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The Lamborghini Miura was the world’s first true mass-production, mid-engine super car when it was introduced for 1966. It was a striking blend, offering the styling and mechanical configuration of the era’s wildest, all-out endurance-racing machines, all rolled into a package that was reasonably streetable.

But for all the Miura’s obvious race-car underpinnings, Lamborghini never fielded a competition version of the car. Of course, it wasn’t that the idea of putting its pioneering exotic on the track hadn’t occurred to anyone. Plenty of people within the company hoped they’d eventually be called on to prepare a Miura for such use.

Foremost among those competition proponents was Lamborghini’s chief development driver Bob Wallace. From the beginning, he’d been championing the idea. But resources within Lamborghini were chronically limited in those early days — the former tractor manufacturer had built its first production automobile just three years before the Miura’s introduction.

Throughout the Miura’s production run, Wallace played with the idea of a racing version. In 1970, this culminated in the Jota, a company-funded, one-off “toy” he built in the Lamborghini shop. The car differed from stock Miuras most obviously in styling revisions that included broader fenders, a prominent front spoiler, air vents behind the front wheel wells, and fixed instead of pop-up headlights.

Beneath the surface were even more extensive changes to the basic Miura design. The interior was completely stripped, and the floor was made of aluminum instead of steel. What’s more, the suspension was modified to accommodate wide wheels and tires, the front-mounted fuel tank was replaced by a tank in each door sill, and the engine got extensive modifications that increased output of the Miura S’s engine by 48 hp, to 418.

Adding it all up, the Jota was obviously a thrilling car, and it stirred the imagination as to what was possible with the basic Miura components. But Wallace knew all along it would be a waste of time to argue that the cash-strapped manufacturer should go racing with it.

Soon after the only Jota was built, Lamborghini put the car up for sale. The floundering automaker simply couldn’t afford to have assets tied up in what was considered an esoteric experiment. According to Wallace, the Jota was purchased by a rich industrialist in Brescia.

Shortly thereafter, the wealthy owner’s mechanic destroyed the car in a fiery crash. And thus in one quick flash ended the short, bright life of the ultimate Miura.

Fortunately, super-car fans can draw some consolation from the fact that the Jota legend was perpetuated in a number of Miura-based replicas — several of which were reportedly built by Lamborghini itself at the request of customers.

For more articles on vintage exotic cars and sports cars, along with drive-test articles on today’s hottest performance cars, go to http://www.autiv.com/

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Easter 2005 is coming, Sunday March 27, and Christians worldwide are warming up to celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, a great sacrifice for humanity.

What about you and your business? Is there anything the market can celebrate about any great sacrifice you have made for your employees, customers, partners, colleagues, friends, regulators and other stakeholders? Or are you in business waiting for others to make sacrifices, and then you storm as an opportunist and reap from the pains of others?

Many of us are like that. We all want to live, and maybe “die” for ourselves. Nobody or business wants to “die” for others. If everybody had an Easter, and “died” in any way just like Jesus physically died for humanity, then the world of business would be a better place for us all. And so I ask you the question, “What is the Easter in your business?”

So what is there in biblical Christianity that made the federal government of Nigeria declare public holidays for Good Friday and Easter Monday? A period of Christian festivity. Well, yes. The high point of the Christian calendar, still yes. To respect Christian sensibilities, just as the government does for Muslims, still in order. To give workers and professionals time to cool off, rest and reflect on the message and meaning of Easter, is yet another good reason.

These are all valid reasons why government declares public holidays for Christians and Muslim festivities. And the highlights of these festivities are pilgrimages, fasting and prayers, almsgiving, religious services and entertainment. But the critical question for professionals that remains unanswered is this: “Can I duplicate the message of the religious festivities of my faith, in my business, my job, my profession?” What are the application and benefits of these messages for my clientele, customers, associates, partners, investors, regulators, employees, and the communities where I do business? For Christian professionals the critical question remains: “what is the Easter of your business?”

The message of Easter is clear. It means great sacrifice, betrayal, rejection, humiliation, death, redemption and resurrection to new life.

After this process comes ascension to greater heights. The death of Jesus guaranteed salvation, safety, abundance, confident living, joy and peace for mankind. Who made that great sacrifice? Jesus Christ, son of man, a carpenter and itinerant preacher. In today’s business, Jesus would have been a professional speaker, who went about preaching His message branded as The Good News or The Gospel Message. He sold some divine products in His time. These were Love, Repentance, Salvation, The Renewed Life, God’s kingdom, and how it can be replicated on earth.

