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Own It

As a child growing up in the 1950s, my earliest influences were the Three Stooges, Abbott and Costello and Laurel and Hardy. I also loved the comedy team of Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. They starred in a series of outrageous comedies: The Road to Zanzibar, The Road to Morocco, etc. I identified with Bob Hope because he was silly, made goofy faces and had amazing timing. I grew up wanting to be the next Bob Hope.

I was always a pretty funny kid. But unlike many children who choose to grow up and act like little adults, I chose to keep my zany and crazy personality. In fact, my comedy timing got better as the years went on. Is it any wonder that I evolved into the class clown in school? Or that I was elected the wittiest kid in my senior high school class?

As an actor, I was a natural. It really didnt matter whether I was playing the nerd, the sidekick or the clown. I owned the role and I owned the stage. I remember a review I received for my role in Alls Well That Ends Well by William Shakespeare. The reviewer stated that, Mr. Stevenson took a peripheral role and turned it into the performance of the evening. And I had, because when it came to acting, I was absolutely fearless.

Many years later, after I left acting and Hollywood behind and I started giving speeches, I found myself experiencing something that I hadnt felt in a long time fear. Every time I got up to give a speech, everything Id learned as an actor and performer disappeared. It was replaced by insecurity, self-doubt and tentativeness.

At first I didnt get it. Having experienced total confidence and absolute fearlessness in acting, it was strange for me to be so nervous in this new context. Then one day it hit me; there was no play, no script, no character to hide behind. As a speaker it was just me: my words, my thoughts, my opinions. There was no place to hide.

Flashback to 1968: I remember sitting at the lunch table in my senior year of high school. There were six of us who always sat together. And more often than not, Id get on a roll and have everyone laughing hysterically with my witty comments and zingers. Even as I was doing it, I knew I had a special talent. Then the bell would ring and wed all rush off to class.

I can still see myself walking away from my friends towards class thinking to myself, That was amazing. I was so funny. I wish I knew how to capture that and do it whenever I wanted to - like Johnny Carson does.

Back then I had no ownership of my talent. It was raw and random and uncontrollable. As a speaker in the early days, I had no ownership of my role as a speaker. I was renting presentation styles and content elements from other people.

But, there was something different that happened when I told a story! The context of telling a story rekindled my acting and my comedy talents. Before too long, my speaker buddies asked if I could teach them some acting and comedy skills. I called my class Story Theater. Looking back on it now, it was a natural progression from actor to acting coach. From being directed, to being the director. And lo and behold, my fear went away.

Teaching Story Theater was intuitive. It was easy and natural. And unlike all of the other presentation styles and topics Id tried on in an effort to be perceived as a credible expert and professional speaker, with Story Theater I didnt have to rent something else. I owned it. Id found my essence and what my area of expertise really was.

For many years, and by way of hundreds of speeches as a professional speaker, I had been working my way back to that state of total confidence and absolute fearlessness. Ive changed topics, let go of material that didnt work for me and moved closer to my core competencies and natural speaking style. Ive evolved forward into a mature and graceful version of the zany, crazy clown that I was as a child and teenager.

Last Friday I gave a keynote to a group of human resource professionals from all over the world, about The Story Theater Method. I was as funny as I used to be in high school, and I realized that I had finally captured what used to be so elusive.

For years, I rented my space as a speaker. Now I own it.

When you step to the front of the room as a speaker or trainer, do you rent the space, or do you own it? Are you renting a presentation style that is a version of your idea of appropriate and professional or do you experience total confidence and absolute fearlessness? Do you hide behind content and PowerPoint? Is your personality stifled by your perception that if you really showed up, you wouldnt be accepted?

That was my fear. It was based in shame and self-doubt. By returning to my true essence, I found freedom. It was hard to trust myself. It was scary. And it didnt happen overnight. It took time, courage and perseverance. I had to try and fail, and try again.

We cannot change the world until we are willing to change. I challenge you the next time you step in front of a room full of people own it. Own your talent, own your style, own the space. Claim it all for your own, with total confidence and fearlessness. Never rent again.

Own it!

*************

Doug Stevenson, president of Story Theater International, is the creator of The Story Theater Method and the author of the book, Never Be Boring Again. He provides keynotes speeches, corporate training and individual speech and story coaching.

