Forbes Riley's Tips for Success

Forbes Riley is an advertising queen. You may not recognize the name, but it’s almost guaranteed that you have seen one of her many infomercials or product spotlights on QVC or the Home Shopping Network. She has been on QVC for almost 20 years, HSN for the past three years and is known for the amazing way she sells her products. Riley has even become known as the Julia Roberts of infomercials.

According to Riley, one of the most important things you can do, whether you are still in school or just out of college is brand yourself.

Riley says, “Look at yourself as a product. What do you want your image to be? Be what you want to be.”

It doesn’t matter what you think of yourself; however you are perceived is reality.

“Products are not born, they are created,” believes Riley.

Riley went onto say that you can be branded as the reliable one, the slacker, the go-to guy/gal or whatever you want. It’s easy to forget that people are constantly watching you. Because first impressions can be very difficult to shake it’s important to make the first one a good one.

For Riley her goal was to have an amazing career. Along the way she found she had an uncanny ability to sell products. People bring her products when they have no idea how to sell them. Because of her background she knows how important it is to find the perfect market to sell products.

Like a product, Riley says to find your perfect market. Figure out exactly what you want and brand yourself to be “sold” to that market. Riley has six secrets to success. They may not guarantee you’ll be a millionaire, but you will at least be happier and more successful than you would be without trying them.

Forbes Riley’s Six Secrets of Success:

1. Brand yourself.
2. Love what you do.
3. Understand the fundamentals of a conversation
4. Have a plan (goes along with the elevator pitch).
5. Quit following the path your on if your not happy.
6. Expect the unexpected.

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George Strait: ACM Artist of the Decade

George Strait is honored as ACM's artist of the decade and saluted by his peers, who perform some of his biggest hits in concert. Performers include: Alan Jackson; Tim McGraw; Keith Urban; Taylor Swift; Brooks and Dunn; Sugarland; Martina McBride; Faith Hill; Toby Keith; LeAnn Rimes; Miranda Lambert; Blake Shelton; Jamie Foxx; Lee Ann Womack; Dierks Bentley; John Rich; Jamey Johnson.

The famously taciturn George Strait may not say a lot, but when he sings he speaks volumes. The Texas-born troubadour rode into Nashville on a song more than 25 years ago and is now the owner of an amazing 57 No. 1 singles on the country charts. It's no wonder the Academy of Country Music selected him as its artist of the decade, joining previous legends Marty Robbins (1960s), Loretta Lynn (1970s), Alabama (1980s) and Garth Brooks (1990s). Fortunately for Strait, he doesn't have to say much during tonight's all-star tribute. He gets to sit back and listen to a who's who of country artists literally sing his praises, such as Alan Jackson, Tim McGraw, Keith Urban, Taylor Swift, Sugarland and Martina McBride.

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Practical, effective fitness and workout tips for the gym or at home

“Clench your stomach when you walk,” is a useful and practical tip I received from my first trainer. It helped correct my posture and undeniably contributed to those elusive abs that most guys work so hard to achieve. Incidentally, the elusiveness of “getting abs” comes from eating the wrong diet. If excess fat exists, then the abdominals simply will not picture “pop,” no matter how many crunches you do in a day.

“Daily nutrition is also extremely dependent on the appearance of your midsection,” said Suyumi Quiroz, trainer and group fitness class instructor at Equinox Fitness Clubs. “Abdominal exercises can indeed strengthen and tone the muscles, but those muscles are underneath the “subcutaneous” layer of fat.”

Tyron Piteau, owner of The Maker's Body Personal Training and Resurrect Your Body Boot Camp, agrees, “for maximum benefits, you must seek to maintain a tight pillar position during all movements by actively pulling your navel to your spine, engaging your glutes, and maintaining a straight line from the heels through the shoulders.” His workout mantras are testament, “'suck in your gut;' 'tuck your butt under;' 'round your lower back;' 'give yourself a wedgie;' and 'be flat like a diving board.'"

The whole clenching and contracting method can be applied to almost all muscle-heavy workouts. Michael Arone of Tiger Fitness Los Angeles suggests that “the contraction is the first step in the stimulation of growth.” He advises that “at the top of each movement, contract the muscles that you are using. For example, when you perform a biceps curl, contract your biceps as hard as you can at the top of the movement, when your elbow is flexed, before lowering the weight.”

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Shocker: NBA All-Star Dirk Nowitzki Allows Pregnant Fia

This story has fallen through the sports cracks as the NBA Playoffs have unfolded. It deserves to be part of the national dialogue under the category "professional athletes behaving like total cads toward women."

