Gracious Living on Social Security

How an Older Woman and a Younger Man Made Style Affordable

By: Valerie Kent

Published: February 23, 2009
Format: Paperback, 152 pages
ISBN-10: 0615211569
ISBN 13: 978-0-615-21156-5
Publisher: Tree Farm Books





"Having to live within our Social Security income forced us to address our concerns and establish new priorities. The challenge was to turn limited assets to the best advantage while living gracefully in the process", writes eighty-eight year old enthusiast for living life to the fullest Valerie Kent, in her practical yet personable book Gracious Living on Social Security: How an Older Woman and a Younger Man Made Style Affordable. The author describes in detail how to live a respectable and fulfilling life in retirement, while earning only a modest pension income.

Valerie Kent understands that people arrive at retirement with vastly different levels of wealth and income. She shares personal details of her finances, and those of her husband, in a manner that gives their retirement life in St. Petersburg, Florida a personal touch. Along with sound financial advice for budgeting a fixed income, Valerie Kent describes how to eat well and stay fit, so that life can be enjoyed for many decades after retirement. Her goal is to help retirees live an enriching and satisfying life, while ensuring that personal finances don't become a problem. She succeeds well in that department, and even adds useful advice for taking a part time job, should money be required for an unexpected purpose or a desired lucury.

Valerie Kent entered retirement in relatively difficult financial circumstances following her divorce, that left her very low on funds. Her subsequent marriage, and its financial ramifications, provides a useful budgetary framework for weddings at any age. Her discussion of travel and independence is great advice for any senior citizens who wish to fulfill lifelong dreams of seeing distant lands, both safely and without breaking their bank accounts. Her advice on fitness and proper diet is well backed with sound money management tips to ensure that these crucial health issues are not forgotten or ignored due to cost. Overall, her goal of helping retirees live their golden years with grace is achieved very well indeed.

Foe me, the power of the book is how Valerie Kent describes how to turn a modest income into a very fulfilling retirement, complete with travel and a wide circle of friends, without scrimping and pinching pennies like a miser. Indeed, the advice on purchasing clothing at a fraction of its cost, to ensure that one always looks their best, is valuable knowledge for people of any age. The advice on purchasing healthy food and maintaining physical fitness is essential for everyone at every stage of life. The book succeeds well at its primary purpose of helping retirees ro live well on the fixed income of Social Security.

I highly recommend the retirement enhancing book Gracious Living on Social Security: How an Older Woman and a Younger Man Made Style Affordable by Valerie Kent, to anyone at or near retirement age who desires a rich and rewarding life beyond their employment years. The advice is especially important during a recessionary economy, whether the reader is a senior citizen, or a much younger person seeking to live a graceful life on a reduced income.

Read the personal and helpful book Gracious Living on Social Security: How an Older Woman and a Younger Man Made Style Affordable by Valerie Kent, and live life in retirement with grace and dignity. The author demonstrates clearly that a wonderful retirement on a fixed income is not only possible, but not that difficult to achieve with a little planning and care.

Tags: Gracious Living on Social Security: How an Older Woman and a Younger Man Made Style Affordable, Valerie Kent, personal finance, business nook reviews.

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The Link

Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestor

By: Colin Tudge, Josh Young

Published: May 20, 2009
Format: Hardcover, 272 pages
ISBN: 9780316070089
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company









Ida looks innocent enough at first glance. A closer look reveals a 47 million year old fossil of a female, that may represent the so-called "missing link" in the primate family. The almost perfectly preserved fossil of Ida, discovered in Messel, Germany, may be the earliest known ancestor of humans. The story of Ida, and the scientific team led by Jorn Hurum of Norway who examined her fossilized remains, is described in wonderful detail by science writer Colin Tudge in his important book The Link: Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestor.



Ida (photo left) lived 47 million years ago in the much warmer climate of the Eocene Epoch. Her home was near a crater lake, where she may have drowned due to poisonous gas escaping from the water. Her entire body was preserved in the mud bottom of the lake, as she became fossilized. The fossil was discovered by a private collector in the 1980s, and later sold to a museum in Oslo, Norway. Author Colin Trudge describes how a team of world renowned scientists confirmed her importance to the study of primate evolution. The author also provides a detailed portrait of the Eocene world, that was very different in climate and global geography from our own, of which Ida was a resident.



Colin Tudge (photo left) also provides a strong outline of the various controversies surrounding the importance of Ida's discovery. Not all scientists agree that Ida is a "missing link" and there is even doubt about her primate origins. The author, through discussions with the scientific team, presents a solid and convincing case that Ida is is indeed one of the most important fossil discoveries of all time. At the same time, Colin Tudge shares the vital information that the study of Ida is nowhere near completion. The little fossil has many more secrets to reveal, and may change even more long held scientific paradigms. The crucial point is that science adds onto what is already known, questioning claims made for every new discovery, resulting in deeper research and even more often startling answers.

