When was the last time youd heard a secret being told? That might not be the last time because the secret to network marketing online will break the cipher of its secrets. The secrets will be told. Thus, the secret will no longer be a secret. The secrets are revealed. All thats left is for us to read and find them out. First things first, lets define what Network Marketing is.

Network Marketing is also called Multi-Level Marketing (MLM). Network Marketing is a dual effort of franchising and express marketing of products. Interested individuals can get associated with a mother company in a seemingly freelance contractor relationship. These interested individuals are called sellers after getting in. Sellers are monetarily compensated based on the volume of sales of their marketing or selling performance and the sales of those sellers whom they bring into the company.

I have provided here some tips on how to break the codes of secrets of Network Marketing Online. Take a read for they will boost your Network Marketing business.

1. Practice using your products and make it a habit. There is always this common mistake of the Network Marketing moderator in asking why his or her business is not progressing. Why ask that question, if you the owner and moderator of your business, are not utilizing your own products? Why ask that your companys budget is descending and is always on the debit side of the worksheet? Well, I am fervently hoped that this isnt your case. Want to avoid that circumstance? If your answer is yes, then put now in your lists to success my tip number 1.

2. Never stop learning and maintain your velocity in educating your self. There is no such a thing as information overload. According to what I have read, Anyone who stops learning today is uneducated tomorrow. This quotation speaks by itself and is self-evident and very elementary. Read your daily those of business magazines. Learn from the success of other people. Lots of books are available. The short sentence phrase that might have read might take into the tower of success. Watch out! The book of success might just watch you.

3. Set-up a long-term business goal. So, what is that goal? TO SUCCEED is your main and specific goal. Nobody does desire not to succeed, right? If you want SUCCESS to creep your business, then have well-planned business goals.

4. Schedule a regular product and plan presentation among your distributors. If you are the owner of your network marketing business, then this is just right for you. It does not take away a portion of your personality if you meet everyday your sellers to have a personal meeting with them. This not only creates a security of their staying in your company. But it also creates an income security enough to support you.

5. A sense of CARE makes a big difference. It might consume all the papers on Earth to explain or to say something about care. But it only takes a simple act to show that you recognize your distributors or sellers existence. Your distributors or sellers will stay longer in the group if they feel that they are appreciated. Simple token of appreciation will do such as money or any other recognition that posters your appreciation to their job well-done.

6. Train self-driven distributors. Nothing compares to the amount of tasks done by groups that work independently in their own independent way. Lead them first then allow them to unleash their potentials. So how do you do that? You may exert some kind of presentations that will catch their innate desire to motivate themselves independently. You will later find out how progressive your group is.

7. Populate your business with a customer-oriented situation. Your distributing power lies on your distributor. There is always this common mistake of taking for granted the customers opinions on your way of assessing them. The transaction is ONLINE but it is not a valid reason not to establish good rapport among your customers online. Just be on line and your customers will lead the line toward your business objective.

8. Know what your customers need. Anticipating your customers needs ahead of time is better than selling unappreciated products. Practice the art of listening to your customers suggestions, wants, and needs. Once you get their trust, you can immediately pave the way towards your goal of motivating customers on patronizing your products.

A business plan is a very important part of any business. It is usually drawn up before the business launches, but can also be developed after a business has already taken off. A good plan can take some time to develop but the effort you put into it will be well worth it to make your business succeed. Not many people know exactly what goes into a good business plan. What alot don’t realize is that each business plan is unique to each business. Just because a Candy Shop’s business plan is successful for them doesn’t mean it will be successful for a Webhosting business. Though the design of the business plan may be similar, it is truly the details inside that make it work.

Here is an example outline of a business I developed for Logo2D.com . This will give you an idea of some of the subjects that go into a good business plan:

1.0 Executive Summary
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Mission

2.0 Company Summary
2.1 Company Ownership
2.2 Company History (for ongoing companies) or
Startup Plan (for new companies)
2.3 Company Locations and Facilities

3.0 Products and Services
3.1 Product and Service Description
3.2 Business Advertising Program
3.3 Sourcing and Fulfillment
3.4 Technology

4.0 Strategy and Implementation Summary
4.1 Customers, Target Market & New Technology
4.2 Competitive Edge
4.3 Marketing
4.4 Main Competitors
4.5 Strategic Alliances
4.6 Milestones

