Why would anyone want to follow you?

I found myself very inspired today after reading a post on Facebook by a colleague Aaron Creed who I was introduced to thru my closest friend and colleague Tina Levrant, to really stop and think about what makes a person so special that people actually want to follow them and learn from them....

You know, whether your an employee working for someone, an apprentice or even a journeyman in your field, we have all had people come into our lives that inspired us to want to do and be better then we were at that particular time and place in our lives....

For myself, although I have been inspired many times to follow and learn from a person, it has to date always ended in disappointment as what I initially thought was a 'real' person who led by example turned out to be just another person out there trying to be something that they clearly were not..

Each time though, was not for not as I came away with invaluable information, education and tools that have aided me in not only my business but in how to live life and most importantly, how not to live life...... Being a strong person and leader myself I find myself continuously looking for people who know more then I do and who have experienced much more then I have to date in my nearly 38 LOL years of age....As I crave that knowledge, crave it as if it were a drug....

I am constantly finding myself recalling a sage statement that I have heard many times over in my life: When your green your growing...... When your ripe, your rotten.....

Thinking of that mantra always brings to me a sense of humbleness and a knowledge that my life has really just begun and that I still have so much to learn......Which leads me back to the title of this post "Why would anyone want to follow you?".... It's a great question really but a question that many don't ponder far often enogh and even sadder never even ask themselves...

No one is 'perfect' and although this statement is true far too many hide behind in it as an escape from actually having to take accountability that their leadership for lack of a better term, Sucks.... And after all these years after hearing it more times then I can recall, I now see it for what it is: Weakness....... Weakness plain and simple....

Myself, I don't strive for perfection, but what I do strive for is improvement..... This is really a profound statement once you get over the fact that you very possibly, were actually yourself quite offended at my previous statement... Once you can grasp it and more importantly embrace it, you'll open yourself up to all of the possibilities that are just waiting for you to take a hold of them...

If you want to lead a life that you can be proud of, stand up for what you believe in and never let that go... Don't compromise your core values just to earn a buck or two or to 'get in with the "in crowd"..... If you will do this people will naturally be drawn to you and want to follow you because they want what you have: Courage, strength, bravery, constitution and perseverance.....

And lastly a warning: Expect much rebuttal and harsh judgement when you begin to make this change in your life.... For most are followers just looking for someone to inspire them, but few, very few are true leaders..... When you encounter the rebuttals, rest assured and rest easy at the end of your long days knowing that you are on the right path and changing lives including your own for the better each and every day......

We get one shot on this wild ride called life so strive each day to be the best and better even then you are at any given moment and you will soon find that you will be........

To your continued Success!

-Jana Enos ;)

FREE Online Coupon Codes & Cash Back ZERO cost & Zero Spam way to Save on your Online Purchases...

If many of you are like me, you shop online as much as possible these days and if you do, your always searching for 'coupon codes' that will save you additional money on shipping or any other way of saving money....

For years I searched & enrolled in these 'Free' programs only to find that there were strings attached to these sites, which also included being 'spammed' constantly by them...

That was until my mother, yes my mother, sent me the link for Mr. Rebates Mr. Rebates and the rest shall we say is history.....

There are too many things that I love about this site to list here but a few that make the top of my list is that the site is FREE, with zero strings attached, meaning no contracts, fee's of any kind to use them, an added bonus that you actually earn decent cash back money each time you shop online and access their site first to do so and lastly each time my 'accured cash back money' reaches $25, they send me an email letting me to to request a check or my favorite, a direct no fee's accessed PayPal account deposit... And they NEVER spam you....

Really, it's just that simple... I value not only a great deal, but also my name... So when I put myself out there by standing by a company I have done so based on my own personal experience...

Now some cold hard facts: In just since the 3 1/2 years since I've been using their site, I have received just under $400.00 back in cash back cold hard cash just for originating my shops thru their site.

I've copied and pasted my payments to date just so you can see for yourself...

