often act based on their emotions and perceptions.Your personal brand should act as an internal compass, driving you in the correct direction in all your actions. Every action you take will either reinforce or weaken your personal brand. A clear personal brand will set a clear understanding of what you are about.Your personal brand is defined by all your actions. Your personal brand is the sum of many factors such as the clothing that you wear, your body language, the way you handle yourself in business and in personal activities, your personal style i.e. grooming, hair style etc.There are several key steps on how to successfully build your personal brand.Step one- Research and reflection. Before you develop your brand, you must define your core values, mission and goals. You need to analyze your audience and competition and establish your uniqueness, i.e. what makes you different from the competition. A solid brand will make you standout, giving you an advantage over competition. While this may be a subtle advantage, it is indeed an advantage.Your personal brand is defined by all your actions. It is the sum of many factors such as the clothing that you wear, your body language, the way you handle yourself in business and in personal activities, your personal style i.e. grooming, hair style etc. and the people who you associate with. Take care in this step, as it is the foundation to your brand. Remember, your personal brand is basically the way you market yourself to the world.In sum, the first step of developing a personal brand is simply defining who you are and what message do you want to deliver.Step two- Define your logo and tagline. Once you determine personal brand, including your unique selling proposition, then define your tagline and logo. As discussed previously, your logo should be simple and understated, preferably your initials or a geometric design. Regardless of what type of logo you use, once it is developed, use it everywhere and anywhere. Use it in all your social media profiles, use it on your letterhead, your business cards (yes, order good quality personal business cards), email signatures, any press releases, etc. Your goal is to have people recognize your logo, hence your brand and your name.Please don’t get hung up on finding and thinking about a logo, a monogram or your name in simple text may be perfect. Indeed, the simpler the better. No matter what you choose, it is important that you stay consistent. For instance, if you determine your name will be in a certain font in a certain color, make sure this is the case all your communications i.e. your letterhead for your resume and cover letter, your digital signature and so on.As stated earlier, a logo is a shortcut to your brand. Just think of logos, such as a swoosh, an apple, and good ole Col. Sanders, and think how quickly Nike, Apple, and KFC come to mind.Your tagline should be several words that you believe describe you, professionally. Your tagline should be a very brief title or summary. In my career, I use several taglines: global financial executive, global banking expert, an accomplished author, or cost-saving specialist depending on the audience I want to reach. Warning: It is imperative to use this approach with extreme caution, as you do not want to confuse your audience, which may dilute the power of your brand. Your personal brand statement is merely a more detailed tagline, a sentence or two describing you and how you want the public to know you.Step three -Develop your online reputation. Create a personal website tied to your first and last name. Use your logo and branding here. If you do not have a personal website, this is a must. It is cheaper and easier than many people think. Please look to future newsletters on how to create a personal website. As sure as the sun is going to rise tomorrow, your potential customers and employers will search your name to gather information on you, your personality, your career history, education and personal life, etc. After all, we all “Google” the people that we meet or speak to over the course of the day, especially those whom we want to impress or get to know better.Build a solid brand name with online activities that will promote your personal mission, highlight your career achievements and illustrate your goals for the future. Just as it is important to build a positive brand, is equally, if not more important to protect yourself against any negatives factors influencing your brand.Scrub your name, clean. It never ceases to amaze me how many people ignore this very important step. Start by reviewing the various social media sites in which you participate. Remember, you are no longer that 16-year-old wanting to impress your friends, enemies, and the “love of your life”. Make sure that these sites are scrubbed of anything, repeat anything, that could negatively influence your reputation. Look at postings, pictures, tweets, and any other activity that would be viewed negatively. Remember, potential customers or employers may not look favorably at that picture of you and your buddies guzzling beer out of a funnel at that frat party, wearing togas. My motto is when in doubt, hit delete. But remember, once things enter cyberspace, it really never leaves it. So going forward, do not post anything online that you do not want to see on the front page of the Wall Street Journal.After that task, search your name in various search engines and look to address any negative items that you can. While I’m not suggesting you should represent yourself as PollyAnn on social media, because people won’t believe that either, it is however important that you stress the positives and minimize the negatives. Most people want to hire the boy or girl next-door or someone that reminds them of themselves or someone they wish they were at your age.Step four -Write a blog. Find something that you are interested in and write about it. It does not need to be a work of art, another War and Peace, but it should be a short and pithy posting that informs the reader about something that you know, but they may not know. This is your chance to express some personality, so that potential employers can see another side of the multidimensional you. A word of warning, play it safe. Avoid controversial subjects in your blog in order to limit the chance of offending potential employers. Unless it is important to your career, do not touch on hot subjects such as politics, religion…Writing a blog does several things, it is a source of information for your connections, it establishes you as a knowledgeable well-rounded person, and it keeps you in the forefront of people’s minds. Do not underestimate the power of a short one-page article.In addition to the external benefits, writing a blog keeps you interested in current events, develops your writing skills, and provides a level of discipline, assuming that you committed to writing your blog several days per week (which is highly recommended). Now that you wrote your blog, post it anywhere you can. Post it on your website, your social media activity pages i.e. LinkedIn, Facebook, twitter and post it to as many blogs as you can find.The fifth and final step discussed in this series is participation. Now that you have a brand, an outlet for your brand i.e. your website and the blog, you need to get as many people as possible to see you and your work. There are many ways of accomplishing this, one of the easiest ways is commenting on other people’s blogs, most likely they will return the favor. Moreover, it is yet another way to get your name out in social media. It is important however to keep your comments short, to the point, and non-confrontational especially if you have a different point of view. While you may add additional facts to support your point of view, it is likely better not to comment on that particular post. There are always other ones.Now that you have your brand defined, your logo and personal statement developed and an active website you have completed the first steps in creating a brand. Going forward, think of everything you do as influencing your brand.

