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Showing posts with label Book Review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Book Review. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

The Fifth Wave ... Book Review

I am highly elated that I was contacted to review this book.

Mobile internet could alter life as we know it, society, and commerce.


According to The Book of Daniel, Proverbs, &The Abrahamic Convenant it is that infomation will increase and the transfer of revenues/wealth.......In 2012 around July I did a study on the Abrahamic Covenant from my home on The Abrahamic Convenant & Abrahamic Blessings /Provision & Wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just ........... the only reason why I haven't wrote about it was because I was placed in a discipleship class at my Church

Mobile internet could have the real potential to create a universal market of six billion users generating $2.5 trillion annually in economic value, how it will change lives, create wealth, destroy more businesses, and could upend more political systems that any force in history.

Robert Marcus and Collins Hemingway are the authors of this book.

Robert Marcus is the Chairman and CEO of QuatumWave Capital, which is a global investment banking boutique specialized in early-stage mobile internet M&A. He also built a public company to a half-billion dollar valuation, co-founded three successful start-ups, and led a turnaround, generating two IPOs.

Collins Hemingway is best known for partnering with Microsoft Bill Gates to co-author the #1 best-selling book Business the Speed of Though. Collins is a tech sector expert. He has founded and worked for startups, an served as director in Microsoft's fastest-growing division. He is a marketing and business consultant, and has written books on retail branding and strategy, ethical and leadership principles, and on cognitive fitness. He lectures regularly on leadership and the future of technology.

In the Third Wave of computing, Microsoft turned out three billionaires and more than 12,000 millionaires; Apple turned out one billionaire and another thousand millionaires. In the Fourth Wave, Google produced two billionaires and a thousand millionaires, and Facebook's public offering will create another billionaire or two and about 700 more millionaires. Together the Third and Fourth computing waves likely have produced 100,000 people who became millionaires or better. The Fifth Wave is likely to produce many more - app stores alone are producing millionaires from downloads of $1 and $2 mobile applications. The Fifth Wave will be a machine of great wealth.

Consider how much more amendable the meetings might be if the identifies are fully developed via Mobile Presence. It couldn't guarantee personal chemistry, because sometimes the fun is in the differences; but it could rule out certain attributes that are unacceptable and select for others that are deemed essential, all based on a much fuller profile of each person.

For advertisers, marketers, and content and service providers, Mobile Presence enables the distribution and consumption of information, media, and services with unprecedented relevance. With Mobile Presence, advertisers will have very precise demographic and geographic information about potential customers.

With high response rates, more companies will advertise, particularly small ones that previously lacked the confidence to. Many more firms will advertise if the opportunity is great and the risk is zero. Local merchants also will benefit from the instantaneous and hyperlocal nature of commerce.

Partnerships among travel companies, media outlets, and other information providers will boom because meaningful information can be directly tied to time and location.

Other techniques are important, but Mobile Presence is the future. The opportunity is not in any one element of Mobile Presence alone but in the combination of all four - identity, security, geospatial, and social.

Mobile Presence is the force that will account for most of the value of the mobile internet, and Mobile Presence is approaching a kairos moment.

The true impact of the mobile internet will be beyond commerce and into the realm of personal, social, and political interactions.

When an engineer in Bogota has the same access to world markets as an engineer in Silicon Valley, the world has changed. When a solider in Afghanistan can share a video call with his wife and kids halfway across the world, the world has changed. Even in the poorest areas of the world, where electricity is often lacking, people find ways to buy and use mobile phones. Mobile phones can be used for education, for payment of bills and money transfers to family, for alerts about medical treatments or when communal wells are working - even for warning women of dangerous parts of town.

People are simply more involved personally when they have devices that give them direct, personal contact with other people.

Society will reinvent itself across the globe. No market sector or country will escape the tidal wave.

As being a time of unpredictability, can also be a time of great creativity.

Mobile Presence is built upon four pillars: personal identity, security, privacy controls, geospatial information, and social connectivity.

Though social networks are growing rapidly, a distinct subset of people are fleeing such broad spectrum environments. People want to use social tools to reach out to others, but they also want to find social environments that are protected and personal.

All of a person's interactions on a mobile device help build a personal identity. Each identity will be personal and unique, because each person's traits, tendencies, movements, social interactions and purchases are personal and unique. Inappropriately, handled, this information can inflict extraordinary damage to a person's life. Security, is of paramount importance.

The mobile internet raises security and privacy issues on a number of levels: personal physical safety and the physical safety of children; financial; medical; career; and lifestyle. But the most serious kind of harm can be exposure of highly personal data. For example, cyber-bullying, which oftens involves malicious gossip and the online posting of unflattering private information about others, has led to the suicides of several young people. In response, 38 U.S. states have enacted laws criminalizing electronic harassment and similar misuse of personal data.

Every medium has security issues.

In an imperfect world, mobile transactions are intrinsically more secure than others. Regarding online security in general, consumers need to follow well-understood security measures in managing their online affairs; and financial institutions and online vendors need to follow, and improve upon, strict industry protocols for the safe storage of customer data.

Google, Facebook, and other companies with large customer bases have a vested interest in protecting user information. Yet Google and Facebook have gotten trouble more than once for the overzealous collecting of personal data and for the careless handling of it.

The sensible solution is for industry to police itself, creating clear and transparent mechanisms by which users explicitly opt in to the way in which their data will be used.

A huge business opportunity could exist for third parties to provide to consumers a rigorous review of identity protection measures and privacy policies by mobile internet providers. Consumers would look for the mobile internet equivalent of the seal of approval by Underwriters Laboratories or Consumer Reports.

