Free Videos Saved My Freelance Life

Like many people just starting out in the freelance work-at-home business, I really had no concept of where to even begin in my search for a way to make some extra money doing something I enjoy.

A new co-worker at my day job saved the day when she told me about Rent A Coder (RAC) as her way of surviving the bills until she could land a regular day job. She said that RAC was a lot better than other similar sites she had tried for getting web design jobs, so I decided to join it to look for video and voice-over work. Well, I was immediately overwhelmed by all the detailed links; the reams of information to read; and all those project history statistics that are presented in the multiple page descriptive profiles of everyone on RAC. But then, I'm easily confused under the right circumstances. There is so much to click on, so much to read; so much to learn; so many links and so little time. I thought I'd NEVER get it all figured out.

Well, after a couple of days of randomly clicking links on the site in desperation, I swallowed my pride and asked for help. I appealed to my new co-worker while on break to please give me a brief explanation of how Rent A Coder worked and that was when she pointed me to the FREE videos on RACsuccess that show how to navigate the Rent A Coder website and how to utilize its many useful tools.

When I got home that night, I checked out RACsuccess. I was amazed to find over 40 instructional videos that walked me through every major link on the site. In fact, I was so grateful for what she had shared with me that I bought her lunch the next day! In the time it took to watch a few videos, my eyes were opened to the whole new world of freelancing at Rent A Coder. Now when I need to know how to do something at RAC, the first place I look is on the FREE video page at RACsuccess. The videos are even neatly categorized so you can find what you are looking for quickly. So far, I have been able to find everything I was looking for easily.

When you sign up for the free videos, you also get a FREE 14-page report called: "Formal arbitration and how to avoid it" which can help keep you out of trouble even before you bid on your first project. It's a must read!

By the way, my co-worker has not been much help to me since that time. A few days after she told me about Rent A Coder and the free RACsuccess videos, she left my company to start work on a long term freelance project she'd found on Rent A Coder. If I had known sooner how to navigate RAC as well as she did, maybe I would have had seen that job in time to bid on it myself. Oh, well... I'll beat her next time.

About the Author:

With the free introduction videos from RACsuccess that completely show you how to use Rent a Coder you'll learn your way around the Rent A Coder site in no time at all.

The Depths of Your Soul

You have seen and touched the depths of my soul,
And yet -
I have barely skimmed the surface of yours.

I've heard it said that still waters run deep,
And cold -
Though their mysterious source may be warmed by the sun.

From alpine glaciers I watch you flow,
And ebb -
And hope that you soon join the tropical sea.

Where the warmth of the surface runs deep beneath,
But still -
The mighty currents of your soul remain unknown,

I shall swim in the delight of each passing wave,
Perhaps -
And someday learn the depths of your ocean.



Spontanously written by me...and unedited
Copyright by SunnySunset
1-8-92

(Oh, how I love the sea! It is a theme that runs through the majority of my poetry)

How Do You Define Success in Your Life?

Everyone has their own definition of success and it is most often measured in dollars. Some people won't feel successful unless they own a chateau on the French Riviera surrounded by fancy cars as their summer get-a-way cabin. Other folks set lower, but similar goals, but still won't feel successful unless they have a large house, a nice car, a happy marriage with 2.5 kids, and no worries about the bills. Still others feel successful just to be able to pay the bills at all. But to others, everything that has not failed is considered to be a success.

Life is filled with these small successes if only we will notice them. Every day we have them, but most of us don't recognize them for the successes that they truly are. Things like calling someone on the phone and actually getting them instead of their voicemail again; finally getting to the video rental store in time to pick up the last copy of the latest blockbuster movie; or simply winning the bid on a small project on Rent A Coder (RAC). These are the day to day little victories that make some of us realize that we are more successful than we thought we were after all.

I've been on Rent A Coder for quite a while now, and one thing stands out to me. I'm actually successful here! When I look back to how much I struggled in the beginning, on my own, with no guidance whatsoever, I am amazed to have come this far! But I couldn't have done it until I discovered RACsuccess.

With the 40 free videos mentioned on their home page that I signed up for, I have become successful at navigating the RAC website quickly and easily. But my real success didn't start until I downloaded the RACsuccess Package.

The RACsuccess Package is a software application that contains more than 40 videos on extremely advanced topics as well as 2 written guides (one for buyers and one for coders) with straight to the point advice on how you can succeed in RAC both as a buyer and as a coder! The entire package is accessible through a single, user-friendly integrated interface that helps you to easily locate all the content that you need.

As a coder, the results of the RACsuccess Package can be quite dramatic, as it was for me. You will find yourself landing projects with a higher frequency; you will find yourself holding a reasonable chance of winning large projects that up until now seemed out of reach and you will find yourself in control.

As a buyer, the RACsuccess Package spells out a more trouble free experience, with more projects being completed by the deadline and with quality coders that work effectively and better because they know exactly what to do and ultimately with a better and more satisfying end-product.

But the RACsuccess Package is not just for beginners and newcomers to Rent A Coder. It's also for experienced coders and buyers, too, and even they are learning new tricks from this collection of tried and true advice from Luis Lazo, who has been successful on Rent A Coder for several years. And it's not just a read once or watch once and you're done kind of application either. It's something that you will want to come back to time and time again to review. Every time I open it, there's always something new to me in there. Either something I didn't catch the first time I read it or heard it or that I forgot about during my busy times with RAC.

So, if you are either a coder or a buyer on RAC, and if you are finding yourself not winning as many bids as you would like, or not attracting the quality coders you know you deserve, then you just may be up against competitors that have already tapped into the resources available in the RACsuccess Package. Why not let some of their victories be yours, too?