Jesus converted His divine products into messages and took it to the market place moving from place to place, market to market, teaching and telling stories about His brands. He had no office or shelter, or home. He was the Message and the Medium and the master salesman. He not only preached, he taught his audience. To make his messages more understandable, he taught in Parables, which simply means using the physical to explain the spiritual. As the workload increased, He selected 12 followers whom He transformed into Disciples and deployed to the field to do His work.

What was the result? And great crowds followed Him. Why? He cared for them; He taught them, told them life transforming stories. He live and worked by example, a divine CEO who was out there in the marketplace and did what He preached. He showed the way to eternal life; redirected the focus of His audience to their promised land; did signs and wonders; He fed them and healed them. He spoke with authority, something they had never experienced before; told value stories about Himself, His Father, His Vision and what He came to do. He demonstrated what he preached, paid tax, applied discipline when necessary, no hypocrisy, no faking. He led by serving, was humble and demonstrated leadership and teamwork through service.

Great crowds followed Jesus because they knew Him. He had vision and He repeatedly explained it; where He was coming from, where He was going, who sent Him; whose will He set out to do, and the price He was going to pay for mankind. Some believed Him, some did not. Jesus in three and a half years converted many hardliners and critics into His stakeholders. He knew his audience (customers), they knew him, and he described himself in terms of the value he adds to people’s lives. He spoke with authority: “I am the bread of life;” “I am the resurrection and the life,” “I am the light of this world.”

And so dear professional, who are you? “I am a medical doctor,” Good attempt, but you have not said precisely what you can do for me. “I can cure Aids” That’s more like it. If you spread that message, great numbers of patients will follow you. What is the Easter in your business?

If Jesus were to be in business today, His brands would have been market leaders, not necessarily because of His divine nature, but simply because His strategy was simple. His communication style was unique, simple, loaded with wisdom and people oriented. He told stories that are today branded as “parables”. Though great crowds followed Him, He still went ahead to pay a great price for them, which secured eternal benefits for them and many of us today. His message was simple: Have faith in God, care for others and love your neighbor. I will pay a big price for you to empower you. That is the business strategy of Easter, if we can relate it to modern day business.

So do you have any examples of Easter in your business, your job? Is there any sacrifice you or your business has made or continues to make for the benefit of your employees, customers and other stakeholders? What is that sacrifice you make that guarantees benefits in the market place? What are the attendant benefits? Can they be quantified, seen or felt? That is what I mean by, what is the Easter in your business?

You don’t have any. Then you are shortchanging the market and yourself too. Remember you have to die to live. It is a spiritual strategy that equally applies in business. As an employee, what sacrifices are you making for your employers, and other employees? Are you just there to work for pay?
When you or your business “dies” for others, you generate long lasting benefits. This is not physical death. It is professional or corporate sacrifices for the good of the market.

But what do you see in business today? Professionals and corporate bodies hardly “die” for their customers, employees, investors. Instead they are killing them with fake and substandard products, fraud, unethical and sharp business practices. See the war NAFDAC, the state regulatory body for Food and Drugs in Nigeria is waging against fake products. The fake merchants and manufacturers are even fighting back with assassination attempts on the life of the NAFDAC boss and torching of the agency’s corporate offices. These fraudulent merchants want to kill their customers with fake and substandard drugs and foods. If every customer dies, who will they sell to? What is the Easter in your business?

Check out all the markets, some producers and marketers of goods and services are either killing or ripping off their clients, customers, employees and other stakeholders. Yet they want to partake in the benefits of the great sacrifice of Easter. But it has never occurred to them to create benefits for the market. That is the tragedy of today’s market place. Also leaders in government, commerce and industry are either exploiting or killing their followers instead of serving and making sacrifices. That is why many economies are not growing. That is why there is so much hardship and insecurity in many parts of the world..
Any business that “kills” cannot grow. But anyone that makes great sacrifices for the community, for others, will reap great rewards for his business.

That is the Easter in your business. If you already have it, keep it up, God will surely bless your job, your business. If you don’t have it, please do.

At the personal level, as you write your business plan or personal development plan, please plug in your “Easter strategy”. Or if you are nursing it in your mind, think Easter. Be prepared to pay a big price for success. Ask those at the top, they will tell you what they went through - trials, setbacks, hardship, rejection, and humiliation. The message is simple! Be prepared to carry your cross to achieve success.