Mobile internet leaders need to decide whether to proactively treat data security and privacy as a very high priority, or to prepare for legitimate but burdensome government response after the fact.

Mobile Presence enables the delivery of highly relevant information, whether personal or commercial, at a time and in a place where you want to read it.

Google's incentive for merchants to use its wallet, for instance, is that it does not plan to charge transaction fees but rather to run ads on mobile devices.

First-generation geospatial services are available from providers such as Foursquare.com, which has created the most successful geospatial social networking site to date, based on GPS. The information is posted on Foursquare.com and on the person's social networks.

Because the system is opt in, Foursquare does not know anyone's location unless the individual chooses to divulge it by checking in, thus resolving the privacy challenges.

Because it does not tie anyone down to a desk, Mobile Presence offers the best of the real and virtual world.

The desktop internet was also the first wave to restructure businesses that were not themselves involved in technology, such as publishing and retail. Hard media - books, CD's, and the like-could be ordered through web portals.

The Fourth Wave upended the media industries - photography, travel, newspaper, book, music, and video. The internet was the final nail in the coffin for many general brick and mortar retailers, who were already struggling as the result of Wal-Mart and other low-cost physical stores and were further hammered by the low price points made possible by e-commerce. Amazon, sells five times as much merchandise of any kind online as Wal-Mart sells online. Companies, that were probably positioned for online sales did exceedingly well.

Tablets and e-readers rode upon the changes brought to media and entertainment by the mobile internet. Because every form of media is now digitized and delivered in an IP format, previously separate delivery methods have collided.

Book revenues have declined for three years, from $5.18 billion in total sales for 2008 to $4.86 billion in 2010. E-book sales rose from 3.2 percent to 8.3 percent in the same period, and surged because of tablets and e-readers in 2011 to an estimated 20 percent of the overall market. The shift to digital is now so rapid that there is one predicted that e-books could overtake printed books as early as 2015.

TV viewership is increasing.

Search-related advertising is the largest component of advertising for the desktop internet. Mobile search is expected to explode to $1.6 billion by 2014 (numbers for the U.S.).

Publishers also want to get in on the many opportunities provided by mobile devices, including search, banner ads, sponsorships, videos, and store locators.

Major newspapers are finally embracing the new economy of social networks and the mobile internet is a lesson for all business. The papers are developing compelling audio and video, blogs, chats and discussion forums. Their journalists use blogs and tweets to develop both the paper's brand and their own personal brands.

Journalists also use social media to pick up ideas, develop story ideas, and collect facts.

Today the many bloggers, those informal and usually unpaid commentators, have as much cumulative impact as professional journalists. Twitter makes it easy for companies to be discovered by reporters and audiences. Twitter is the new version of the business press wire.

Products and services that were previously not feasible could very well hit critical mass with a worldwide market measured in the billions.

The mobile internet is large and dynamic.

Fortunes can be made and lost in the blink of an eye, with the mobile internet.

Understanding technology in depth is not the same thing as understanding the value of technology-based solutions.

In a time of difficult economic conditions, the mobile internet is one of the few sectors showing robust growth, spawning jobs and prosperity around the globe.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Free Google: Free SEO, Social Media, & AdWords Resources for Small Business Marketing - Book Review

