People are often times put off when I introduce myself as an Interior Designer/artist/feng shui student/home staging instructor (not necessarily in that order). They actually take a step back especially here in the small town of Selma CA.

"I Color YOUR World" really says it all for me. Pleople want to know HOW?

Finding a simple and understandable one liner to identify ones profession is a thrill and what a lucky find and solution to a common problem when I came across the following article. Please pass it on...it could make introductions more enjoyable and colorful for all of us.

Please share us know what you come up with for yourself or any profession for that matter!

Double Your Income With an Unlimited Number of Highly-Qualified Prospects For Free

By: Raymond Aaron

The way to get an unlimited number of highly-qualified prospects for free anytime you wish as often as you wish for the rest of your working life ... is easy and it really is free and anyone can do it. You don't buy anything from me or anyone. You just change the wording of how you introduce yourself! Let me explain ...

The boring way to introduce yourself (which everyone now uses) goes like this: "I am an electrician". What is wrong with this? Firstly, it does not increase your business so why bother saying it. And, it has two errors in it:

1.The first error is that it uses the word "a" or "an" which means that you are just one of many -- indistinguishable and uninteresting.

2.The second error is that you state what you do so that there is no mystery, no excitement.

Here's how you create excitement and have people WANTING more details.

Introduce yourself using the following guidelines:

1. introduce yourself by saying WHAT THEY GET not WHAT YOU DO

2. introduce yourself by creating QUESTIONS not ANSWERS

3. introduce yourself by saying "you" in the sentence 4.introduce yourself by being BRIEF.

Here are some examples:

BAD ........... I am an electrician  GREAT ...... I check your shorts!

BAD ........... I am a professional speaker   GREAT ...... I double your income!

BAD ........... I am an interviewer    GREAT ...... I mail millionaires to your door!

BAD ........... I am a Feng Shui consultant   GREAT ...... I color your world!

BAD ........... I am a photographer   GREAT ...... I shoot you!

BAD ........... I am a therapist     GREAT ...... I get into your head!

BAD ........... I am a dietician     GREAT ...... I feed you healthy junk food!

Get the picture? Now, create one for yourself and send it to me by typing it in a comment to this article.

Do you have the courage to use this fascinating way to introduce yourself? Most people don't. I encourage you to develop a fascinating way to introduce yourself and then practice on family members until you are strong enough to do it in the world. Best of success. It works.

Author Resource:-> Raymond Aaron,New York Times Top Ten Bestselling Author, "Double Your Income Doing What You Love" published by John Wiley and Sons, New York City.

Join Raymond Aaron on Twitter @RaymondAaron.

Join "Raymond Aaron Double Your Income" Facebook Fan Page at http://www.FacebookRaymond.com .

Article From Articlebliss

Thank you Raymond!

Home Stagers are not alone in the struggle for regulation/non-regulation in their industry as witnessed by RESA and all professional stagers; the interior design industry is fighting to maintain its reputation also. There has been a surge of self proclaimed designers in recent years and consumers have no way of knowing what they are really getting. Seems anyone can call themselves Interior Designers.

The subject has been brought up here in Active Rain as well, expecially in the Stage it Forward group and I am not going to go into that right now but I do suggest that if you are intersted in knowing more about the struggle going on for interior designers and other formal interior design groups, click here; Interior Design Protection Council

Sign up for the IDPC newsletter and stay informed.

I know I don't know everything but I am pretty sure I have experienced all the angles...at least the large ones. Then I read my daily inspiration from TUT and instantly fell into a new calm.

You are where your feel are by Eiko Michi is one of my favorites and use it often, but this...well, let me know how it makes you feel.

The very feelings you're now feeling, the good, the bad, and the confused, are in large part why you chose this lifetime: To simply feel them.

Let's get this party started,
    The Universe

Inspired by a recent post of mine: Help! Where Should I Post Promotions in Active Rain...Anyone Know? I have seen stagers et all sharing bargains, sales, finds, web sites, and I have seen Realtors show off their beautiful listings, and I have read time and time again about who is the best this and that. What do I do when  my business is international.

My business is on the web, I run discounts now and then because I know many people are on the fence and it gives them the push they need. I like your suggestion and will consider a new group. I have neglected American Bandstand which I started a few months ago so I don't think I should be the one to start another one. Are you up for the challenge Virginia? I know localism is hot so as a sister group, how about...

The Price is Right! 

Any ideas?

Anyone can follow instructions, right? Well, save a few people who are completely intimidated by a cooking recipe, but really, we have all followed footprints in the sand when we were kids and we still follow footprints in our lives today.

Perfect for real estate agents who want to help their clients prepare their homes and perfect for FSOB's; Here is what you will find at www.how2homestage.com to prepare a home for a successful sale...