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Health Care Reform Cons

It seems that the more discussion there is in regard to health care reform, the more discussion there is in regard to health care reform cons. Undoubtedly, there has been a need for some type of health care over haul. Now that health care reform is a reality many Americans are faced with determining the pros and cons and how they will be affected beyond simple access to health care. In this article, we’ll discuss different cons or concerns by those opposing and supporting health care reform and focus on the “biggest con of all”.Pros typically go hand in hand with cons. However, based on numerous emails and request we’ll focus on the biggest con associated with health care reform and provide a follow up article addressing pros (aside from the following couple of pros/reasons for a reform).1) As of 2008 there were more than forty million Americans who were uninsured.2) A 2009 American journal of medicine study revealed that sixty two percent of 2007 bankruptcies were the related to medical expenses.Obviously with so many being uninsured and filing bankruptcy, one would say that there is definitely a need for health care reform. However, when we take a closer look, we see different ways that the change will affect us as well as shed a light on deeper issues. First, the forty plus million uninsured individuals could be somewhat tainted in that these figures likely include undocumented immigrants. Second, of the 2007 bankruptcies (sixty two percent of which were related to medical expenses) over sixty percent of the individuals had medical insurance!That leads us to one of the biggest cons and one that should be reviewed very closely. That is insurance ignorance (being insured without the knowledge of how your plan works). Sixty percent of 2007 bankruptcies were medical related and sixty percent of those had medical insurance. The problem here is quite simple in that individuals securing health coverage are doing so without truly knowing what their coverage means. Does that sound familiar? How about the recent housing implosion? The housing crisis stemmed from many different contributors.However, it is a widely held view that many new homeowners simply had little knowledge of the terms of their loans and/or those who held the knowledge (lenders, appraisers, originators etc) failed to do an appropriate job in educating or even attempting to educate potential new homeowners. Many times an individual may be “covered” by an insurance carrier. However, in an attempt to have low monthly premiums, the individual may choose to have a high deductible.A monthly premium of $100 or less sounds fantastic until a major health issue or accident arises and the individual must come up with thousands in order to meet a deductible. Bear in mind that a car accident causing the need for major medical work can cost $3,000-$5,000 per day in hospital stay alone (this does not include the actual surgery to repair the damage). In most cases individuals have no idea how much a hospital stay will run them nor do they have any idea of the bankruptcy statistics.There are certainly other cons associated with health care reform. Some include longer wait times for individuals to receive diagnosis due to an increased number of insured individuals. However, the “pro” ponents of health care reform would say that this opens the door for more jobs. Other cons include the growth of the federal deficit and increase in taxes we pay. As well as it being difficult to administer because it is too hard to determine what type of coverage should be the minimum guaranteed.There are many more cons to reform. However, the one that we find most troubling is the knowledge of what an individual will receive in their newly gained policy. Let’s not walk down the path of mandating insurance for all individuals without mandating certain information that must be shared with the end consumer. The statistics speak for themselves. More than half of the bankruptcies of 2007 were medical related and more than half of those individuals had coverage. It may be possible to help individuals find credit relief prior to their downfall. However, it will start with the “reformers” implementing health plans and health education based on the statistics that we currently have at our fingertips.