This book shares on Internet Marketing that will give you ideas that you will teach you step-by-step. Designed for small business marketers, with an easy to understand lay out of tips that will not break your budget (since everything is free!) ............................................................................................................. Even though SEO or Search Engine Optimization is all about getting to the top of Goggle for free, many small business owners or marketers do not know that Google produces an official free SEO guide. ...................................... But there's a problem - a catch. ...................................................................................... The catch is that despite the fact that Google is the world's number one search engine, Google does a terrible job of explaining where all the free goodies are in the Googleplex. .......................................................... The author teaches online marketing at corporate workshops, for his own company, at Stanford University Continuing Studies and elsewhere in the San Francisco Bay Area. His mission is to make SEO, Social Media Marketing, and AdWords easy, fun and (to the extent possible), free. ......................................................................... In this 299 Free Guide, the author is giving a tour to the readers amazing free but sometimes hidden, resources provided by Google for small business. ................................................................................ Internet marketing is an art, not a science. .......................................................................... This guide is an unauthorized, non-official guide to Google resources and has not been sanctioned by Google. .......... Most consumers have little idea of the algorithm behind Google Search, just as many business owners have only the vaguest of ideas about how this algorithm can be influenced to show one website over another (such is the quest called SEO or Search Engine Optimization). ................................................................................... So from the consumers perspective, Google is a search engine that displays its results in the following basic categories: ........................................................................................................... Ads ... Showing product or "shopping" as with pictures. ............................................................... Organic or natural resources ... non-paid results appearing beneath the paid ads ...................................... Google + Local results ... non-paid company listings appearing beneath the organic results. ....................................................................................................................... From the small business perspective in contrast, each of these categories presents marketing opportunities: paid ways to get to the top (advertising) as well as free ways to get there (SEO). Hidden in the Googleplex is a wealth of free tools and information resources that can help you from novice to expert in how to leverage Google to get your marketing message to more customers for less money and effort! .................................................................. In addition to Google + Local, Google has a new social media platform called Google +. On Google +, as on Facebook, individuals can set up "profiles" whereby they can post and share with their Google + friends (known as "circles"), and businesses can set up "pages" to talk with consumers. ................................................................. A final and very successful part of Google's social media strategy is YouTube, the video sharing site. YouTube is the largest video site in the world and the second largest search engine on the planet, serving more searches than Bing. ....................................................................................................................... Google provides a few very important free tools for webmasters and Internet marketers to learn how users search the Web. .................................................................................................................. Google makes more than 96% of its money from advertising, via its flagship advertising service, AdWords. .............. It's best to know where you want your ads to appear on Google and work backwards. ..................................... It is possible to use Google search techniques to penetrate into the Googleplex and identify free marketing tools and opportunities. ........................................................................................................ You can use the free GoogleAlerts to alert you to .... ................................................................ Informational items ................................................................................................... Your company name ..................................................................................................... SEO, or Search Engine Optimization is the art and science of getting to the top of Google and Bing fro free. Google has quite a few free resources for SEO for webmasters, marketers, and small business owners but they are rather hidden. ....................................................................................................................... Google does not make money on SEO, so it does not promote the tactic. ................................................. Google produces an informative, well-written guide to SEO called the "Search Engine Optimization Guide." .............. Google provides quite a few free tools to help with your SEO, especially in terms of keyword research. ................ There is also a tool called "Pagespeed insights" that will measure your website's speed and give helpful tips on how to speed it up. Website response speed is increasingly an important factor for achieving good SEO rank. .................. Since Google dominates search, it is important to pay attention to what Googlers are saying about SEO. ................ Get your free listing on Google + Local and be found by consumers in your area for your products or services by keywords. ............................................................................................................. It's a competitive game, but with some knowledge and perseverance you can out-compete your competitors and get to the top of Google's Google + Local listings for free! ..................................................................... Google + Local is free for a basic listing, and with some tips and tricks you have a shot at getting your company to appear at the top of the list, for free, for relevant Google queries! ................................................. Claiming your free business listing can be a hassle, but it only has to be done once, and then you have claimed it forever. .............................................................................................................. Once you have the basics of Google + Local under control, you will want to educate yourself on the ins and outs of successful local SEO marketing. ....................................................................................... Google + is Google's competitive challenge to Facebook, a social network platform wherein individuals can have "profiles" and businesses can have "pages." ........................................................................... As on now, Google + is not yet a huge opportunity for businesses as the social network has not yet grown to a huge subscriber base, but it has a very powerful owner - Google - so it merits watching. ................................... What's great about Google + personal is that, if you have uploaded a personal photo and correctly attached it to your website, Google will often show your picture next to search results. The more people that you follow on Google +, the more your picture shows, the more you get clicks .... thereby creating a virtuous circle on Google! ................... Businesses can get on Googlet as well, but they cannot get their pictures to show on search results. .................. Google + for business may still be worth setting up, because since Google owns Google +, there is no doubt that it will tilt search results to favor businesses that participate in the network. This is all the more likely now that the FTC has ruled in Google's favor on the monopoly issue. .................................................................... YouTube, owned by Google, is both a learning resource about free Google opportunities, and a free opportunity in its own right. ............................................................................................................ Whether it is Google Analytics, AdWords, or Webmaster tools, you can almost find both official and non-official videos that explain step-by-step tools and opportunities across the GooglePlex. .............................................. Trends on the Internet often hit YouTube first, and if your business depends on consumer trends, YouTube is one of the best free platforms to monitor consumer trends. ....................................................................... Other YouTube trend resources are somewhat hidden. .................................................................... Any business can set up its own YouTube channel, for free, and then post videos to that channel. ...................... YouTube has very good, free, analytics tools about your video engagement, but it is quite buried as well. ............. Google makes its money off advertising, and so does YouTube. So if video advertising might be good for your business, start off with their free resources to learn about how to advertise on YouTube. ....................................... In addition to Google or the "Search Network," AdWords can also place your ads across blogs, YouTube, Gmail, and other sites via what is called the "Display Network." ....................................................................... Google produces many good learning resources and tools for AdWords, if you know where to look. ........................ If you are an ad agency or web designer, you might consider becoming AdWords certified. This program allows you to become an officially certified AdWords partner at the individual or company level, and provides co-op marketing support from Google. .......................................................................................................... Analytics is Goggle's free web metrics platform. Beyond being by Google, for Google, ad about Google, it's not only free but is very powerful. ............................................................................................ Analytics can be pretty easy to set up, but it isn't necessarily easy to use. Google provides a wealth of free learning resources. ............................................................................................................ Analytics offers an ecosystem of free and paid apps similar to Google play for the masses. ............................ Almost every Google media property - AdWords, Google Webmaster tools, Google + - has an official blog. The trick is to know how to look for it, and then bookmark or subscribe to it via RSS so that you are kept informed of any and all opportunities or policy changes. ...................................................................................... Just as with blogs, Google provides a cornucopia of information on social media (Twitter, Google +, Facebook) about SEO, AdWords, Google Analytics, Webmaster Tools, etc. Don't expect the Webmaster Tools Twitter feed to tell you where the AdWords Twitter feed is - of course! .............................................................................. AdWords does not seem to have its own YouTube channel but posts instead to Google Business! ........................... Some individual Googlers are so important that you should pay attention to their activity on social media: Matt Cutts and Maile Ohye. Mr. McDonald sent me a copy of his book for review. ................................................................... Copyright 2013, JM Internet Group and Excerpti Communications, Inc., All Rights Reserved. No reproduction or citation without written consent of the publisher. ............................................................................. Jason McDonald, Ph.D., is the author of this book and he teaches SEO and Social Media online for the JM Internet Group. He has coached thousands of business people, marketers, and web designers in his free online classes as well as paid seminars and corporate trainings. He is No. 1 on Google!

