Cake For ME Everyday!

Today I felt like celebrating. It’s not my birthday, or the birthday of anyone that I know, I just wanted to celebrate. I thought, “why not?” I have so much to be thankful for and my blessings are more than I can count. I am living my life by design and I continue to accomplish both my personal and professional goals. Doesn’t that sound like something to celebrate?

So I have decided to celebrate SOMETHING at least once a day, everyday. Cake everyday for me!!! J In theory of course but that’s what works for me since cake is one of my favorite things.

The way I see it everyday that I open my eyes, stretch my limbs and thank the creator for one more day, I can celebrate. That’s my cake! Exciting right??

Anything after that, like being able to work in a field that I enjoy, with people that I actually like is my icing. And the people that enhance my life: my family and friends that love me, they are my sprinkles. The cherry is me because all of these things help me to feel whole and brings me full circle.

This is not to say that everyday is happy, happy, joy, joy. Life happens and it can sometimes catch us off guard. Ending relationships, saying good bye to loved ones or losing dear friends is never easy. Falling short of our personal objectives and goals can be disheartening. If we don’t allow ourselves to become attached to the pain and suffering we will realize these things are circumstances that will pass AND we still have our cake and ourselves! Trust and believe that fresh icing and new sprinkles will come! And when you feel whole and complete again, you can pop that cherry right back on top and marvel at the celebration of YOU…just because.

True Control Fitness: Summer Boot Camp!!

For those of you that have vowed to be in shape by the summer, it's not too late!!!! There are tons of other classes that are offered as well and this is just the place to do it.

It's all on the website listed below. Check it out! :-)

Dates: July 7th & August 11th

Duration: 3 Weeks

Time: 5:30am - 7:00am

Days: M/T/Th
Call or e-mail to register now!


True Control Fitness527 Lenox Ave., Ste A. @ 137th StreetNew York, New York 10037
http://www.TrueControlFitness.com/
bootcamp@TrueControlFitness.com

Using "Tipping Point" Concepts to Market Your Book

Sophfronia Scott is Executive Editor of The Done For You Writing & Publishing Company. Get your FREE audio CD, "How to Succeed in Business By Becoming a Bestselling Author" and your FREE online writing and book publishing tips at http://www.doneforyouwriting.com/.



Below is a featured article from her site. For all of you writers out there, her website is a must!!! Check it out..






Using "Tipping Point" Concepts to Market Your Book .
By Sophfronia Scott

Ever wonder how trends get started? As much as we'd like to think that all trends are Madison Avenue creations propagated by the media, many times a movement is sparked by the action of a few. Then word of mouth makes it spread. Author Malcolm Gladwell examines this phenomenon in his 2000 book "The Tipping Point".

There's a chapter where he describes how this kind of movement by a few groups powered Rebecca Wells's 1996 novel, "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood", to surprising success. When I read that I sat up and took notice. I realized I could use the same concepts to market my first novel, "All I Need to Get By". I did with great success, and I'll do it again when I launch my next book, "Doing Business By the Book", this fall. You can too!


Here's how:


1.) Write Your Book So It's "Sticky" Don't compromise your artistic integrity, but do ask yourself the hard question: how much will your story appeal to others? When a book is "sticky", it's easy to remember. The story stays with people and they want to talk about it and tell others to read it. "Bridget Jones's Diary" is definitely sticky. So is practically everything that Stephen King ever wrote and all of the Harry Potter books. The topic doesn't have to be upbeat either. Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" was a sensation when it was published despite its grim subject matter. Since I was writing about a family with a powerful father figure I knew a lot of people would connect and see themselves in the characters. What aspect of your book will draw people in?


2.) Be a Salesman Yes, be a salesman, but not in the way you might think. I'm not talking about being "in your face" like the stereotype of a used car salesman. As Mr. Gladwell points out in his book, it's the little things that can persuade others. For a writer, that "little thing" is confidence and a strong belief in one's work. I recently spoke to a writer having a hard time feeling confident about her work. She's trying to get up the courage to submit a manuscript to agents and publishers but, as I said to her, "How can someone get behind publishing your book if you can't get behind it yourself?"People are attracted to a person who stands for something, who believes in what they're doing. If you can be that person, people will want to buy your book. They'll know you have something to say. If you're dealing with low confidence, know that working on improving it is just as important as improving your craft as a writer. After all, no one is going to champion your book the way that you can.


3.) Use Small Groups To Spark Your Big "Epidemic" In the fertile soil of small groups, word of mouth grows. That's what happened with "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood". It became a favorite for book groups, especially mother-daughter book groups. Those groups sparked a word of mouth wave that spread like wildfire. As Mr. Gladwell points out, "small, close-knit groups have the power to magnify the epidemic potential of a message or idea". I explored this concept with some success by contacting book groups across the country and offering to visit them if they read my novel. What groups can you reach out to in order to harness the power of those circles? And how can you fan the flame of your message so it will spread?