For me, the power of the book is the even handed, objective story of the important fossil called Ida. her discovery, her scientific study by a team led by Jorn Hurum (who named Ida after his five year old daughter), the world in which she lived, and her value to science are described well and with an open mind. Colin Tudge does share the enthusiasm for Ida, with the famous scientists on the research team, but maintains an even handed approach to her fascinating discovery. Indeed, the telling of the story of Ida is gripping, and places the reader in Ida's Eocene world, and into modern scientific study, with equal interest.

I highly recommend the must read book The Link: Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestor by Colin Tudge, to anyone fascinated by human origins, and the discovery of what may prove to be one of humanities very earliest ancestors. The chance discovery of Ida represents a true turning point in primate and human evolutionary history. As a result, Ida will find herself, as Jorn Hurum predicts, in the pages of every scientific textbook in the future.

Read the fascinating and intriguing The Link: Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestor by Colin Tudge, and be swept away bu the wondrous story of Ida and her place in the human family album. The story preserved in the little fossil Ida is really the story of ourselves.

Tags: The Link: Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestor, Colin Tudge, primate fossil Ida, science book reviews.

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Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio



Psychologists, founders of the Soft Sell Marketing Association, and best selling authors of the groundbreaking and inspirational book The Heart of Marketing: Love Your Customers and They Will Love You Back, Judith Sherven and Jim Sniechowski share ideas for a new way of marketing with love and empathy. They recommend marketing from the heart that provides inspiration, motivation and practical how to techniques for achieving greater marketing success than ever before. They teach how to strengthen your business while enriching your soul.

Judith Sherven and Jim Sniechowski are my internet radio show guests on Blog Business Success; hosted live on Blog Talk Radio.

The show airs live on Thursday, July 2, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.



Judith Sherven PhD. and Jim Sniechowski PhD. (both shown in photo left) are a best selling husband and wife psychology team and the leading voice for soft sell, heart-based marketing. They produce the only Internet marketing conference for the soft sell community “Bridging Heart and Marketing. Their Soft Sell Marketers Association is an international hub for Soft Sell training and support. Their latest book is The Heart of Marketing: Love Your Customers and They Will Love You Back (Morgan James Publishing, May 2009) As guest experts they've been on over 1500 television and radio shows including Oprah, The View, 48 Hours, CNN, Canada AM, and The Daily Buzz.

My book review of The Heart of Marketing: Love Your Customers and They Will Love You Back by Judith Sherven PhD. and Jim Sniechowski PhD.

Listen live on Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.



If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.



To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with Psychologists, founders of the Soft Sell Marketing Association, and best selling authors of the groundbreaking and inspirational book The Heart of Marketing: Love Your Customers and They Will Love You Back, Judith Sherven and Jim Sniechowski as they share ideas for a new way of marketing with love and empathy. They recommend marketing from the heart that provides inspiration, motivation and practical how to techniques for achieving greater marketing success than ever before. They teach how to strengthen your business while enriching your soul on Blog Business Success Radio.

Tags: The Heart of Marketing: Love Your Customers and They Will Love You Back, Judith Sherven, Jim Sniechowski, soft sell marketing, Blog Business Success, Blog Talk Radio.

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The Heart of Marketing

Love Your Customers and They Will Love You Back

By: Judith Sherven, Jim Sniechowski

Published: May 1, 2009
Format: Paperback, 182 pages
ISBN-10: 1600375596
ISBN-13: 978-1600375590
Publisher: Morgan James Publishing






"In short, it's about putting your heart into marketing", write former therapists and the founders of the Soft Sell Marketing Association Judith Sherven and Jim Sniechowski about their groundbreaking and inspirational book The Heart of Marketing: Love Your Customers and They Will Love You Back. The authors describe how marketing can serve the needs of the customer, both materially and spiritually, by creating a long term and mutually beneficial relationship for everyone.

Judith Sherven and Jim Sniechowski understand that many marketers feel uncomfortable with hard sell techniques. Those traditional selling methods fail to satisfy the deeper emotional needs of both the buyer and the seller. The authors describe how they felt empty when offered the typical sales and marketing programs, but chalked it up to their relative inexperience. Over time, they discovered that many other sales representatives and marketers felt the same level of discomfort that they experienced in their own business. Judith Sherven and Jim Sniechowski discovered the insight that marketing is more about the heart than most marketers even realize.