Friday, March 15, 2013

A Rabbi Looks At The Last Days - Book Review

Now remember that I have no theology/seminary training. So I am sharing some Scriptures as well for those that would like to study further. ................................................................................................ But first I want to share a few Scriptures on "last days" for Israel and The Church. I researched these Scriptures in a book for those that might want to study further on this matter. ....................................................... Israel ... Isaiah 2:2; Jeremiah 23:20; 49:39; Ezekiel 38:16; Hosea 3:5; Micah 4:1; Acts 2:17 .......................... The Church ... II Timothy 3:1; Hebrews 1:2; James 5:3; II Peter 3:3 ................................................... Scriptures that teach on Israel in Prophecy .. Daniel 9:24-27; Isaiah 28:14-22; Ezekiel 38-39; Zephaniah 2:1-2; Ezekiel 22:17-22 .............................................................................................................. Scriptures that teach on Jerusalem in Prophecy ... Luke 13:33; Matthew 24:21-31; Zechariah 12:2-3; 14:2; Zechariah 12-14; Revelation 20:7-9; II Kings 19:34; Psalm/Tehillim 122:6 ........................................................... Whether the Lord returns again tomorrow, next year, or two hundred years from now should not make any difference in the way we live. The Lord wants His people to recognize the signs of the times and know that His return is at hand. We must be ready. You must be ready! .......................................................................................... Rabbi Bernis states in his book as Christians we are not unequivocally obligated to support every action taken by the State of Israel. He also shares the restoration of the Jewish people to the land is a divine fulfillment of biblical prophecy, and we must support this divine venture. .................................................................... This does not mean that God loves the Jew more than the Arab - the Israeli more than the Palestinian. God loves everyone equally and desires that none should perish, but that all should find everlasting life (John 3:16). God is not a respector of persons. ............................................................................................... In Daniel 12, the prophet Daniel wrote a number of astounding statements under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. ...................................................................................................................... The Lord tells Daniel to "seal the words of the scroll the time of the end." He then shares with us an amazing revelation that in the last days, "many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." ...................... Running "to and fro" indicates an increase in knowledge is clearly related to the technological boom. Information is available at our fingertips in a matter of seconds. To imagine that Daniel saw all this more than 2,500 years ago is nothing short of mind-boggling! ....................................................................................... Jesus was very clear when He told us, "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor Son, but only the Father" (Matthew 24:36). He also said, "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come" (Matthew 24:42). ........................................................................................... He is coming, and it could be very soon. .............................................................................. The Gospel must first be preached throughout the world, and then, only after this happens, the end will come. ....................................................................................................................... In nearly every country of the world a wide variety of people groups can be found - including the Jews. Jews are a migrant people who have been scattered throughout the world. The Jews have had to make their homes in foreign lands throughout the world. ................................................................................................. The United States is a melting pot for a myriad of nations (ethnic groups) that have settled here to find freedom. Italian and Greek communities thrive here, as well as Irish, Chinese, Puerto Rican, Indian, Persian, Arab, Cuban - the list goes on and on. .................................................................................................. In Romans 11:15, we agree that Israel's rejection of Jesus as their Messiah has caused the Gospel to go to the nations (ethnos). ............................................................................................................. Romans 11:11-15 and other verses reveal that there is a linked destiny between Israel and the Church and between Israel and the nations. ...................................................................................................... Believers are reaching out to the nations, including the Jews, in countries around the world. Thousands of Jewish people are coming to faith. The Jewish Voice Ministries International is also equipping the Church to effectively share their faith with their Jewish friends. God has raised up other ministries similar to The Jewish Voice Ministries International that is also reaching out to the Jewish people. ......................................................... My October 28, 2012 Sunday School Lesson taught on Spirit - directed ... Acts 8:26-39. Philip was directed by the operation of God's Spirit. ............................................................................................ The Holy Spirit guides (John 16:13), tells His servants what to preach (I Corinthians 2:13), directs missionaries where to go (Acts 13:2), and tells believers where they are not to go (Acts 16:6, 7). ....................................... The Bible makes it clear that there is only one plan of salvation for all people. Yeshua - Jesus Himself said, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). ........................ Either we believe God's Word or we do not. There is no-in between. And there is no second Gospel for the Jewish people apart from a relationship with Yeshua. ................................................................................ At Jewish Voice Ministries International, they take Paul's model seriously. ........................................... Their minis\try is taking medical, dental and eye clinics to remote parts of the world such as Ethiopia and India. In those clinics they help thousands of non-Jews and share the Gospel with them. In fact they reach more Gentiles than Jews, but their motivation in going to the remote places is to reach out first to the Jewish communities. ............. God is calling us to reach out to the Jewish people with the one message of salvation through His Messiah, Yeshua. ....................................................................................................................... God does not love Jews more than anyone else. God loves us all equally (John 3:16). ................................... Just as their rejection brought the Gospel to the other nations of the world, their restoration will bring about worldwide revival for the nations. .................................................................................... Rabbi Bernis could read Hebrew, but he could not translate it. Although they were called the people of the Book, the only real study he had of the Scriptures was in preparing for his bar-mitzvah - a Jewish ritual rite of passage to signify a thirteen - year old boy's traditional entry into adulthood. ................................................. In reality, Jewish people overall have not rejected the Gospel - they have simply not heard the Gospel in a way that they can understand it. ............................................................................................... How do they believe? They believe by hearing the Word of God! That Word must come to them from someone, and that someone is you! ....................................................................................................... Traveling to Israel and collecting Judaica, sending support to Israel or seeking to be Torah observant are no replacements for the mandate to provoke the Jewish people to jealously and share your faith with that Jewish person whom God has placed in your life. ..................................................................................... God loves the Jewish people. .......................................................................................... It is the heart of the Father to see every son and daughter of Abraham living happily in His Kingdom. He desires for all Abraham's children to come into their ultimate destiny, and that destiny is a relationship with Him. .............. Jews are coming to faith in Yeshua in greater numbers than at any time since the first century. ....................... The Messiah (Jesus)is actually waiting in heaven. He is waiting for God's appointed people to intersect with God's appointed time and fulfill the restoration prophesied in the Word of God (Acts 3:19-21) ............................... And we are witnessing an incredible hunger and interest among Christians to truly understand the Jewish roots of their faith, as well as an increased love and support for Israel and the Jewish people. Overwhelmingly today Christians want to bless Israel and the Jewish people. ................................................................................ What Should We Then Do? ............................................................................................... Live like there is no tomorrow. ....................................................................................... Be vigilant ... Watch and Pray. ....................................................................................... Remain active in all realms of society. ............................................................................... Let you light shine. .................................................................................................. Do not worry about what is to come. ................................................................................... God's desire is that christians be an effective co-worker with Him in bringing to pass His promised last days revival and restoration, not only for Israel and the Jewish people but for the world. ......................................... Pray for your Jewish friends by name because I am convinced as well as Rabbi Bernis that God answers prayer. .......... As a believer, you have something no one else has: n a direct pipeline to the Lord. And He urges christians to call upon Him in prayer. ................................................................................................... Pray that Jewish people - the physical descendants of Abraham, Issac and Jacob - around the world will come to know Yeshua as their Messiah and King. ..................................................................................... Although Jewish people who accept Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah) are often ostracized by their families, friends and business associates, Jews all over the world are turning to Him and becoming Messianic Jews in numbers not seen since the first century. .............................................................................................. A Messianic Jew is a Jew by birth who has come to believe that Jesus - Messianic Jews call Him by His Hebrew name, Yeshua - is the promised Messiah of Israel. ........................................................................... Failing to kill the Messiah as an infant and not realizing that God had planned all along to offer Him as a sacrifice for our sins, Satan then convinced the Jewish and Roman leaders to condemn Yeshua to death. ........................... With the atonement and resurrection of the Messiah at Calvary, the Bible is clear that Yeshua defeated Satan and brought captivity, captive, making an open show of this victory (Colossians 2:14-15). ................................. I received this book from Chosen Books to review. ..................................................................... Rabbi Jonathan Bernis is the president and CEO of Jewish Ministries International. His weekly television show, Jewish Voice is broadcast throughout the world. He has authored a number of books and is a frequent speaker at conferences throughout the USA and abroad. A leader in the Messianic Jewish movement for more than thirty years, He and his wife, Elisangela, live in Phoenix with their two daughters, Liel and Hannah.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Position To Receive - Book Review 2007