In short, here it is: Dirk Nowitzki, the 11-year power forward of the Dallas Mavericks, has a girlfriend. She's been living with him for the past year and a half. In fact, he's her sole means of support, which isn't a strain since he makes $18 million a year. She's attended games, sitting in his personal seats. She sat with his visiting father on at least one occasion, and Dirk's also met her mother from St. Louis. The two lovebirds became engaged this past New Year's Eve, a mere five months ago.

It turns out, however, that she has a criminal past. Specifically, a conviction in Missouri for felony forgery, passing checks that were not her's, apparently. She was on probation when she moved to Texas and then failed to complete the process. That was 11 years ago. Then, five years ago, she was charged with using a bad credit card for $10,000 worth of dental work. That's apparently the extent of her rap sheet.

Here's Dirk's: He meets her, dates her, she ultimately moves in with him for a long time, and now she's pregnant and he's letting her sit behind bars. His German coach supposedly never liked her, perhaps because she's 37, seven years older than Dirk, or perhaps because she's African-American, who knows? There is gossip that team owner Mark Cuban disapproved of the relationship.

At some point, it was reported that a private investigator was hired in advance of a prenuptial agreement and dug up her history. While Dirk and his team were at a playoff game in Denver, law enforcement showed up unannounced at his $8 million mansion (in George W. Bush's and Cuban's Preston Hollow neighborhood) and hauled her away.

When Dirk returned to town, he said nothing, and the local media willfully accepted his silence. After all, the playoffs were in full swing, and he's the local hero, so the visceral reaction was to pile on against her. The Dallas Morning News got the ball rolling, bringing up strip clubs (she was a waitress). Commenters on its website called her a skank, a ho, you name it. Shortly after the Mavs were eliminated in the second round, Dirk fled to his native Germany for the off-season.

Meanwhile, it's been almost a month, and she's still in jail and still pregnant. Why Nowitzki didn't simply write a check to handle her relatively minor debt to society (for him, anyway), and then get her out of his house and life -- if that's what he wanted -- is a mystery. $100,000 to wash his hands and then longterm child support pending a paternity test is what he was looking at. It would have been so simple, and out of the media spotlight.

The approach he's chosen is downright cruel to her, ultimately penny-wise and pound foolish for him, and makes the 7-footer look like, well, a tiny little fascist.

He's now letting his attorney do the talking. The hired gun's initial stab at legal advocacy was to call her a liar, claiming she wasn't given a pregnancy test in jail. Ah, but it turns out she was given that test, and it came back positive. The hired gun was wrong.

We don't know how much she told Dirk about herself. She claims she told him some, but that she downplayed it out of embarrassment. A friend says he called her his "little jailbird."

In any event, he moved her into his home for 18 months and assumed financial responsibility for her. An expensive engagement ring followed (over $100,000, she says, but he's got it), and the promise of a life together. There's home video shot in a happy love nest that seems to have seeded a junior Dirkster. Yet now, she's been kicked aside over her checkered past.

Her best bet is to find a sharp lawyer to handle her legitimate domestic claims with Dirk, especially in light of how he has behaved toward her at the finish line. And he needs to locate his conscience.

This is bad theater all around.

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Pro Cup with wild finish at Langley

Clay Rogers emerged from a mad scramble in Turn 4 on the final lap and claimed his first victory of the season in the Hampton Virginia 250 presented by Racing Electronics for the USARacing Pro Cup Series, the headlining event of Saturday evening’s program at Langley Speedway.

Caleb Holman was quickest in afternoon time trials, at 84.987 mph. Local standout Woody Howard qualified on the outside pole.

By lap 13, Howard had established a four-length lead over Holman, while third-place Drew Herring had fallen nearly half a straightaway behind the leaders.

Derek Kale led from lap 69 through lap 130. On lap 130, Rogers used the outside lane to overtake Kale for the lead. On lap 140, Kale skated wide in Turn 2 and gave way to Howard, Herring and Brandon Ward. Rogers took advantage of the jumble and widened his lead to over half a straightaway.

Kale continued to struggle and saw his night come to a premature end on lap 145 when he spun in Turn 2 and collected Matt Lofton. Setting the lineup, Rogers and Howard ran 1-2, followed by Herring, Ward and Bobby Gill.

Three more cautions quickly followed, with the third coming as Gill, trying to clear Morgan’s lapped car, delivered a rap to Morgan’s rear bumper and triggered a multi-car melee on the backstretch. Herring and Ward were among those who were swept up in the incident.

