College may not be the place to go. Try the Small Business Administration, they offer several classes that are related to doing business in the real world. As to what classes one would take at a college, I would think accounting, advertising etc.

Several years ago, a friend of mine, who for purposes of this story we’ll call Milton, expanded his business into Europe.

He also moved to a 3rd continent and expanded his US operations to a 100,000 sq. foot building. But he begin from one room in his house more than 18 years ago.

At the time, Milton was a printing salesman. It was a pretty good job working for a pretty good company with a pretty good boss. All in all, he had a pretty good life.

As sometimes happens, Milton begin to look to the future and specifically the future of his children.

Education for Excellence

He wanted to be able to give them something, though at the beginning, he wasn’t sure what kind of gift would really mean something.

Finally he decided that the gift, or legacy if you will, he wanted to leave to his children was to give them a more formal education than he had gotten. He wanted to be able to provide and pay for all college expenses for each of his children.

Now, this desire came about over a period of time and was really a MasterMind primarily between Milton and himself.

Forewarned is Forearmed

One day, however, Milton had a very disturbing thought: “Three of my children are all going to be in college at the same time!”

Oh my! This was not going to work at all; an impending crisis loomed. Milton could never pay for that with his current earnings. He didn’t see how he could get a big enough pay increase or to sell enough to cover all those college expenses.

To be prepared is half the victory!

This troubled him for several days. At first there seemed to be no answer, but he refused to give up – this dream was too important to him.

He read, he studied, he MasterMinded and brainstormed and asked other people for their thoughts and ideas.

Over time he collected many ideas from various sources but discarded each one as they came because it did not work, was too hard, or for various other reasons.

What you think about, you bring about.

Milton became discouraged. He felt there was no way out. But after a while Milton began to get angry with himself for thinking in these defeatist terms.

He made a conscious change in his thinking. He rededicated himself to a successful outcome and decided again that there must be a solution, even if after all his efforts he had not come across it yet.

Milton made a commitment to success and knew he would find it!

Visualize success!

He thought and thought and began adding additional solutions. Of these, the best one seemed to be this: he would keep his pretty good job and at the same time develop a little business on the side and save all the profits from this job to fund his dream. Milton would then have enough money to pay for all those college expenses a few years down the road.

Plan your work and work your plan.

He created a plan to become a customer to his current employer. He would take specific orders, buy the printing from his employer then sell it back to his new customers to pay for his kids’ college.

In thinking of how he might approach his boss however he decided that a slightly oblique approach might work best.

Milton went to his boss, told him of his situation with his children and college and asked his boss if he wanted to give Milton a raise. He paused to let his boss think about that for a moment.

a Win-Win solution!

Then he said “I could also start a business on the side and buy printing from you for a few of my specialty customers.” He laid out his idea in detail.

His boss agreed that it was a fine idea and gave his approval.

So Milton started his little “business for his kids college expenses” in his garage.

It was complete success. So much so that the new business soon outgrew Milton’s garage and took over a room in his home.

After a short while, his new enterprise had taken over part of every room in his home. He had to move his rapidly growing business to a regular business location.

Expanding Dreams Fill the Vacuum

As college expenses were now assured and his various children began moving through all those wonderful experiences, Milton’s dreams began to grow.

It didn’t seem anymore that just paying for their college education would be enough. He wanted to give them more.

He began to create a second legacy for his children. He wanted that each of his children, after their graduation from college, come to work for him and he would teach each of them to be a “good employee” in this fabulous land of opportunity called America.

Legacies of Love

From here, the legacies – originally a gift for his children – began to grow as fast as his business and expand to include all those he loved.

Milton joined a formal master-mind group made up of other business owners with firms from $400 million down to as small as $2 million in annual revenues, called MasterMind Advisory Council #2.

With the help and guidance of this group, it wasn’t long before the third legacy, his beloved wife’s dream of retiring early from the business they have founded and “going to the house” was also achieved.

Life Lessons in Success

The next two legacies were natural extensions of having his children be “good employees”. For those children who were interested in business, Milton wanted them to be able to handle more responsibility, in essence an entire division of the company he had founded. This fourth legacy happened, too.

MasterMind Advisory Councils

Then he wanted to impart more authority, experience and wisdom on those children so he increased the size of the divisions they were handling, giving each their own budget and authority exceeding the magical $1,000,000 mark.

He also helped each get involved in their own MasterMind Advisory Council Groups, which he believed was of the utmost importance. This legacy came to pass as well.

Future Generations

In time and after consulting and MasterMinding with his Advisory Council #2 and others advisors, Milton decided to do some more planning, this time looking at future generations, beyond even his own children.