• Home Staging Evaluation Checklist Forms (21 pages) - Leave your worries behind! This is a complete 21 page checklist that identifies every aspect of a standard 5 bedroom home from the mailbox to the door pulls. All the work has been done for you...all you do is circle the action to be taken and it becomes your to-do-list. The checklist also helps you establish a budget by selecting what needs to be done to the home and property to get it resale ready.

Here is a recent testimony from a from one of my clients:

I bought your how2satge DIY program last year and follow your blogs. Your'e great!!! I love activerain, it is a great way to learn from around the country. I have been in interior design for 22 years and we staged before it had a label. Best of the Day to you! Debby Altitude Designs

• Do-It-Yourself Home Staging Instructions (48 pages with 4 phases) - A complete step-by-step tutorial holds your hand through the detachment phase, resurfacing and updating phase, and the all important room identification and decorating phase.

• How To Stage Your Vacant House (27 pages)- You don't need to rent a truck load of furniture...that is costly and can be repititious with all the other vacant homes in the area...boring. Staging vignettes throughout the house as well as hosting open houses from the kitchen puts life where there was only sadness. Used as a companion to the Home Staging Instructions, any of the ideas in this ebook can be implemented into the staging of any home with unique ideas and attitude.

• All from a decorator's point of view! - 27 plus years of decorating model homes, resale homes, high end homes, and everything in between is put into these pages. The premise is "Learning is by doing". Follow in the footsteps of the professionals and achieve a professionally staged home maximized for resale. • Tools, inspirational tips and ideas for room arrangements, outdoor groupings and themes, and everything you will need to do-it-yourself. Save your money for other things! Download your Complete Home Staging Package today!

*** PLUS when you visit www.how2homestage.com, you will find designer links on what to do and what not to do when staging, 100's of photos, tips, and ideas you can use right now in your own home. Don't forget to use the easy tools in the right column!

I know, you don't want to do it yourself. Great! Give me a call or any of the professional home stagers in your area to do the work for you. Just remember that you won't know if they are going a great job for you if you don't know what to expect.

Right now, the Home Staging Evaluation Checklist is on sale!

Bringing Feng shui into our work and into our personal lives can get so bogged down with details (and many of you know how this happens to me) that throwing up your hands is easier than trying to figure it all out.

No, it is not rocket science but if you forget something like leaving out metal, you may find a rocket crashing into your house ;-0 

This video I discovered today is simple and direct and I for one am going to do exactly as it says in every room. Watch and learn...hope it helps you.

Just when I think I know it all (sure!) I discover something I never even questioned. Let's see if I am the last turnip to fall off the turnip truck...here are some clues;

• We buy them in jars
• They are used in Chicken Piccata
• They are considered a gourmet food
• Delicious with fish
  
• Have a lemony flavor

I will post some fun ways to use this berry when one of you identifiies IT.

*** Photo taken from the Fresno Bee***

I went to a memorial yesterday. We lost a friend whom we all valued deeply; he was a phychologist and a jokester and he will me missed by so many.

I lost my sister to cancer over 12 years ago and she was taken too soon also. You could just feel it...the powerlessness that cancer leaves behind no matter how hard we try to fight it.

Now...we don't have to die of cancer; watch this!

Cancer is not fate but a consequence of modern man. I am proud to be a part of the solution and you can too.

This is by far one of the best solutions to a flat screen TV to come down the pike ever!

Click here to watch the screen in action.

To make one of your own (not automatic) create a shadow box with a print or fabric on the front...and for home stagers; be sure there is a safe place to store the faux print when the TV is in use. Sweet!

If you have created more fabulous solutions for the Ugly Eye syndrome, please share with us. Just the opposite can be acheived for vacant home staging by framing a photo of a flat screen TV to show placement instead of buying the faux version. A framed print is much classier.

I was in San Diego County recently and I was in my car looking for an electronics store when suddenly this truck and trailor (gardener?) shot by me on the right and he was leaning his head out the window shouting obscene words and making obscene gestures and I wondered what had made him like that. All he gained was being in front of me at the next signal but boy, was he boiling over. I felt sorry for him, sent him a warm mental hug, and hoped he would feel it.

What put such a destructive spin on an otherwise beautiful day?

Other than the obvious level of stress caused by a shortage of money or an angry spouse, I believe it begins at home. My guess whatever caused the stress/anger/frustration can be prevented. Can road rage can come from a little thing like not being able to find one's car keys or

• They tripped on a toy left on the stairs and couldn't find the bandages to stop the bleeding of their elbow then had to go change clothes
  
• Or a blue sock was paired up with a brown sock because most of the lightbulbs are burnt out in the bedroom?
• How about had to stop at the gas station to fuel up because the road rager did not have time to stop last night because he/she was running late all day.

The list can go on and on and on but my point here is being organized, clear of clutter, and prepared for unforseen circumstances has its rewards...all of which a home stager offers.

Could the answer to eliminating road rage be as obvious as living in a professionally staged/decorated/organized home? That is what I am thinking!