5.0 Web Plan Summary
5 Development Information

6.0 Management Summary
6.1 Organizational Structure
6.2 Personnel Plan

7.0 Financial Plan
7.1 Breakeven Analysis
7.2 Projected Profit and Loss
7.3 Projected Balance Sheet

As you can see it seems a little complex, but the best thing to do is to break it down into parts. Usually each category(Category 17) will remain the same on most business plans. Some categories may be added in or taken out all together. The key is to provide as much essential data as possible. For example on Number 5.0 Web Plan Summary. You business plan mike look something like this:

Part: 5.0 Web Plan Summary

5 Development Information

Logo2D.com has already developed the necessary tools for business including:

Business Identity

Our logo is unique to us, displaying a eye appealing, unique symbol that when seen can be easily recognized as Logo2D.com creating brand labelling.

Ecommerce service

Logo2D.com features a fully operational ecommerce website system that allows products to be added through an admin section on the site. It also has the ability to take, receive and process orders, remove sold products, creating promotional offers and coupons/vouchers and also displaying featured products on the front page of the website. Also included in the ecommerce program is an area to add, create and manage website ads placed on the Logo2D.com.

Website development

All graphics for the website development have already been developed, coded and integrated into the ecommerce system. The website is live and taking orders on www.Logo2D.com

Products

Development needed products(such as logos) have already be developed and an inventory of over 150 products are on the website at any given time. As soon as logo is sold(as well as during down times) a new logo/new logos are being developed to the highest of quality and added back onto the website.

Marketing Material

Marketing plan and materials are in the works.

As you can see from above what details are given have already been researched and found out. There aren’t any comments from a personnel stand point, just facts that have proven. You can also project different areas of your business plan but you will have to do some research on this as well. So when you are developing your business plan you want to deal with facts and information you already have or can get(not comments or guesses).

When developing a good business plan, research is definitely key. The effort you put into it will determine the effort you will put into your business.

Anthony Jewell has over 6 Years experience in the Web & Graphics World. You can visit my business at http://www.logo2d.com

©Copyright 2005 Logo2D.com : Feel free to use this article freely but please keep in the copyright

In Britain we all like to make the most of the summers that we get, because we’re never quite sure when the next one will come around. With that said, a good holiday that runs smoothly is important to us, because we never know just when we’re going to get one of us those either.

And what better way to relax than a trip to the English coast, or abroad? A chance to forget your job, your feuds - even your family - for a few weeks.

“It is!” I hear you cry.

Travelling:

In terms of eco-friendliness, you will understandably be doing less environmental damage the closer you go to your home. But - if going down the road for your holidays doesn’t appeal - you can always lower your carbon emissions on public transport. Take a bus, a coach or a train. Shared transport means just 1 vehicle is polluting, when it could be 20 if everybody drove their cars.

If driving is an essential part of your holiday, then it’s still possible to car share; find some one who is going close to your destination, and that way, you are both using one car where you could use two.

Even flying - for all its reported damage to the environment - can be given the eco-friendly treatment. Choose the deal that gives the most direct route to your destination, limiting your flying time.

Of course, some journeys that would normally mean taking an aeroplane can still be driven. If you’re going to France or Belgium, take the Eurostar. Even if you’re going further afield, there’s nothing to stop you training it to these destinations and then driving or taking a train from there.

Being Eco-friendly when you arrive:

A holiday is not just in the travelling. when you arrive, most of the travelling rules apply; try to use public transport, or failing that, car-share. Try to walk or cycle as often as you can.

Besides transport, make sure not to buy throwaway items, and buy local products; the former for the obvious reason that it creates non biodegradable rubbish, the latter because local products have travelled a short distance to get to you, and so have exerted less carbon during production.

Carbon Offsetting:

If you cannot avoid flying, or car sharing and public transport aren’t an option, then carbon offsetting can always be useful. There are plenty of companies who deal in the trade, and it basically means paying them to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere by the amount you have released during your holiday.

Of course, that means knowing your carbon footprint for the week, but a number of these companies will help with this aspect of the process if you contact them before you travel.

These are just some of the ways to travel with the environment in mind. Their are smaller, more specific ways, but generally speaking the above are the most common and affective methods.

So - with those steps in mind - enjoy your holiday and the environment!

Chris Woolfrey is the ethic travel expert at EcoSwitch The environmental social network.

Copyright 2006 Anthony Fallon

Sage Training - A helpful guide for anyone that has had the task of company accounting dumped on them using Sage Software without the investment in training. If you need to have Sage training because you are not sure of what you are doing then conveniently place this article on the bosses chair to bring it to their attention.