About the Author:

Good, solid, marketing yourself psychology never gets old, and neither does the RACSuccess Package. You will see yourself in a new light and learn how to better highlight your skills and thus attract more business.

70 Original Horse Breed Articles for HorseClicks.com

Back in September, I was asked to write 70 in-depth articles about various breeds of horses that were to be between 600 and 1500 words each. They were originally intended for http://www.horseclicks.com but as yet they have not been posted online there. I have requested permission to post either the full articles or excerpts of them for my portfolio, but I have not yet heard back from the client who purchased them on behalf of Horse Clicks.

The breeds that I was contracted to write about, as well as come up with my own "catchy titles" for them, were the following:

Quarter Horse:
The American Quarter Horse: Faster Than a Speeding Thoroughbred

Paint:
A Splash of White Gives This Paint Horse a Dash of Flash

Thoroughbred:
The Thoroughbred Horse: Thoroughly Bred For Distance Racing

Arabian:
The Arabian: The World's Oldest Horse Keeps Getting Better with Age

Appaloosa:
The Appaloosa's Heritage Is As Colorful and Unique As Its Coat

Tennessee Walker:
Have Some High Times with the High Stepping Tennessee Walker

Miniature:
Miniature Horses: The Tiny Horse That Is Hugely Popular

Warmblood:
Hot-Blooded Plus Cold-Blooded Equals the American Warmblood Sporthorse

Pony:
Is It A Pony Or Is It A Horse? Sorting Out the Difference

Welsh Pony & Cob:
Welsh Ponies and Cobs, the British Knight's Choice

Morgan:
Striking the Superb Figure of the Morgan Horse

Saddlebred:
Made in America - the American Saddlebred Horse

Friesian:
The Friesian - The Black Horse of Friesland

Andalusian:
The Antediluvian Andalusian - An Ancient And Aspiring Horse

Pinto:
The Colorful Pinto Horse

Paso Fino:
Los Caballos de Paso Fino – The Horses with the Fine Walk

Fox Trotter:
Missouri Fox Trotter - The Versatile Gaited Horse from The Ozarks

Haflinger:
The Haflinger Horse - Tyrolean Charm in a Chestnut Colored Package

Hanoverian:
The Olympic Horse that No One Will Talk About -- the Hanoverian

Mustang:
From Feral to Friendly, Meet the Mustang

Oldenburg:
Oldenburg Warmblood - The Small Town Horse with the Big Time Success

POA:
A Horse of Their Own - The Pony of the Americas - For Young Riders Only

Spotted Saddle:
The Spotted Saddle Horse - The Gaited Horse of Many Colors

Shetland Pony:
America's Favorite Shetland Pony

Belgian:
The Big, Bold and Beautiful Belgian Draft Horse

Rocky Mountain:
The Kentucky Appalachian Bred Rocky Mountain Horse

Draft:
Draft Horses - the Gentle Giants of the Equine World

Percheron:
That High Perch You're On Might Be a Percheron - the French Draft Horse

Mule:
The Myth of the Mysterious Mule and Molly

Trakehner:
The European Trakehner Warmblood Horse Is On Track to Glory

Standardbred:
Harness a Retired Standardbred Racing Horse to Your Life

Donkey:
When Is A Horse Not A Horse? -- When It's A Donkey

Dutch:
The Olympic Medal Winning Dutch Warmblood Horse

Peruvian Paso:
The 100% Naturally Gaited Caballo Peruano de Paso - The Peruvian Paso Horse

Palomino:
Go For the Gold with the Golden Palomino Horse

Clydesdale:
The World's Most Famous Draft Horse - The Clydesdale

Gypsy Vanner:
The Gypsy Vanner Horse - A Flash of Magic by Many Names

Connemara:
Aye, Laddie, The Largest Pony is the Irish Connemara

Holsteiner:
Germany's Rarest Warmblood Olympian -- the Holsteiner Horse

Kentucky Mountain:
The Most Popular of the Mountain Horses - The Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horse

Bashkir Curly:
You Have a What? The Horse with the Permanent Wave - The American Bashkir Curly Horse

Racking Horse:
The State Horse of Alabama is the Racking Horse

Buckskin:
The Buckskin Horse is Not Just A Color

Canadian:
The Rare Canadian Horse is the National Horse of Canada

Hackney:
The High-Stepping Hackney Group of Horse and Pony

Irish Sport Horse:
The Irish Sport Horse - Untangling the Confusion

Morab:
The Magnificent Modern Morab Horse

Fjord:
The Fjnomenal Fjord Horses of Norway

National Show Horse:
The New National Show Horse for the New Millenium

Shire:
Living Large in the Land of the Shire Draft Horse

Lippizan:
The World Famous Performing White Stallions - The Lipizzan

Icelandic:
The Icelandic - Is it a Pony or is it a Horse?

Pintabian:
It's All About Color - The Pintabian Horse Adds Color to the Arabian

Azteca:
The National Horse of Mexico - El Caballo Azteca

AraAppaloosa:
AraAppaloosa Horse - The Best of Both of the Ancient Worlds

Lusitano:
The Ancient Portuguese Bull Fighting Lusitano Horse

Westfalen:
Westfalen or Westphalian - A Wonderful Warmblood Horse by Any Name

Shagya:
The Missing Third Arabian - The Shagya-Arabian Horse

Colorado Ranger:
The Colorado Ranger Is the Original Rocky Mountain High Horse

Walkaloosa:
The Walkaloosa Horse - A Splash of Color And a Rainbow Of Gaits

Akhal Teke:
The Ancient Akhal-Teke - The Horse with the Metallic Sheen

Irish Draught:
Irish Draught Horse - Not Your Typical Draft Horse

Mountain Pleasure:
The Foundation of All American Gaited Breeds - The Mountain Pleasure Horse

