June 1999

Upline Times

Coy Barefoot

News bytes in this edition of Upline Times:

1. Attention E-commerce Networkers
2. Ring! Ring!
3. You vs. Stress
4. Attention Business Owners
5. Boss Alert

Attention E-commerce Networkers

Are you one of the thousands of Networkers who have found good fortune on the Internet? Here's some hot-off-the-press information that might be of interest to you.

If you like to use web page ads, just remember to keep them fast and friendly. A USA Today poll (March, '99) of nearly 9,000 readers found that most people prefer ads that download quickly and don't clutter the page. Whether it's a top "banner" ad or a bottom stationary window ad, just make sure it doesn't get in the way of the message you're trying to get across. Some other e-facts we've recently uncovered:

• Just over half-- 50.3%-- of all households in the U.S. have personal computers.
• By August 1998, an estimated 72 million Americans had Internet access.
• There are an estimated 17 million Americans who shop regularly over the Net-- that figure is expected to climb to 58 million by 2002.
• There are 28 million parents using the Internet, over 8 million of whom shop on the Net.
• 6.7 million US adults used the Internet to make a travel reservation in 1998, up from 5.4 million in 1997
• On-line shopping in the United States totaled about $7 billion in 1998. It is predicted to rise to $41 billion in 2002.

(Source: InfoBeads, Mediamark Research, Jupiter Communications, Nua Surveys)

Average number of e-mail messages sent daily in the United States in 1998: 2.1 billion

-- Source: Brill's Content Magazine, April `99

Are you one of those Networkers who's always on the cell-phone working the next big deal-- coaching your downline as you bolt across town to the next meeting? Do you get more done talking on the phone while you're driving than you do sitting behind the desk in your home office? If you're anything like the rest of us, then you've probably found the cell-phone can be one heck of a super tool to use to build and maintain your business. And you'll be glad to know that all of that hoopla about cell-phones causing brain tumors was just an urban legend.

But the story doesn't end there. Even though the little wonders aren't fatal, they aren't harmless either. A British science journal recently unveiled the results of the first official study of the effect of cell phones on human beings. The New Scientist reported that studies "showed the emissions from such phones did appear to have strange effects on living tissue." Researchers used headsets to mimic the microwave emissions of analog and digital mobile phones on people, and found that the subjects' reaction time was faster when the emissions were on. Hmm....We're not done yet.

"More grist to the cell-phone rumor mill was provided by David de Pomerai and a group of nematode worms at Nottingham University. They found that larvae exposed to an overnight dose of microwaves wriggled less but grew five percent faster."

(Source: Wired News Report)

"A whopping 51% of Americans take prescription or nonprescription allergy medication."

-- American Demographics, April '99

You vs. Stress

Has your To Do List turned into a mean monster that grabs you in the morning and shakes you like a rag doll throughout each day? Do you find yourself a little stressed out these days? Did you know that up to 80% of all American health problems are considered stress-related?

Here are some suggestions for conquering the stress that's eating you alive: Try regular periods of "exercise, relaxation, biofeedback, guided imagery, counseling, involvement in social groups, meditation, acupuncture, massage, yoga, tai chi, qigong, deep breathing exercises, and other lifestyle changes. Any one of these therapeutic approaches will help you to `keep your cool' under any given situation." And consider setting up a regular bedtime to get plenty of sleep.

"Also, get regular vigorous exercise, learn to compromise, laugh more, avoid self-pity, schedule your time so you're not rushing around at the last minute, and avoid worrying. A very wise medicine man once said that the secret to living a long and happy life requires only four simple steps:

1. Don't worry.

2. Don't hurry.

3. Do your best, and

4. Forget the rest."

(Source: Alternative Medicine at miningco.com)

Attention Business Owners

The IRS is watching you. Did you give them what they wanted? Or did you file an extension, and you're still in the thick of it? Either way, you'll definitely want to avoid the hassle of an audit.

"The Internal Revenue Service audits less than 2% of the returns it receives (to the tune of one to two million audits a year), but won't disclose precisely how it targets them."

What we do know for sure is this: The self-employed (which includes every Network Marketer, full-time or not) are watched very, very closely-- especially if you take excessive deductions. You're almost assured to be red-flagged if your deductions exceed 63% of your income.

Other things that might raise eyebrows at the IRS: unusually large deductions for medical expenses, charitable donations, or moving costs. And excessive deductions for business use of the home might attract attention as well-- the kind of attention you don't want.

Experts suggest being up front and honest. But at the same time, don't be hesitant to take a deduction if you're entitled to it and have the paperwork to back it up.

(Source: Associated Press, April 1999)

Boss Alert

Here's a heads up for all you folks who like to chat about your new Networking business on the job. Next time you're explaining the business to a co-worker over the phone or company e-mail, be aware that the boss might be listening in.

According to a recent survey by the American Management Association, 45% of US companies electronically spy on their employees-- up from 35% in `97. Whether it's the phone, email, or supposedly private computer files, the bosses are poking around to find out what you're up to.

Twenty-seven percent of companies say they regularly monitor email, and firms in the financial sector, "including banking, brokerage, and insurance companies, were the most likely to spy."

(Source: NUA Internet Surveys)

"In a recent Wirthlin Worldwide survey of 665 working Americans, over one-third (36%) say that within the past three years their company has been through some kind of re-engineering, downsizing, or restructuring which resulted in some employees losing their jobs."

-- American Demographics, April `99

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Reprinted with permission from Upline, Upline Times - June 1999, 888-UPLINE-1, http://www.upline.com

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