Eric Okeke is a motivational speaker, business writer, copywriter, and corporate storyteller. He is one of Nigeria’s most experienced financial journalists. His strenghts are writing, speaking, humor, publicity, and corporate storytelling. His email: ericosamba@yahoo.com

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MLM Leads are the lifeblood of many network marketers. Over the years, MLM Leads have become a key component of building a downline. As the demand for MLM Leads has grown, the quality of MLM Leads has suffered. Many lead capture pages are designed to get anyone to fill out the form (even poor quality prospects). And some list brokers have sold their MLM Leads several times, causing the people who filled out a form inquiring about a business opportunity to get bombarded with phone solicitations.

Some of these people who are on MLM Leads Lists put down false information, register with the do not call directory, and will say they never filled out a form - just so they will be left alone, but they still are interested in a business opportunity.

Here are three things that you can do to clean up the MLM Leads lists you purchase, and when you are calling your MLM Leads, you are only calling the best prospects:

1. Use a service like Melissa Data (http://www.melissadata.com/) to verify the correct address and phone number of the MLM Leads List you purchases. As much as 80% of the data in some aged MLM Leads Lists is inaccurate. This type of service won’t clean up all the bad data from your MLM Leads List, but it will clean most of it. Remember: approximately 2-3% of Americans move every month, so do check the age of any MLM Leads List. If your MLM Leads List is 12-18 months old, 25-54% of the addresses and phone numbers are probably obsolete.

2. Scrub your data through the Do Not Call Registry (DNC). Your MLM Leads List should be checked against the DNC Registry every 90 days to be compliant (something you should seriously consider if you are using Aged MLM Leads or Genealogy Leads). It is YOUR responsibility to do this, and ultimately, you will be fined if you are found out of compliance with the national do not call policy. For more information on this, go to: http://www.ftc.gov/donotcall/

3. Another service that you can use is List Optimization. This is a unique process of profiling your MLM Leads List to identify the best and worst prospects within your MLM Leads List. Optimized MLM Leads, LLC (http://www.optimizedmlmleads.com/) is the only provider of this service. It is not only invaluable as a time saving service, by being able to identify the top prospects within your MLM Leads List, but will allow you to focus your recruiting efforts on building leadership within your organization.

Using these three services will allow you to get the most out of any MLM Leads List that you purchase.

Jesse Miles is a freelance writing and marketing consultant to the network marketing industry. He has consulted with network marketing companies and their top distributors for the last 15 years. His articles have been published in countless trade publications, and his advice has been followed by many of the industries top distributors. Jesse is available for on-site or telephone consultations.

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If you are in the market for a cheap laptop, I am sure you will be asking yourself that question. As prices for laptops continue to fall every month, Laptops become cheaper yet more powerful and this is really good news for cheap laptop buyers. However if you have not been following computer technology, you can easily be swarmed by too much information. This guide aims to give you an idea what features you should look out for when you buy a cheap laptop that cost less than US$1000.

Processor
Most laptops have the capability to go wireless these days. Wireless allows you to sit far away from a network point and yet be able to surf the internet. With wireless capability, you can be surfing your favorite sites in the living room without all the ugly looking wires. At this price range, you can expect a laptop with mobile Pentium processor with speed from 1.4 GHz to 1.8 GHz. So aim for at least a 1.4GHz when you shop for a cheap laptop.

Graphics Display
Graphics display is important because it directly determines how fast a laptop displays information on the screen. Most laptops at this price range come with integrated graphics with memory size ranging from 64Mb to 128 Mb. You should always look for higher memory size so try to buy a cheap laptop with integrated graphics with at least a 128mb ram

Hard Disk
Most cheap laptops at this price range come with 60GB hard disk. A bigger hard disk means you can store more files in your laptop.

Memory
This is an important feature to look out for. Modern applications require a lot of memory resources to run. Look for at least 512 MB ram. Fortunately most cheap laptop these days come with at least 512MB.

Optical Drive
Expect your cheap laptop to have at least a CD-RW drive. CD-RW drive allows you to backup your files by writing onto a CD. As prices fall further, expect cheap laptops to include DVD / CD-RW drive in the near future. With DVD/ CD-RW drive, not only can you backup your files easily, you can even play DVD movies.

With this information to prepare you, I hope you are clearer now when you shop for a cheap laptop.

Charles Wee runs a free blog hosting service at Blogger Haven. He also runs a website at CheapLaptopGuide which provides free advice on shopping for cheap laptops, used laptops and discount laptops

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Do you want to shape up? Could there be some improvement in the way you look and feel? You need some fitness advice - exercises to losing weight. First, aim to do 20-30 minutes of cardio 3 times per week. You can run outside or on a treadmill, do the elliptical machine or the stair stepper. Actually, it’s a great idea to integrate all of the above into your workout. If you only run or only do the elliptical machine your body will get used to the workout and you will plateau in your progress. Play around with the resistance on the workout machines and try different workout programs to make sure you are progressing.
More fitness advice - exercises to losing weight include lifting weights. As you build muscle, your body burns more calories while you are at rest. And of course you know that burning more calories means you are losing more weight. So once you get the fitness ball rolling it just gets easier and easier to keep going. Depending on your weight loss goals, you may want to start a weight routine with high repetitions and low weight resistance. This provides toning without a lot of bulking up and keeps your heart rate up. Make sure you spend 5 minutes warming up before you begin your lifting routine.