Asturian:
The Rare Asturian Horse - Following in the Footsteps of Extinction

Cleveland Bay:
Britain's Oldest and Rarest Breed - The Cleveland Bay Horse

Dartmoor Pony:
The Moorland National Heritage of the Dartmoor Pony

Mangalarga:
The Magnificent Marching Mangalarga Marchador Horse

Nokota:
The Nokota Mustang Horse - Created by Lightning

Florida Cracker:
Whipping Up Support for the Rare Florida Cracker Horse

Bavarian Warmblood:
One of The Most Expensive Horses in the World - The Bavarian Warmblood


If you have seen any of these articles and can tell me which website you found it on, I would really appreciate it. I would love to have links to them here in my portfolio since I worked very long, hard hours researching each and every breed (avoiding Wikipedia), sorting through inconsistent information, and compiling the results into articles that were more in-depth for their short length than any I had seen on the net at that time. It took about 3 months of spare time out of my life to accomplish, and I really would like to share them with you.

In a future post, I will share with you some excerpts from my emails to the client that show how not only how crazy this particular assignment was making me (bad jokes abounded!), but also highlighting some of the frustrations and inconsistencies I came across while writing about certain breeds that I could not put into the finished articles.

What Makes RACsuccess a Great Affiliate Program?

Many people have heard of affiliate programs, but they may not know if being an affiliate is the right choice for them. Personally, I can't imagine it being a wrong choice for anyone, unless they have no internet access, but that is just my own opinion.

The basic premise of an affiliate program is that you receive a link to your affiliate product that you “plant” where people can click it, and then you get paid for the referral if someone purchases the product based on the click through of your link.

Work as much or as little as you like - once you plant the seeds of your affiliate membership, you can start raking in extra money as the sales grow. It is up to you just how much effort you want to put into this, but even a small garden can provide a few good meals as time goes on. Sow a large field of affiliate seeds, and you may fill bushel baskets. Sow many large fields, and you will be reaping a monthly harvest that will amaze you.

So, what are the benefits of being an affiliate for the RACsuccess Package? Let’s take a look.
Free sign up - RACsuccess is free to join. You should never have to pay someone to join their affiliate program, nor should you have to buy a copy of what they are selling before you can sell it yourself.

• Simple requirements - All you need is a free ClickBank affiliate ID to manage your affiliate program and access to the internet once in a while to plant your seed-links, and check on your income.

• A great product - The major ingredient to any good affiliate program is having the right product. The RACsuccess Package is just the right product for teaching both buyers and coders how to be successful on Rent A Coder (RAC) with its proven tips, tricks and secrets compiled from years of experience.

• Constantly growing market- Did you know that, on average, 400-500 users from around the world create a new account with Rent a Coder nearly every day that need this product? And there are many other potential buyers and coders who have not even heard about Rent a Coder that you could invite to watch the free videos and then offer them the RACsuccess Package.

• An affordable price - The RACsuccess Package sells for $24.95 USD. This is well within the reach of most people, which mean more sales for you.

• High commission rate - The RACsuccess affiliate program offers people a whopping 55% out of each sale. They pay such a high commission rate because they want to have as many people as possible out there promoting this great product so that the word can get out to the most people.

• Return on investment - 55% is a great return on your investment - which is free to begin with! Most of the other affiliate programs I've run across only want to give 10% to 30% of their sales, and often their product price is too expensive to attract many buyers.

• Regular payments - You get to choose how often you are paid. ClickBank will pay all your commissions due you as soon as your specified cut-off amount is reached. You can choose to have a check or a direct deposit to your bank account after every $10 in sales, or every $10,000, or any amount in between.

• Promotional tools provided - RAC success provides you with great tools to sell their product easily. All you do is promote the unique URL that RACsuccess gives you by advertising it using your website, banners, your own opt-in list, etc. When people click through and come to the site, you get paid a whopping commission on the sale of every RACsuccess Package. ClickBank also provides you with ways to track your hits, sales, campaigns, and commissions.

• Uses well known trusted affiliate handler - RACsuccess uses ClickBank to manage their affiliate program.

Well, what are you waiting for? I’m in! Sign up at RACsuccess and start making extra income while you sleep.

About the Author

The right product, such as the RACsuccess Package can make all the difference in finding the right affiliate program for you.

There's A Lot More to RACsuccess Than Meets The Eye

Did you know that you can go beyond simply existing on Rent A Coder (RAC) to truly having a successful life there? Well, it's possible with all the tools you will find at RACsuccess. RACsuccess is a company whose main purpose is to teach you how to succeed in the best freelance website out there: Rent A Coder.

Here's a sampling of what else you will find there:

Free tutorial videos

A complete 40 video library is available to teach you everything you need to know to use the Rent a Coder site as well as how to navigate its many useful tools. The free video tutorials will only teach you how to use the site, not teach you how to succeed in RAC. Just knowing how to use Rent a Coder is not the same thing as actually succeeding at Rent a Coder, but being able to navigate the site efficiently is the first step toward that success.

Free 14-page report

As you may already know, mediation is a diplomatic negotiation between both parties where both parties compromise and win and arbitration is more like going to a court trial where somebody is going to lose. "Formal arbitration and how to avoid it" was written by Luis Lazo and contains a BIG secret for how to avoid this whole mess. It is written for both beginners and experienced Rent a Coder users.

RACsuccess package

While extremely useful, basic tutorials can only get you so far. The RACsuccess Package is a collection of 40 video clips and 2 informational guides for both buyers and coders of the Rent a Coder. It has tons of advanced tips, tricks, secrets and topics covering aspects of Rent A Coder that both coders and buyers should know about if they really want to make the most out of their RAC experience. These videos go beyond the "click here to access this tool" approach, and go into the detail necessary to help you actually succeed on RAC.