At the 200-lap mark, Rogers was up by three lengths over Howard. The seventh yellow flag waved on lap 218 for debris on the frontstretch. Gathering for a restart, Rogers, Howard, Billy Bigley, Jr. and rookie Lucas Ransone made up the top four, while Gill had crept back into fifth.

Back under way, Rogers quickly fashioned a two-length edge over Howard. Behind them, Gill slipped around Ransone for fourth, then picked off Bigley for third on lap 230.

On lap 235, Herring and Brett Butler scuffled along the backstretch and Butler made contact with the outside wall, slowing immediately. Eventually, he rolled to a halt on lap 240, bringing out the last of the race’s eight caution flags.

Six laps remained when the green flag reappeared. Rogers eked out a slim margin over Howard as the field hit the back straightaway. That advantage was short-lived, though, as Howard ducked under the leader on lap 246.

Rogers and Howard raced door-to-door for the lead with Gill lurking just behind, in third. Exiting Turn 4, with the white flag in sight, Rogers skittered wide, seemingly opening the door for Howard.

Rogers was credited with leading lap 249. By the time the field reached Turn 1 on lap 250, though, he was in third. Howard was out front for a brief moment, but Gill was hard-charging down low and took the lead in Turn 1.

As the leaders headed into Turn 3 for the last time, Gill’s effort was undone by what he would later report as a power steering problem. He clipped the edge of the infield and shot up the track in Turns 3 and 4.

Howard ducked to the inside of Gill in a bid for the win. At the same time, Rogers slipped underneath Howard and got a mighty run off the corner. Unbelievably, Ransone had managed to work his way under Rogers, looking to swipe a victory.

At the line, Rogers was the winner by 58-thousandths of a second — half a car-length — over Ransone. Gill was third, followed by Howard and Bigley.

“That was the most awesome race I’ve ever been a part of, those last two or three laps. I had my ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ about this racetrack when we got here. I thought it was a little small for these type of cars, but, man, did it put on some great racing,” said Rogers.

The win was worth $8,000 to Rogers, while Ransone was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race. Barrett, Agnew and Purkhiser deadlocked for the Aaron’s Do The Math Hard Charger prize, each driver advancing seven positions.

In the evening’s other feature events:

C.E. Falk took the lead on lap 53 and rolled to his third victory of the season in the Hampton Convention and Visitors Bureau 100 for the Crossroads Fuel Service Late Model Stock Cars, the track’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series featured division.

Jammie Goode started on the pole and led all 40, caution-free laps to post his second win in a late afternoon feature for the Old Point National Bank Grand Stocks.

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Microsoft Zune HD: But Will it Play Games?

Microsoft's splashy, slightly angular, just-divulged Zune HD will play movies, surf the web, and snag digital radio feeds, but all I want to know is: will it play games? Redmond, Washington isn't talking...yet.

No one's touting the Zune HD as a gaming platform at this point. But it could be a gaming device, and I'd bet my life that it'll be at least some kind. In my view, Microsoft needed to announce the new mobile part's existence beyond the breathless clamor of the Electronic Entertainment Expo next week to avoid branding it a games-primarily device. Which it isn't.

It's a media playback gizmo, which — like Sony's PlayStation Portable (with the right hookup) — can output video to an actual TV. In fact where the PSP outputs sub-DVD-quality video, the Zune HD appears to support up to 720p (actual high-def).

But forget about the PSP for a second: Microsoft's says the new Zune HD's specifically designed to go rounds with Apple's iPod Touch — also a gaming device, but not (yet) battling after the same audience that constitutes the 50 or so million PSP's in the wild, or over 100 million Nintendo DS's. It's for you, per its market positioning, whether you care about a handheld version of Halo or not.

Second's up, and I want to spotlight the fact that Microsoft's promising to demo the Zune HD at E3 next week — in particular, how it'll integrate with their Xbox Live Marketplace TV/video service. Movie playback on both the Xbox 360 and Zune HD? Already confirmed. And then there's the Zune's tasty new OLED touchscreen to consider. Sounds like a shoe-in for a little recreational thumb-tapping.

Would the Zune HD be a viable gaming platform? As far as content delivery's concerned, why not? It's already being touted — by way of Xbox Live Marketplace — as playing with the Xbox 360 mothership. If it can dine on Xbox-360-dished HD videos, it's a shoe-in for game delivery.