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Enjoy live online betting sports gambling games at top online venues!

Connect two of everybody’s ultimate interests and you’ll unmask a trend we commonly call a sportsbook gambling location. So what could believably be more imaginative… If you envisage a band of sports admirers cheering in support of their preferred club, and almost regularly stakes are geared up to complement the rumpus. In order to get a bit of the anticipation, on-lookers on a regular basis strive to foreknow who will make it in the coming meet. Put together, all of this develops into a nice and amicable meet known as sportsbook gambling location.

In order to place that bet, you should visit a sportsbook gambling location, i.e. a setup which receives sportsbook gambling location. In the USA, there’s no less than four states where to go for sports gambling in a lawful manner, but beyond legality you can do it just about anywhere so long as you pinpoint a bookie *and* you are legally an adult. Included sporting contests you have a choice of betting on are professional conjoined with college basketball & college football, professional baseball, professional hockey, conjoined with betting on both dog and horse racing. You’ll be able to bet on the general combined score of a fight or game, when exactly the contestant will go under, and even if a tossed coin in a fight or game will come down either heads or tails.

You can see plenty of so many differing breeds of lays- straight, parlays, teasers plus, too, over-unders, the straight bets, where you merely pick the contestor you guess will prevail or go down being the dominating one in sports gambling.

So why don’t you just give it a try, and enjoy the fun at the same time… Simply be sure that you won’t get too enthusiastic and throw away your total retirement pension capriciously… After all you’re sure to catch yourself distressed till the end of your life…

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I am swamped today but I had to write this short article.

Yesterday I was listening to a news broadcast. The story was about how parents are paying up to Ten Thousand dollars ($10,000) to get consultants to help their children fill out college applications.

A guidance counselor said that she gives the same advice for free and was shocked to see how much these consultants get paid.

A few questions for you to think about

1. Is the information truly the same and if so, why would people pay 10k for it.

2. If the information is not the same, why does the guidance counselor think it is.

3. If the information is the same, why isn’t the guidance counselor selling her information to students outside of her school.

More on this later today or tomorrow. In the meantime, think about these questions and see what answers you come up with.

With that I will say:

Get the Barbarian Mind Set and keep it. Stay tr to yourself and your family, the rest will take care of itself.

Welga!

Everte

PS. If the answers are not apparent, then you should find a way to change your thinking so that the answers are apparent. My book, “The Barbarian’s Guide to Success” is about how I was able to change the way I think. The people getting paid 10K to help a kid fill out some college apps know the answers. Get my point.

Everte Farnell is a author and speaker and professional coach. In May of 2003 Everte was a divorced broke single father. Two and a half years later Everte is a happily married father of two. The company he and his wife worked to build supplies his family with a six figure income, and his children are happy healthy and well adjusted. He lives a life that many dream of. It is the life that he dreamed of in May of 2003.

In October of 2005 he released his book “The Barbarian’s Guide to Success” and is dedicated to helping other realize their dreams. He is a straight forward, politically incorrect, figure and makes very little time for detractors. He often says “So many ‘coaches’ have made their money by coaching. I do everything I coach. It is important that people know that I have faced or do face the same challenges they face. Life is an integrated process. Your professional life must support your personal and family life and vice versa, otherwise you will never find true success.” Everte Can be reached at his web page http://www.successfulBarbarian.com

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With high-speed Internet access becoming available in more and more areas, perhaps it is now available in your neck of the woods. If it is, you might be wondering if it makes sense to upgrade from dialup. For most people, the answer is probably yes! Here are a few reasons why:

- Cost - As it was for me, your most important consideration is most likely the extra expense required to move up to a high-speed connection. But if you think about it, the extra cost is probably very minimal.

If you now pay for a second phone line just for accessing the Internet, that monthly payment added to your ISP charge is probably as much as a high-speed connection will cost you.

- Increased productivity - If you work from home via the web, you’ll get more done in less time with fast Internet access.

Large downloads will take seconds instead of minutes (or even hours), and your Internet research time will be cut dramatically. And all of those huge, graphic intensive web pages that slowly creep onto your screen will pop up right away!