Free trial program

The RACsuccess Package is the only one that gives you access to all the videos and the two guides that will teach you how to succeed in RAC, and you can have a sneak peak at the program in this free trial for both coders and buyers. The trial version works just like the full version but the limitations are that you are only able to read the first 5 pages of the two guides and you are only able to watch 1 minute 15 seconds (more or less) of 2 videos.

Affiliate program

The RACsuccess affiliate program offers an amazing 55% commission from each sale. The program is free to join, taps the constantly growing market of Rent A Coder members, and uses a well known and trusted affiliate handler, ClickBank. RACsuccess provides all the great tools you need to promote it easily through your own unique URL, such as banners, and well as tools to track your hits, sales, campaigns, and commissions. All you need is a free ClickBank affiliate ID.

Community Forum

RACsuccess has a great Community Forum full of discussion boards where buyers and coders can get additional advice on complex situations or just socialize in a relaxed atmosphere rather than in the business environment of Rent A Coder. The forums, boards and threads are sorted out in such a way that you can quickly find what you are looking for with out wasting precise time.

Monthly Contest

Each month, a free licensed copy of the RACsuccess package is given away free. They even allow UNLIMITED entries per person per month. You could be the winner this month!

And there you have it! An overview of just some of the useful tools you will find on RACsuccess to make your life successeful at Rent A Coder.

About the Author

So grab this chance to visit RACsuccess before you forget. It’s the website with the tools that just might give you the edge you are looking for on Rent A Coder.

Book Review : "Shoestring Venture: The Startup Bible"

Originally posted on Amazon.com in November, but added here as an example of how I can write a review when I'm really excited about the product. And this book STILL excites me, so if you are in the market for a good resource, check this book out at the link in the title!


This is the first review I've ever done, but this book just totally floored me and none of my non-business friends understand why, nor do they care, so I thought I'd tell the people who DO care, since you're the ones interested in this topic and I'm bursting to tell somebody about this book!


I know you've heard this kind of statement before, but this book really does have it all! The table of contents wowed me from the beginning with all that it had to offer! From the importance of how to name your business and your website to designing a logo, to how to create a business plan to raise capital, get grants, finance the business, laws to be aware of, pitfalls to avoid (which are nicely placed in gray boxes throughout the book so you can't miss them), etc. Even various types of software that can help the process along the way. This is a resource that anyone considering a small business, or who already has a business that they are struggling with trying to keep going, needs to have on their bookshelf! Not only how to start your business, but how to keep it going once you've made the commitment. How to set up bill paying, productivity software for various fields, the rollout, manufacturing, staffing and hiring, when to use outsourcing and ecommerce are covered! Even how to use widgets to advertise! There are so many things in this book that I never thought of myself, that I can't think of anything that is not covered! And what isn't covered directly by the author, is covered by links to resources where that topic is covered in great detail by the experts in the field. The authors didn't just Google a few links and stick them in, they actually found expert resources.


It's not dry reading either. It did NOT put me to sleep! Even though it's not a book you have to read from cover to cover, I couldn't put it down! There was so much I never knew about! It is laid out in an easy to understand manner, in a chronology that is logical. I am really amazed at what I found, and it has given me the confidence to take my business plans to the next level and actually BE a business, even with my current limited resources (even that is covered!), instead of just a simple "here's my card, call me" type of freelancer that people don't take very seriously.


Seriously, if you have had even a minor inkling of an idea of starting your own business but have been afraid because you didn't know what it was you didn't know, or how to find out more about what you thought you knew, then this is the right book for you!

Mallards and Wisdom

Once while walking to a departmental library at the University of Washington in Seattle, I saw a male Mallard duck hopping back and forth from the sidewalk to the roadway. He was pecking at something in the road, and when a car would come by, he would hop back to the sidewalk. As I passed, I looked at the road to see what it was that the duck was so fascinated with.

It was a female Mallard...that had been hit by a car, and was very obviously dead. But that didn't matter to the male...he was not pecking at her, as much as he was nudging her, trying to get her to get up, to get out of the road. It was very sad to watch...and at the time, I didn't quite understand what I was witnessing.

I walked on and did what I needed to do at the library, and on my way back, saw the male duck again...only this time, he was also in the road...dead...on top of his mate.

And then I remembered some trivia from my biology classes....Mallards mate for life.

They were together again, at last. And I cried for the rest of my walk home as many realizations washed over me. It is a scene I have never forgotten (I can still see it in my mind's eye as I type this) and it touches me deeply every time I think of it.

Until that moment, I had not realized what "mate for life" meant in the biological world. I was seeing it in action, and it was so sad to watch, and then to know what it was I had seen touched me deeper than I could ever imagine. That something as simple-minded as a bird, could have such an "emotional" (for lack of a better word) tie to its mate that it was willing to put it's own life in danger to protect, save, or just "be there for him/her"...was something that I had not completely understood. I had seen it in nature movies with wolves, but those were movies...edited, not real...or so I had thought. It was a shock to see that it was truly a real phenomenon.

I had thought that such a deep, protective, all-encompassing emotion was only a human trait...my own.

And I have since discovered that it is a very rare trait in humans, unless they are capable of loving deeply and completely. Buckminster Fuller is the only human I have ever heard of who took this to an extreme. When he got word that his wife was dying in hospital, he went to her side, held her and simply willed himself to die, so that he would be in heaven waiting for her, to greet her when she died, as he had promised her. I've often wondered if they found each other...because this is something I would consider doing also if in a similar situation with my own loved one. Like the Mallard, I know I would not live long after my loved one's death. And it is not uncommon among the elderly that within a year of a dear spouse's death, the other dies, too.