Sage Accounting software programs are great for recording business transactions and providing management data instantly when it’s required. But why do so many business owners believe that buying a piece of software will transform their business overnight without the in-house skills to use it? And this doesn’t just apply to accounting software! “Oh well, you can use a keyboard, so you can do the accounts” this is usually a major part of the decision making process when small businesses buy accounting software.

The person that can use the keyboard is struck with paralysis because they don’t know anything about accounts and are too frightened to say “well if I’m going to do the accounts using Sage I’m going to need Sage training because it takes three years to become qualified as an accountant and I don’t know anything about it and your expecting me to knock out management accounts for you at the end of the month.” “Oh just read the manual” comes the reply

Manuals only make sense when you’ve been shown how to do it Is it me or do manuals only make sense when you know how to do something? Manuals tell us how the programs work they are not very good at how do I process this credit note because the goods have been returned and we need our money back. There just isn’t enough room in the book to cover every possible human encounter. About 80% of the transactions require only about 20% of the effort because they are straightforward and obvious to a book-keeper, once the rules are learned. The other 20% or so of transactions require 80% of the intellectual effort. Trawling through a manual without any accounting experience or Sage training is definitely a non starter.

Sage training in the classroom This is the next step up from reading the manual. There are many Sage training organisations you can visit, including Sage Software PLC, who can provide you with excellent training facilities and guide you through the software. Sage training in the classroom usually takes the form of a fictitious company with a training manual that has preset tasks for entering various transactions. Those preset tasks don’t always match your business transactions.

The Sage classroom training is very good for learning how to put the data in but it doesn’t teach you the accounting that goes on in the background. You need to understand what goes on in the background if you are to produce accurate management reports and correct any input errors. There’s one thing that’s annoying about classroom training and it’s that person that sits at the front and asks all the questions they already know the answer to so they can impress others. Hogging the limelight and the tutor’s time. It’s in that instance when you wish you weren’t so gentlemanly or lady like so you could get up and punch them on the nose. Sage training in the classroom is recommended if all you want to do is input data.

Sage training in the workplace One to one Sage training is by far the best way to learn how to use the program but be wary, the person training you should be a qualified book-keeper or Accountant. Make sure you see their credentials One to one Sage training by a qualified person means you will learn more than how to process transactions, you will learn how to get out what you put in and apart from statutory information you will be able to handle any question your boss wants to throw at you. Funnily enough they all seem to ask the same questions, How much do we owe, how much do they owe us, how much have we spent on, etc.

Sage training at your desk means it’s your data you’re working on; the invoices, credits, customer receipts and purchase payments that you are familiar with on a daily basis. Sage training in the workplace is less expensive than classroom based training: In a classroom environment there is more than you being trained and you have to share the instructor with other learners who will have had to pay the same amount as you. Workplace Sage training is more efficient in that the instructor spends more time with you on specific issues relevant to your business and what you need to know Specific written training procedures for how you use the Sage software in your business can be created so that anyone can process data consistently with management needs.

Software is just a tool, and without an experienced person behind a tool usually leads to disaster - Education is often considered expensive but it lasts a lifetime (which is more than can be said for software) If your boss wants to go to bed at night comforted by the fact that the accounting function of the business is in safe hands then suggest some investment in training. But don’t waste their time, if you really don’t want to learn the accounts tell them so - You can take a horse to water but you can’t make it drink! And if you really want to become fully conversant with accounting procedures then contact anyone of the worldwide accounting bodies for more information.

Anthony Fallon is a qualified Accountant and provides workplace training for Sage Accounting Software. He can be contacted through the Warrington Web Works website at www.warringtonwebworks.co.uk

Why is it that many obese individuals lack the motivation to lose weight? Well there are several that most weight loss schemes miss. Some include the following;

1. Many obese individuals have an emotional investment in remaining obese. They use food as a way of numbing themselves to emotional pain, of avoiding engaging in satisfying relationships, of engaging in more creative interests, of taking responsibility for their lives, of asking others to rescue them and so on.

2. Many obese individuals become desensitized to how they actually feel both physically and emotionally. Compulsive over eaters who are emotionally prone to obesity often use food to numb their emotional pain. By doing so they are also numbing out the physical and emotional discomfort that naturally goes with being obese. When they lose touch with how awful they actually feel there is little left to fuel any motivation to change.

