Especially in these trying times, a little fun can go a long way - even in the workplace! When we lighten up, we reduce stress, break down barriers, open the way to more dialogue, and gain a renewed sense of hope.

But one photo tells a different story. Edison and his posse of co-inventors are sitting in their invention factory in New Jersey. No one is smiling, but…what's that on the back wall?

Rising up to the ceiling is a series of parallel pipes, each of varying length. Could they be test tubes? No…wait…they're part of a pipe organ.

That's right. Edison and his crew had installed a pipe organ in their workspace. Edison decreed that each major discovery should be marked with a song, preferably a lively dance tune.

Co-workers who left behind journals said that on average, a big Eureka moment occurred once every two weeks -- at which point someone would crank out a boisterous song. Edison himself led conga lines around the work tables. So much for Mr. Serious, eh?

The fact is, a little fun can go a long way. When we lighten up, we reduce stress, break down barriers, open the way to more dialogue, and gain a renewed sense of hope. That's just what we need during trying times like these.

It worked for Edison and his team. And it can work for us, as long as we're willing to take positive action.

Try these fun ideas for size:

We all need a digression from the recession. So read the following, pick an idea, and turn it into action.

Get in the game
Stock your break room or lunch area with favorite games like Scrabble, Uno, Pictionary, Yahtzee, chess, checkers, and whatever else people want to bring from home. That's all you need to do -- the play will unfold spontaneously.

Let off some steam
If you have outdoor space where people can congregate, get a big plastic bin and fill it with Frisbees, badminton gear, a croquet set, and whatever else will get folks moving during break time and lunch.

Hit the (indoor) links
Turn a carpeted section of your workspace into a nine-hole miniature golf course. Organize a tournament that gets everyone involved. (This is for putting only -- no indoor chip shots, please!)

Cook up some fun
Hold a chili cook-off, or a pie-baking contest, or a cookie bake-off, or a ____ (fill in the blank with your favorite food!) cook-off. Let everyone be a judge, having them rate each of their samples on a secret 1-to-5 scale.

Start looking
Orchestrate a workplace scavenger hunt. Hide some low-cost treasures (cookies, gas cards, movie tickets, a Frisbee, etc.) before everyone arrives at work, then use break time to set the search in motion.

Be of service
Contact a local nonprofit, and team up with colleagues to help on a service project. This would be after hours, of course, but teaming up outside of work is a great way to build morale.

Gather a group
Cobble together some of your colleagues around a specific interest area. Perhaps you're a reader who wants to start a book group. Or a bicyclist who wants a team of weekend riders. Or a musician who wants to start a band. Put out the call and see who answers.

Showcase that talent
You're familiar with American Idol and Britain's Got Talent. Why not produce your own Workplace Idol? It doesn't have to be fancy. Talk it up, have people sign up, arrange for a space, and let the fun begin. You can even have a judges panel complete with loveable people like Simon Cowell!

Cheer on the home team
Attend a local sports event with your co-workers. It doesn't matter what it is: baseball, football, basketball, cricket, curling, whatever. You'll build your own sense of team by having fun outside of work.

Take time to celebrate
If you have a dozen people in your work area, you can justify having 12 parties a year. Make the most of those birthdays, honoring people on their big day and using the celebration to express appreciation for their hard work.

Puzzle it out
Post a writing board at the entrance to your work area, and mark it up at the start of each day with a trivia question or puzzle that will get people thinking and talking. The next day, write down yesterday's answer -- along with a new question or puzzle.

Bake with a purpose
Have people unleash their inner chef, cooking up their best stuff for a workplace bake sale and fundraiser. Donate all the dough to a needy group in your community.

by Tom Terez

By: Kathleen Gage

Success! Easy to talk about, but difficult to achieve. Or is it? Success is defined differently by virtually anyone you ask because success is a very personal experience. Is your definition of success based on the values, dreams and beliefs of others? How often do people strive for accomplishments that will show they are “successful" yet they are left spiritually and emotionally lost?

As we grow and change our definition of success is bound to change. For some, success is doing whatever it takes to gain material wealth regardless of the personal, spiritual or emotional cost. For others, success is defined quite differently.

When our life is in balance, we become a magnet for success. An important key to achieving what we desire is to become clear about our personal definition of success - physically, emotionally, spiritually, financially, personally, professionally and in our community.

There is an extraordinary paradox with success. You must have an idea of what success means to you and the outcome you desire to achieve. On the flip side, to truly fulfill the path intended for you at a higher level, you must be willing to let go of the actual outcome. This can be very challenging since many of us have been taught to do whatever it takes to assure a particular outcome of a situation. By holding on when it is time to let go, we may be shortchanging ourselves. If we are able to let go of the end result and trust the process that gets us there, we may end up with more than we ever dreamed possible.

Life frequently holds interesting twists and turns. What often seems like a tragedy and failure can become one of life’s greatest blessings. Such was the case for me in late September 2002. I had achieved a level of outward success that I worked very hard for. I held an executive position with a Salt Lake City firm, made an excellent income, had the corner office, a dedicated staff and accomplished much of what I put my mind to.