Regarding hardware, that's harder to say (actually it's impossible, since Microsoft didn't divulge detailed tech specs) but no one really thought of the iPod as a games device, and look at it now, running games like Prey and bazillions of so-called "casual" titles.

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Mike Tyson's Daughter Dies After Hanging Accident

Mike Tyson's 4-year-old daughter, Exodus Tyson, has died after accidentally hanging herself on a piece of exercise equipment at home.

Phoenix Police Department Officer James Holmes told TVGuide.com that Exodus Tyson died at 11:45 a.m. (MST) in what he called a "tragic accident." An autopsy is expected to be performed. Holmes said the family is asking for privacy in the matter.

Tyson's daughter was put on life support after she was discovered Monday with her neck caught in a treadmill cord that hangs from the machine's console. Her mother had removed the cord and tried to revive her before she was rushed to a Phoenix hospital.

The former heavyweight boxing champ was in Las Vegas, but flew to Phoenix immediately after the accident.

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Alexandria man faces battery charge

An argument turned violent on Monday, and a woman was cut on her arm when an Alexandria man reportedly began to throw things.

Rodney Ronald Rogers, 21, of 96 Florence Apt. B, Alexandria, was arrested and charged with aggravated battery.

According to the Alexandria Police report, Rogers got into an argument with a 41-year-old woman at their Florence Street apartment around 4:35 p.m. Monday. The woman told officers that Rogers began to throw things and knock pictures off the wall. She said she tried to stop him, and he pulled a knife from the kitchen and cut her on the arm.

Officers arrested Rogers and booked him into the Rapides Parish Jail.

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Cop Without A Badge: Danielle Staub and Kevin Maher

Cop Without A Badge is a tittle of a book. Cop Without A Badge: The Extraordinary Undercover Life of Kevin Maher (Hardcover) written by Charles Kipps. The Real Housewives of New Jersey is TV program on Bravo channel Television Network. The Real Housewives of New Jersey first season started on May 12, 2009. Last week of Real Housewives of New Jersey, it was revealed that The Real Housewives of New Jersey have lazy, entitled, overindulged, poorly educated kids. This week, wash, rinse, repeat, only replace “kids” with “women”.

Where’s that ex husband? Is there a mug shot? Danielle Staub is the Real Housewives of New Jersey diva of drama. Danielle Staub - from alleged mug shots, to phone sex, and sex in a restaurant offers - has covered a lot in just two tv weeks.

Nevertheless, the first two episodes of Real Housewives of New Jersey proves it’s all Danielle Staub’s show so far.

Let’s recap. Pull up a chair.

In episode one Danielle Staub reportedly covers just a bit in the storyline. What you may ask? Phone sex. Oh yes. This is not your mother’s Bravo channel anymore. And the chatter-luv didn’t just start yesterday, reveals Danielle Staub. Nope, it’s gone on for 2 years with a guy she doesn’t know.

Oh, but then there is episode 2. There is an offer to perform an oral service on another guy in a restaurant.

Star Magazine reported that at the beginning of April Danielle Staub was arrested at her Wayne, NJ mansion. Apparently, Danielle Staub has yet to pay her divorce lawyers because her ex-hubby - some exercise equipment manufacturer hasn’t anted up on her divorce settlement. I don’t know how much Danielle Staub stands to gain in the settlement, but her lawyers fees are in the six figures and they want their money. So, they issued a civil action contempt warrant.

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Helio Castroneves Wins Third Indianapolis 500

INDIANAPOLIS — Pumping his fist as he took the checkered flag and breaking down in tears when he was done, Helio Castroneves capped a perfect month of May with the biggest win of all Sunday at the Indianapolis 500.

Castroneves became the ninth driver to win the historic race three times, and his timing couldn't have been better. Just 5 1/2 weeks ago, he was aquitted of most charges at a federal tax evasion trial, and the remaining count was thrown out on Friday.

Instead of going to prison for as long as six years, Castroneves pulled his red-and-white machine into Victory Lane at the Brickyard. No wonder he was sobbing when team owner Roger Penske leaned in to give him a hug.

Click here for photos of Helio Castroneves.

"Thanks for giving my life back," the 34-year-old Brazilian told his boss, who earned his record 15th win at Indy.

Castroneves completed a clean sweep of every Indy prize, also claiming the pole position and winning the pit-stop competition. Throw in the federal government's decision to drop the last of the tax charges just minutes before he went out for the final practice, and "this is the best month of May ever," said Castroneves, now only one win away from joining the most elite group of all: four-time Indy winners A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears.