Position To Receive ................................................................................................... (Michael Matthew sent me his book March 8, 2007 to review) ............................................................ The author, Michael Matthews of this book is a multi-talented music business executive, artist manager, business consultant, marketing guru, motivational speaker and option trader. ................................................... He serves as a growth and financial consultant to businesses spanning many industries. ................................ There is a lot of valuable information regarding finances, wealth building systems, unorthodox business principles and philosophies. ......................................................................................................... You will want to seek your true gifting first and then pursue further development and training. ....................... The author's philosophy has always been why he can't build his own network verus contributing to someone else's. Don't let finances, lack of education, experience, race, or anything else be an excuse! ..................................... No matter what you decide to do in life make sure you focus on your niche. ............................................ In order to get into the Position To Receive you have to have something in place that will enable you to have endless possibilities. The author is not saying quit your job. The more you work it increases your chances of making more money when you are self-employed. ........................................................................................... The author turned to the Internet. The Internet does not limit you to time confinements, for it is available 24 hours a day - 7 days a week - 52 weeks a year. ................................................................................ The author started his own digital delivery service (music to dj's); it works much like the post office! Instead of sending music by post office to dj's on compact disc, they send it digitally via email. ............................... Anything you actually want out of life the author believes you will have to sow into it. Whether it is your time, money, ability, patience or anything else you have to sow into it. .................................................... The author was watching a DVD one day about a documentary on hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, and the interviewer asked him, "Why do he do what he do?" Russell simply replied, "To serve..." You see as one of the few African American billionaires in the entertainment business, much less the world, he understands the power of giving, that we are blessed to be a blessing. The author shares he has had the privilege to meet Mr. Simmons and talk with him one on one. ....................................................................................................................... The author also shares he was watching the life story of Comedian Steve Harvey; and Steve said in the interview it's about giving back and helping someone else. ........................................................................... Being an entrepreneur,we tend to live by another level of faith. ...................................................... You can not be afraid to take risks and try something new. ............................................................ You simply can not be afraid to step out and learn something new, try something different and see where your faith takes you. Buckle up, the ride is not always smooth. .................................................................. When the author first started his first internet business he didn't have a clue on how to build websites nor how to market online. As he launched his business back in 2005 who would have thought in its first year it would gross 1000%? ....................................................................................................................... If you want to be successful in life you simply just have to be teachable. Are you the type of person that thinks they know it all? .......................................................................................................... The author remembers one day while visiting at a client's home, he say something very unusual to him a computer with four monitors. His client began asking him if he ever heard of option trading and was the author familiar with the stock market. His client told him that Wall Street and the stock market wasn't going anywhere! He told him to "Go open a TD Waterhouse account (now TD Ameritrade) and I'll teach you." The author went on to become an occasional option trader, making money from day trading options and have now taught others how to do it. ................................ No matter what's going on you have to maintain focus and keep yourself available to hear. ............................. There are two types of voices: one is God's voice within us and the other is God's voice through other people. ........ The author thinks one big problem is a lot of people miss their blessing simply because they didn't hang in there long enough. ............................................................................................................... Don't always look to take short cuts or give up too soon because things don't happen in a certain time. ............... The author has an extensive marketing team that constantly solicits for new prospective clients and generates traffic to the website. They have a consistent advertising campaign that runs month after month on the various search engines to generate sales leads and traffic on the site. All this happens month after month; and sure enough the business is generating consistent revenues and showing above projected growth. .................................................... How about consistency in your finances? Be consistent in your giving. Like in your financial giving in church you need to be consistent. ..................................................................................................... This goes for finances, attendance in church, ministering to others and building His kingdom overall! Malachi 3:10 (NKJV) Try Him. "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this," says the Lord of hosts. ............................................................................................... As it is written in Deuteronomy 6:18 (NKJV) it says, "And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be well with you, and that you may go in and possess the good land of which the Lord swore to your fathers." ............................................................................................................. God allows people to come into our lives for a higher purpose, therefore creating the connection. ..................... God uses people to bless you. God will use anyone, anywhere and at anytime to carry out His will and purpose for life! ....................................................................................................................... Many very successful people have a totally different mindset than the average person. ................................. You have to build your network. There are two types of marketing lists: one you build yourself and the other is the one that others build. .................................................................................................... I'm sure if you examine your life you will be able to find evidence of God's will through favor you have received. ....................................................................................................................... There is nothing like God making other people move on your behalf. .................................................... As you work to position yourself, remember to be patient as you pursue your dreams. Make sure you are really ready and can handle what lies ahead. ........................................................................................... Unfortunately in business people profile each other constantly, whether it is a car salesman or a real estate agent profiling exists. People tend to look at things like what kind of car you drive when you pull up. They look at simple things like what kind of clothes you wear; shoes you have on or type of jewelry you have especially your watch. ..................................................................................................................... The various types of publications you subscribe to can lead to other opportunities and information leads. ............. One of the author's personal millionaire friends told him about a way of raising resources that is perfectly legal and allows you to raise resources in the millions. It is called Regulation D offerings also known as Reg. D. Do your own research on the internet and consult with an attorney before attempting a Regulation D offering. ...................... There are so many ways someone can build their credit, eliminate debt and save money. Consult an attorney, financial advisor or do a lot of research to make sure you have a full understanding before attempting any technique. ........... If you haven't received your credit report within the last year, the author suggest you obtain a copy. Carefully examine your credit report for inaccuracies and other information that may not be yours. .............................. There are hundreds of credit repair techniques and companies out there to assist you. ................................. There are several companies that give you leads on lenders that extend credit to those with bad or less than good credit ratings. Sometimes, you have to start over in rebuilding your credit by getting a new credit card. ............. The easiest way is to borrow someone's credit history. There are companies that charge you fees; and they seek out individuals that are willing to add you to their accounts. ............................................................ I will make you inhabited as in former things, and do better for you than at your beginnings. Ezekiel 36:11 (NKJV)