His 10 CD - How to Write and Deliver a Dynamite Speech audio learning system, is a workshop in a box. It contains an 80-page follow along workbook. Learn more at: Dynamite Speech Home Study Course

Some of his clients include: Hewlett Packard, Century 21, Volkswagen, Oracle, The Department of Defense, GlaxoSmithKline, The American Medical Association, The Irish Management Institute, Amgen, The Denmark Ministry of Finance, UPS, The Internal Revenue Service, The National Education Association and many more.

Doug can be reached at 1-800-573-6196 or 1-719-573-6195 or at: http://www.storytheater.net

Subscribe to his RSS feed on his blog at http://www.dougstevenson.com

posted by fwwppdho @ 12:26 AM 0 comments

The Ever Popular Garrett

Garrett has become a household name in metal detection and security. When the company started out, they had no idea that they will become one of the prime movers in the industry.

The company started manufacturing and selling metal detectors in the early 1960s. Probably one of the reasons they become so successful is that they always had given their customers their utmost priority.

This has been the philosophy of the company ever since: a commitment and loyalty to their customers. They found out that a satisfied customer is the best marketing campaign for their products. With this, the company has tried to ensure that customers receive the best products the best technology has to offer and the best information campaign and customer sales service in the industry.

The Hunter was the first metal detector that Garrett introduced to the public. Through the Hunter, Garrett began incorporating innovation after innovation in their metal detector's designs.

In 1970, the company was the first one to stop oscillator drift. What Garrett did was to place a non-changing frequency crystal into the reference oscillator. This brought great changes in the industry. The company was also the first one to find a solution for eliminating searchcoil drift. These innovations catapulted Garrett to the top.

Garrett Electronics was the first to release a low cost metal detector which it called the Mini Hunter. Then in 1973 the company released to the public the Beat Frequency Oscillator (BFO) metal detector, it was the first of its kind.

Almost every year, Garrett released newer versions of metal detectors or innovations on existing ones. Their research and engineering teams were always working round the clock to come up with newer technology.

Garrett's competitions practically couldn't keep up. Some of the competitor companies accepted their defeat and closed their doors in metal detector manufacturing.

As the word got around, Garrett's detectors became in demand across the nation and even around the globe. Treasure hunters kept looking for the Garrett brand.

In 1984, the FBI asked Garrett to make a walk through detector, a first for the company. This was to beef up security in the Los Angeles Olympic Games. Needless to say, that single event hurled the company to the world of security products.

The already popular Garrett brands became even more recognizable and reliable. It earned a lot of credibility which brought about lots of other opportunities in the security field. And now, Garret has become one of the top quality providers of security products around the globe.

Low Jeremy maintains http://metal-detector.articlesforreprint.com

This content is provided by Low Jeremy. It may be used only in its entirety with all links included.

posted by fwwppdho @ 12:12 AM 0 comments

Unique and Inexpensive Gifts and Ideas for Him or Her

Inexpensive Christmas Gifts do exist out there. If you are shopping for Him or Her you can find something useful, out of the ordinary, and easy on the budget. There are some very popular electronics that are a sure hit for Christmas this year. Whether you are shopping for that "hard to buy for" person, or the one that "has it all" these gift ideas will make you an instant star on Christmas day!

Here are the best Christmas gifts of the year:
Jewelry
MP3 Players
Womens Fragrances
Collectibles
Electronic Gifts

These are amongst the most wanted Christmas gifts this year. Why? Each one has it's own unique function. You can each of these gift ideas with you anywhere. Small compact size, very useful functions, and extremely portable makes these gifts truly unique.

Jewelry is on almost everyones list, especially for Her. Men, you just cannot go wrong with the right jewelry. Watches, rings, bracelets, and necklaces maker Her feel beautiful and that is priceless.

MP3 Players are all the rage these days. Many can hold up to 15,000 songs. These little hard drives do not lack in the portability category. Many are so small they can fit anywhere and very versatile. You can download your favorite songs instead of having to buy a whole CD where you might only like a couple of songs. Many places online charge only a small fee per song(about 79 cents). You can remove and add all you want. Get the latest single, or download an empire of music and it will always be there. No CD to scratch, or lose, no more listening for hours on the radio waiting to hear your favorite song.