Castroneves pulled away over the final laps to beat Dan Wheldon and Danica Patrick, who eclipsed her historic fourth-place finish as a rookie in 2005 by crossing the strip of bricks in third.

Patrick, however, was never really a factor.

Click here for photos of the Indy 500.

This day belonged to Castroneves, who pumped his fist all the way down the final straightaway.

"I want to climb the fence," said the driver known as "Spiderman," referring to his signature celebration.

Then he did just that, climbing out of his car after the victory lap and scaling the fence along the main grandstand with his pit crew. Someone tossed him a green-and-yellow Brazilian flag.

The victory was clearly popular with the quarter of a million fans who turned out on a sweltering late spring day and were on their feet, cheering and waving these caps as Castroneves sped around the 2.5-mile oval for the final time.

"You guys kept me strong," Castroneves told the crowd. "You guys are the best. I'm honored to have fans like you.

"Let's celebrate now!"

Crashes took out some of the biggest names in the field, including Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti and Graham Rahal. The most frightening wreck occurred on lap 173, when Brazilians Vitor Meira and Raphael Matos got together going into the first turn.

Meira's car veered head-on into the padded outside wall. He was removed from the car, put on a stretcher and taken to a nearby hospital complaining of severe lower-back pain.

The lengthy caution period ensured that everyone had enough fuel to get to the finish. When the race restarted with 17 laps to go, Castroneves got a great jump on Wheldon and Patrick and pulled away to win by nearly 2 seconds, more than two football fields.

"I had a really good car," Patrick said. "Oh well, what are you going to do?"

Added Wheldon, "At the end, I just didn't have enough for Helio."

It was clear from the start that Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing had the strongest cars. Castroneves led 66 laps and teammate Ryan Briscoe ran out front for 11. On the Ganassi side, defending 500 champion Scott Dixon set the pace for a race-best 73 laps, while his teammate Dario Franchitti, who won in 2007 and returned to Indy this year after a disappointing foray into stock cars, led the other 50.

Dixon's powerful car lost its edge near the end of the more than three-hour race and he slipped back to sixth, failing to become the first driver since Castroneves in 2001-02 to win back-to-back 500s. Franchitti had a problem in the pits late in the race and couldn't make up the lost ground, settling for seventh.

Two drivers who don't even have full-time rides in the IndyCar series crossed the line behind Patrick. Townsend Bell was fourth, while Will Power — who filled in while Castroneves was on trial — finished fifth in a third Team Penske car.

It may have been a perfect month for Castroneves, but it wasn't a perfect race. He had problems with his radio all day, and there were gearbox issues when he came into the pits. But he knew what to do on the track.

"Once I got in front, it was never look back," Castroneves said.

Rounding out the top 10 were Ed Carpenter in eighth, Paul Tracy and Hideki Mutoh. Tracy was racing at Indy for the first time since the disputed 2002 event, when a late caution froze the field just as he was going past Castroneves. The outspoken Canadian is still convinced he won that race — his appeal was turned down — but there was no doubt about this one.

It was Castroneves all the way.

The race had barely started when Mario Moraes drifted to the outside and made contact with Andretti, sending both cars into the wall going into the second turn.

The Andretti curse remains in force at Indy. Marco said there was nothing he could do when the 20-year-old Moraes pinched him into the wall.

"The kid doesn't get it, and he never will," said Andretti, only 22 himself. "He's just clueless out there."

Neither driver was hurt, and Andretti even got back on the track for 56 laps to finish 30th in the 33-car field.

Rahal, son of 1986 Indy winner Bobby Rahal, crashed on the 56th lap in virtually the same spot where he slammed into the wall a year earlier. He started fourth and was running fifth when his car went high coming out of the fourth turn and slammed the barrier. He was not injured.

"I got mid-corner and the car just went straight. It was the same exact thing as last year," the 20-year-old Rahal said. "I felt I was being patient. I thought I wasn't going to have any problem, and all of a sudden it just went."

Kanaan was running third when something snapped in his No. 11 car, sending it straight into the wall at about 190 mph. The helpless machine slid through the third turn and slammed into the SAFER barrier again before finally coming to a stop.

The popular Kanaan wasn't seriously hurt, but he sure was aching after the big hit.

"I went on quite a ride," he said after getting checked at the infield media center. "I knew it was going to be a big one."

It was another painful Indy moment for the hard-luck Brazilian, who had led the race a record seven straight years — but is still seeking his first 500 win.

"Me and this place," Kanaan said with a sigh.

foxnews.com

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