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Financial Statements.xls using Microsoft Excel - Book Review

Mr. Rubin contacted me to review his book when I was the business coach host - editor - writer for a site in 2005. ................................................................. This book is for: Accountants, CPA's, Controllers, Developers, Consultants, and Instructors. ............................ It also includes as a bonus: a CD-Rom which details: Sample Financial Statements in Excel workbook file, Excel workbook files contains all data and formulas covered in the book, A number of free Add- Ins. .................................... The author have been teaching 1000's of finance professionals and heavy Excel users via of a unique course he created. ......................................................................................................................... This book contains two parts: ........................................................................................... Part One: Creating the Financial Statements.xls Workbook ................................................................ This part contains ten chapters. ........................................................................................ Chapter 9: Protecting Financial Data, reviews options that you can use to protect your financial files. ................. Part Two: Analyzing Financial Statements & Creating Management Financial Reports. ....................................... This part contains five chapters. ....................................................................................... Chapter 15: Analyzing Profit Centers, describes how to create the company's Profit Center' Income Statement Reports. ...................................................................................................................... The author, Joseph Rubin, CPA has over 25 years of financial experience in the accounting industry. He has served as CFO, Controller and has run his own CPA practice for years. He is an independent consultant specializing in the development of applications using Microsoft Excel for the financial industry and has instructed 1000's of professionals on Microsoft Excel. ................................................................................................... No part of this book can be reproduced without written permission from the author. .................................... All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks, or registered trade marks of their respective owners.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Black Man In The CIA - Book Review

The material contained in this book has been reviewed by the CIA to prevent the disclosure of classified information. All statements of fact, opinion or analysis expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official positions or views of the CIA or any other U.S. Government agency.

It has been said many times, behind a successful man is a woman. Mr. Osborne had two women in his life: Mrs. Rose Osborne his wife and Mrs. Ella Grisby Motley his mother.

The best thing that a mother can give to a child is love, encouragement, time and moral values. This is exactly what Ms. Ella did for her son and children.

Sometimes we think that people with wealth or numerous amount of funds are the ones that escalate in achievements but this is not the case with Mr. Osborne.

Now what is so amazing to me is that he went to work for the CIA one month before I was born. So I feel like I have part of history with me.

I thanked him for sending me his book.

Mr. Lutrell M. Osborne and Mrs. Ella Grisby were the first Black mother and son duo to work for the CIA.

Mr. Osborne became one of the Who’s Who in Black procurement minority business.

Mr. Osborne loves his country, the United States of America, and would do anything within his power to protect its interest. .........................

His work has covered five continents: Europe, South America, North America, Asia and Africa.

