Just Picture It Now: February 2007

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Another Radio Interview on WGSR 710 AM

Once again “The Law of Attraction” has made another impact in my life. Because of what I know, most all of my goals and dreams are now starting to become a reality. They are coming fast and furious. Opportunities that I once thought were lost are now being literally handed to me out of the blue.

One of my goals was to get back into Radio, a profession I left back in the late 1980’s after 10 years. I put the “intent” out there to host my own Radio Show about our experience with our Home Based Business and YTB Travel Network. Another friend of mine called me out of the blue at the last minute to ask if I could fill in for a guest that had cancelled as his “Unique of the Week”. Knowing that opportunities never go away, they just go to those of us who are ready for them, I was more than willing to fill in for the host.

WGSR Atlanta is the newest place in Atlanta to stay connected with the things that matter to you; life, fitness, arts, entertainment, dining and everything in-between. This week on "Uniqueness is Power" Andy Grieder and Co-Host Dr. Katrina covered marketing tips, strategies and debunk a myth or two with me…as well as what makes myself and my business unique, and why customers do business with YTB Travel.

At WGSR Atlanta, they realize that the radio listener's taste have evolved over the years yet not many radio stations have evolved with their listeners. Redefining radio for the listeners. They are what you have been waiting for. The changing of the guard is here at WGSR Atlanta.

Enjoy!

Listen to WGSR Atlanta, 710AM "Uniqueness is Power"

WGSR Atlanta, 710AM YTB Radio Interview

Doug & Ronda Bauknight
AKA: TravelPro
Travel Agent / Networker
Phone: 678.458.5812

Learn How To Become A Travel Agent

Book Your Travel & Vacations With

Travel Reservations: 1.800.243.4450
RTA #24635

Labels: Andy Grieder, Atlanta, Dr. Fittness and The Fat Guy, Law of Attraction., Lee Kantor, Radio Interview, Uniquness is Power, WGSR, YTB Travel

Posted by TravelPro at 9:18 PM | Permalink | Comments

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Will You Be Mine?

There are many opinons as to who was the original Valentine, with the most popular theory that it was a clergyman who was executed for secretly marrying couples in ancient Rome. In any event, in 496 A.D., Pope Gelasius set aside February 14 to honor St. Valentine. Through the centuries, the Christian holiday became a time to exchange love messages and St.Valentine became a patron saint of lovers. In the 1840s, Esther Howland, a native of Massachusetts, is given credit for sending the first Valentine cards. The spirit of love continues as valentines are sent with sentimental verses and children exchange valentine cards at school.

Looking for Love

- 188 million Valentine's Day cards are exchanged annually, making Valentine's Day the second-most popular greeting-card-giving occasion. (This total excludes packaged kids valentines for classroom exchanges.)

- Over 50 percent of all Valentine's Day cards are purchased in the six days prior to the observance, making Valentine's Day a procrastinator's delight.

- Research reveals that more than half of the U.S. population celebrates Valentine's Day by purchasing a greeting card.

- There are 119 single men (i.e., never married, widowed or divorced) who are in their 20s for every 100 single women of the same ages.

- There are 34 single men (i.e., never married, widowed or divorced) age 65 or older for every 100 single women of the same ages.

- 904: The number of dating service establishments nationwide as of 2005. These establishments, which include Internet dating services, employed nearly 4,300 people and pulled in $489 million in revenues.

Be Mine

- 2.2 million marriages take place in the United States annually. That breaks down to more than 6,000 a day.

- 147,300 marriages are performed in Nevada during 2005. So many couples "tie the knot" in the Silver State that it ranked fourth nationally in marriages, even though it's total population that year among states was 35th.

- The estimated U.S. median ages at first marriage for women and men are 25.3 and 27.1 respectively, in 2005. The age for women rose 4.2 years in the last three decades. The age for men at first marriage is up 3.6 years.

- Men and women in northeastern states generally have a higher median age at first marriage than the national average. In Massachusetts, for example, women were a median of 27.4 years old and men 29.1 years of age at first marriage. States where people typically marry young include Utah, where women were a median of 21.9 years and men, 23.9 years.

- 57% and 60% of American women and men, respectively, are 15 or older and currently married (includes those who are separated).

- 72%: The percentage of men and women ages 30 to 34 in 2005 who had been married at some point in their lives - either currently or formerly.- 4.9 million opposite-sex cohabitating couples maintained households in 2005. These couples comprised 4.3 percent of all households.

Candy is Dandy!

- 1,241: The number of locations producing chocolate and cocoa products in 2004. These establishments employed 43,322 people. California led the nation in the number of such establishments with 136, followed by Pennsylvania with 122. (Source:http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/cbptotal.html)

- 515 locations produced nonchocolate confectionary products in 2004. These establishments employed 22,234 people.