This story came to mind because last night my dearest friend told me "love is a very powerful tool that we often turn against ourselves, often unknowingly". He is so right, and I am in awe of his wisdom. Sometimes love puts us in danger of losing ourselves to another. We can lose our souls, and in extreme cases, our lives, to another person...all in the name of that instinctual emotion called "love". Yes, love is blind...it cannot see what it is doing to itself...and it makes us see through clouded eyes, blinding us to the dangers that lurk among our heartstrings.

But have you ever tried to NOT fall in love with someone? I mean, really...you feel yourself falling, you know it is not a wise thing for many reasons (distance, language, whatever), yet there is nothing you can do to break the fall...and *poof* you find yourself totally immersed in love, and wondering "Ok, I'm here, NOW what??" and you cannot climb out of the pool because the edges are too slippery. There are powers beyond our control...and love, be it instinctual, emotional, spiritual or physical, is the most powerful of all.

1 Corinthians 13: 4-8
.....Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
.....It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
.....Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
.....It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
.....Love never fails.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

And now I will leave you with another favorite quote of mine from when I was a teenager.

Love will fly if held too lightly
Love will die if held too tightly
Please hold me rightly
---Ray Bradbury, Marionettes, Inc.

Älska kommer att flyg om hålla alltför lätt
Älska kommer att dö om hålla alltför tät
Älskling, hålla mig rätt

Hej då, mina kära...men vi är vänner alltid.

Friends Don’t Let Friends Miss Out on Success

I love to help out my friends. Even when they don’t think they need the help, I’m still willing to take the time out of my busy day to send them links to websites, software programs, affiliate news, instructional e-books, how-to videos and useful products that I am totally convinced they need to know about.

Well, every one of you reading this right now is also my friend and have I got a wonderful little tidbit to tell you about to help you out whether you need the help or not!

The news is out that this month’s RACsuccess contest has started and is now in full swing! The contest is open to anyone who wishes to participate no matter what their location or country or birth. That makes it a truly international contest. Pretty cool, eh?

All you need to do is refer at least one of your friends to the RACsuccess website for a chance to win a great prize which I will tell you about in a minute.

To participate in the monthly contest, you just need to enter your name and email in the recommendation form and also include the email address of any of your friends and then submit the form. It's that easy!

They are even allowing UNLIMITED* entries per person per month. And if you refer three friends on any given entry, that increases the chances of winning since they will be taken as 3 separate entry submissions. Each entry needs to contain different friend(s) email addresses. Don't miss the opportunity to refer as many friends as you like by submitting the form as many times you want.

Ok, so what are you going to win? Currently the prize is a free license to the RACsuccess package which is a product that they normally sell in RACsuccess. It's an amazing product with tons and tons of advanced tips, tricks, secrets and topics covering aspects of Rent A Coder (RAC) that both coders and buyers should know about if they really want to make the most out of their RAC experience. It even has videos that will help you utilize Rent a Coder to its full potential and to your best advantage. These videos go beyond the "click here to access this tool" approach, and go into the detail necessary to help you actually succeed on RAC. And with those 40-plus videos in the RACsuccess Package, you should find yourself armed with the extra knowledge you need to be successful in winning more projects so that you can earn a viable income as a work-at-home freelancer.

You can read more about the contest on the RACsuccess home page under the heading that says: What's New?

And YOU could be the winner this month!

Again, just refer up to 3 friends per entry to the RACsuccess website by filling out the form and you will be entered to RACsuccess contest of the month for a chance to win a FREE license of their amazing RACsuccess package!

So, since I'm such a helpful and friendly person, I'm referring ALL of my friends who are reading this to RACsuccess!
But don't worry, I already have my RACsuccess Package, so I'm not competing with any of you.

*Note: Unlimited entries are allowed per person per month but be sure you always enter different friend's email addresses on each entry. The more friends you refer, the greater of chances of winning!


About the Author:

Don’t forget to enter the contest every month and be sure to read the contest rules for how it works.

Smooth Sailing on Rent A Coder

Life isn't really like a box of chocolates; it's more like a restless ocean. There is an ebb and flow to everything. Every day waves tumble through our lives. Some are huge and will crush you into the rocks on the shore, and other times they are no more than ripples that are barely noticeable.

Many waves of thought are also like ocean waves. If you try to avoid or "outrun" a problem wave by turning your back on it, it will eventually catch up with you and wreak havoc. In fact, the problem or challenge can seem so large that it may hypnotize you with fear just by staring into it. As soon as this large wave arrives, it spins your life upside-down and drowns you with its power. But when one of life’s big waves comes your way, the best thing to do is to face it. No matter how big it is, you can handle the challenge more easily by diving into it and swimming through it under the surface.

Working as a freelance worker on Rent A Coder can be like riding the swells and troughs of the waves on the ocean. It has its ups and downs. If you aren't careful in studying the waves of communication between your buyer, or your coder, you may find yourself down in the trough, and drowning in arbitration.

Can this be avoided? Yes!

Self-mediation is one way. That one can't be avoided and occasionally everyone uses it. It's the first step before formal mediation, and can often prevent a small wave from turning into a tsunami of destructive arbitration.

But sometimes self-mediation isn't enough to stem the tide. So RACsuccess provides a free 14-page report on their website called: "Formal arbitration and how to avoid it". This report was written by the founder of RACsuccess, Luis Lazo, who has had years of experience as both a buyer and a coder on Rent A Coder and his advice is worth listening to.