One Last Note: Why is all this important? Well, if you've gone through all the trouble to write and publish a book, your efforts won't stand up if you don't tell people the book is out there. And the concepts offered by Mr. Gladwell are so simple and organic that you may find the whole marketing pill easier to swallow. So take it--it's good medicine.


© 2008 Sophfronia Scott

Big Ced says "Rappaz R.N. Dainja!"

As seen on TheIndustryCosign.com

It Needs To Be CED: Rappaz R. N. Dainja

Suge Knight getting knocked out! DMX arrested AGAIN! Remy Ma sentenced to eight years in jail! Foxy Brown pleads guilty! It seems like it’s a weekly thing for rappers to be in the headlines for their own ignorance, despite them acknowledging and complaining about the ‘Hip-Hop Police’. True, it may be so and there may be a task force targeting rappers, but knowing that, why are these rappers STILL being ignorant and thinking that they can get away with illegal activities?

Not only do you know you are breaking the law, you also know that you are being watched, so why continue ignorance, then complain when you are not only caught, but convicted of your crime? It’s not like Foxy Brown didn’t ignore the judge in her case after numerous warnings of her conduct. It’s not like Remy Ma didn’t know that shooting someone is illegal. It’s not like T.I. didn’t know that purchasing illegal firearms, especially being a convicted felon, will place you back in jail. It’s not like Prodigy didn’t know that the guns in his possession were against the law. You get my point?

And I am getting sick of the ‘FREE so and so’ campaigns that is immediately launched when a rapper gets arrested. More than likely, those same people knew the consequences of their actions, so they placed themselves in the position to be arrested and jailed. Yes, the system works against minorities, yes, the police seem to have a vendetta against rappers, yes, the ignorance affects our youth who look up to these same ignorant rappers. Will it ever stop?

Instead of complaining to the media about how the rappers are being unfairly targeted, why don’t the rappers just stay out of trouble, stop doing illegal sh*& and be smart about their careers? You can’t make real money in jail, especially if you are a high profile rapper. And another thing, stop being so damn angry!!

The Brooklyn Subway Music Series: Brand Nubian, DJ Premier & Others!

The Brooklyn Subway Music Series

Thursday May 15th @ Sputnik

Be there or be SQUARE!! :-)

Plainclothes Officers In Trouble

Woooooow~

Plainclothes officers in trouble - didn't recognize off-duty chief
By ALISON GENDAR DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Three-star NYPD Chief Douglas Zeigler

At least one cop has been disciplined for ordering the NYPD's highest-ranking uniformed black officer out of his auto while the three-star chief was off-duty and parked in Queens, the Daily News has learned.
"How you can not know or recognize a chief in a department SUV with ID around his neck, I don't know," a police source said.
Chief Douglas Zeigler, 60, head of the Community Affairs Bureau, was in his NYPD-issued vehicle near a fire hydrant when two plainclothes cops approached on May 2, sources said.
One officer walked up on each side of the SUV at 57th Ave. and Xenia St. in Corona about 7 p.m. and told the driver to roll down the heavily tinted windows, sources said.
What happened next is in dispute.
In his briefing to Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, Zeigler said the two cops, who are white, had no legitimate reason to approach his SUV, ranking sources said.
After they ordered him to get out, one officer did not believe the NYPD identification Zeigler gave him.
The cops gave a different account:
When one officer spotted Zeigler's service weapon through the rolled-down window, he yelled "Gun!" according to sources who have spoken with the officers.
Both cops raised their weapons and ordered the driver out of the car, sources said.
Instead of saying he was an armed member of the NYPD, Zeigler shouted, "Don't you know who I am?" the sources said.
When one cop reached over to check the identification badge around Zeigler's neck, the chief pushed him away, sources said.
Only then did Zeigler tell the two officers his name and rank, those sources said.
Zeigler, in his discussions with Kelly, said the officers never yelled "Gun!" sources said.
One cop got into a heated argument with the chief even after seeing the ID, sources said.
That cop was stripped of his gun and badge and placed on modified duty last night, sources said. The status of the second officer was unclear.
The incident occurred as the NYPD is under fire for record numbers of pedestrians being stopped and frisked, the majority of them black or Hispanic. Some 145,098 people were stopped by the NYPD in the first quarter of this year.
Zeigler has headed the Community Affairs Bureau since January 2006. His wife, Neldra Zeigler, is NYPD deputy commissioner for equal employment opportunity.