Payments:

Posting Date Status Payment Amount
3/7/2009 Paypal Processing $52.96
1/25/2009 Paypal Sent - 02/01/09 $41.05
8/30/2008 Paypal Sent - 09/01/08 $25.94
6/27/2008 Paypal Sent - 07/01/08 $27.06
3/31/2008 Paypal Sent - 04/01/08 $28.85
11/2/2007 Payment Sent - 12/03/07 $63.71
6/28/2007 Paypal Sent - 07/02/07 $42.44
3/28/2007 Paypal Sent - 04/02/07 $25.25
1/29/2007 Payment Sent - 02/03/07 $29.40
10/29/2006 Paypal Sent - 11/01/06 $32.12
8/29/2005 Payment Sent - 09/02/05 $27.36
Total: $396.14

There really isn't all that much out there that I've found thats really "too good to be true" but Mr.Rebates is the real deal...

Personally I LOVE Old Navy and shop there online nearly monthly, not to mention the fact that there are always coupon codes for FREE SHIPPING, I also earn 4% cash back on all my purchases.......

Even when the economy was at its best I still loved saving money and earning the cash back but now I love it even more....

Hope you find this information of value to you and we'll see ya soon! :)

Jana Enos is a Licensed Vocational Nurse in the State of California as well as an Independent Benefits Specialist with Ameriplan http://www.love2smile.net/ . She has dedicated her time and energies to educate Americans on all aspects of healthcare and when possible enlighten them to areas of high quality alternatives to traditional insurance.

Ways to save "pre-tax" money for paying for your Healthcare needs....

Whether you currently have health and dental insurance or use an alternative type of plan such as a Consumer Driven Healthcare plan http://www.love2smile.net/ there is a way to put your money away in a "Pre-Tax" way when the time comes that you need to pay for those services.

Although Health Savings Accounts (HSA) have been around for a few years now too many people either don't know about them, have no idea how to use them or don't understand the great tax saving benefits of participating in them...

Although there are guidelines for using an HSA http://stanleyfeldmdmace.typepad.com/repairing_the_healthcare_/2009/03/consumer-driven-healthcare-plans-trickle.html you should still look into them before deciding that you wouldn't benefit from participating in one.....

The greatest part is that participating in them is FREE... Yes, thats right FREE.... There are some particulars that you need to know when doing your research and I've provided a great link here to a government site that will give you lots of great info when deciding if this type of program willw or for your particular situation http://www.ustreas.gov/offices/public-affairs/hsa/faq_basics.shtml .

If you currently have an employer sponsored or offered health and or dental plan you may be pleasantly suprised that they already have one in place and all you need to do now is enroll in it.. When doing this you will need to determine how much "Pre-Tax" money you want to contribute to it with each paycheck you received....

The basics to these plans are that you first need to do some calculations to decide what your 'planned' annual medical/dental expenses will be say for routine teeth cleanings, dental xrays an doctors office visit copays.. Once you setting on a figure you can then divide that by the months in the year an that will give you a very accurate figure when deciding how much to withold "Pre-Tax" each payperiod..

There is one catch: The monies that you put into your HSA must be all used by the current calendar years end or whatever balance is left in the account expires.... Knowing this upfront has its advantages as it can be a great motivating factor especially in the area of your dental health, as it can motivate you to at least get into the office for your every 6 month check up, have your cleanings and get those xrays.....

If your employer doesn't have an HSA available for you to participate in or you are self-employed as I am, you have another option but it does require some consistency and most importantly self control...

With the second option you won't have the "Pre-Tax" benefit however, all the monies not used at the end of the year are yours and you can do with them what you like, maybe a nice dinner out or a family vacation...

Option 2 is the "Cookie Jar Method" .......Just like it sounds you do the same calculations as with the HSA, figuring out what your annual out of pocket expenses will be for your healthcare but you put that money in your "Cookie Jar" each and every payperiod and then when you have those out of pocket expenses you've got the money right there to pay for them up front........

I use the Cookie Jar method as I'm self employed and I'm the only employee in my company LOL so it works very well for my particular situation....

For anyone not having an employeed sponsored health and or dental plan currently in place, there are great alternatives for people like us and thats in the area of Consumer Driven Healthcare... Although the plans are not insurnance they can save you and do save me thousands of dollars a year on my healthcare needs...

You can find out more about them by visiting: http://www.love2smile.net/

Have a great day and an even better year!

Jana Enos is a Licensed Vocational Nurse in the State of California as well as an Independent Benefits Specialist with Ameriplan http://www.love2smile.net/ . She has dedicated her time and energies to educate Americans on all aspects of healthcare and when possible enlighten them to areas of high quality alternatives to traditional insurance.

Think that a Universal Healthcare System is what's best for the USA?