If you have read Rent A Coder's legally binding Custom Software Seller/Buyer Agreement, then you know that mediation is a diplomatic negotiation between both parties where both parties compromise and win; and arbitration is more like going to a court trial where somebody is going to lose. So, you can probably understand why formal arbitration is feared by anyone in Rent a Coder. It can compromise the rating of the coder or the buyer, even though arbitration really is a good process for protecting both parties’ interests.

So, in this free report, Luis Lazo gives everyone a BIG secret for how to avoid this whole disastrous tidal wave. It's just one very powerful secret that shows you how you can avoid formal arbitration and protect your coder or buyer rating. Both beginners and experienced Rent a Coder users may be surprised to learn how easy it really is to avoid arbitration after all.

Also, when you sign up at RACsuccess to get this free report, you will get access to 40 free videos that teach you everything you need to know about how to navigate through Rent A Coder's site tools and how to find that Custom Software Seller/Buyer Agreement that you really need to read, if you haven't already.

After you have read the free “Formal arbitration and how to avoid it" report from RACsuccess, you won't need to worry about getting pulled out to sea in an arbitration undertow.

About the Author:

Get your free copy of "Formal arbitration and how to avoid it". now. This is the arbitration secret you need to know to keep it from happening to you. .

RACsuccess Choices: Hot Air Balloon or Parasail?

For many people, the thought of riding in a hot air balloon may seem like a wonderful way to spend a day. The idea of a delicate lift-off in the relative safety of an over-sized picnic basket with a couple of other people along gives us a sense of calm. We love to watch the colors drift by in the distance and one can only imagine how peaceful it must be to float silently above the earth, as free as a bird at the whim of the winds, and landing who-knows-where at the end of the flight.

On the other hand, there are those who view hang gliding or parasailing as quite a bit scarier. The idea of being alone under the wing, and then taking a step off a cliff into a void of nothingness, not knowing if you made the right decision about the air currents that day, can be both exhilarating, and disturbing. But at least you have control over which direction you will fly, and where precisely you will land.

If you are on Rent A Coder (RAC) without the RACsuccess Package in your basket, you are spending your days in a hot air balloon, drifting wherever the wind takes you, with no direction and no ability to control your own future.

If you are on Rent A Coder with the RACsuccess Package in your toolkit, you are under the wing of the parasail and can step off that cliff with the faith that you are able to steer your own direction through the clouds and control your future much better.

The RACsuccess Package is a fantastic collection of over 40 videos and information guides that give the inside scoop on how to be more successful in winning project contracts. It is filled with tips, tricks and secrets, and the RACsuccess Package is also an official Rent A Coder tool.

You see, the RACsuccess Package gives me the inside track on how to be a stand out among the competition when bidding on choice job contracts, or when needing to attract quality coders when I am the buyer of services. It allows me more control over communications with my buyer, or my seller. I no longer feel like I am drifting aimlessly through Rent A Coder, but rather I am sailing through with a purpose and a direction now.

And the RACsuccess Package is not just for beginners and newcomers to Rent A Coder. It's also for experienced coders, too. It's not just a read once or watch once and you're done kind of application either. It's something that you will want to come back to time and time again to review. Every time I open it, there's always something new to me in there.

With the years of experience that Luis Lazo, founder of RACsuccess, has had working on Rent A Coder, you get to benefit from it all. The information that he has gathered into a series of videos and guides, (one for buyers, one for coders) will improve the way you do projects and the way you hire coders. I am amazed at what I have learned from the RACsuccess Package.

RACsuccess was created with a single purpose in mind: They want people to succeed in RAC. And since Rent A Coder is undoubtedly today's most important meeting place between coders and buyers, the RACsuccess Package will help you utilize Rent a Coder to its full potential and to your best advantage.

But don't take my word for it. Check out the free trial version of the RACsuccess Package yourself. And don't forget to sign up for the free 40 instructional videos that help you navigate the Rent A Coder website so you can use it easily and enhance your enjoyment of being a freelance employee on RAC. And with those videos comes the free 14-page report “Formal Arbitration And How To Avoid It – The Arbitration’s Secret You Need To Know” which can save you headaches.

I must say this has been the best investment I could have made to get the most out of my RAC experience and I am sailing where I want to now, not drifting in the wind.

About the Author:

The RACsuccess Package has really changed the way I do business on RAC. The secrets of how to succeed on Rent A Coder which Luis Lazo has so kindly revealed are now available to all.

Sweet Success When Working at Home is Easier with RACsuccess

In these times of high energy prices, along with wages that just don't quite cover everything we need; many people are looking for alternative ways, to either save money or make extra money, to ease the pinch at the pump. The media has been full of news about people who used to commute long distances trying to save gasoline costs by working at home instead, or by adopting the four-day work week which gives them an extra day of spare time for earning extra money. And many have taken advantage of that extra free time by getting into the freelance business. They have discovered that online freelance work, as either a coder or a buyer, is the alternative answer they were looking for.

But how are they finding the jobs they are doing for that extra money? Well, first of all, they are using one of the many free online freelance job services like Rent A Coder (RAC) to find their freelance work-at-home jobs as coders. They are even starting their own home businesses as buyers by posting job requests to find coders to do work for them. These Now-At-Homes are becoming potential employers finding potential employees just like you in a virtual world that knows no international boundaries. And everyone on board is reaping the benefits of extra income and energy savings.

And how are they becoming successful in this virtual freelance home business realm? Well, they are going to RACsuccess to access all the free information that is available to help them be the best coders or buyers they can be on RAC. On RACsuccess there are more than 40 free videos to watch that show you everything you need to know to use the Rent a Coder site as well as how to navigate its many useful tools. You will also find a free 14-page report on "Formal arbitration and how to avoid it"; testimonials from successful people; monthly contests; and even a free affiliate program you can join to earn even more money. There is also a free Community Forum where you can discuss your RAC experiences with others and get advice on unusual situations from people who have already been down that road; and much more.