He hired some very fine financial planners and over time his children and very key employees were given stock in the privately owned company. This was legacy number six.

Planning for Success the MasterMind way

Now about this time someone who wanted to buy his company approached him. But Milton was so happy with what had been achieved that he quickly declined the generous offer and wouldn’t even consider it.

During one of the MasterMind Advisory Council meetings, he let them know about the offer. Some of the members mentioned that maybe there were some other viewpoints Milton might want to consider.

Planning is very important when somebody wants to buy illiquid assets and opportunities for sale and subsequent events such as this do not come along often.

MasterMind Research Project

Milton was not convinced but in the past had found such great wisdom in these fellow business owners that he set himself on the path of a MasterMind Research Project.

He held over 40 successive master-mind/ brainstorming phone interviews with people who had been in similar situations or advisers to people who had been.

He was shocked at the results of these interviews and it began to dramatically broaden and change his opinion of his own decision to not sell his company.

Connections

About this same time as profits and sales were up, they began planning for a “ranch house” on several hundred acres which they had purchased a few years back, somewhat on a lark, but also somewhat on a dream of a connection place for their descendants many generations into the future. This was to be legacy number 7.

Ah – Ha !

His business expanded to Europe then to Asia and still more offers came in, most of which didn’t work or undervalued his company too much.

But then 2-3 very serious offers arrived about the same time and after several MasterMind sessions Milton suddenly had a major ah-ha realization.

He has at least 10-15 more years of productive working life and if during those years they remained as they had been, he would be blocking or limiting his children’s future. All of a sudden he became more interested in what a sale might look like.

Finally to get out of his children’s way, he sold his company for over $30m cash. This from a $5,000 initial investment which was actually a loan taken out against an old automobile.

Whatever the mind of man
can conceive
and believe,
it can achieve.

– Napoleon Hill, author, educator and statesman

Napoleon Hill is also credited with coining the phrase ‘Master Mind’ which he defines as: “coordination of knowledge and effort in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose.”

In his book, Think and Grow Rich, he teaches how MasterMind groups can significantly multiply an individual’s brain power and continually motivate and expand positive emotions for each of the participants.

This powerful process is still in use today with life-changing results for many. What is great about this marvelous thing called MasterMind is that anyone can learn to harness this abundant natural force and use it to improve their world!

It is a great task of parents of today’s generation to establish a fixed curriculum standard in getting their children started for a valuable formal education. The home handles the informal education of each individual from the time he is a toddler, after which parents may choose the kind of school, that will later be a trademark institution linking him to wherever his objectives and goals bring him.

There are many highly exclusive schools for either gender. Educational settings of this kind are highly expensive, are opened to the rich and affluent. There are those simply private, inclusive of all coeds, a much more highly standardized than a public school. Public schools operational systems are based on the economic condition of a place.

Products of public schools of the third world and poorer countries, and those promoting scholarships of some kind don’t meet the normal standard level in education. Institutional systems’ lack of certain criteria fails to cope in developing confidence, and competitiveness in business, and harsh brutalities of life when they go their own, in job seeking, entrepreneurship, or raising a family.

The modern-day complexity in today’s lifestyle, made possible the accreditation of various studies within the confines of a home. There are various reasons why it is done so, especially to exceptional cases in the nature of work, and the situations of life one has been drawn into. Examples of individuals that need apply a home schooling curriculum are those in the entertainment world, such as in the movies, television, theatres, and advertisements when there’s no definite time in photo or filming footages.

Actors, especially children characters are left to study with tutors, and thru correspondence schools, where materials are sent to their homes in form of packages and mails for self- study, with a domestic teacher, or the parents themselves.

The home schooling curriculum opens opportunity for some parents to act fairly against any risk on drugs, travel, and social elemental influences in school environments today, and find themselves in direct management of their children in the home.

Home-based schools studies cater some cautious parents in giving education to their children up to some grade levels where they’re mature enough to handle themselves. Leaflets of the well-based curriculum planned for home study are also delivered by the agencies of correspondent schools. Progress of the child is sent the same way around, or by mails.

A random study of families adapting this study method has run surveys to be positively favorable. Compared to all their peers among accredited schools, private or public, home schooling curriculum results of validating exams for college entry, favors 80% mark of competence against counterparts, rating only 50% in effectiveness survey.

Education, both formal and informal could still be at best, if outright guide or adviser of the child is the parent who has the definite full concern for him.

If the state doesn't have them, perhaps they could suggest other options. Best of luck.