You can find unique and inexpensive Christmas gifts and ideas for Him and Her this year a lot easier. For more gifts and ideas for Christmas this year visit Amazing Gifts~N~More and make this Christmas the most memorable ever!

Amazing Gifts~N~More has great Christmas gifts for your holiday shopping. Why fight the crowd this year, shop online and save yourself the headache, the long lines, and all things bad that come with the Holiday rush.

posted by fwwppdho @ 11:10 PM 0 comments

So You Want To Be A Rock Star?

Before climbing on the latest bandwagon to fulfil your dreams of fame and fortune, here a few things to ponder.

Gigging is great fun when you do it once a week. Do it day after day, week after week and it feels just like what it is, hard work! Why do you think so many rock and pop starts wreck their lives with drink and drugs? The answer is that the physical toll of constant travelling leaves them vulnerable. A two hour gig may require 5,10 or 15 hours of driving. Tiring if you do it, boring if someone does it for you.

If you are married or in a steady relationship, do you take your partner with you and, if you do, who is chatting her up while you are strutting your stuff on stage? Leave her at home and just say no to the groupies? Divorce among musicians is the norm.

Fame is short lived, and it seems to be getting shorter every year. Remember Bill Haley and the Comets, The Ventures, Freddy and the Dreamers, The Searchers? They were all stars in their own day but if you are under 50 you probably said, Who? to every one of these. And speaking of the Who, how about them?

The bottom line is that if you cannot stand seeing inferior musicians getting all the glory and you can stand living out of a suitcase, then go chase the dream. If not, look for plan B.

So what is plan B?

Here are B, C and D.

Well you can sell guitars. Learn the business and make your mistakes with someone elses money by working for the man. Get a gig once or twice a week and take all offers to make you a star with a pinch of salt. Eventually start your own shop.

Then there is teaching. Lots and lots of kids want to play like their heroes. You business may take a year or two to grow to full time status, your income will halve during the school holidays and the hours are distinctly antisocial but you spend your working day sitting on a sofa with a guitar on your lap and drinking coffee. How difficult is that?

Finally there is guitar making. For a few hundred you can go on a course to learn the tricks of the trade. Now what would be more satisfying, to have a number one hit and be famous for two weeks or to have your name on the heads of the next generation of iconic guitars for decades to come?

John David Coupland aka Johnguitars

To try Johnguitar's free guitar lessons and view his unique guitar designs visit his site site. http://greenguitartabs.co.uk

posted by fwwppdho @ 10:55 PM 0 comments

Download Free iPod music

Probably everyone who has an iPod knows how it can be expensive to own such an amazing player. Most of us cannot listen to the same songs over and over again, we need variety, that's why we delete old songs from iPod and put new. But with iTunes charging almost a buck for every song, this is getting very expensive, especially if your iPod has lot's of space.

However, there is a way to download free iPod musicand this is the money saver here. You see, there are certain iPod download services which allow you to download free iPod musicwithout restrictions. They do not have pay-per-download fees, but they have a membership fee, which is around $35, but that's not that really bad, because you pay $35 for a lifetime membership.

The only problem is to choose a perfect download service, which could satisfy all your needs. There are lot's of junk on the Internet and, of course, there are legitimate companies too. But how to pick the one that will save you money, provide the opportunity to download free iPod musicand keep you satisfied?

I discovered the best way to do so, first, you need to find a reputable web site that offers free iPod musicdownloads, second, I suggest you read a couple reviews, before you join, and third, make sure that the iPod download service has a money back guarantee, which will make it risk free for you.

Personally, I have tried, well over six different iPod download services. And only one of them could deliver what it actually claimed on the front page, this is why I would like to recommend it for every iPod owner. You can download free iPod music, free videos, TV shows, movies and games.

They are the best at everything, download speeds are at my maximum, support is very friendly and responsive, it is very easy to use and navigate, also there are many amazing bonuses you get when you sign up. So if you really want to download free iPod music, it's a must have and you can read about it more if you want at my blog.

I hope this helped and you know how to download free iPod musicnow, good luck!