I was told from a very early age, never to discuss, religion, politics or sex amongst friends, collegues or strangers for that matter, as those 3 subjects are a sure fire way to bring about the most heated discussions as the subjects themselves along with those who carry their own opinions on them, always vary from one extreme to another.....

Although that advice was sage and I do try my best not to bring them up, the subject of Universal Healthcare must be discussed and even disected at length in order for people to gain a true understanding of it's workings; the good, the bad and the ugly......

In my career as a nurse my understanding from a first hand experience drastically changed as I myself cared for many people who returned to the USA after moving to countries that did implement the Universal Healthcare System...Originally I understood Universal Healthcare to mean that as a citizen in that country I would have carte' blance accesss at will to a great healthcare system, just by being a citizen and in all honesty who wouldn't want it, especially if it didn't cost me anything......

One major are many do not consider is the question "Who is paying for it?" and the answer is our government who is currently already broke and raising taxes on the citizens of the USA in order to pay for its current debt which is the highest on record to date... Ever hear of the saying "You can't get blood from a turnip?"

That is actually the most common belief and misconception behind the supporters of Universal Healthcare.... A virtual eutopia if you will of the best medicine has to offer and all at a zero pricetag for those who have access to it.... Unfortunately, as with most eutopias, it is a gross misrepresentation of what the system truly is and it is a mirage......

First and foremost, it must be clarified that no where in our founding fathers Constitution of the United States of America does it list anywhere that it is the responsibility of the government to pay for, supply or even organize a healthcare government sponsered system for its citizens..... This is an area that I see is completely overlooked by the followers of this Universal Healthcare "fix-all" proposal....

Second, do people really think that its free? Nothing as I'm sure you will have to attest to is free, whether it's here or in another country.. There's a price tag for everything... Even the ability to walk and talk, breathe and eat come with a cost and so does a government sponsored healthcare system... And our liberty and "freedom" by being a United States Citizen, is that free? The cold hard truth is that no, its not..... Hence every war from the civil war to the war currently being waged, is proof that nothing is free as that is shown by the loss of life of those who fight so bravely for us to maintain our freedom and lifestyle here in the United States of America...

The answer to the Universal Healthcare debate is remarkably simple to me, even though I have no schooling in the area or political experience yet I have not heard once it mentioned or even debated by our government nor the leaders of our great nation. The answer is: Regulation of the insurance industry....Period. End of story....

The healthcare industry including pharaceutical companies and insurance companies in particular are regulated for "quality" but as far as what they are allowed to charge people to obtain their "insurance coverage" or even better yet, their rigid and nearly impossible to pass screening process for accepting applicatants, is not being regulated at all..... And it's those 2 areas that prevent people from gaining access to the healthcare they are so desperately in need of...

Our government has their say in nearly all aspects of the citizens and businesses that live and operate here in the USA, just look at the taxes we pay for the luxury of residing this this great nation, but in this particular area, there remains to be an uncensored and "look the other way at the pink elephant in the room" approach.

Is it no wonder that so many in the millions to be exact, American's walk around every day without quality health or dental care?

You regulate this area of the healthcare industry and the problem is nearly fixed... The million dollar question still remains however and that is will the government do this? Sadly, probably not.....

Until then, we as Americans must do our due diligence and research for ourselves affordable healthcare plans and even non-insurance health and dental plan alternatives.. They are out there but you have to do your part and change your "insurance or bust" mentality..... Why continue to covet and search exhaustingly for something that you cannot clearly afford or even qualify for when there are great in-expensive alternatives right there for you each and every day...

Consumer Driven Healthcae (CDHC) is a great affordable alternative to the current situation regardless of your age, current healthcare condition or healh and dental needs... There are many companies out there in this 'niche' of healthcare so do your home work and find one that fits your needs and budget.... I myself use Ameriplan http://www.Love2Smile.net and for just $19.95 a month I can receive great savings on all my Dental, Vision, RX and Chiropractic services and my plan is a "household plan" that $19.95 a month premium gives those same benefits to my entire household and the rate is guaranteed not to change for a full 2 years.....And with these types of programs your paying minimally each month to carry the benefits and paying greatly reduced rates "when" you need to use them not "if you need to use them".

Although these type of plans work a bit differently then traditional insurance they are a very good and affordable alternative to insurance and in the end its all about choice.... For me and my family, I choose this route for now as it makes the most dollars and cents to me ;)...