Judith Sherven and Jim Sniechowski (both shown in photo left) recognize the importance of heart to heart connections between the soft sell marketer and the buyer. Through genuine openness and authenticity, the soft seller creates a deeper relationship with the customer that is far beyond simply a commercial one. The authors know instinctively that there is no real competition between hard sell and soft sell marketers. Both styles have their customer bases, and both connect with customers in different ways. In an internet world, where the marketer is entirely unknown to the prospective customer, it's essential that a relationship be developed and nurtured with the prospect long before a marketing message is even part of the conversation.

For me, the power of the book is its no nonsense question and answer format that demonstrates clearly the power of building deep lasting relationships between the marketer and the customer. Indeed, the authors point out that both parties have spiritual and emotional needs that must be met for a truly satisfying connection. The heart is the focus of the book, and that emphasis on human relationships on a personal level, is the key to soft sell marketing. The internet is a real test of soft sell relationship based marketing in action. The authors describe how building relationships on a personal level, before presenting any sales or marketing message, is crucial to internet marketing success. Soft sell heart based marketing is made for marketing on the internet.

I highly recommend the enlightening and gratifying book The Heart of Marketing: Love Your Customers and They Will Love You Back by Judith Sherven and Jim Sniechowski, to any marketers who feel uncomfortable with hard sell marketing concepts that fail to put relationships and connection building at the forefront of their marketing program. In the place of these hard sell techniques, the authors offer the proven, and emotionally satisfying soft cell marketing idea.

Read the marketing paradigm changing book The Heart of Marketing: Love Your Customers and They Will Love You Back by Judith Sherven and Jim Sniechowski, and develop open and transparent relationships with potential customers. People prefer to buy from those who they know, like and trust to have their best interests at heart. When a sale is a collaborative creation, the result is spiritually gratifying for all concerned.

Tags: The Heart of Marketing: Love Your Customers and They Will Love You Back, Judith Sherven, Jim Sniechowski, soft sell marketing, business book reviews.

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How Perfect Is That

By: Sarah Bird

Published: July 7, 2009
Format: Trade Paperback, 336 pages
ISBN-10: 143912308X
ISBN-13: 9781439123089
Publisher: Simon & Schuster





Blythe Young, recently divorced from a scion of one of the wealthiest society families in Austin Texas, is broke and has only her wits, and her amoral character to make her way in the world. In her wildly satirical romp through Austin, Texas, best selling author Sarah Bird takes the reader from the highest levels of wealth to the life of the homeless, in her hilarious novel How Perfect Is That. As Blythe Young reels from humiliation to disaster and back again, her determination to succeed echoes the conniving, yet sympathetic social climbing Becky Sharp in Thackeray's classic Vanity Fair.

Sarah Bird provides a novel that can be read on several levels. One obvious reading is the delicious and wickedly funny satire of the upper classes of Austin, Texas and their lives and politics. The author skewers the men as philandering and obsessed with money, status, and the right political connections. The women, much more visible in the novel, understand the obsessions of the society men, and as result, the women are consumed by issues of designer clothing and houses, being seen at the right parties, and their weight. Indeed, weight as in body fat and weight as in the burden of conscience are important themes in the book.



Sarah Bird (photo left) takes the reader into a deeper meaning as well. Blythe Young, in her short marriage, rose almost to the pinnacle of Austin society. When her marriage ended, she was cast out of her heaven, in a Lone Star version of Milton's Paradise Lost. Her sole mission was to regain what she believed her rightful place in society. Her attempts to hang on to that version of heaven were unsuccessful as she moved from one self made disaster to the next. Her past closes in on her, and Blythe runs out of scams, temporarily. One step ahead of the IRS and the law, she turns to her one true but ignored friend Millie.

Through more of Blythe's using of others, she narrowly escapes being cast out again. Instead, she seeks redemption through the Christ like Millie, and seeks to find a new, and more lasting heaven. The parallel to Paradise Lost becomes more firmly established as Blythe attempts to connive her way back to ruling in her society heaven. In its place, Millie offers an alternative to ruling in hell. She offers creating heaven on Earth, and helping others instead of using people for personal gain. Blythe faces her personal demons, and continues her pilgrimage to self discovery.

I highly recommend the rollicking How Perfect Is That by Sarah Bird, to anyone seeking a hilarious satire that bites to the core of Austin's society. The author's turn of phrase and scathing wit provide an insightful and subversive view of society at all levels, and politics both public and personal. The Becky Sharp type character of Blythe Young is well drawn, lack of a moral compass and all. Her misadventures propel the story forward.

Read the satirical and laugh filled How Perfect Is That by Sarah Bird, and you will want to add Blythe Young to your personal list of most fascinating literary characters.

Tags: How Perfect Is Tha, Sarah Bird, satirical movels, fiction book reviews.

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