Earl Bennett is addicted to downloading free iPod music and loves his 60GB video iPod. He runs a personal blog where he shares his thoughts on various iPod download services.

posted by fwwppdho @ 8:29 PM 0 comments

Home Theater Accessories - 5 Accessories to Make Your Home Theater the Envy of Friends & Neighbors

Sure you can plop down on your sofa in your living room and watch a movie on your new flat panel screen and be content, but for a truly unique, cinematic experience consider dedicating a room to family entertainment and home theater. How do you achieve a home movie theater feel in your home? The addition of home theater accessories can have a dramatic impact on the look and feel of your home theater.

The following home theater accessory ideas can easily help transform a room from a lifeless family room into an exciting room that your kids will want to show off to their friends.

1. Home theater seating - Dedicated home theater seating has rapidly increased in popularity over the past few years as home owners want to experience the ultimate in home theater comfort. Home theater seating typically comes in two varieties, home theater loungers and movie theater seating. Home theater loungers are designed with a premium on comfort with overstuffed leather reclining chairs with many options. Movie theater seating on the other hand is designed to replicate seating found at the local cinema. Both options will include standard items such as cup holders. Child size versions of home theater seating is also available.
2. Custom framed movie posters - One of the easiest ways to decorate your room with a movie theater theme is to add movie posters to the walls of your room. You can choose from thousands of different movies to accentuate the theme of your room. One popular choice is classic movie posters for an old fashioned, nostalgic feel, but choose what works best for you. Do you have a science fiction theme, a western theme, or a kids theme? You could easily decorate for any of these themes with custom framed posters. Another popular choice is to have a now showing poster with the movie that you will be showing.
3. Home theater lighting - There are a number of lighting options that are ideal for today's home movie theaters. Imagine the look on your guests face when at the touch of a button on your remote control, the overhead lights slowly dim until the only lights left are the custom made, theater wall sconce lights and rope lighting dimmed to create the perfect ambience for the movie. At the conclusion of the movie the overhead lighting again gradually is turned on at the touch of a button.
4. Custom movie introductions - Another popular choice for those really trying to create a movie theater like experience is to have a custom movie introduction made for your home theater. Typical intros have the name of your theater, a variety of nostalgic soda and food commercials, movie trivia and previews. All of this would be programmed into your system so that it would be playing while your guests are milling around finding their seats.
5. Popcorn machine - Your theater experience would not be complete without the sound and aroma of fresh buttered popcorn popping in a nostalgic popcorn popper. Kids of all ages enjoy freshly popped popcorn. Popcorn machines come in all shapes, sizes and price ranges. Sure you could just pop a bag in the microwave, but a popcorn popper is one of the home theater accessories that will make your home theater unique and enjoyable.

For more home theater accessories and decorating ideas check out Home Theater Accessories and visit Jared's site at http://familyhometheaterguide.com

The Family Home Theater Guide is an informative guide to home theater, with a particular emphasis on family entertainment. Jared has a wife and three children that love to experience the magic of the big screen in the comfort of their own home.

posted by fwwppdho @ 6:29 PM 0 comments

Crib Safety

There are times when your baby will be unattended in his crib, so it is absolutely essential to make the crib area into a totally safe environment. Here are some important tips:-

1. New mattresses typically come covered in plastic wrapping material be sure to remove it all to avoid the risk of suffocation.

2. It is best to use a zipper cover for the mattress. If you decide to cover the mattress with heavy plastic, make sure it fights tightly and can not be dislodged by the child.

3. Check the crib for rough edges or sharp points on the metal parts. Look for any cracks and splinters in the wood. And don't just do this checking once, but regularly.

4. When your baby learns to sit up, lower the mattress in the crib to a level where the baby can not fall out either by leaning against the side or by pulling herself over it.

5. When your baby begins to stand, the mattress should be set at its lowest level. A common way for babies to fall is by trying to climb out, so make sure that can't happen. You will need to move your baby to another bed when he is 35 inches (89 centimetres) tall, or the height of the side-ral is less than three quarters of his height (whichever is sooner).

6. When your child can pull up to a standing position, remove any toys, pillows, or crib bumpers that are large enough to be used as a step for climbing out.

First published at http://www.guide2parenting.com/p1_articles_crib_safety.php

For more free parenting tips, advice and articles, please go to Guide 2 Parenting

posted by fwwppdho @ 6:15 PM 0 comments