In 1984, Mr. Osborne quit the CIA after 26 years to become an entrepreneur working as an international food broker.

Mr. Osborne is an advocate for justice, righteousness and peace.

During these last 25 years, he has increased his core competency talents, knowing that he can lead both the Central Intelligence and the National Security Agencies (CIA & NSA). toward better solutions. He has developed a third core compentency leading the Small Business Administration (SBA). It is most exciting to Mr. Osborne when he shares his qualifications and watch people react when he asks them what part of his service or services they would like to hire or challenge.

His wife joined his venture, helping him make his life a success as a man, husband, father, productive citizen and spiritual being.

On September 12, 2001, just one day after the 9/11 Attack on the United States of America, Black Entertainment Television (BET) scheduled Mr. Osborne to appear on national television to discuss “The Attack on America.” He appeared with California’s Democrat Congresswoman, Maxine Waters, who is one of his favorite members of the House of Representatives.

While awaiting the twenty minute limousine ride to B.E.T. headquarters from his daughter’s Washington, D.C. home he considered his unique position. His childhood dreams came flowing back as if a curtain was going up on precious memories.

Mr. Osborne had wanted to become a “spy manager” since he was twelve years old. At the age of twelve he never imagined what his future would hold; he would become a pioneering CIA African-American spy manager, rising within the ranks from CIA clerical employee to Case Manager and mentoring others through the system.

Now, he was going to appear on national television, as an authority, to analyze the possible causes and aftermath of the nation’s most devasting national security breaches. The impact on the World Trade Center and Pentagon became metaphors for the deeper impact on society.

His mother enabled him to be born as Leutrell Michael Carlton Osborne, Sr., also known as “Mike” Osborne, inside the CIA for over 26 years.

His mother, Mrs. Ella Grisby Motley and his biological father, Mr. William Mason Osborne provided him the DNA for the confidence, characteristics and skills he needed to grow up in Washington, D.C. as a light skinned Black man. He did not meet his father until 1960 at the age of twenty-one. Two months before Mr.i Osborne was born his father and step-mother had a baby, his half-brother, William Osborne, Jr.

When he was christened in the Roman Catholic Church, the church named him Michael. His mother, formerly was a Methodist, and later converted to Catholicism before he was seven years old.

His mother was what some of us would call a strong “sista” mother who was very independent and a very nurturing mother.

His father was a mulatto, a hybrid of European and African descendant.

In 1946 his mother married a trumpeter, Frank Motley from Cheraw, South Carolina.

His mother and step-father had four children, two boys and two girls: Frank III, Victoria Lillian, Francine Hadaway and Thomas John.

In 1952 his mother was working at the CIA as an overt employee, a clerk in the National Photographic Intelligence Center.

His mother’s nurturing and guidance through his early years contributed to his character, personality and tenacity, creating a desire to make something out of himself before she died.

Ms. Grisby’s personality was shaped in such a way that she gave birth to children who helped changed the world’s perception of Black people, especially in the Intelligence Community.

In 1954 The Supreme Court decision impacted him directly by the opportunity to transfer from a Black High School, Dunbar, to a formerly all White D.C. High School, Roosevelt. Like many other blacks with high I.Q.’s he transferred to participate in D.C.’s grand experiment. To him that experiment never ended.

At Roosevelt High School he met his high school sweetheart. About eighteen months after they met, they were married; they eloped. They now have five children and eight grandchildren.

Mr. Osborne married his wife on September 9, 1957 and the CIA hired him on October 14, 1957. At the age of seventeen years of age he had two passions, Mrs. Rose and the CIA.

Later he discovered that two of his high school classmates were hired by the Agency. He was the only black. The others were a jewish male, Robert Anthony Kogok and a female, Helen Zirnite. Helen was helpful to him in securing an assignment in the Far Northern Country (FNC) in 1963.

They were some sort of Rainbow Coalition. Little did he know that the Civil Rights Movement was about to kick into high gear. Little did he know that he would, in his own way, overcome many of the disadvantages of cultural discrimination within the bowels of the government’s most enigmatic and culturally – biased institution. ..... The purpose of this book is to encourage others who are fearful to venture and seek employment in the Agency and other secret government organizations.

Blacks in the CIA were looked upon as “people at risk.” The CIA was no different than any other U.S. federal institution. He states when he arrived to the CIA in 1957 it was a “plantation.”

The top leadership in the Agency was non-Black, even though a few other Blacks like him was employed in the bowels of the Agency.

The Black CIA employees had much more freedom, independence and autonomy than most Black employed elsewhere in government. Now they did not make any decisions about anyone future.

When he would travel on public transportation to and from work, he would wait for the Agency shuttle bus at CIA headquarters on E. Street N.W. near the Department of State. They then rode the shuttle bus to the “temp” buildings.

CIA Director Allen Dulles’ chauffeured limousine would pass by him while he waited for the shuttle. He made it his business to look for his long black vehicle. As Dulles’ limousine passed CIA headquarters, he would often see him smoking his pipe and reading the morning newspaper.

His wife focused on being a wife and mother while he focused on executing steps in the CIA that would help him achieve his objective to become a spy manager.

He used his crypto capability to seek a position in the Office of Communications (OC). Knowing that one of the supervisors who was assigned in the DCANG had gained legitimate employment in the OC had inspired him.

So he went and asked for the assignment. To his surprise and dismay he was rejected. It had nothing to do with his qualifications. In 1960 the Office of Communications had a policy of not accepting “Negroes.” This action took him back to his high school days at Roosevelt High School with the run in he had with his biology teacher.