Until next time stay safe, healthy and happy!

- Jana

Jana Enos is a Licensed Vocational Nurse in the State of California as well as an Independent Benefits Specialist with Ameriplan http://www.Love2Smile.net . She has dedicated her time and energies to educate Americans on all aspects of healthcare and when possible enlighten them to areas of high quality alternatives to traditional insurance.

Why Ameriplan?

I get this question all the time in my daily work and I find it to be an excellent question and one I love to answer...........

Although the Ameriplan DentalPLUS plan may or may not fill your needs it's important as consumers that we take a pro-active approach to our own healthcare... As we are all seeing as each day passes that jobs are far from safe these days and along with that steady employment that we were all so used to goes good health and dental benefits...

For many of us, with our employment came a benefits package, some fantastic other not so much, but either way we rested easy knowing that we had access to quality healthcare if and when we needed it....As the years have passed however, we've all seen a steady rise in employers drastically reducing the employee beneftis and doing away altogether with dependent coverage...

Although as a nurse I never really understood this tactic until I myself became self employed and then I got a crash-course in the actual expense to the employer to supply these benefits as I was now faced with paying for them entirely myself........

Did you know that on average the cost per employee to furnish them with a health plan ranges on average between $425.00 a month all the way up to $600.00 per month and sometimes even more...... Times this by 100 employees and that employer is paying out anywhere from $42,500 to a whopping $60,000 each month just to do so.....

It's no wonder why so many businesses are closing shop or at their best no longer offering health or dental plans to their employees....When I was faced with this personal decision I carried "COBRA" for 3 months after leaving my nursing position and found out quite quickly the costs involved with the luxury of an employer paid plan.....

"COBRA" which is simply put, made available to all employees who leave an employer or are layed off, are the exact same health benefits that the employee had while employed only now the employee or ex-employee has the option to purchase them for the same amount of money the employer was........( http://www.investorwords.com/918/COBRA.html ) .

For me that was a rude awaking as for the 3 months I payed to continue them ran us $860.00 per month and that was for just my husband and I with no dependents..Needless to say I hit the internet and mainly Google and thru much research found a very affordable alternative to traditional health insurance and that is in the field of Consumer Driven Healthcare (CDHC)......

What I found were several companies in this arena but one in particular stood out and that was Ameriplan.... CDHC is a category in healthcare that simply put is driven by the Consumer, ie: you and me....

When you use a plan like this you have access to thousands of quality providers nationwide and in turn when you have medical or dental services rendered you are guaranteed reduced rates at the time services are rendered... For the plan I carry regarding dental, I receive savings of between 25%-80% off of all dental needs including costmetic dental procedures such as teeth whitening..

In this particular plan I pay $19.95 per month and I receive a fantastic plan that includes: Dental, Vision, RX and Chiropractic... The real kicker here is that my $19.95 a month plan premium is guaranteed not to increase for a full 2 years and it is a 'household' plan which gives the same benefits for up to 20 people living in my house regardless of age, relation or pre-existing conditions, and there are no plan 'limits' like with insurance so if you can afford the reduced rate, you can have the service....

These type of CDHC plans work the best when partnered with a Major Medical plan which I also carry thru a major carrier Blue Cross so for my $19.95 a month I have dental, vision, RX and chiropractic benefits, plus with Blue Cross I have major medical in case I need to receive major medical attention and that runs me about $191.00 a month and that rate isn't locked in like with my Ameriplan program...... So for under $200 I can cover my household with dental, vision, RX and chiropractic benefits and for myself I have all bases covered in the event I need to seek medical attention...

The key with the Ameriplan program is that I pay for services at a reduced rate " as I need them " not in case I need them as so many do.....With so many of us and those numbers growing by the thousands each and every day, now being faced with a loss of income as well as benefits, it's so important that we all take the time to educate ourselves on the affordable alternatives available to us instead of sitting by the way-side waiting for someone else to take care of us... .

It's simply to dangerous for our health, mental well being as well as our financial situations to walk day to day without access to quality affordable healthcare......

You can learn more about Ameriplan's Affordable Dental & Health Plans at http://www.APDentalBenefits.com .

Stay tuned: On my next post I'll talk about Universal Healthcare and why its NOT the answer to this subject....