For those who want the inside track on how to be a stand out among the competition when bidding on choice job contracts, or when needing to attract quality coders when they are the buyers of services, RACsuccess has a fantastic package of videos and information guides that gives them the inside scoop on how to be more successful winning project contracts. Filled with tips, tricks and secrets, the RACsuccess Package is also an official Rent A Coder tool.

You see, RACsuccess was created with a single purpose in mind: They want people to succeed in RAC. And since Rent A Coder is undoubtedly today's most important meeting place between coders and buyers, the RACsuccess Package will help you utilize Rent a Coder to its full potential and to your best advantage. If you are a buyer, they want you to hire programmers that are the best suited for your projects and if you are a coder, they want you to be able to land the projects you deserve without the humiliating experience of having to win them through being the lowest bidder.

With the years of experience that Luis Lazo, founder of RACsuccess, has had working on Rent A Coder, you get to benefit from it all. The information that he has gathered into a series of videos will improve the way you do projects. I was amazed at what I learned from this package.

But the RACsuccess Package is not just for beginners...it's also for experienced coders and buyers, too, and even they are learning new tricks from this collection of tried and true advice.
So if you are either a coder or a buyer on RAC, and if you are finding yourself not winning as many bids as you would like, or not attracting the quality coders you know you deserve, then you just may be up against competitors that have already tapped into the resources available in the RACsuccess Package.

So what are you waiting for? Head on over to RACsuccess and start learning how you, too, can win bids and influence people.

About the Author:
Success in Rent A Coder is possible with the right tools. You can
sign up for more than 40 free videos here to give you an edge on that sweet success by understanding how to use RAC to it’s fullest.

När betraktar plastikkirurgi

När betraktar plastikkirurgi i dylika fall bröstimplantat eller bröstminskning, penisförstoring, fettsugning, kroppsgestaltning eller andra skönhetkirurgi, läkaren och kliniken som du välje är kritiskt till din personliga välbefinnande och tillfredsställelse. Och det är viktigt att inser ochså det trots att det en välutbildad kirurg med förnämlig kirurgiskt faciliteter, det finns ingen garantier för ett perfekt resultat emedan varje patient är unik och så är varje surgery; därför dina resultat kan vara något helt annat än din vänner.

Välje din plastikkirurg

Oavsett vilken typ av plastikkirurgi du funderar på, den mest viktig faktorn för dess framgång är den kirurg som du välje. Urvalet av den riktig plastikkirurgen var ingen lätt fråga och bör inte baseras på prissättning eller för känslomässiga skäl. Fråga din husläkare om de skulle skicka en familjemedlem till denna plastikkirurg. Om du känner någon som har haft ett förfarande som det som du funderar på, prata med dem, men inte besluta om en kirurg bygger på endast en persons erfarenhet.

Utbildning

Även om goda meriter inte kan garantera ett lyckat resultat, kan de avsevärt öka oddsen. Din kirurgen borde ha fått utbildning som omfattade ett brett spektrum av kirurgi för att kunna känna igen komplikationer eller möjliga komplikationer och har det medicinska kunnande att göra en säker bedömning av situationen i tillräcklig tid så att säkerheten upprätthålls och slutresultatet inte påverkas.

Erfarenhet

Även om det finns inga magiska nummer (åren eller förfaranden) som definierar "erfarenhet", du bör känna trevlig att kirurgen du väljer är väl bevandrade och aktuell i förfarandet du är fundera. Och din plastikkirurg borde ha sjukhus privilegier i den region där kirurgiskt ingreppet är utförde så att i de sällsynta specialfall en komplikation kräver sjukhusvård kirurgen kommer att kunna ge den vård du behöver.

Samrådet / intervju

Efter du har minskat din lista ner till två eller tre kirurger, kanske du vill besöka dem för ett första samråd. Så du kan jämföra sina personligheter, sina yttranden den typ av operation bör du ha, deras avgifter, och hur de svarar på frågor och förklara riskerna. Det är en bra idé att skriva ner dina frågor, och att skriva ner kirurgens svaren också. Var inte frukta att ställa frågor, oavsett hur triviala eller hur personlig du tror dem att är. Du kan fråga kirurger om de gör det förfarande ofta eller bara ibland, och när de sista utfört detta förfarande. Du kan även fråga att tala med andra patienter som har haft det förfarande som utförs av kirurgen.

Jag hopas att dessa hjälper dig i ditt beslut om bröstimplantat eller bröstminskning, penisförstoring, fettsugning, kroppsgestaltning eller andra plastikkirguri och din val av kirurg.

[Yes, I can also write in Swedish. English translation available upon request if you are in Sweden and considering re-constructive plastic surgery at the clinic in Sweden that the title of this article links to.]

Foreign Language Oddities - Nobody Calls Anybody What They Call Themselves

Originally written and posted elsewhere: 1/1/2007

I am currently studying Swedish, or "svenska" as it is called in Sverige.
And as I am trying to learn this language and its patterns, on my own, with no guidance other than a couple of grammar books, some travel audio CD's, a dictionary/phrasebook on my PDA, and Radio Sweden broadcasts, (among other hard-to-find tools!) many things occur to me about languages in general.

---> Language is weird and hilariously funny...no matter what country it comes from.
---> Grammar does not follow any logical patterns...it is consistently inconsistent.
---> Word order among different languages is like trying to put scrambled eggs back together.
---> Spoken vs. written forms can make you wonder if it really is the SAME language or not.
---> Nobody calls anybody what they call themselves...and this one really baffles me!