When I found out there were things going on in the company that went completely against my core values, I had to redefine what success really meant to me. Upon deep reflection I realized there was nothing I could do to change the situation in this firm and made a decision to leave, taking a leap of faith into the unknown. Somewhat confused and not sure what was to come next, I knew from previous experiences that life had something more in store for me.

Within only days of resigning, my good friend and competitor in speaking and training, Lori Giovannoni, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Lori had also reached a high level of success in her business. She had a book that was selling great and had speaking and training engagements lined up as far as a year in advance. Then the call came. Lori had breast cancer. Within only a matter of hours surgery was being scheduled. Suddenly life was turned upside down.

With her health to think of, there was also the thought of how she was going to fulfill all the speaking engagements she had booked. A seemingly impossible situation soon became crystal clear. Myself and another friend, Lynda Jeppesen, also a highly regarded competitor, decided we would step in for Lori. Her clients were informed of the situation. They trusted Lori’s judgment and there was no question of us filling in for her. We insisted the clients send the speaking fees directly to Lori. After all, it was she that needed to have financial stability and a peace of mind to begin her healing process.

A week before, success was defined by my position within the company I had just left. Now it was defined by the love for a friend.

Amazingly, over the next year, Lori was able to focus on her healing, continue to build her business and, as always, keep friends in the forefront. I focused more on family and friends and chose to return to consulting, speaking and training. I had the best year ever - both personally and professionally. Lori and I also wrote a book that was born out of the experience we shared late in 2002.

Our book, Workplace Miracles, Inspiring Stories and Thoughts of Possibility, would have probably never been written had life not put a twist in the road, nor had we recognized this as a part of our path. Obviously, there was something in store for us that we needed to be open to in order to receive it.

What I learned from this, and other experiences, is that life holds many secrets for all of us. Often, when I attempt to define what life and success should be about, I will shortchange myself. When I have a focus, take the appropriate steps to achieve my dreams and goals, and then let go of the outcome, life will always offer me more than I ever would have offered myself.

What is life offering you that will be a part of your legacy of success?

Copyright: © 2004 by Kathleen Gage

Publishing Guidelines: You may publish my article in your newsletter, on your web site, or in your print publication provided you include the resource box at the end. Notification would be appreciated but is not required.

There is one interesting business advice that is taught by Robert T. Kiyosaki, author of "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", which became Best Seller. Advice was sound, "After we successfully build a business then do not forget to buy the property. In addition we have an income from the business that we run, we will also gain a profit from rising property values. " I think Kiyosaki's true. Tips that really is the key word is the cause, why the rich get richer. Therefore, an intelligent rich people always buy properties at all times will continue to multiply in value, that's what makes it even more rich.

However, long before reading the book, as an entrepreneur I have been practicing it since the first course. Therefore, there is additional advice can I give to you in buying properties from the profits that you build a successful business. Business proposition reads, "If you intend to buy property, not according to the capability of available funds. Even better buy a property with bank debt. Therefore, the less money you spend to buy the property, the greater your advantage. "

Clearly, if we had a fund of Rp 400 million, do not buy a property fund worth fitting that we have. Do not buy a property does not have cash. Could the credit. So should you solve it RP 400 million for four properties, such as each of you enough to pay an advance purchase of USD 100 million, the remaining USD 300 million from the bank. Now, if you only buy one property valued at USD 400 million, then five years later you will only receive his profit doubled the price of one property only. But if the four properties, five years later one of your property that previously had been doubled to Rp400 million to Rp 2 billion. So that the four properties to be 8 billion.

Goods times you ask, why buy a property with more favorable debt? There we see good business advice from Dolf De Roos, Robert T. Rich dad consultant Kiyosaki in his book, "Real Estate Riches" Dolf wrote, "I do not buy a property to buy land, karenaitu unproductive. I do not buy property for buildings because it needed maintenance. And, I do not buy a rental property because the need of management. My strongest reason to buy property is to get debt. The reason is simple, "The amount of debt is always the same, but asset values continue to soar."

By picking the business advice, I suggest we should not be afraid to owe to the bank to buy the property. Change your mindset, that the debt would be inviting trouble for you. It is to learn to foster confidence in the debtor so-so start with small values. But, once you succeed you are not seeking debt to the banks, but banks would likely seek to take your debt.

Nothing necessarily wrong when he appeared among entrepreneur joked that, "if you dare debt of Rp 50 million, you are the who have a problem. But if you dare debt of Rp 50 billion. Bank which will have a problem. Believe me, the more often we dare debt, banks will increasingly believe in our business. "You dare to try?

Some webmasters try to use articles from free content directories to get visitors to their site and make some money. This is mostly important for those who have just begun working as an affiliate for several companies and do not yet have any funding, yet need to built small niche websites to visitors to their site so that they can begin making revenue.

Although this can sometimes be the only option for those who are running on a non-existent budget, it is not a way that will effectively build your website or revenue. There are a few potential reasons why this may be detrimental to your business building efforts.