3. Many obese individuals lack the energy required to make a consistent effort to take better care of themselves. Carrying extra weight inherently drains one’s energy. As obesity, in my view, is often emotionally determined, such individuals are also carrying a great deal of emotional pain that requires energy to keep it unconscious.

4. Many obese individuals are eating foods that they are sensitive to and which actually make them depressed. Dr. Peter D’Adamo has written a wonderful dissertation (see “Eat Right 4 Your Type”) on the relationship between one’s blood type, food sensitivities, obesity and depression. It appears that individuals who eat foods they are sensitive too not only are unable to metabolize them, they also become susceptible to developing obesity, depression, and other chronic illnesses.

So in summary how can one address this motivational issue?

1. See Dr. D’Adamo’s book and follow it strictly for at least 6 months to see changes.

2. Address and release the emotional needs to remain obese i.e. old traumatic pain. This can be done via the Mind Resonance Process(TM) (MRP) (see the web link below for more on this). MRP will also help restore your energy and re-sensitize you to how you actually feel so that you can be guided by such feelings in your journey back to complete health and happiness.

Dr. Nick Arrizza is trained in Chemical Engineering, Business Management & Leadership, Medicine and Psychiatry. He is an Energy Psychiatrist, Healer, Key Note Speaker,Editor of a New Ezine Called “Spirituality And Science” (which is requesting high quality article submissions) Author of “Esteem for the Self: A Manual for Personal Transformation” (available in ebook format on his web site), Stress Management Coach, Peak Performance Coach & Energy Medicine Researcher, Specializes in Life and Executive Performance Coaching, is the Developer of a powerful new tool called the Mind Resonance Process(TM) that helps build physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well being by helping to permanently release negative beliefs, emotions, perceptions and memories. He holds live workshops, international telephone coaching sessions and international teleconference workshops on Physical. Emotional, Mental and Spiritual Well Being.

Business URL #1: http://www.telecoaching4u.com

London City today is considerably one of the desired places to call at in the modern world. What back packers crave in a hotel is notably different from what a traditional Londoner would probably search for. At the moment there are a lot of different variety of hotels. As a result you would be instructed to consider a good deal in regards to what you’re searching for in your London hotel. This is because it is a very individual opinion & with the variety of options on hand to you at the moment it can unquestionable be a hard conclusion to make.

Modern, traditional, funky, are you wanting to be spoilt, have afternoon tea somewhere brilliant or just have a few nights to relax in luxury rooms.

A few of the more traditional hotels are the oldest & grandest in the City and it has to be said that they are generally occupied with a particular type of customer, you’re not in fact going to stay here if you’re with your children or relations. The Ritz, Savoy and Claridges are merely several of these all of which have been about since Victorian era. They have all had renovation work carried out since nevertheless still hold a lot of their well-known virtues & features. There are few hotels on the planet at the present that provide this exact brand of luxury, many individuals come from all over the planet to call at these hotels & the employees make certain that the holidaymakers time here is utterly worth the while.

With the Capital being a very fashionable place to come and stay it makes understandable sense that they have very chic hotels to match. Elite hotels are becoming more and more popular & give a unique sort of hotel accommodation than you would find from your more usual hotels would provide. If you’re trying to discover some of the finest then head to places such as Knightsbridge, Notting Hill and Soho & you’re probably to find precisely what you are hoping for. The Soho Hotel and St Martin Lane Hotel are a few of the best in the City. Time Out has details on a range of London’s Hotels.

If you were asked to put a value on your website what would it be? Perhaps you paid a small fortune and commissioned a top design agency to build it. It would still be worth at least what you paid for it, right?

It’s a sad fact that a great number of websites are worthless. They give no value to their owners and are little more than a drain on resources. Would it surprise you if your website was classed as one of these?

The World Wide Web is made up of millions of webpages so it’s not surprising that many are rarely seen by human eyes other than their owners’ and creators’. These unfulfilled webpages are like trees in a forest. They can make as much noise as they want, but if no one is around to hear it then who is to know they ever made a sound? Too many of those that are seen by people are poor at encouraging progress through the sales cycle i.e. they don’t persuade the reader enough to progress to the next stage whether that’s submitting a sales query or making a purchase.

So how have you determined the value of your website? Have you only taken into account its cost to build and maintain or have you also considered what it actually does for you and the value it adds to your business? Ask yourself this question, if you were to put your website up for sale, how would you convince a potential buyer that it was worth the asking price? Would you sell it on the basis of how much it cost to build or on the strength of the benefits it brings?