By 1959, he had acquired military and Agency security training. During this time the intelligence terms he had learned began changing.

In October 1963, he was assigned abroad to work as a CIA mail clerk in the FNC (Far Northern European Country).

All was well, except that when they arrived in their new home, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated and they didn’t know anything about it for the entire weekend. They were stunned like the rest of the world.

They were not watching television because it had not been converted to European standards. They did not have a radio for they did not have their household goods. .... He was able to continue his college education at the local university and was also deeply involved with social activities of the university’s Foreign Students Club.

Horacio Jones, another black from his high school in Washington, D.C., had secured an assignment to the U.S. Embassy in Oslo, Norway.

Mr. Osborne and his wife were excited when they had the opportunity to attend the Nobel Peace Prize honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in Oslo, Norway on Friday, December 10, 1964. Horacio got the word early and engineered their attendance at both the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony and the official invitation-only reception given by Ambassador Madame Joy Tibbits in honor of Dr. King.

Being overseas meant he could not join in and experience first hand some of the major achievements of the Civil Rights Movement.

Mr. Osborne and his wife were able to talk personally with Dr. King and his wife since most of the diplomats and their spouses left early. In his opinion this ruined the reception and also denied Dr. King precious moments to bask in the social spotlight.

Dr. King was calm, cool and collected.

His conversation with Dr. King focused on the Civil Rights Movement, which was progressing back home in the USA.

Dr. King told him about his belief in “non-violence direct action,” a freedom fighting strategy initiated in the early 1900′s during the Indian Struggle for equality in Apartheid South Africa by Mahatma Gandhi, the humble, yet powerful leader.

Dr. King told him, he was disappointed with the white moderates because they talked a good game, but they attempted only weakly to be catalysts for change.

Dr. King told him that the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). He explained there were battles among the leaders of the two Civil Rights groups. They fought for turf and were sometimes both bitter and friendly. Much of their activities focused on fund raising, for money is power.

In 1965 Mr. Osborne and his wife had a daughter born in the FNC in May 1965. Her name was Rose Anastasia and one day she was found dead in her crib at the age of eleven months.

Since I have never lost a child I honestly do not know how him and his wife felt. He has stated and my bigmother said when we lost my mother that it was nothing like losing a child.

They received sympathy and condolences from people near and far. U. S. Embassy personnel, U.S. and foreign diplomats and non-diplomats alike showered them with sympathy and condolences. The local Catholic parish was filled to the capacity for the funeral.Their baby brought them much warmth and happiness.

The autopsy revealed Rose Anastasia had an inoperable heart condition and a malformed artery. They shipped her home to Washington, D.C. for burial.

They were returning to Washington in 1966 from the Far Northern European Country. Mr. Osborne completed the CIA Career Training Program (CTP) in 1969 before he obtained his undergraduate degree from The American University, Washington, D.C. in 1971, his Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science.

Mr. Osborne avoided confrontation of CA intelligence operations during his service, he did re-examine them from the side lines because deep down he knew how Covert Action was being used and still is used, adversely affecting people of color. ...... Blacks at American University in 1970 were few in number but no outward signs of discrimination existed. The University would not allow him to register as a student in the Foreign Affairs Institute. He had to take courses in the Institute and earn his degree from the School of Political Science, with nine of his eleven courses in Latin American affairs.

Some years later, two of their daughters, De Lavay Cabrina Osborne and Monique Therese Osborne attended The American University. De Lavay, registered and received her degree from the same Institute that rejected her dad.

The CIA gave him and his family official orders and assigned them to the Latin American Country (LAC) from 1972 through 1974, after his supervisors received the word from Shackley.

The Latin American County (LAC) where Mr. Osborne went was considered by many to be a “safe” place to send black case officers.

During the first year, Mr. Osborne accomplished a very significant task in that he recruited an intelligence officer of a third world country to work for the CIA.

Mr. Osborne was the first Black Case Officer to prepare and have the Agency disseminate a finished intelligence report derived from a technical source rather than a human source.

The CIA changed from a segregated government organization to one that overcame traditional cultural and ethnic biases.

Mr. Osborne was named to the EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity) Advisory Panel and quickly determined that Colby was in this for real.

Mr. Osborne was an advisor to former President Bush’s father at the CIA, and he thanked him for his “great support of him” and his predecessor, William Colby.

Many of the personnel in the CIA are not undercover so their names can safely appear in public documents identifying them as CIA employees without causing any difficulty; Ms. Sharon Parish is one such individual.

Mr. Osborne reconnected with the Directorate of Operations and desegregrated the management in the Near East and Asia (NEA) Division which for the first time enabled him to work Arab countries and adversaries within a few short weeks after Professor Clemon and he had talked.

The CIA assigned Mr. Osborne to the Libyan Branch as Chief Counter Intelligence for Libya. He had to collect information and develop a secret report on Gaddifi at the request of the White House. There were some serious mistakes made by the division. It seemed clear that he was being set up to take “the fall.”

His goals were shifting and he wanted to try his hand at doing business and becoming an international entrepreneur.

It turned out that Mr. Osborne was the first black professional to be assigned to Libya and no one ever with his skills had been assigned in the Libya Station where the show was Covert Action versus Counter Intelligence. He muscled his way into the assignment Libya.

He has good news for everyone when we claim the Spirit of God, we do not lack anything.

He often talks with their five adult children and eight grandchildren about relationships, given his belief we are embodied as a human.

He shares it is up to us to achieve our genuine Spiritual Gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality and Experiences (SHAPE) given us before we were born. Rick Warren’s writings have significantly influenced him and he accepts that before he was born that his Higher Power and his SHAPE were predetermined.