I usually bite my tongue when it comes to politics. I recognize the prez in the US really only has limited power for change. I’m over the Iraq war. I understand why it happened and it needed to but it’s just not useful now.

But here’s my big beef…and I have to tell you that I feel small that THIS is what gets my goat but I have to be honest with you.

I am disgusted by John McCain’s choice of VP. It’s such a blatant political maneuver. ‘Let’s see if we can scoop up the unhappy Hilary votes by bringing a woman onboard.’ It’s such an obvious attempt at manipulation. What are we? Three year olds who don’t know what he’s trying to pull???

Here’s the deal…I love that he’s bringing a woman on board but who the hell is she? She governed a population the size of Memphis! Her own parents learned about her nomination on the NEWS.

NEWS FLASH JOHN MCCAIN…Women are not idiots. We do a lot of research before we make a decision. The chances of us bonding with a complete stranger in the 8 weeks we have before election day is simply not going to happen. It’s insulting to think that YOU think you’re grabbing the female vote by simply attaching yourself to a female on the ticket. Sad thing is I believe you probably could have done a decent job. (I’m registered Independent by the way.) But the old ways of politics have gone the way of the do do bird. Please try to just be authentic.

This speech continues to bring me hope. It really reminds me of what’s important in the world and not waste my energy on the smaller issues. Be re-inspired! Listen again, my friend!

It raked in $18.4 million from midnight shows alone and $66 million on the opening day, making *The Dark Knight* the biggest box office opener of all time. (*Spiderman 3* clocked in at $59.8 million and *Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest* was $55.8 million.)

It’s a movie that doesn’t rely heavily on special effects (although there are some fun toys like the Bat-Pod). It’s a movie that doesn’t have any nudity (though it’s certainly chock full of implied violence).

So how does a blockbuster of this size justify itself? Through an awesome story (and stellar performances), that’s how. An unwinding, interesting story is incredibly important to women, making it something of a chick flick. Care to disagree?

1)     Bruce Wayne (Batman) witnessed his parents’ death when he was a mere lad and developed his alter ego because of his tortured pain (women want to tell him everything will be all right);

2)     There is a love triangle between Bruce Wayne, his ex-girlfriend, and the new cowboy in town, the D.A. (women love romance);

3)     The Joker is insanely sane (women desperately want to understand and rescue him - sadly he’s just pure evil and that ain’t happening);

4)     There are genuinely funny moments (women love to laugh/escape – it makes us briefly forget all the pressure we put on ourselves for a moment);

5)     It’s an intellectually stimulating film noir crime drama that struggles with moral questions of good and evil (women are smart and like to be challenged). 

*The Dark Knight* is a movie women can drag their men to without too much of a fight and everyone will enjoy it. If nothing else, it’s a great excuse to sit in the dark for 2 and a half hours and not worry about gas prices or the so-called recession. Man or woman, it’s entertainment that’s worth your time!

If you didn’t know, Angelina Jolie’s and Brad Pitt’s twins were born over the weekend in Nice, France - a boy (Knox Leon) and a girl (Vivienne Marcheline). The births themselves, not so noteworthy; the bidding war over first rights by celebrity magazines to publish the pix is at $11 million right now IS! (Uh, don’t all newborns kind of look alike?)
 
The question is why would magazines spend sooooo much money on baby pictures? They must be getting a sizeable return on investment or they wouldn’t continue the trend.

(The first Jolie-Pitt baby, Shiloh raked in $4.1 million. Matthew McConaughey’s baby, Levi, fetched $3 million. Jessica Alba’s little bundle, Honor, is following the pack at $1.5 million.)
 
While it’s nice these babies are earning their keep so early in the game, who do you think is buying these magazine? Women, of course. Just another example of females driving sales.
 
Your business may not be shelling out millions to reach the female market, but as the largest segment of the buying population in EVERY MARKET, you should definitely know how to reach them.
 
Marketing has changed, my friend.
 
     => It’s not enough to just know how the traditional model used to work.
 
     => It’s not enough to slap up some social networking.
 
     => It’s not enough to record some audio or video.
 
There is a SYSTEM to more effectively reaching the female and the conscious market (regardless of YOUR gender). And I want to hand it to your personally at *The She Factor* workshop I’m holding here in Los Angeles, October 2, 3, and 4.
 
(IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE: This event is NOT a pitchfest. *The She Factor* is a quality, CONTENT-RICH WORKSHOP where we actually study and apply the latest marketing principles to YOUR EXISTING MODEL for maximum return on investment. There is no other workshop in the information marketing industry set up to do this.)
 
Join me to discover:
 
*Why the marketing we’ve used for nearly 100 years finally needs an update (and how to make YOUR marketing more effective);
*The 5 easy factors that must be present at all stages of marketing to women (skip just one of them and you’re likely to lose her loyalty forever);

*What her innermost values are so you can speak her language for long-term connection (HINT: if you’re trying to sell hamburgers to vegetarians, you’re barking up the wrong tree);

*Exactly how to win her back if you’ve made major mistakes in the past (we can’t change what was, but we can sure repair what IS);
 

*Hypnotic tactics that move her toward taking action to what you want NOW (signing up for your newsletter, buying a product, hiring you . . . whatever your goal is, I can show you how);

*And so much more!
 
Details are at www.TheSheFactor.com.
 
GREAT NEWS!
 
The first 30 attendees who register can now bring a special friend, partner, or colleague to the workshop at HALF OFF your ticket price. (VIPs excluded - sorry.)
 
Reserve your spot now at www.TheSheFactor.com!
 

Whether online or offline, women are without a doubt THE largest marketing group you could possibly focus your attention on. The celebrity magazines that have deep pockets are really not that different from your business. They are in it to give their market what they want while making a ton of money in the process.
  
I can’t wait to see you in October and work on your business personally!
 
Warmly,

Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero

Red Hot Copy

P.S. Remember, only the first 30 registrants are eligible to bring in a partner at HALF PRICE of your ticket. I wouldn’t delay if I were you. People will be clamoring for this deal. www.TheSheFactor.com

The Red Hot Chicken species was discovered a little over two years ago off the coast of Hawaii at Quitsquawkin Island. A short documentary was made on this rare and interesting breed. Check it out (it’s less than 2 minutes).

My family and I had an interesting debate over the weekend about what constitutes a sport and what does not. We tried to come up with a pat definition, but we seemed to find exceptions for every ’sport.’ Wikipedia says, “Sport is an activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. ” We felt their definition was lacking, so we tried to come up with one of our own…

First definition: A sport requires a goal, a team, and a ball.

We all agreed that basketball, football, baseball, volleyball, hockey, rugby, lacrosse, and soccer are sports. They have a goal, a ball, and a team. But there were some exceptions that didn’t fit into our neat little definition.

Tennis has a ball but not a team. Does that mean it’s not a sport? Since it doesn’t have a ball does that mean boxing isn’t a sport? What about skiing, or skating? Running or track? “Activities,” my son said. “But these events are in the Olympics,” I replied. “So are a lot of games I don’t consider sports,” he retorted.

Is golf a sport? I know it’s hard to do well, but when big, fat guys with cigars can play it without breaking a sweat, is that really a sport? Bowling can’t really be considered a sport, can it? ESPN covers poker as a sport. POKER! That can’t possibly fit anyone’s definition.

Second definition: A sport requires training, a goal, and exertion.

Okay, then dancing must be a sport, right? It requires extreme training and exertion. “No, it’s a performing art.” Hmmm. I guess that might be so. Still, ballroom dancing is a judged event, as is cheerleading. Sports? What about body building? That is definitely an activity that requires pain for gain.

What about ’sports’ involving animals like horseracing? Is race car driving a sport? Bicycling? You can see my dilemma. What are your thoughts? What is a SPORT?

I was born in a small Midwestern town and grew up mostly in the South. So I have pretty down home roots. I’m the first of my family to earn a college degree and most of them never left Missouri. They certainly aren’t woo woo in any way. So when I got this email from my uncle (who actually, along with my grandmother, is one of the most genuinely positive people I know) it brought tears to my eyes. Just thought I’d share. It’s a good reminder!

*EMAIL*

John is the kind of guy you love to hate.   He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say.  When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, ‘If I were any better, I would be twins!’

He was a natural motivator.
 
If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
 
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, ‘I don’t get it!’
 
‘You can’t be a positive person all of the time.  How do you do it?’
 
He replied, ‘Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today.  You can choose to be in a good mood or…you can choose to be in a bad mood.

I choose to be in a good mood.’
 
Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or…I can choose to learn from it.  I choose to learn from it.

Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or…I can point out the positive side of life.  I choose the positive side of life.
 
‘Yeah, right, it’s not that easy,’ I protested.
 
‘Yes, it is,’ he said.  ’Life is all about choices.  When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice.  You choose how you react to situations.  You choose how people affect your mood.
 
You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood.  The bottom line:   It’s your choice how you live your life.’
 
I reflected on what he said.  Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business.  We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
 
Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower.
 
After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.
 
I saw him about six months after the accident.
 
When I asked him how he was, he replied, ‘If I were any better, I’d be twins… Wanna see my scars?’
 
I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.
 
‘The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter,’ he replied.  ’Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices:  I could choose to live or…I could choose to die.  I chose to live.’
 
‘Weren’t you scared?  Did you lose consciousness?’  I asked.
 
He continued, ‘…the paramedics were great.
 
They kept telling me I was going to be fine.  But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared.  In their eyes, I read ‘he’s a dead man’.  I knew I needed to take action.’
 
‘What did you do?’ I asked.
 
‘Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me,’ said John.  ’She asked if I was allergic to anything ‘Yes, I replied.’  The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply.  I took a deep breath and yelled, ‘Gravity”
 
Over their laughter, I told them, ‘I am choosing to live.   Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.’
 
He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude…I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.
 
Attitude, after all, is everything.
 
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.’  Matthew 6:34.
 
After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

I’m a little embarrassed at my naivete sometimes. See, I studied journalism in college. I was such an idealist, believing that the media simply unbiasedly reported the news. HA. I sadly subscribe to one of the most slanted newspapers in the country…The Los Angeles Times. What a piece of crap that rag is. We only subscribe because our kids are required to be tested on the ‘news’ daily and the other local paper blows even more.

It’s pretty predictable actually that the media would jump on how horrible the economy is. I mean it’s an election year so there has to be some finger pointing, right? Here’s my thought to you. Don’t believe everything you hear. Are you living in squalor? Unable to drive to work or run errands because of the high price of gas? Can’t afford a new lipstick if you want it? Let’s be honest. Our lives are pretty darn good. The hysteria the media would have you believe is completely unfounded. Don’t buy into it. Conduct your life as if you’re running a million dollar business. And guess what…pretty soon you WILL be!!

You know, I just woke up from a beautiful dream gone horribly wrong.

Basically it was a happy, frolicking dream with my husband. Just the two of us deeply connected and in love. Suddenly it turned into a fast nightmare when he began to have a vivid seizure. (Mind you, I’ve never witnessed a seizure in anyone, much less John. And this was more realistic than anything on TV.) He began convulsing in my dream, turning purple and clenching his jaw. In my dream, I thought back to all the rescue tips I’d heard through the years and realized I had no idea what to REALLY do.

I startled awake and went right to the Internet to figure out what to do. What I learned is there are many myths out there about handling seizures…myths that I believed too.

MYTH #1

Put something in their mouth so they don’t ’swallow their tongue.’

TRUTH #1

Don’t ever do that…they could choke on the object.

MYTH #2

Restrain the person.

TRUTH #2

Don’t restrain them…this could cause serious injury to you and the victim. But do remove harmful objects nearby.

MYTH #3

Give the person something to drink.

TRUTH #3

Don’t give them food or water until they are fully recovered (whatever that means) as they could still choke.

Anyway, I know it’s an odd post for a marketing blog but you’ll always find snippets of what’s banging around in my personal mind too. And it just might help save a life down the road. Maybe I had that dream for a reason.

I wait all year long for the Academy Awards! It’s honestly like a national holiday to me. I pride myself on seeing all the top movies but this year I missed a few. While I LOVED “Juno,” I believe “There Will Be Blood” is going to sweep. “No Country for Old Men” has an incongruent ending according to the online buzz (and my hubby John’s review….this was one I missed unfortunately because it’s going to be a heavy hitter). Here are my top predictions:

BEST ACTOR

Daniel Day Lewis (hands down, everyone else just go home)

BEST ACTRESS

Julie Christie

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Javier Bardem

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Cate Blanchett (cuz she’s not getting Best Actress and she’s flawless)

BEST PICTURE

No Country for Old Men

BEST DIRECTOR

The Coen Brothers for No Country for Old Men

ALL OTHERS…

Does it really matter?