Do you think owners of expensive luxury cars are motivated by how much they cost to build, run and service or because of things like the prestige they give the owner, the superior performance and higher levels of comfort? In this context, it may be easier to recognise value and worth, but when it comes to your website can you do the same? If your website provides you with no measurable benefits or is a tree in a lonely forest then how can you be sure it’s worth anything?

Suppose we’re comparing two very different websites; one cost £10,000 to build, looks very impressive, but converts poorly, generates little interest and the other cost £1,000 to build, wouldn’t win any design contests, but consistently generates fresh leads and converts a high percentage of prospects into customers. Which of these websites do you think is worth more?

Now ask yourself again, what’s the value of your website?

William Lee is the proprietor of Web Star Creations (www.webstarcreations.co.uk). His personal blog is www.wlee.me.uk.

You know information is valuable.
You know the Internet is a profitable venue for marketing information.
You think you may have a great idea or maybe even a product… Now
what?

If you’ve done your research, you already have the right tools to start
your online business. Namely, you know how to make a website (or if
you don’t know how, you know that you can learn how to do it easily or
that you can hire someone else to do it for you) and you understand the
mechanics of selling your product online (like signing up with a payment
processor and getting visitors to go to your site).

But maybe you’re afraid to start.

There’s nothing wrong with being wary; in fact it’s good business sense
to know what you’re getting into. A common statistic thrown around is
that 9 out of 10 new businesses will fail within the first year. But knowing
that doesn’t mean it’s time to quit before you even start. You have a
product and therefore you have a target market; it’s useful, even
necessary, and most certainly comforting to your beginner’s brain to do
your own research and due diligence.

One method of practicing your business before actually going it alone is
to become an affiliate. Using an affiliate program to enter a new market
allows you test out your ideas and hone them with the ultimate goal of
creating and promoting your own product. (In summary, for you
beginners out there, affiliate marketing is the process of earning a
commission off of purchases made by visitors who arrived at that
particular product’s site by clicking on a link on your webpage).

An advantage of affiliate marketing is that your only concern is driving
visitors to their site; the affiliate program will worry about having the
perfect product, providing customer service, and delivering the product.
Affiliate programs may even provide you with banners or free e-books
and techniques showing you how to promote them. This will provide a
good learning ground for you so that you can garner ideas for eventually
promoting your own product.

Find some affiliate programs related to your particular idea or product.
The research you’ll derive from joining an affiliate program will be the
real benefit. By setting up a website or a few websites testing out your
various ideas and promoting these ideas, you can then sit back and see
what happens. Hopefully you’ll start making money. Then you can see
which products are really selling and what marketing techniques are
working. As you work on improving your website for the products that
are selling, you’re laying the groundwork for selling your own product.
You can then feel more comfortable about your own venture using the
successful techniques you learned through this “practice” attempt.

And maybe starting your own business won’t look as scary.

Joshua White
http://www.webwealthmethods.com

Joshua White is a student of anything making moral and ethical money
online. For online (moneymaking) mentoring come to
http://www.webwealthmethods.com

Travel brochures are more or less like other brochures but they contain visuals of higher quality, considering that they need to give the right feel and impact of the places they advertise and campaign for.

Travel brochure doubles as a vacation guide and is full of maps, pictures of tourist spots, and information pertaining to the landmarks and must-visit places. Information must also be provided about the flora, fauna, climate, culture, history and geography of the places mentioned in the brochure. An ideal travel brochure should also give information about flights, roads, the shortest way of reaching a particular place, and other such information. Apart from this, it should give detailed information about accommodations-a list of hotels, motels, upper-range hotels and mid-range accommodations.

A travel brochure differs from other brochures in that the writing style is persuasive - the ideal travel brochure leaves a strong impact on a would-be traveler and compels him to visit the places mentioned within. However, while playing with words and creating the right imagery, care should be taken to ensure that one does not get carried away - the information should be correct and factual. They should enable people to make informed decisions - care should be taken that neither the text nor the visuals convey a misleading impression, so that travelers do not feel let down when they actually visit the places mentioned in the brochure.

One should also be prepared for somewhat higher expenses when producing a travel brochure. By their very nature, travel brochures need good-quality printing to make the visuals as appealing as possible. The photographs should speak to the intended target base. Ideally, travel brochures should be in full-color and innovatively designed, with several folds to present more pictures in neat divisions. In the end, the best travel brochure is that which succeeds in increasing tourist inflow.