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There Are Many Health Care Careers To Choose From

Are you interested in health care careers, but you simply just don’t want to be a doctor? You’re not alone. Getting a PhD can take a very long time and it can be extremely expensive. Besides this, not everyone wants to become a doctor. The good news is that there are a lot of other health care careers that will allow you to make a very good living, help other people, and they will also be very satisfying. Before you begin a health care career, you should take some time and go over all your options and try to find the best fit for you.Probably one of the most popular health care careers out there is nursing. As populous nursing is, there always seems to be a shortage of good nurses. Most people go into nursing because they will be directly caring for patients and they can see the results for themselves. The two types of nurses are either licensed practical nurses or registered nurses. Becoming an LPN only takes about one year of schooling and this is usually the most popular option. To become an RN you will need as much as three years of school, but you also earn more money.Another option for health care careers is to become a certified nurse aide. These nurse aides are commonly referred to as a CNA. As a CNA, you will not earn as much money as a nurse but you will still earn a decent wage. Also, you will not do as much work as a nurse. Instead, you will be assisting the nurse by helping them care for the patients. Many nurses start out as certified nurse aides to help them pay for their education.If nursing doesn’t appeal to you, then maybe you should consider a career in the field of radiology. Radiology is one of the few health care careers that has a decent work schedule. Many radiologists have a set schedule and work very few weekends. You’ll see most radiologists performing tests like a CT scan, MRI, and an x-ray. As long as you have the proper training and a good work history, you should have no trouble finding work in this health care field.Some people like to travel, and if you are one of these people then there are health care careers for you as well. Probably the most popular option is the traveling nurse. This career path can take you just about anywhere in the entire world. Many of these traveling nurses work for private companies, while others work for larger nonprofit companies like the Red Cross. Traveling nurses make very good money and they get to see the whole world at the same time. If your goal is to make a little bit of difference in this world, then this is one way you could go about doing it.

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Physical Fitness and You

Physical fitness is to the human body what fine-tuning is to an engine. It is not a race, it’s a pursuit. In its most general meaning, physical fitness is a general state of good physical health. It is a foundation for a long and successful life.Physical fitness is usually measured by periodic tests measuring strength, endurance, agility, coordination, and flexibility. Physical fitness is the capacity of the heart, blood vessels, lungs, and muscles to function at optimum efficiency.It has two meanings — General fitness (a state of health and well-being) and specific fitness (the ability to perform specific aspects of sports or occupations). Physical Fitness is important, even on bed rest.A general-purpose physical fitness program must address the following essentials:Cardiovascular Fitness: It is the ability of the circulatory and respiratory systems to supply oxygen to muscles during continuing physical activity.Regular exercises enable more blood to be pumped with each stroke of heart.Flexibility Training: Stretching increases the range of motion of a joint. It improves suppleness.Strength Training: Strength training is the use of resistance to muscular contraction to build the strength, and size of skeletal muscles.Muscular Endurance: Endurance is the ability to exert for a long period of time. In humans, it is usually used in aerobic or anaerobic exercise.Body Composition: In physical fitness, body composition is used to describe the percentages of fat, bone and muscle in human bodies.FitnessFitness, most importantly cardio-respiratory fitness, has been directly correlated to the mortality rate. Fitness can be described as a condition that helps us look, feel, and do our best.In previous years, fitness was commonly defined as the capacity to carry out the day’s activities without undue fatigue. These days, physical fitness is considered a measure of the body’s ability to function efficiently and effectively in work and leisure activities, to be healthy, to resist diseases, and to meet emergency situations.Many sources also cite mental and emotional health as an important part of overall fitness. This is often presented in textbooks as a triangle made up of three sub-sections, which represent physical, emotional, and mental fitness.Physical fitness involves the performance of the heart, lungs, and muscles. And, since what we do with our bodies also affects what we can do with our minds, fitness influences to some degree qualities such as mental alertness and emotional stability.People normally prefer walking for fitness activities followed in order by: swimming, fishing, bicycle riding, camping, golf, bowling, exercise equipment, hiking, hunting, aerobics, calisthenics, jogging, and tennis. Women prefer fitness-related indoor activities and men prefer outdoor sports.The top level of physical fitness tends to mesh physiology and psychology. The exercises improve function of the muscular and skeletal systems, enhance circulation, augment energy and elevate overall individual levels of fitness. The level of physical fitness can be influenced by regular, systematic exercise.As energy depends on nutrition, proper nutrition is important to physical fitness. If diet is not adequate, the fitness level will drop. Overweight, underweight, and weak individuals will have below average fitness levels.ExercisesExercise that doesn’t raise your heart rate to a certain level and keep it there for 20 minutes won’t contribute significantly to cardiovascular fitness. It is better to select exercises that involve total body involvement.Such exercises improve and maintain fitness most effectively — e.g. Running, swimming, golf, dancing, cycling, and brisk walking. The correct exercises will help you decrease body fat and increase or maintain muscle mass.By performing many different exercises for a low number of repetitions, the muscles are strengthened, elongated and toned without creating bulk. Total concentration on the body during each exercise emphasizes movement quality, coordination and breath.HealthHealthy people have more active and more interesting life. Physical fitness can also prevent or treat many chronic health conditions brought on by unhealthy lifestyle or aging.To stay healthy it’s important to participate in physical activity. Even those of us who haven’t always led active lifestyles, increasing our physical activity now will help us live longer & healthier lives.To live a full and healthy life, exercise must be a part of it. It is the ability to endure, to bear up, to withstand stress, to carry on in circumstances where an unfit person could not continue, and it is a major basis for good health and well-being. A physically fit body has less chance of acute health problems and chronic disease.Major Benefits of Physical Fitness:o Feel fresho Reduce chance of heart attack & strokeo Reduce the chances of developing adult onset diabeteso Reduce chances of being overweighto Manage stress efficientlyo Experience more energy