Most people look forward to Christmas or New Year’s as it gives them a chance to raise a cheer with all their good friends and family members. I, on the other hand, am completely dysfunctional and my greatest moment every year is the start of the College Football season. That’s when the excitement of football betting kicks off. The 2006 season is right at our doorstep and will begin Thursday at 6:00 pm EST when the Central Michigan Chippewas host ACC powerhouse, Boston College. The visitors are favored by 13 1/2 but they have their minds on Clemson coming to their house the following week.

Emotional game in Oxford, Ohio as Northwestern faces Miami of Ohio. Thirty one-year old Pat Fitzgerald begins his coaching career on the road as he replaces Randy Walker who passed away suddenly this year. Miami of Ohio has some game breakers and I would be careful laying -4 with a road favorite at my favorite sportsbook!

Year two of the Steve Spurrier reign in South Carolina begins on the road at Mississippi State. SC is favored by 6 and word has it that the Gamecocks are loaded with speed and you know they will have some gimmicks in their trick bag.

Very interesting spread in San Diego as it looks like the bookmakers are begging you to take UTEP. The Aztecs introduce their new coach, Chuck Long, who comes over from Oklahoma. The Miners have Carson Palmer’s brother, Jordan, heaving the football and coach Mike Price who is one of the best in the business. UTEP has been a darling of the sports bettors the past two years, with outstanding cover percentage!

In North Carolina on Saturday the Tar Heels welcome Rutgers to their den and this line of NC – 5 1/2 is rather low. The Scarlet Knights are a very good team and they gave Arizona State a tough go in the bowl game last year. I have to lean with the dog!

Everyone is touting the Cal Golden Bears as a BCS contender, yet you can get them at +2 against the underachieving Tennessee Volunteers. Phil Fulmer’s crew has been burning bettor’s cabbage the past few years and they will have their hands full. Can they handle the 100,000 folks in the stands?

What about Pittsburgh -4 1/2 against ACC Virginia? Former Bear and Dolphin coach Dave Wannstedt is in year two and word has it that the Panthers are a much improved team. They have not been kind to the bettors lately, but I plan on laying the points.

Bob Acton

Sports Betting

Article promotion is one of the best kept secrets of Internet Advertising and Search Engine Optimization. These keyword rich satellites go out and find laser targeted traffic and bring it back to your site in the form of quality visitors.

There are many reasons this has become the most cost effective way to promote your web site if you are on a budget. This article takes a look at seven of the benefits of creating articles for your web site and the reasons articles have become such an effective marketing tool.

1. Unique Content Feeds the Search Engine Monsters
Google is like a person who is fed by quality, content. If it knows you are providing quality, relevant content for you visitors, it visits more often and rewards you for your efforts by bringing you qualified traffic.

2. Quantity of Quality Content
Writing articles is also an easy way to increase the quantity of the content on your web site. Short articles on subjects your visitors want to know about provides value to the visitor, which is valuable to the search engines. The more you have, the more you are rewarded with visitors.

3. Low Cost Production
A targeted article is only limited to the amount of time you have to write. can easily produce one or two articles a day in a couple of hours if you simply write in a conversational tone.

For those who hate to write, you can hire someone to do it for you whether it is a college student or someone from a freelance web site. Some places will write articles for as little as $20 per article. Freelancers may be willing to do it for even less.

4. Instant Exposure
Once you have created some quality articles, you can submit them to article sites or use a submission service for instant exposure. You can literally start to receive targeted visitors as soon as the article is posted.

5. A Little Article Goes a Long Way
Articles can literally stay around forever. As long as the web sites you submitted your article to are up, your articles will be there as well. This means a lifetime of targeted traffic as a result of anyone who reads your article, sees your signature file and visits your web site.

6. Builds Your Credibility as an Expert in a Field
Articles are a powerful tool for branding yourself as an expert by demonstrating your knowledge on certain subjects. It also gives you the opportunity to provide useful information for potential prospects and customers

7. Presells Your Customers
Quality web site content in the form of articles is another way to help presell your customers or generate leads for your business. A good article will wet the customers whistle and leave them wanting more and asking more questions.

When they have questions, they will often turn you, the expert. You can then turn these curious prospects into clients and customers.

These are just three of the seven main reasons to put articles on your existing web site or to create new web sites with articles. In comparison to most types of Internet Advertising, it is probably the most cost effective and the best investment of both time and money.

Articles, press releases and other types of content are all becoming a vital part in bringing Internet Marketers and businesses closer to web surfers by forcing us to produce higher quality content.

Those who facilitate this process are the ones who will be rewarded the most.