Brochures provides detailed information on Brochures, Full Color Brochures, Travel Brochures, Cheap Brochures and more. Brochures is affiliated with Full Color Brochure Printing.

“Got Snow?” So read the bumper sticker on the rear fender of the huge plow that sat idling in front of me on my usually hurried way to work. As I sat there waiting with the rest of the freezing, huddled masses for the light to change I pondered the meaning of the bumper sticker, the meaning of all this snow. Hell, I pondered the meaning of life itself. I looked around me and all I saw staring back were grumpy faces and mountains of the white powder… So much snow that one needed sunglasses to deflect the glare that emanated from it.

“Got snow?” I muttered to no one in particular. Then out of nowhere, it hit me… like a ton of bricks on the head. ‘It’ was an overwhelming desire to get out of my car, pluck the offending plow truck driver to the street and beat the living daylights out him.

“GOT SNOW?” I found myself now yelling. The play unfolded in my mind’s eye. “Take a look around ya, pal, all I got is snow. Snow in my in my boots, snow in my socks, snow on the driveway, and snow on the tracks. I got so much damn snow, I’m thinking of selling some to the Eskimos. I got yer snow, alright!” I don’t think pummeling the poor guy would’ve made anything better but it sure would’ve felt good. Those of us who live in winter climates are in dire need of the release that riding our bikes give us, but wait we must for the winter thaw to usher in spring.

This little fantasy never played itself out and my tidy little daydream was interrupted by the sounds of angry horns invading my senses. When I looked up, the lumbering behemoth was halfway up the hill as I sat there holding up a long line of frustrated traffic. Before I could hit the accelerator pedal, the driver behind me slithered past me on the left, crossed up and sideways… followed by the rest of the cars in succession. Many of the drivers were kind enough to wave little ‘birdies’ at me as they shouted unmentionable things. Ah, no insult would be complete without injury; by the time the line drove around me, the light had changed back to red, leaving me stranded again.

When I made my way to the next light on a double lane road, a driver pulled up next to me and revved their engine. I was determined this was going to be a holeshot (*) or die situation. I sized them up and the game was on. The other driver revved their motor higher. ‘Aha, a runner,’ I thought. I waited for the light to turn yellow then pre-loaded the brake and gas, just like in moto cross and looked off to the side, waiting for the gate to drop. Uhm, I mean, the light to change. Before the green light came on fully, I had dropped the hammer and was wailing towards the upcoming curve. I manually shifted the automatic transmission to stretch out each gear. The little engine that could, actually did! I glanced in the rear view and the other driver was hanging right with me. They were going to make a race of it.

“I got you covered,” I thought, “I’ll keep the gas floored through the turn and drop you like a hot potato.” I checked the mirror again and saw I had indeed dropped my worthy adversary.

“Yes! Yes!” I shouted, fist pumping the air. A feeling of satisfaction washed over me as we rolled up to the next light; I had beaten my opponent with room to spare. When the other driver pulled up to me I glared at them with my best Mike LaRocco (**) race face. They weren’t impressed; they just looked at me like I had two heads. I didn’t care. I won, they lost, it was as simple as that. When they pulled off I made my way to work at the Sonotone garage where I work for Ma Bell (***).

I grinned at every other galvo tech and splicer I ran into. They too looked at me like I had two heads. It didn’t matter, my oats were flowing faster than wine at a college toga party; I was radiating confidence. Yes sireee, Bob, I might be snowed in and frozen with my bike collecting rust and dust in the garage but I was feeling the thrill of victory. I felt the rush of adrenaline from a pulse-pounding race with a truly worthy adversary. Yup, that eighty year old lady in her Ford Escort didn’t know what hit her. She’ll remember me the next time we bump up at a light, I got something for her. Got snow?

* To pull or take the hole-shot means to beat your opponents on the track to the first corner of a race.

** Mike Larocco is a professional motocross rider with two national championships to his credit. His ‘race face,’ the serious zone look that all top athletes have before competition is fearsome. His penetrating, icy blue-eyed stare gives off the vibe that he could kill a man with his bare hands.

*** A once-affectionate term for the Bell telephone System of companies. Since the breakup of the Bell System in the early 80s, the term is only used my insiders and employees.

Michael James

New York

*7th season covering professional motocross races

*8th year writing columns for dirt bikes newspapers and magazines

*anothlogised poet/open mike poetry

*screenwritier — seeking representation — several projects in various stages of development

*Amateru championship motocross racer

*married, father of two kids, 19 and 13