- The total value of shipments in 2004 for firms producing chocolate and cocoa products was $13.9 billion. Nonchocolate confectionery product manufacturing, meanwhile, was a $5.7 billion industry.

- 3,467 Number of confectionery and nut stores in the United States in 2004. Often referred to as candy stores, they are among the best sources of sweets for Valentine's Day.

- The per capita consumption of candy by Americans in 2005 was 25.7 pounds. Candy consumption has actually declined over the last few years; in 1997, each American gobbled or savored more than 27 pounds of candy a year.

Flowers

- The combined wholesale value of domestically produced cut flowers in 2005 for all flower-producing operations with $100,000 or more in sales was $397 million. Among states, California was the leading producer, alone accounting for nearly three-quarters of this amount ($289 million).

- The combined wholesale value of domestically produced cut roses in 2005 for all operations with $100,000 or more in sales was $39 million. Among all types of cut flowers, roses were third in receipts ($39 million)to lilies ($76.9 million) and tulips ($39.1 million).

- There were 21,667 florists nationwide in 2004. These businesses employed 109,915 people.

Jewelry

- There were 28,772 jewelry stores in the United States in 2004. Jewelry stores offer engagement, wedding and other rings to lovers of all ages. In February 2006, these stores sold $2.6 billion worth of merchandise. (This figure has not been adjusted for seasonal variation, holiday or trading day differences or price changes).

The merchandise at these locations could well have been produced at one of the nation's 1,864 jewelry manufacturing establishments. The manufacture of jewelry was an $9 billion industry in 2004

Looking for Love? Try looking here...

Valentine, NE
Valentine, TX
Loveland, CO
Lovejoy, GA
Lovelock, NE
Love Valley, NC
Loveland, OH
Loveland Park, OH
Loveland, OK
Lovelady, TX
Loves Park, IL
Loving County, TX
Lovington, NM
Loving, NM
Love County, OK
Lovington, IL
Romeo, CO
Romeo, MI
Romeoville, IL
Sacred Heart, MN
Heart Butte, MT
South Heart, ND

- 21: Number of places named "rose". The red rose has long been a symbol of romantic love. Rose Hill, VA., is the most populous, with more than 15,000 residents.

Doug & Ronda Bauknight
AKA: TravelPro
Travel Agent / Networker
Phone: 678.458.5812

Learn How To Become A Travel Agent

Book Your Travel & Vacations With

Travel Reservations: 1.800.243.4450
RTA #24635

Labels: Candy, Flowers, Gifts, Love, Romance, Valentine's Day

Posted by TravelPro at 4:38 AM | Permalink | Comments

Saturday, February 03, 2007

TravelPro & Pro YTB Banned from Scam.com

When you play with snakes, you’re bound to get bit. Lately, I’ve been trying to help some of the misinformed, disillusioned folks on Scam.com. Apparently, I’m not allowed to speak for those of us in YTB who are making a living and successful with the company. Those of us who want to reach out and help those who have been introduced to the business or expressing our experience with the company will get you BANNED!

What’s most amusing to me is that it was one of the forum members who called me to tell me that I was banned. I was never informed from the moderators or administrators. I have requested an explanation as to why Scam.com decided to ban me, but have yet to receive any type of explanation. (I doubt I ever will.) When you’re dealing with Anti-MLM Zealots who close their minds to anything that differs from their own views, they don’t need to give explanations.

Oh well, it is their site. They are certainly free to operate any way they choose.

For those of you who don’t know what Scam.com is, here is my experience. It’s a place where people can go to promote all their troubles and slander any company of their choosing. A site like Scam.com promotes myths, misconceptions and ignorance out there about the industry. All MLM’s are Pyramid Schemes, all MLM’s are Scams and if you don’t agree with this mantra, you’re simply banned without any explanation or reason. It’s not limited to our industry, it’s simply a place that promotes all that’s wrong or negative in our world today. It never ceases to amaze me how so many people tend to lay blame on things outside of themselves. It’s always someone else’s fault for anything that goes wrong. And that’s why a board like Scam.com thrives. The vast majority of the people, who post there, are simply bitter, angry, negative people, and gosh daren’t they want to keep it that way! What’s even more amazing is that very few of them, if any, have ever really experienced, or remotely been involved with anything their complaining about.

I had been reading this board from time to time, and a few months ago decided to give some of these folks there “a clue” about how things really are with YTB and the Network Marketing industry in general. Understand YourTravelBiz.com is a Network Marketing Company; YTB Travel Network is a full service Travel Agency. These pour souls simply label all companies “Pyramid Schemes” or a “Scam”. They simply don’t know any better based on what the “heard about” or what they “read about”. With a board like this getting so much activity, and the YTB thread getting so much attention; I decided to throw my hat into the ring and step up to show some of the readers that an average guy, like me, CAN make a viable living with this company and industry. Based on my two years of experience with this company, it’s simply not the doom and gloom everyone wants to make it out to be.