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How is Parkinson’s Disease Treated?

Parkinsons disease is a comparatively common condition of the nervous system which is as a result of problems with the nerve cells in the part of the brain which generates dopamine. This is a chemical substance that is needed for the smooth management of muscles and motion, so the symptoms of the disorder is a result of a reduction of that chemical. Parkinson’s disease mostly impacts individuals aged over 65, but it can and does come on at younger ages with 5-10% developing before the age of forty.

The chief clinical features of Parkinson’s disease are a tremor or shaking, that will commences in one arm or hand; there is often a muscle rigidity or stiffness along with a slowness of motion; the stance gets more stooped; additionally, there are equilibrium concerns. Parkinson’s can also cause greater pain and result in depression symptoms and create problems with memory and sleep. There isn’t any specific test for the diagnosis of Parkinson’s. The identification is usually made primarily based on the history of the symptoms, a physical along with neural evaluation. Other reasons for the signs and symptoms also need to be eliminated. There are imaging assessments, such as a CAT scan or MRI, that can be used to eliminate other issues. From time to time a dopamine transporter diagnostic might also be utilized.

The actual cause of Parkinson’s isn’t known. It does appear to have both genetic and environmental elements with it plus some specialists think that a virus may induce Parkinson’s as well. Decreased amounts of dopamine and also norepinephrine, a substance which in turn is responsible for the dopamine, have already been found in those with Parkinson’s, but it is not yet determined what is causing this. Unusual proteins which are named Lewy bodies have been located in the brains of those who have Parkinson’s; nevertheless, experts don’t know what role they may play in the development of Parkinson’s. While the specific cause just isn’t known, studies have identified risk factors that establish groups of people who are more prone to develop the condition. Men are more than one and a half times more prone to get Parkinson’s as compared to women. Caucasians are much more prone to get the condition as compared to African Americans or Asians. Those who have close members of the family who have Parkinson’s disease are more likely to develop it, implying the inherited contribution. A number of toxins could raise the potential for the problem, implying a role of the environment. People who experience difficulties with brain injuries can be more likely to go on and have Parkinson’s disease.

There is no identified remedy for Parkinson’s disease. That will not imply that the signs and symptoms can’t be handled. The main method is to use medicines to raise or replacement for the dopamine. Balanced and healthy diet together with frequent exercise is crucial. There may be changes made to the surroundings at home and work to keep the individual involved as well as active. There are also some options sometimes for brain surgical treatment which can be used to relieve some of the motor symptoms. A diverse team of different health professionals are often involved.

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