- Convenience - You’ll no longer be annoyed by lost connections and endless busy signals. You can stop waiting around while your modem dials in and does its best to establish a shaky connection.

A high-speed Internet connection is always on, meaning whenever your computer is on you have immediate and constant access to the Internet. What a timesaver!

- Conclusion - If you work at home and high-speed Internet access is available to you, you’ll almost certainly be extremely happy if you make the move. In fact, most people who try it wonder how they ever got along without it and say they’ll never switch back!

Even if you use the Internet simply for recreation and pleasure, the astounding difference in speed and convenience coupled with the relatively minor extra cost make a high-speed connection a bargain!

About The Author

Rick Rouse is the owner of RLROUSE Directory & Informational Resources, one of the fastest growing Directories on the web. Visit http://www.rlrouse.com and submit your URL!

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Businesses are everywhere. They are the units that perform most of the economic activity in our economy. Most businesses exist to generate a profit. There are some businesses that exist to perform a function other than profit, such as cooperatives and non-profit organisations. The traditional definition of a business is an entity that brings together time, effort and capital in order to produce a profit.

There are different ways of classifying businesses but here are the main types:

Simply put, the Goof Troupe is an organization that teaches people to lose weight and improve their health while still enjoying the “finer” things in life. You know, like pasta, red meat, dessert, frappuccinos, alcohol, etc.

You see, the single biggest problem with most weight loss or health improvement programs is that they are NO FUN! They require you to live by some very strict code of “do this, don’t do that”. If you happen to step outside the boundaries of the program, your progress and your state of mind take a painful hit, and you end up right back at square one. Does that sound familiar?

The miraculous method by which Goof Troupe members are able to still enjoy the “taboo” items like those listed above is due to 4 things:

1) Structure

2) Support

3) A reasonable amount of physical activity.

4) Proper portion control, nutrient intake, and vitamin/mineral intake.

I know, I know - it sounds too easy, right? Well, it is both easy as well as effective, and you can start taking advantage of this program right now!

People who get a reasonable amount of activity, control their portion sizes, and get the appropriate intake of vitamins and minerals are healthy, they don’t carry around a bunch of excess bodyfat, and they can jump “off the wagon” on a regular basis because they do the right thing the rest of the time.

Also, no one wants to be healthy by themselves. Even the most confident and self-motivated people still have the basic human need for positive reinforcement, and a helping hand to keep them on the path to success.

Having structure in a health program is just as important as having support. If you had 100 people who were willing to bend over backwards to support the needs of the other group members, but those 100 people didn’t have a clue what they were doing, then that group would be on the fast track to failure wouldn’t they?

In getting back to the question of ‘What is the Goof Troupe’, we answer with this:

The Goof Troupe is a social group whose members work together to be healthy most of the time, so they can enjoy being UNHEALTHY the rest of the time!

A Goof Troupe can contain any number of people, but a typical social group will include at least 3 or 4 people, and as many as 10 or more. The group meets once each week so that all members can take advantage of the group support, tips, and instruction, and those meetings are typically followed up by going out and having fun!

All Goof Troupe members utilize the same basic concepts of portion control, healthy eating, and physical activity as outlined in the Goof Troupe lifestyle improvement system, the Tahiti Trim Plan 40 program. The TTP40 program ensures that all members are not only eating the proper portion sizes, but eating often enough as well. 9 out of 10 people who are overweight actually do not eat ENOUGH.

The TTP40 program also contains all of the vitamin/mineral supplements that are needed by all people, and it outlines a program of physical activity that ensures that all Goof Troupe members are using more calories than they are taking in. That equates to weight loss, by the way!

In addition to the weekly meetings, most Goof Troupe members will see each other much more often than that. The Goof Troupes are as much social clubs as they are a lifestyle management program, and members are encouraged to engage in support, social, and health-related activities as often as they like.

The Goof Troupe concept is a starting point - a “guideline” for you ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ fans! The Tahiti Trim Plan 40 program and the Goof Troupe weekly meetings provide the structure, support, and information that allow all members to lose weight, be healthy, and most importantly - to have FUN!

In addition, the Goof Troupe founders are able to get all Goof Troupe members and leaders a discounted price on the Tahiti Trim Plan 40 products, which means that the program is less expensive than ANY comparable program on the market. Also, people who start Goof Troupes in their areas can get their own products for free, or even make some Fun Money that they can use to enjoy their new found level of health or weight loss!

To learn the full details of the Goof Troupe, or to join or start a Goof Troupe in your area, just visit the site for more information! www.gooftroupe.org

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