It’s not that I was entirely unsuccessful in doing so. I did in fact help a lot of people. I wish I could access some of the posts and private messages on the board, but they can no longer be accessed or have simply been deleted. I do have a couple of private e-mails in which people have expressed how much they appreciated how I have helped them.

“Hello Doug,

I wanted to thank you for your contribution to the scam.com thread on YTB.
I am doing my due diligence on the company to see if it would be a good fit for me personally, and I ran across this thread via a search on Google.
A lot of trash was thrown up, but I was impressed on how you handled the opposition. You helped me check off a lot of the questions I have on my list of what I am evaluating on the company.

I wish you the best,

Steve”

There was another post I read just last week, from a gentleman named Drew in Texas. He took the time to post his sincere gratitude on how I’ve been able to inspire him and help him in his own journey with YTB. He was having some problems, mostly from others just like the ones on Scam.com. After finding my posts however, he found the strength and wisdom to continue moving forward with new insights about what this company and industry really means. I wish I could share that with you as well, but the entire thread had been deleted. In the short time I was allowed to post on these boards, I did touch a number of lives in a positive way, and for that I am grateful.

You need to understand something when it comes to Anti-MLM Zealots. They selectively use evidence that supports their case and throw away (or ban) anything else that doesn’t. They work by categorizing, separating, hiding, judging and condemning, attacking and rejecting. When they’re in trouble like they were with me, they try to distract everyone from all the good news, all the company and personal success of folks like me. They blow the whole situation out of proportion. By making a lot of noise, they think everyone will miss what is really going on. I actually had some great fun playing with a few of the members on the board. The more they attacked, and rejected, the more evidence I brought to the table that dispelled their illusion. It wasn’t all that hard, most never even had any personal experience in YTB, let alone the industry.

That’s all it is, an illusion. They live in a world based in fear and lack, often living in the past, (which doesn’t exist anymore) bringing it into the present, and predicting the future, (which also doesn’t exist) to scare everyone into believing that there is something inherently wrong with the Network Marketing Industry and it should be banned from society. We are liars, cheats, who pray on the poor unsuspecting souls, the “bottom feeders” whose pockets we pick to line all the pockets of “The Man” up at the top. Because they feel this way, everyone else needs to feel the same way, and if you don’t, God help you.

They love linking to Wikipedia, an on-line encyclopedia in an attempt to educate us. Only using information that supports their view on the page, and negating information on the same page that supports Network Marketing. (That was fun!) They love to refer to decade old Pyramid Schemes that the Government has shut down. They also like to refer to some of their heroes who have gotten so much attention elsewhere on the internet offering “proof” that their views are valid. They can’t come up with anything original on their own so they refer to these references over and over. Lengthy articles like “What's Wrong With Multilevel Marketing?” by Dean Van Druff, “False Profits” and “Pyramid Nation” by Dr. Robert FitzPatrick, “Behind The Smoke & Mirrors” by Ruth Carter, “Product Based Pyramid Schemes” and “Tall Taxing Tails” by Dr. Jon Taylor along with web sites like MLM Survivors. Leonard Clements spend some considerable time a few years ago looking at all these so called heroes and does a very effective job dispelling the myths and illusions of these poor misguided folks. I enjoyed reading his series of articles “Anti-MLM Zealots Me Thinks Dot Protests Too Much”. I found it ironic that I actually found this gem on Scam.com, doubly so, since he had much the same experience I did with Scam.com being ban from MLM Survivors.

By the way…if you’ve ever wanted to know the REAL story behind the term “Pyramid Scheme”, Tim Sales did an excellent article a few months back entitled “Is MLM Really a Pyramid Scheme?”

So, my days on Scam.com are over. I guess all I can do at this point is ride off into the sunset. Hopefully never to be forgotten by some of the fine individuals who come there doing their due diligence on YTB and Network Marketing. There are a lot of smart people who view these threads, and many of them see these poor misguided souls for what they really are. If I ever do get a response from the moderators or administrators, I’ll let you know. (Don’t hold your breath!)

That being sad, it’s time to go get a shower and cleanse myself from all the filth I endured for the last few months. What to do after that? I can still find effective ways of helping thousands of people, and in return I’ll create even more wealth, abundance, and joy!

Doug & Ronda Bauknight
AKA: TravelPro
Travel Agent / Networker
Phone: 678.458.5812

Learn How To Become A Travel Agent

Book Your Travel & Vacations With

Travel Reservations: 1.800.243.4450
RTA #24635