Problem #1 – Search Engines

Search engines will only look down upon your site if it has the exact same duplicated content than other sites. The more sites that share your content, the less it will help you achieve good search engine rankings.

Good search engine rankings are essential in getting visitors to your sit so that they have a chance to click on your affiliate links. If you cannot even get visitors, then will never make an revenue. Working on the search engine optimization of your site so that you will eventually be high enough in the results to get customers, should be priority one.

Problem #2 – Getting visitors to click

Although getting your site high on search engine result pages and acquiring site visitors is hard work, unfortunately this is only half of the battle. You must also be able to convince those visitors to click on your affiliate links. If your visitors see the same content they have seen on a multitude of other sites, they will be least likely to click on your links. This is because most people want to buy things that are recommended by people that they trust or whom they feel like are an expert on the subject.

If your content is just duplicated from other sites, you will be exposed as someone who does not really know what they are talking about and therefore will not look heavily on your product recommendations. This will reduce the number of website visitors who will be willing to click through.

Problem #3 – Author Bylines

Most free content is only given to you if you agree to place the authors byline under the article (you can get into trouble if you try to use it without following the stipulated rules). This poses a problem because most author bylines include links. When a reader gets done reading a really intriguing article, there is a strong possibility that they will click on the author’s byline link rather than your affiliate links. This is the entire reason why these authors offer free content to begin with, so that they may get their name and links out there to the public. Using this type of content may mean shooting yourself in the foot and losing possible profitable website visitors.

Once you put these three problems together, you are looking at a serious decline in revenue simply because you used free website content from article directories. Although it may be the only option for some, if you have the funds to buy your own original content, then you should go this route. If you don’t have the finds, however, you may be better off writing your own content and then hiring professional services once you have made a profit to work with.

Lots of small businesses – especially new ones – are jumping into social media because it’s the hot thing to do. But achieving results is something else entirely. You need a strategy and framework for creating the kind of experiences consumers want and demand in the digital era, says Rick Mathieson, vice president for Silicon Valley-based Creative Advertising & Interactive Media and a leading voice on digital marketing.
Here are five rules from Mathieson on using social media to launch or jumpstart a small business.

Rule #1: Ask Why, not How: Just because social networking is hot, that doesn’t mean it’s right for every new business. Don’t just ask yourself what your social networking strategy should be. Ask why it should be, and why your target customers should care.

For example, the small Seattle-based firm Jones Soda couldn’t afford pricey TV commercials to launch its brand of beverages. So it uses social media to connect with consumers in highly personal ways. Jones Soda Facebook “Fans” can upload photos that might be printed on Jones bottles and labels. Today, it has over a million submissions and has used thousands on bottles.

“We allowed the labels to be discovered, and that gave consumers a sense of ownership,” says founder Peter van Stolk. Paying a celebrity to sponsor a beverage has been worked to death by big soda brands. “For all the money they have, our big name competitors should be thinking more originally, but they don’t. If they ever do, I’m dead,” says van Stolk.

Rule #2: Focus on Events and Offers: While some pundits can find social media success by simply sharing their “stream-of-consciousness,” chances are you can’t. For most small businesses, a more strategic approach is in order. Think of social media as digital direct mail — the ability to deliver limited-time, social network-only offers.

Countless small pizza shops, for instance, offer specials on social networks to attract customers, says Mathieson. Some are now pulling as much as 40 percent of their business from such efforts. According to a new Rice University study, Facebook fans of one Houston-based cafe chain visited 20 percent more often and spent one-third more than non-fans.

Rule #3: Keep It Social to Keep Them Coming Back: Youth-oriented discount travel company STA uses social media to help customers meet others who love to travel, and who may be part of the vacation packages they purchase. Users can read about other people’s adventures through their own words, tips, photos and videos. And they can ask experts about travel related issues. Best of all, the company offers travel prizes monthly. And Twitter and RSS feeds will even send STA subscribers the cheapest flights so they can stop spending hours online searching for the best deals.

Rule #4: Be Creative about Selling:The price of developing apps for Facebook is dropping, and with ingenuity, can be revenue builders. Pizza Hut recently launched a Facebook app that lets customers place orders directly. The time is coming soon when a local sandwich shop will be able to do the same.

Los Angeles startup ice cream truck company Coolhaus takes a different approach. In addition to differentiating itself with ice cream sandwiches designed with architectural principles and names like “The Frank Lloyd Light,” Coolhaus roams Los Angeles and updates its location on Twitter, says co-founder Natasha Case. The idea is to entice people out of offices and onto the street for an “ice cream social” that racks up serious sales.

Rule #5: Be a Good Social Listener:Social networks are also a great way to solicit customer feedback. Perhaps you’ve heard of Dell’s “Twelpforce” (or Twitter help force), a team that fields questions, offers suggestions and sends Twitter-specific promos to followers. Small businesses can use social media in the same way, answering customer questions and providing purchasing guidance.