Note that in my very first sentence, I did not say "Sweden". That is the English word, not the Swedish word.
A Swede (or rather, a svensk) calls it Sverige.
Why do English speakers insist on calling it "Sweden"?
And why do we call the people who live there "Swedes" when their own language uses different words for themselves and for their country?

This appears to be a common theme throughout most languages...a country is never called by its own sovereign name, but by one that someone else made up for their own language. Granted, the pronunciations are *sometimes* similar to the original country's name, but only *sometimes*.

Examples:
We call Deutschland "Germany", the svensk call it "tysk", the français call it "allemagne" and in español it is "alemania".
We call España "Spain", the svensk and the deutsch call it "spanien" (at least they agree!) and the français call it "espagne".
We call Sverige "Sweden", the français call it "suède", the deutsch call it "schweden", and in español it is "suecia".
We call Norge "Norway", the svensk call it "norsk", the français call it "norvég", in español it is "noruega"...and lord only knows what the deutsch call it...

Americans get a little closer to being polite to France though, by using a name that is at least CLOSE to the name its people give themselves which when spoken is "L'France", but the svensk call it "frankrika", the deutsch call it "frankreich", and in español it is "francia".

Now, in MY head, (which tends to think along strange tangents sometimes), this is like saying that nobody really cares at all about any other country but their own, so we will all just selfishly call them any darn thing we choose. It's like finding out that Mary is determined to call David "George" because she doesn't like the name "David" and thinks "George" fits him better and doesn't give a darn how David feels about having his name changed. Then Helen comes along and calls him "Rodriquez" among her friends and family. And poor David has no say in the matter when Joanne decides he should be called "Abdul" in her household.

All of this implies a lack of respect for other countries, other people, other cultures, and other languages.

But what I want to know is...why can't we ALL, throughout the world's languages, call all countries and their inhabitants by their "correct" names...the names they call themselves? These names can often be found on any postage stamp from the country in question, from Shqipërisë (Albania) to Helvetia (Switzerland) to Italia (Italy) to Magyar (Hungary) and beyond. Granted, some may be hard to pronounce in our respective languages, but we can TRY, and in this way show our respect for their lands, their cultures and their people.

Perhaps this would help unite the world in harmony just a tad bit better?

Sverige och Norge alltid!
:)

First Things First - Please Read

Hello and welcome to my world of writing, video and voice.

I have finally taken the plunge to put up a portfolio of samples of my various works. This has been prompted by several incidents in my life that may cause future confusion and concern about my abilities as a writer.

1. On my very first professional writing assignment, the client used an article submission program to post my articles to thousands of blogs. I did not know such a program existed at that time. Unfortunately, he did not realize that the program not only required that the article be re-written twice in a very similar fashion but that it scrambles the paragraphs of all three articles together to form thousands of "unique" articles. Oh, boy, were they EVER unique! Rather than contact me for the rewrites in my own words and style, he wrote very different versions of what I had written, even going off on totally different tangents, not realizing that his writing style and ideas would be scrambled in with mine when he submitted them, causing jarring thought changes and awkward transitions between paragraphs. These thousands of "unique" articles went out onto the Web under my real name as author. The result has been pure embarrassment that such horrible writing is now attributed to me on a professional level. Naturally, I dread the thought of anyone searching on my name for samples of my writing on the Web.

However, the client and I worked out at least one way around the problem, sort of. We resubmitted all of the articles under a pseudonym that we both verified through several search engines to be sure it did not belong to anyone else on the Web at that time. A search for my name will now bring up "By Dan Stanyier (erroneously attributed to Crystal Eikanger)". However, the fix was not perfect, since the software vendor could not guarantee that a resubmission of the articles under the new author would go to all the same blogs, nor that the same scrambled version would either, nor would all blogs be able to handle such a long "author" field. So there are at least 500+ versions of those "scrambled eggs" that are still out there under my name alone that seriously compromise my credibility as a professional writer.

2. Because of number 1 above, I have been reluctant to let any client use my name on any articles I have written for them if they plan to submit them to multiple sites. This has resulted in not having sites that I can point potential new clients to for samples of my paid professional work. It also means that clients who have purchased my articles have placed either their own names or their own pseudonyms on my articles. Since part of my contract with them through that particular freelance site was to relinquish my copyright to them, there is nothing I can do about the resulting confusion.

3. In one case, I have allowed the client to use my real name on the articles that are posted directly on his website; but because they were also going to be edited for length and submitted to other sites, they will have a different byline with slightly different wording. This may cause those derivative works to be flagged in Copyscape as being plagiarized by different people, but rest assured, if my name comes up on it, it is my original writing and it should pass Copyscape as the original work from which the others are derived.

Due to the above chaos related to numbers 1, 2, and 3, I have decided to post all of my articles here, pending releases for permission to do so from the new copyright holders of my articles. I will continue to add my work-for-hire articles and videos as they become available to me by permission. These articles will contain link-backs to the original websites that they were written for. Those articles that I do not have permission to repost here will have a brief excerpt and a link pointing to the site it was written for, so that the site can get its hits.

I will also be adding new, unpaid material that I may decide to write for the sheer pleasure of writing and sharing with my friends and family. It may be poetic, it may be psychotic, it may be funny, it may be sad or it may be totally dry and boring to anyone but someone who knows me personally. But that is what blogging is all about.

If you like my style(s) and decide to hire me to write for you, I hope you will allow me to post either the full articles, short excerpts, or at least links to your site that may contain my works, here on my portfolio blog. However, that is not a requirement. I do feel that posting both here and on your own site can help both of us as advertisers of our respective products and services. I am always open to discussion and negotiation.

Again, welcome to my world...enjoy your stay!